Properties and Bases

Properties are structured fields at the top of a note. Bases turn a set of notes into a table, list or card view that filters, sorts and groups by those fields. Both are plain text: properties are YAML front matter, and a base is a small YAML file.

Properties

A note’s properties live in a block at the very top, between two --- lines:

---
status: reading
rating: 4
tags: [book, essays]
finished: false
due: 2026-11-14
---

The properties editor shows these as fields instead of raw YAML. Scaffold recognises these types:

Type	Example
Text	author: Ada
List	topics: [memory, maps]
Number	rating: 4
Checkbox	finished: true
Date and date-time	due: 2026-11-14
Tags	tags: [book, essays]
Aliases	aliases: [Short name]

Edits keep your comments and the order of keys. Notes with no properties are fine; the block is only created when you add the first one. You can show the properties block, hide it, or show it as source in the editor settings.

Bases

A base is stored in a .base file. It defines:

• a source: all notes, a folder (with or without subfolders), or a tag;
• filters: conditions combined with and, or and not, such as status equals reading, or due is before today+7d;
• sorting and grouping by any property;
• the columns to show, and whether to display a table, a list or cards.

Besides your own properties, each note has built-in fields such as file.name, file.folder, file.tags, file.links, file.mtime and file.words.

Bases have no formula language. They filter, sort and group what is in your notes and nothing more, which keeps them fast and easy to read.

Because a base is just a file in your vault, you can copy it, sync it and keep it in version control like any note.

See also Search for querying properties from the search box.