Databases

A database in Scaffold is not a special file. It is a note that describes how to look at a folder of other notes. Each note in that folder is a row, and each row’s values are ordinary frontmatter keys at the top of the note. Delete Scaffold tomorrow and every byte still makes sense in a text editor.

The database note

Any note becomes a database note when its frontmatter has a top-level database: key. The body of the note stays ordinary Markdown, so use it to describe what the database is for.

---
database:
  version: 1
  source: { folder: "Projects", recursive: false }
  properties:
    status:  { type: select, options: [{ value: Idea, color: gray }, { value: Doing, color: blue }, { value: Done, color: green }] }
    tags:    { type: multi-select, options: [{ value: client }, { value: internal }] }
    due:     { type: date }
    budget:  { type: number, format: currency }
    shipped: { type: checkbox }
    owner:   { type: text }
    client:  { type: relation, target: "CRM/Clients.md" }
    site:    { type: url }
  views:
    - { name: All, kind: table, columns: [status, due, owner, client], sort: [{ property: due, direction: asc }] }
    - { name: Board, kind: board, groupBy: status }
    - { name: Gallery, kind: gallery, cover: cover }
    - { name: Calendar, kind: calendar, date: due }
  defaultView: All
---

Remove the database: key and it is a normal note again. Scaffold only ever rewrites that one key of the database note.

Which notes are rows

• source.folder sets the folder whose notes are rows. Leave source out and the folder that contains the database note is used.
• recursive: true includes notes in subfolders as well; the default is only the folder itself.
• The database note itself is never a row.

Rows are notes

A row is just a note in the source folder. Its values live in its own frontmatter:

---
status: Doing
due: 2026-11-18
owner: Ines
tags: [client]
client: ["[[Acme Studio]]"]
---

Quotes from three carpenters, compared line by line.

When you change a value in a table cell or drag a card to another column of a board, Scaffold rewrites only that key in that note, through the same atomic, conflict-aware save that every note uses. Comments and key order in the frontmatter are kept. Renaming or moving a row note works like renaming any note.

The file name of each row is its title, which is always the first column.

Property types

Type	Stored as	Example
text	a string	owner: Ines
number	a number; format is plain, percent or currency (display only)	budget: 1200
select	one string from options	status: Doing
multi-select	a YAML list of strings	tags: [client, internal]
date	YYYY-MM-DD or YYYY-MM-DDTHH:mm	due: 2026-11-18
checkbox	true or false	shipped: false
url	a string	site: https://example.org
relation	a YAML list of wikilinks	client: ["[[Acme Studio]]"]

• A relation names another database note in target; its rows are offered as choices. Because the values are wikilinks, relations show up in backlinks and the graph automatically. If a related note is deleted, the link stays and is shown muted, like any unresolved link.
• Option colours come from a fixed Scaffold palette: gray, brown, amber, orange, red, pink, purple, blue, teal and green. They follow your theme, light or dark.
• A property with an unknown type or a malformed definition is treated as text and Scaffold shows a warning. It never refuses to open the database.

Views

Every view has a name and a kind. Switch between them with the view tabs at the top of the database.

Kind	Shows	Needs
table	rows and columns, editable in place	nothing
board	one column per option, cards you can drag	groupBy: a select or checkbox property
gallery	cards, with an optional cover image	optional cover: a property holding an image path or URL
calendar	a month grid, weeks starting on Monday	date: a date property
list	a compact list of titles	nothing

All views also accept:

• columns: which properties are shown, in order.
• sort: a list such as [{ property: due, direction: asc }].
• filter: the same filter tree that Bases use, for example only rows whose status is not Done.
• limit: show at most this many rows.

On a board, columns follow the order of the options, plus a No value column for rows without one. Dragging a card between columns sets that property on the row.

Tips

• Start from the template gallery: the project tracker and CRM templates are complete databases.
• Embed a database in another note with ![[Projects/Projects.md]]; see rich blocks.
• Because rows are notes, everything else works on them too: search, tags, links, daily notes, the graph.