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obsidian-yaml-frontmatter

obsidian-yaml-frontmatter

github.com/jykimProductivity5087 installsUpdated 5w ago
Repository

About obsidian-yaml-frontmatter

A skill for standardizing YAML frontmatter properties in Markdown files across an Obsidian vault. It focuses on property names, values, and formatting, with a workflow for applying and checking conventions.

Key features

  1. 01Standardize property names and formatting
  2. 02Normalize tag and date values
  3. 03Format links and special-character values
  4. 04Check frontmatter structure

Use cases

  1. 01Add frontmatter to new notes
  2. 02Standardize properties in existing notes
  3. 03Check tag, date, and link formatting

Install

Copy the command and run it in a terminal.

$npx skills add https://github.com/jykim/claude-obsidian-skills --skill obsidian-yaml-frontmatter

After installing, type/obsidian-yaml-frontmatterin Claude Code to confirm it loaded.

Details

From the project README

YAML Frontmatter Management

Standardize YAML frontmatter properties across all vault content.

When to Use This Skill

Activate when you need to:

  • Add or update frontmatter in markdown files
  • Ensure consistent property naming and formatting
  • Format tags, dates, or other property values
  • Validate frontmatter structure

Note: This skill manages frontmatter PROPERTIES (keys, values, types, formatting). For document STRUCTURE (heading hierarchy, section order, frontmatter position), use obsidian-markdown-structure skill.

Core Frontmatter Rules

1. Single YAML Block at Top

Structure:

---
property: value
---

## First Section Header

Critical Rules:

  • One YAML block at top of file
  • Blank line after closing ---
  • No content before first heading (after frontmatter)
2. Standard Property Names

Use lowercase, consistent keys:

✅ CORRECT:
title: Document Title
created: 2025-10-31
tags:
  - tag1
source: https://example.com
author: Author Name

❌ INCORRECT:
Title: Document Title (capitalized)
date: 2025-10-31 (use "created" not "date")
tag: tag1 (use "tags" plural)

No Duplicate Properties:

  • Use created (not both date and created)
  • Use tags (not both tag and tags)
3. Tag Formatting

CRITICAL: Plain text in YAML, NO hashtags:

✅ CORRECT:
tags:
  - journal
  - daily
  - reflection

❌ INCORRECT:
tags:
  - #journal
  - #daily

Always use list format with dashes:

✅ CORRECT (list format):
tags:
  - tag1
  - tag2

❌ INCORRECT (inline):
tags: [tag1, tag2]
4. Date Format

Use YYYY-MM-DD consistently:

✅ CORRECT:
created: 2025-10-31
updated: 2025-11-01

❌ INCORRECT:
created: 10/31/2025
created: 2025-10-31T10:30:00
5. Link Lists

Wrap wiki links in quotes:

✅ CORRECT:
sources:
  - "[[Journal/2025-10-31]]"
  - "[[Articles/2025-10-31 Title]]"

links:
  - "[[Roundup/2025-10-31]]"

attendees:
  - "[[People/John]]"
  - Jane

❌ INCORRECT:
sources:
  - [[Journal/2025-10-31]] (missing quotes)
6. Quote Values with Special Characters

Quote values containing: : # " or numeric-looking strings

Single quote wrapping (easiest for values with "):

✅ CORRECT:
title: 'He said, "Hello."'
note: 'It\'s called "PKM".'

Double quote wrapping with escaping:

✅ CORRECT:
title: "He said, \"Hello.\""
source: "https://example.com"
version: "2.0"

Literal double-quote character:

✅ CORRECT:
quote_char: '"'

Mixed quotes preference: Use double quotes, escape only " (single quotes don't need escaping):

✅ CORRECT:
note: "It's called \"PKM\"."

❌ INCORRECT:
title: AI Era: Thriving Framework (unquoted colon)
version: 2.0 (parsed as number, not string)

Multiline values (no escaping needed):

✅ CORRECT:
description: |
  He said, "Hello."
  New line preserved.

Standard Property Set

Core Properties (All Content)
---
title: Document Title
created: YYYY-MM-DD
tags:
  - category
  - type
---
Content with Sources
---
title: Article Title
created: YYYY-MM-DD
source: https://url or file path
author: Author Name
tags:
  - clipping
  - topic
---
Relational Content
---
title: Document Title
created: YYYY-MM-DD
tags:
  - category
sources:
  - "[[Source File 1]]"
  - "[[Source File 2]]"
links:
  - "[[Related Topic]]"
---
Events/Meetings
---
title: Meeting Name
created: YYYY-MM-DD
event_date: YYYY-MM-DD
attendees:
  - "[[Person 1]]"
  - Person 2
sources:
  - "[[Journal/YYYY-MM-DD#Section]]"
tags:
  - meeting
  - event
---

Workflow

Step 1: Determine Content Type
  • Daily content (Journal, Notes)
  • Ingested content (Clippings, Articles)
  • Created content (Analysis, Tasks, Events)
  • Topic/Project pages
Step 2: Select Property Set
  • Core properties (title, created, tags)
  • Add source/author if applicable
  • Add relational links (sources, links, attendees)
  • Add content-specific properties
Step 3: Format Values
  • Dates: YYYY-MM-DD format
  • Tags: Plain text list (no #)
  • Links: Quoted wiki links
  • Special chars: Quote values with : or #
Step 4: Structure Check
  • Single YAML block at top
  • Blank line after ---
  • Consistent property names (lowercase)
  • No duplicate properties

Quality Checklist

Before completing frontmatter:

  • Single YAML block at top with blank line after
  • All property keys lowercase and consistent
  • Tags are plain text (NO hashtags)
  • Dates in YYYY-MM-DD format
  • Wiki links wrapped in quotes
  • Special characters quoted appropriately
  • No duplicate properties (created vs date, tags vs tag)

Comments

Markdown supported