Obsidian Bases: Obsidian's Biggest Upgrade (Complete Guide)

83,557 views Aug 22, 2025 #Obsidian #obsidianapp #Obsidiannotetakingapp

Obsidian Bases is changing how I use my Obsidian Vault. (It's Notion databases... but better.) Add my Projects Base to your Obsidian notes (free): https://www.linkingyourthinking.com/j...

In this video I show the most powerful features like speed, multiple views, dynamic links, and project management. You’ll also get my Projects Base template to help you organize your projects more clearly inside Obsidian.

Obsidian Bases - Official Help Docs: https://help.obsidian.md/bases?utm_so...

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00:00:00 - Obsidian Bases - the Ultimate Guide (Notion Databases, but Better)
00:00:22 - 3 Best Features of Obsidian Bases
00:03:46 - The Basics of Bases 00:04:29 - How do I create a Base?
00:05:19 - Properties Explained
00:07:21 - How to Setup Views
00:10:12 - Switching Between List and Card View
00:11:24 - Obsidian Bases vs. Notion (Which is Better?)
00:12:21 - Dynamic Links (favorite new feature)
00:15:54 - Dynamic Links Multi-Panel Setup
00:22:37 - Ways I Actually Use Bases Today
00:24:41 - My Top 10 Obsidian Bases
00:25:01 - Base #1 - Add
00:25:51 - Base #2 - Atlas
00:27:20 - Base #3 - Dots
00:29:30 - Base #4 - Garden
00:30:37 - Base #5 - Quotes
00:32:08 - Base #6 - Maps
00:32:56 - Base #7 - Sources
00:33:42 - Adding Property Data Fast using AI (Claude Code)
00:37:56 - Base #8 - Calendar
00:38:52 - Base #9 - Efforts
00:39:23 - Base #10 - Projects (Free download in description)
00:44:16 - Mindset 1: Start Small
00:45:28 - Mindset 2: Broader Bases vs. Narrow Bases
00:46:57 - Mindset 3: Tend as You Go
00:48:10 - Q: Where do you put your Bases?
00:48:42 - Q: Are tags obsolete with Bases?
00:49:26 - Q: Are links obsolete with Bases?
00:50:47 - Q: How do I use formulas with Bases?
00:51:08 - Q: Can you setup crazy relational databases?
00:51:40 - Q: What's next for Bases? (Grouping, Kanban, Publish)
00:52:43 - Dataview vs. Bases (When to use which?)
00:56:05 - How I've Changed My Mind about Bases
00:58:45 - AI & The Limits of Bases
01:00:56 - Why I'll Be Using Bases (Everywhere)

🔖 TAGS: #Obsidian #obsidianapp #Obsidiannotetakingapp #LinkingYourThinking

The video explains what Obsidian Bases are, why they matter, and then walks through concrete examples (10+ bases, dynamic links, projects, AI enrichment), mindset advice, and Q&A on tags, links, Dataview, and the roadmap.

1. Introduction and big idea

Frames Bases as “Notion databases, but better” and as a core upgrade that changes how the vault is used.
Promises a complete guide: three best features, fundamentals of Bases, dynamic links, personal use cases, and a free Projects base template.

2. Three best features of Bases

Speed: Demonstrates creating a new base via Command/Control+P and shows instant loading and smooth scrolling even with tens of thousands of files, citing Obsidian’s CEO on heavy optimizations.
Multiple views per base: Uses a Sources base with different views (Books, Shows) in both table and card layouts, all driven from a single underlying base with filters.
Live editing: Shows inline editing of properties (e.g., rating, author) directly in the base table, with instant resorting and autocomplete, emphasizing faster sensemaking and context building.

3. Base fundamentals: creation, properties, views

Defines Bases (with reference to Obsidian docs) as a core plugin that turns any set of notes into a database to organize projects, travel plans, reading lists, and more, by filtering on properties.
Explains how properties live inside notes (YAML-like metadata) and become columns; shows adding/removing columns, sorting by multiple fields (e.g., year then rating), and encourages starting with created/modified, related, and “up” properties.
Introduces views as saved configurations: shows duplicating a main view, then adding per-view filters (e.g., “file in folder Atlas/Sources/Books”) on top of a global “all views” filter (“folder contains sources”) to create focused subviews.

4. Bases vs Notion and dynamic embedding

Compares Bases favorably to Notion for personal use: Obsidian is fast, offline, and fully owned, whereas Notion is slower, cloud-dependent, and fragmented into many databases.
Acknowledges Notion is currently superior for teams and “multiplayer,” which Obsidian plans for around 2026, but argues Bases shine in single-user, idea-centric use.

5. Dynamic links and multi-panel setups

Demonstrates embedding a specific base view into a note using syntax like ![[Sources base#Shows – Director]], then shows how the embedded table auto-updates based on the current note’s properties (e.g., director = Peter Jackson).
Clicks between notes (Peter Jackson, Hayao Miyazaki, James Cameron) to show dynamic updates of movies associated with each person, and then pins such views into the sidebar to create a constantly updating “dimensional context” around any active note.

Builds a right-hand sidebar composed of embedded base views keyed to the ACE folder framework (Atlas, Calendar, Efforts, Extras), so clicking on a person (e.g., Arnold Schwarzenegger) surfaces all related Atlas notes, calendar entries, efforts, and legacy “Extras.”
Uses concrete examples (old Evernote-imported quotes from 2009, INTJ notes from 2014, conference attendees like Ryder Carroll) to show how dynamic links resurrect forgotten material and act as high-signal, contextualized backlinks.

Introduces “Top 10 Bases” and steps through a subset in detail, anchored in the ACE folder setup.
Highlights:
- Add (Plus) base: 372+ capture notes in Plus/“add” folders, filtered by folder prefix and sorted by modified time to reveal the latest raw material.
- Atlas base: 3,288 notes; encourages starting with a broad base (all Atlas) then using views for dots, maps, and sources, rather than making many tiny bases.

8. Dots, Garden, Quotes, Maps bases

Dots base: Shows 1,300+ dot notes (people, questions, quotes, statements, “things”) in views that segment by type; uses rank, tags, collections, and related notes to turn timeless ideas into usable “intellectual capital.”
Garden base: Marks under-linked notes with a garden/plant tag and surfaces them for tending or cultivation, distinguishing “needs linking” vs “ready to develop” ideas.
Quotes base: Collects quotes with rank, author, and related notes, emphasizing their role in adding context and meaning beyond linear task completion, especially in an AI-heavy future.
Maps base: Treats bases themselves and other maps of content as a special class of maps stored under Atlas/Maps, with views for “all maps,” “bases,” collections, and dedicated views.

9. Sources base and AI enrichment with Claude Code

Returns to the Sources base to focus on books and explains a workflow where AI (Claude Code) inspects book notes that already have an image property, learns the pattern, then fetches and inserts cover image URLs for ~79 additional books via a script.
Shows the resulting card view with many book images populated, noting a few exceptions from messy naming, and frames this as an example of agentic AI working against the Bases file format to enrich properties at scale.

10. Calendar and Efforts/Projects bases

Demonstrates a Calendar base with “Days” view showing recent daily notes, arcs across weeks, and the types of notes created (e.g., work on the LYT book), reinforcing that Bases can cover temporal structure as well.
Shows an Efforts base and then zooms into the Projects base (the free download): a broad base filtered to an Efforts/Projects folder, with subviews for Active, Simmering, and Sleeping projects, each filtered by subfolder.

11. Projects base in practice

Walks through the Projects base UI: main “Projects” view (all projects), then Active/Simmering/Sleeping views, all sorted by rank and using properties like “up” and related notes to embed richer context.
Demonstrates:
- Creating a new project (e.g., Ideaverse Pro 2.5) by copying relative path, opening via Command/Control+O, editing the name, and letting the base pick it up automatically.
- Adjusting ranks (e.g., 4.7 vs 5.1) to change ordering and moving completed projects to Sleeping via folder moves, all reflected instantly in the base.

12. Mindsets for using Bases

Mindset 1 – Start small: Warns against mass-retrofitting thousands of notes with properties; advises starting with 10–20 items (e.g., a small movie collection) and expanding gradually.
Mindset 2 – Broader bases, narrower views: Encourages zooming out when defining a base (e.g., all projects or all Atlas) and then using views to slice into subsets, even suggesting one “mega-base” with many views is possible.
Mindset 3 – Tend as you go: Recommends incremental property updates when notes naturally come up in work or play, focusing on most-used notes and avoiding exhaustive “metadata marathons.”

13. Practical questions: location, tags, links, formulas, Dataview

Explains where base files live (e.g., under Atlas/Maps) and how they act as maps of content for relevant notes.
Clarifies:
- Tags are not obsolete: they still excel for inline, per-line tagging and status markers, even as Bases reduce the need for heavy tag taxonomies.
- Links are not obsolete: Bases actually amplify the value of links by making them visible and navigable via dynamic links and sidebar views.
Notes limited personal use of formulas, suggests community help for advanced relational/database logic, and sketches an Obsidian Bases roadmap including an API, grouping/summary features, additional view types (list, Kanban), and Publish support.
Compares Dataview vs Bases: Dataview remains powerful and highly customizable for advanced users, but Bases will likely cover ~80% of everyday use cases with a more seamless, visual, and interactive experience.

14. Implications and closing

Discusses Bases’ implications for links and AI: dynamic links alleviate earlier fears that Bases might distract from writing/linking, instead enriching an “ideaverse” where more than half of notes are in one’s own words and linked.
Describes the new Bases file format as simple, future-proof plain text that is easy for programmers and AI to read, enabling AI to generate or modify bases and properties.
Ends by highlighting dynamic links in the sidebar as the true game-changer—creating “depth mapping” or “echolocation” of ideas that strengthens memory, creativity, and imagination—and invites viewers to download the Projects base, join workshops, and share how they are using Bases.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Yt52zJIIG0&t=198s