Obsidian Base: What is it and How to use it?

Obsidian Base—short for “database”—turns scattered notes into structured records that can be filtered and viewed in multiple ways, making it easier to organize information and then quickly find patterns. The core shift is from a spreadsheet-like mindset (where data cells can relate in flexible, ad hoc ways) to a property-driven model: each entry carries defined fields (“properties”), and the relationships between entries are governed by that structure. That design choice matters because Base is built primarily for organizing and retrieving information, not for doing calculations.

In practice, Obsidian Base looks similar to Notion’s database tables, but it behaves differently in key ways. Obsidian centers on a single database per setup, where different views can be created without creating separate, independent databases. Notion, by contrast, supports many separate databases—such as separate “people” or “finance” databases—each independent from the others. Performance also diverges: Obsidian Base is described as super fast to work with, while Notion is characterized as slower. Feature depth is another tradeoff. Notion offers more powerful properties and functionality, while Obsidian Base currently has limited properties and capabilities. The takeaway: Obsidian Base isn’t positioned as a replacement for Notion’s database ecosystem; it’s aimed at structuring information inside Obsidian so users can work faster and search more effectively.

Using Base in Obsidian involves two decisions: what to show and how to show it. Creation can be done via slash commands (searching for “base”) or through the command palette (Ctrl/Cmd+P). Once created, filtering becomes the main “magic.” Users can filter across the entire vault using both built-in note properties (like inherited fields) and custom properties added to files. Examples include narrowing to notes tagged “permanent,” then further filtering to those containing a specific word (e.g., “happy”), and even applying numeric constraints such as file size greater than 100 characters.

After narrowing down the results, users choose how the information appears. They can select which properties to display (such as file size or linked references) and switch between views like table and card layouts. This two-step workflow—filter first, then format—defines how Base upgrades day-to-day navigation.

The most concrete workflow uses come from weekly review and information discovery. For weekly reviews, Base can store reflection notes alongside structured fields like a “one thing” goal, a summary of what was learned, and a happiness/well-being score from -5 to +5. That structure enables targeted retrieval, such as searching for weeks with scores below 2 to identify particularly rough periods and learn what went wrong. More broadly, Base is framed as a new discovery layer alongside existing Obsidian tools like the graph view and canvas, because filtering makes it easy to surface exactly the subset of information a user wants to explore. The feature is presented as still evolving, with expectations for additional capabilities ahead.