What Obsidian Property Types Are Supported? Complete YAML Front-Matter Reference

Obsidian supports seven distinct property types—Text, Number, Checkbox, Date, Date & Time, List, and Links—defined in YAML front-matter to enable structured metadata, advanced search, and dynamic note relationships.

The kepano/obsidian-skills repository documents the complete set of Obsidian property types that the application can parse from YAML front-matter. These supported Obsidian property types power essential features including tag search, checkbox toggling, date sorting, and link resolution within your vault.

Complete List of Supported Obsidian Property Types

According to skills/obsidian-markdown/references/PROPERTIES.md, Obsidian recognizes seven specific data types for front-matter properties.

Text

The Text type stores simple string values for titles, descriptions, or any character data.

title: My Title

Number

The Number type accepts integer or decimal values, enabling mathematical operations and numeric sorting.

rating: 4.5

Checkbox

The Checkbox type uses boolean values (true or false) that Obsidian renders as interactive toggles in the properties view.

completed: true

Date

The Date type stores calendar dates in YYYY-MM-DD format, used by calendar plugins and chronological sorting features.

date: 2024-01-15

Date & Time

The Date & Time type requires ISO-8601 timestamps, enabling precise time-aware queries and scheduling.

due: 2024-01-15T14:30:00

List

The List type accepts YAML arrays or bracketed sequences, supporting multiple values including nested tag hierarchies (parent/child).

tags: [one, two]

# or

tags:
  - planning
  - roadmap

Links

The Links type uses Obsidian’s [[wikilink]] syntax to create relationships between notes, automatically resolving vault connections.

related: "[[Other Note]]"

YAML Front-Matter Syntax Reference

Implement these Obsidian property types within triple-dash delimiters at the start of any note. The following example from the repository demonstrates proper syntax for all seven types:

---
title: Project Planning   # Text

rating: 4.7               # Number

completed: false          # Checkbox

date: 2024-03-01           # Date

due: 2024-03-01T09:00:00   # Date & Time

tags:                     # List

  - planning
  - roadmap
related: "[[Milestones]]" # Links

---

Obsidian interprets each entry according to its declared type, automatically rendering checkboxes as clickable elements, dates as calendar objects, and links as bidirectional connections.

Source Reference Locations

The property type definitions reside in specific files within the kepano/obsidian-skills repository:

• skills/obsidian-markdown/references/PROPERTIES.md — Central reference documenting all supported front-matter property types (lines 24-35)
• skills/obsidian-markdown/SKILL.md — Overview of the Obsidian Markdown skill linking to property references
• README.md — General repository documentation and user entry point

Summary

• Obsidian recognizes seven property types: Text, Number, Checkbox, Date, Date & Time, List, and Links.
• Properties are defined in YAML front-matter between triple-dash delimiters at the note's beginning.
• Each type enables specific functionality: Checkbox provides toggles, Date & Time enables sorting, and Links creates note relationships.
• Reference definitions are maintained in PROPERTIES.md within the kepano/obsidian-skills repository.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I format Date & Time properties in Obsidian?

Use ISO-8601 format (YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS) for Date & Time properties. This standard timestamp format enables Obsidian’s time-aware queries and ensures compatibility with calendar plugins.

Can I create relationships between notes using property types?

Yes, the Links property type accepts Obsidian’s [[wikilink]] syntax. When you define related: "[[Other Note]]", Obsidian establishes a bidirectional link between the current note and the target note, visible in the graph view and backlinks panel.

What is the difference between Text and List property types?

Text stores single string values, while List stores YAML arrays containing multiple values. Use Text for singular attributes like titles, and List for multi-value fields like tags or categories.

Where are Obsidian property types documented in the source code?

The canonical reference is skills/obsidian-markdown/references/PROPERTIES.md in the kepano/obsidian-skills repository. This file defines all seven supported types and their expected YAML syntax.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instagit": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "instagit@latest"]
    }
  }
}