227 lines
14 KiB
Markdown
227 lines
14 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: Getting Started with Obsidian Bases
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source: https://obsidian.rocks/getting-started-with-obsidian-bases/
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author:
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- "[[Tim Miller]]"
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published: 2025-06-19
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created: 2025-08-29
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description: Bases is a brilliant new tool from the Obsidian team. It allows you to create interactive filtered lists of notes. It is user-friendly and extremely powerful, and I think one of the most important additions to Obsidian that we’ve ever seen. Bases are designed to be easy-to-use and, unlike Dataview, they don’t require any programming […]
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tags:
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- clippings
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imported:
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---
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Bases is a brilliant new tool from the Obsidian team. It allows you to create interactive filtered lists of notes. It is user-friendly and *extremely* powerful, and I think one of the most important additions to Obsidian that we’ve ever seen.
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Bases are designed to be easy-to-use and, unlike Dataview, they don’t require *any* programming knowledge. Getting started with Obsidian Bases takes only five minutes, and allows you to turn your notes from *meh* to *amazing*.
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What are we waiting for? Let’s jump in and learn how to use Bases!
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On This Page \[[hide](https://obsidian.rocks/getting-started-with-obsidian-bases/#)\]
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- [1 Your First Base](https://obsidian.rocks/getting-started-with-obsidian-bases/#Your-First-Base)
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- [2 Searching for Tags with Bases](https://obsidian.rocks/getting-started-with-obsidian-bases/#Searching-for-Tags-with-Bases)
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- [3 Choosing What Your Base Displays](https://obsidian.rocks/getting-started-with-obsidian-bases/#Choosing-What-Your-Base-Displays)
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- [4 Adding Views to a Base](https://obsidian.rocks/getting-started-with-obsidian-bases/#Adding-Views-to-a-Base)
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- [5 Reusing Bases](https://obsidian.rocks/getting-started-with-obsidian-bases/#Reusing-Bases)
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- [6 Solutions](https://obsidian.rocks/getting-started-with-obsidian-bases/#Solutions)
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- [6.1 Better Backlinks](https://obsidian.rocks/getting-started-with-obsidian-bases/#Better-Backlinks)
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- [6.2 Tracking My Writing](https://obsidian.rocks/getting-started-with-obsidian-bases/#Tracking-My-Writing)
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- [6.3 Create a Bookshelf](https://obsidian.rocks/getting-started-with-obsidian-bases/#Create-a-Bookshelf)
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- [6.4 Create a Read it Later App](https://obsidian.rocks/getting-started-with-obsidian-bases/#Create-a-Read-it-Later-App)
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- [6.5 Project Tracker](https://obsidian.rocks/getting-started-with-obsidian-bases/#Project-Tracker)
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- [6.6 Workouts](https://obsidian.rocks/getting-started-with-obsidian-bases/#Workouts)
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- [7 Conclusion](https://obsidian.rocks/getting-started-with-obsidian-bases/#Conclusion)
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## Your First Base
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I want to start by showing you how easy it is to create a Base, using your own notes.
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The only prerequisite is that you have to enable the plugin. Go to Settings > Core Plugins, and enable the “Bases” plugin:
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A screenshot of the core plugins in Obsidian, with Obsidian Bases enabled.
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You might want to enable “Properties” too, if you haven’t already. Both Bases and Properties make it easier to manage metadata in your vault.
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There are a few ways to create a new Base. You can use [the command palette](https://obsidian.rocks/for-beginners-and-pros-alike-the-command-palette-in-obsidian/) and search for “Create new base”. You can click the “New Base” button in the ribbon menu. Or you can right-click on a folder in your vault and click “New base”.
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Use the method that works best for you, and Obsidian will create and drop you into your first Base. It will look something like this:
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A screenshot of an untitled new Base in Obsidian.
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Congratulations! You now have a base. Now what can we do with it?
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## Searching for Tags with Bases
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One of my favorite uses for Bases is simply to aggregate notes that contain a certain tag. If you use tags very much, this alone can unlock all kinds of new features for your vault.
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For example, I have a Base that displays the articles I am working on. For rough ideas, I use this tag: `writing/idea`.
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I can now create a Base that displays all of the articles ideas I have in my vault. How do I do that?
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Through the power of *filters*.
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In the top right of every Base, there are two links: Filters and Properties. In your own base, click on Filters first. You should see something like this:
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The default filters view in an Obsidian Base.
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Now to filter by a tag, we need to add a `file` filter. Click where it says “Property” and select “file” (it’s usually at the top of the list, but you can also search for it).
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Then click the dropdown menu and select “has tag”:
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An example of a simple filter in an Obsidian Base.
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Now click on the input to the right of that dropdown menu (where it says “Empty”), and Obsidian will show you a list of your tags. Again you can type to search, or just select a tag from the list.
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In my case I will select `writing/idea`, and the Base will instantly update to show me all of my notes with that tag:
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An Obsidian base with a single tag filter applied.
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Fantastic!
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## Choosing What Your Base Displays
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So that’s the basics on how to *filter* your Base. But how do we choose what information we want the table to display?
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If you’re following along above, you should have an “Untitled” base that is filtered to show notes with a single tag. That’s a good start!
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But that alone is not all that useful. Your Base shows you the name of each file and gives you a link, but we often need more *context* to make a database useful.
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We can add *context* with the help of the Properties menu.
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Next to Filters, there’s a link to the “Properties” menu. Click that, and you should see something that looks like this:
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The Properties selector screen in an Obsidian Base.
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This shows you all the properties available in your vault. It’s a “smart” menu, so it tries to guess which property you are looking for, and puts those at the top. If you don’t see one of your properties, then you may have to search for it.
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You can check the box next to any property, and it will automatically show up in your Base. For my use-case, I’m going to add my *modified* date property and the *folder* for each file. That ends up looking like this:
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An Obsidian Base with a few more properties than default.
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So far so good!
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It’s interesting to note that *some* properties can be edited inline in a Base, and others cannot. For example you can’t change the *file path* in a Base, but you *can* update tags. Something to keep in mind.
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## Adding Views to a Base
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Last but not least, we need to discuss *views* in Bases.
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Views are super helpful, because they allow you to create a Base that gives you multiple perspectives.
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Again going to my writing example, `writing/idea` isn’t my only writing tag. I also have `writing/draft`, `writing/published`, and I use all three of these for different purposes.
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I *could* create three separate Bases, one for each of these. But that seems a little redundant: I want to use the same settings for each of these views, and just swap out the tag.
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To do that, we can use *views*. In the top *left* of your Base, you can see the word “Table” with arrows next to it. Click that, and you will see this:
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The view selector screen in an Obsidian Base.
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Welcome to the Views menu! The first view in any Base is always called “Table”, but we can rename it by clicking on the arrow next to the word “Table”.
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Changing the settings in an Obsidian Base view.
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Then click “Configure view”, and Obsidian will allow you to rename this view. Handy! I call mine “Writing / Ideas”.
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Then we can go back a step and create a *new* View by clicking the “New View” button:
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A view in an Obsidian Base with the name "Writing / Ideas" and the "add view" button highlighted.
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It will ask you to name your new view. I’m calling mine “Writing / Drafts”.
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Then it will drop you into a new view! From here you can configure it how you like, using the Filters and Properties menus as we discussed before.
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Once you have them configured as you like it, you can then switch between views effortlessly by using that menu in the top left corner. My final Base I call “Content Creation”, and it has SEVEN views currently:
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A screenshot of an Obsidian Base with seven separate views in it!
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> Pro tip: In the Filters menu you can also set up “all views” filters that affect every view. Handy if you have a bunch of views in one Base that you want to update all at once.
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>
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> Note: The Obsidian team is talking about adding views *other* than Table views, so eventually we should have a few other options for Bases than just seeing tabular data. No telling what those views will be though, until they release them.
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## Reusing Bases
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Those are the basics of how we *create* Bases, but did you know that we can also *reuse* them in many ways?
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Unlike most files in Obsidian, Bases are *not* Markdown files. But they *are* still plain-text, which means you can transfer them from vault to vault, and they will still work. You can copy or download someone else’s Base, and it will work (as long as you have the appropriate metadata).
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You can also embed Bases, both in notes and also in your sidebars. The easiest way to do that is to drag-and-drop a Base from your sidebar to where you want it, but inside notes you can also use the default embed syntax:
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```
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![[Content Creation.base]]
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```
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You can embed a specific view by adding an octothorpe and the name of the view:
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```
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![[Content Creation.base#Newsletter]]
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```
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Note though that you *do* need to have the `.base` file extension, otherwise Obsidian will look for a Markdown file.
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## Solutions
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You now know the basics of creating and editing views. Now the question is, what can we do with them practically?
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Let me show you some of the things I have done, and maybe it will spark some ideas for you.
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### Better Backlinks
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I love the backlinks pane in Obsidian, I use it all the time. But sometimes it does feel a bit *limited*, and I wish I could see more information.
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Well now you can! If you use `file.hasLink(this)` as an *advanced* filter, and then drag that Base to your sidebar, it becomes a bit like an upgraded backlinks pane. You can then select the properties you want to see and even edit properties from your new Backlinks pane. Handy!
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### Tracking My Writing
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We’ve already talked about my tag system for writing articles, but it is one of my main Bases, I use it every day. I simply use filters that show me my `writing/idea` tags, my `writing/draft` tags, and my `writing/published` tags. Simple, but effective.
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### Create a Bookshelf
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I have a [Simple System Bookshelf](https://obsidian.rocks/simple-systems-for-obsidian/#simple-bookshelf) available for purchase that sorts, categorizes, and gives you stats for the books you have read in any given year. You can do *many* of the same things with Bases.
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I have a Base that pulls in *all* of the books that are in my vault, and another that scopes it for certain years. Both are useful (although not as pretty as my Simple System).
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I love [reading books with Obsidian](https://obsidian.rocks/how-to-take-book-notes-in-obsidian/) and I’ve been doing it long enough that it’s very satisfying to see the results reflected in an Obsidian Base.
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### Create a Read it Later App
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I love using Obsidian as a read-it-later app. And Bases makes it even better for that.
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How? First I use the [Obsidian Web Clipper](https://obsidian.rocks/the-obsidian-web-clipper-fixes-everything/) to clip articles. Then I use Bases to show articles that I have *clipped*, but not *read*.
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`read` is a [checkbox property](https://obsidian.rocks/an-introduction-to-obsidian-properties/#Checkbox), so I can easily create a filter that filters *out* notes that have already been read.
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### Project Tracker
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I like [managing projects in Obsidian](https://obsidian.rocks/how-to-manage-projects-in-obsidian/), and I do that primarily with tags. Like my writing view, my project tracker follows the progress of projects using tags.
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I use `project/active`, `project/ongoing`, `project/soon`, and `project/archive`. I also sort by priority and deadline, which is another handy part of Bases.
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### Workouts
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I like to track my workouts in my [daily notes](https://obsidian.rocks/supercharge-your-daily-notes-in-obsidian/ "daily notes"), and with a little bit of cleverness I can create a Base that shows my workout progress over time.
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## Conclusion
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Getting started with Obsidian Bases is easy, and I hope you’ve learned the basics of how to make them useful for you. I think Bases are one of the most important tools Obsidian has come out with in a long time, and I look forward to using them for many years to come! |