> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/obsidianmd/obsidian-help/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Properties
> Use properties (YAML frontmatter) to attach structured metadata — dates, tags, numbers, links — to your Obsidian notes.
Properties let you attach structured data to a note — dates, numbers, checkboxes, links, and more. You can use properties to organize notes, power templates, and query your vault with search.
## Adding properties to a note
There are several ways to add a property:
Run the **Add file property** command from the Command Palette.
Press `Cmd/Ctrl+;`.
Click the three-dots icon (or right-click the tab) and choose **Add file property**.
Type `---` at the very beginning of a file to open the properties section.
Once you add a property, a row appears at the top of the note with two fields: the property **name** and the property **value**.
## Property types
Each property has a name, a value, and a **type** that determines what kind of values it stores. To change a property's type, click the type icon next to the property name.
Once a type is assigned to a property name, every property with that name across your vault uses the same type.
Stores a single line of text. Markdown formatting is not rendered. Hashtags do not create tags.
Internal links use the `[[Link]]` syntax and must be surrounded with quotes.
```yaml theme={null}
---
title: A New Hope
link: "[[Episode IV]]"
url: https://www.example.com
---
```
Stores multiple values. Each value appears on its own line, preceded by a hyphen and space.
```yaml theme={null}
---
cast:
- Mark Hamill
- Harrison Ford
- Carrie Fisher
links:
- "[[Link]]"
- "[[Link2]]"
---
```
Must be a literal number (no operators). Both integers and decimals are supported.
```yaml theme={null}
---
year: 1977
pie: 3.14
---
```
Stores `true` or `false`. Displays as a checkbox in Live Preview.
```yaml theme={null}
---
favorite: true
reply: false
---
```
Stored in `YYYY-MM-DD` format.
```yaml theme={null}
---
date: 2020-08-21
---
```
The date picker uses your operating system's default date format. With the Daily notes plugin enabled, a date property also acts as an internal link to the corresponding daily note.
Includes both a date and a time, stored in ISO 8601 format.
```yaml theme={null}
---
time: 2020-08-21T10:30:00
---
```
A special property type used exclusively by the `tags` property. This property type cannot be assigned to other properties.
```yaml theme={null}
---
tags:
- journal
- personal
- draft
---
```
See [Tags](/editing/tags) for more on using tags in Obsidian.
## Property format (YAML)
Properties are stored in [YAML](https://yaml.org/) format at the top of the file, between `---` delimiters:
```yaml theme={null}
---
name: value
---
```
Property names are separated from values by a colon and a space. Each name must be unique within a note — you can't have two `tags` properties in the same file.
While you can also write properties in JSON format (between `---` delimiters), Obsidian reads and saves them as YAML.
## Default properties
Obsidian includes a set of built-in properties:
| Property | Type | Description |
| ------------ | ---- | ---------------------------------------------------- |
| `tags` | Tags | Adds tags to a note. See [Tags](/editing/tags). |
| `aliases` | List | Alternative names for a note. |
| `cssclasses` | List | Apply CSS snippet classes to style individual notes. |
### Properties for Obsidian Publish
| Property | Description |
| ------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `publish` | Controls whether a note is included in auto-publish selection. |
| `permalink` | Sets a custom URL path for the published page. |
| `description` | Sets the description for social media link previews. |
| `image` | Sets the image for social media link previews. |
| `cover` | Alternative to `image` for social media previews. |
### Deprecated properties
These properties were deprecated in Obsidian 1.4 and removed as defaults in 1.9:
| Property | Replacement |
| ---------- | ------------ |
| `tag` | `tags` |
| `alias` | `aliases` |
| `cssclass` | `cssclasses` |
## Searching and using properties
Properties have their own search syntax that works alongside other search terms. Use `[property:value]` in the Search panel to filter notes by property value.
You can also use properties in templates — when you insert a template, all its properties are merged into the active note.
## Display modes
Control how properties appear in a note under **Settings → Editor → Properties in document**:
| Mode | Behavior |
| --------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Visible** (default) | Shows properties at the top of the note. |
| **Hidden** | Hides properties; still accessible via the Properties view in the sidebar. |
| **Source** | Displays properties as plain YAML text. |
## Keyboard shortcuts
| Action | Shortcut |
| ----------------------- | ------------------------- |
| Add new property | `Cmd/Ctrl+;` |
| Focus next property | `Down arrow` or `Tab` |
| Focus previous property | `Up arrow` or `Shift+Tab` |
| Jump to editor | `Alt+Down arrow` |
| Action | Shortcut |
| ------------------- | -------------------- |
| Edit property name | `Left arrow` |
| Edit property value | `Right arrow` |
| Focus property | `Escape` |
| Delete property | `Cmd/Ctrl+Backspace` |
| Undo | `Cmd/Ctrl+Z` |
| Redo | `Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Z` |
| Action | Shortcut |
| -------------------------- | ------------------ |
| Extend selection upwards | `Shift+Up arrow` |
| Extend selection downwards | `Shift+Down arrow` |
| Select all | `Cmd/Ctrl+A` |
| Action | Shortcut |
| ------------------------------- | -------- |
| Move down | `j` |
| Move up | `k` |
| Focus key | `h` |
| Focus value | `l` |
| Focus value cursor at end | `A` |
| Focus value cursor at beginning | `i` |
| Create new property | `o` |
## Limitations
A few features are not currently supported:
* **Nested properties** — use Source mode to view them.
* **Bulk-editing properties** — use external tools such as VSCode, scripts, or community plugins.
* **Markdown in properties** — properties are intentionally plain text so they remain both human- and machine-readable.