Properties are structured metadata stored as YAML frontmatter at the very top of a note, enclosed between triple-dash delimiters (Documentation Index
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---). Obsidian reads these key-value pairs and surfaces them in the Properties panel, the file search, Dataview queries, and other contexts. They are the primary way to attach typed data — dates, numbers, booleans, lists, and links — to any note in your vault.
Frontmatter Example
The following example demonstrates the full range of property types in a single note:Property Types
Obsidian supports seven property types. The type is inferred from the YAML value unless explicitly set in the Properties panel.| Type | Example |
|---|---|
| Text | title: My Title |
| Number | rating: 4.5 |
| Checkbox | completed: true |
| Date | date: 2024-01-15 |
| Date & Time | due: 2024-01-15T14:30:00 |
| List | tags: [one, two] or YAML list |
| Links | related: "[[Other Note]]" |
Default Properties
Obsidian treats three property keys as special built-ins with dedicated behaviour across the application.tags
Assigns one or more tags to the note. Tags defined here are fully equivalent to inline
#tags and appear in the tag pane, graph view filters, and search.aliases
Provides alternative names for the note. When you type a wikilink, Obsidian suggests aliases alongside the filename, and the link resolves correctly to the original note.
cssclasses
Applies one or more CSS class names to the note’s container element in reading and editing view. Use this to target specific notes with custom CSS snippets.
Tag Syntax
Tags can be written inline anywhere in the body of a note using a# prefix, or listed in the tags frontmatter property.
Inline tags:
_, hyphens -, and forward slashes / for nesting. A tag must contain at least one non-numeric character.