# Obsidian Bases

> Create/edit Obsidian .base files — views, filters, formulas, summaries.

- **Type:** Skill
- **Install:** `agentstack add skill-bruno-cunha-souza-valarmindskills-obsidian-bases`
- **Verified:** Yes — security-reviewed for prompt injection and unsafe behavior
- **Seller:** [Bruno-Cunha-Souza](https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/bruno-cunha-souza)
- **Installs:** 0
- **Category:** [Productivity](https://agentstack.voostack.com/c/productivity)
- **Latest version:** 0.1.0
- **License:** MIT
- **Upstream author:** [Bruno-Cunha-Souza](https://github.com/Bruno-Cunha-Souza)
- **Source:** https://github.com/Bruno-Cunha-Souza/ValarMindSkills/tree/main/skills/obsidian-bases

## Install

```sh
agentstack add skill-bruno-cunha-souza-valarmindskills-obsidian-bases
```

Requires the [AgentStack CLI](https://agentstack.voostack.com/docs/cli). Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible agent.

## About

# Obsidian Bases Skill

## Workflow

1. **Create the file**: Create a `.base` file in the vault with valid YAML content
2. **Define scope**: Add `filters` to select which notes appear (by tag, folder, property, or date)
3. **Add formulas** (optional): Define computed properties in the `formulas` section
4. **Configure views**: Add one or more views (`table`, `cards`, `list`, or `map`) with `order` specifying which properties to display
5. **Validate**: Verify the file is valid YAML with no syntax errors. Check that all referenced properties and formulas exist. Common issues: unquoted strings containing special YAML characters, mismatched quotes in formula expressions, referencing `formula.X` without defining `X` in `formulas`
6. **Test in Obsidian**: Open the `.base` file in Obsidian to confirm the view renders correctly. If it shows a YAML error, check quoting rules below

## Schema

Base files use the `.base` extension and contain valid YAML.

```yaml
# Global filters apply to ALL views in the base
filters:
  # Can be a single filter string
  # OR a recursive filter object with and/or/not
  and: []
  or: []
  not: []

# Define formula properties that can be used across all views
formulas:
  formula_name: 'expression'

# Configure display names and settings for properties
properties:
  property_name:
    displayName: "Display Name"
  formula.formula_name:
    displayName: "Formula Display Name"
  file.ext:
    displayName: "Extension"

# Define custom summary formulas
summaries:
  custom_summary_name: 'values.mean().round(3)'

# Define one or more views
views:
  - type: table | cards | list | map
    name: "View Name"
    limit: 10                    # Optional: limit results
    groupBy:                     # Optional: group results
      property: property_name
      direction: ASC | DESC
    filters:                     # View-specific filters
      and: []
    order:                       # Properties to display in order
      - file.name
      - property_name
      - formula.formula_name
    summaries:                   # Map properties to summary formulas
      property_name: Average
```

## Filter Syntax

Filters narrow down results. They can be applied globally or per-view.

### Filter Structure

```yaml
# Single filter
filters: 'status == "done"'

# AND - all conditions must be true
filters:
  and:
    - 'status == "done"'
    - 'priority > 3'

# OR - any condition can be true
filters:
  or:
    - 'file.hasTag("book")'
    - 'file.hasTag("article")'

# NOT - exclude matching items
filters:
  not:
    - 'file.hasTag("archived")'

# Nested filters
filters:
  or:
    - file.hasTag("tag")
    - and:
        - file.hasTag("book")
        - file.hasLink("Textbook")
    - not:
        - file.hasTag("book")
        - file.inFolder("Required Reading")
```

### Filter Operators

| Operator | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `==` | equals |
| `!=` | not equal |
| `>` | greater than |
| `=` | greater than or equal |
| ``, `=`, `!`, `%`, `@`, `` ` `` must be quoted.

```yaml
# WRONG - colon in unquoted string
displayName: Status: Active

# CORRECT
displayName: "Status: Active"
```

**Mismatched quotes in formulas**: When a formula contains double quotes, wrap the entire formula in single quotes.

```yaml
# WRONG - double quotes inside double quotes
formulas:
  label: "if(done, "Yes", "No")"

# CORRECT - single quotes wrapping double quotes
formulas:
  label: 'if(done, "Yes", "No")'
```

### Common Formula Errors

**Duration math without field access**: Subtracting dates returns a Duration, not a number. Always access `.days`, `.hours`, etc.

```yaml
# WRONG - Duration is not a number
"(now() - file.ctime).round(0)"

# CORRECT - access .days first, then round
"(now() - file.ctime).days.round(0)"
```

**Missing null checks**: Properties may not exist on all notes. Use `if()` to guard.

```yaml
# WRONG - crashes if due_date is empty
"(date(due_date) - today()).days"

# CORRECT - guard with if()
'if(due_date, (date(due_date) - today()).days, "")'
```

**Referencing undefined formulas**: Ensure every `formula.X` in `order` or `properties` has a matching entry in `formulas`.

```yaml
# This will fail silently if 'total' is not defined in formulas
order:
  - formula.total

# Fix: define it
formulas:
  total: "price * quantity"
```

## Boundaries — interaction with `@obsidian-brain`

The `brain/` subtree of any project vault is a **closed graph** owned by `@obsidian-brain`. Bases must not breach its isolation.

- **Never** include wikilinks (`[[...]]`) or embeds (`![[...]]`) — in the base file body, in any view's `name`, in formula string literals, or anywhere else — that target files under `brain/` (sessions, topics, decisions, or the `-brain.md` index file). The `brain/` subtree is owned and maintained by `@obsidian-brain`; bases must not surface its contents through wikilinks or embeds in either direction.
- **Never** embed a `.base` file inside any note under `brain/`, and never embed a brain note (or its index) inside a `.base` file. The `![[.base]]` and `![[]]` patterns are forbidden across this boundary.
- **Never** author a base whose global or per-view `filters` resolve into `brain/`. When a base scopes the entire vault, exclude the subtree explicitly:

  ```yaml
  filters:
    and:
      - file.hasTag("task")
      - '!file.inFolder("brain")'
  ```

  The same applies to per-view filters that would otherwise sweep in brain notes.
- **Never** add `formula.X` expressions that resolve files inside `brain/` (e.g., `file("brain/-brain")`, `link("brain/topics/auth")`). Formulas that create links to brain notes are equivalent to a wikilink and fall under the same prohibition.
- **If the user asks for a base that lists sessions, decisions, or topics**, redirect them to `@obsidian-brain` — that surface is owned there (the `brain.base` dashboard lives inside `brain/` and is generated by `@obsidian-brain`, not by this skill).

## References

- [Bases Syntax](https://help.obsidian.md/bases/syntax)
- [Functions](https://help.obsidian.md/bases/functions)
- [Views](https://help.obsidian.md/bases/views)
- [Formulas](https://help.obsidian.md/formulas)
- [Complete Functions Reference](references/FUNCTIONS_REFERENCE.md)

## Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

- **Author:** [Bruno-Cunha-Souza](https://github.com/Bruno-Cunha-Souza)
- **Source:** [Bruno-Cunha-Souza/ValarMindSkills](https://github.com/Bruno-Cunha-Souza/ValarMindSkills)
- **License:** MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.

## Pricing

- **Free** — Free

## Security capabilities

Automated source analysis of v0.1.0 — what this tool can access:

- **Network access:** no
- **Filesystem access:** no
- **Shell / process execution:** no
- **Environment & secrets:** no
- **Dynamic code execution:** no

*"Yes" means the capability is present in the source — more access means more to trust, not that it is unsafe.*


## Versions

- **0.1.0** — security scan: passed — Imported from the upstream source.

## Links

- Listing page: https://agentstack.voostack.com/l/skill-bruno-cunha-souza-valarmindskills-obsidian-bases
- Seller: https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/bruno-cunha-souza
- Browse the marketplace: https://agentstack.voostack.com/browse

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