Properties (frontmatter)

Properties are structured metadata at the top of a note: a title, a date, a status, a list of authors. Fable stores them as YAML frontmatter, edits them as a structured panel of typed fields, and uses them to power search and links.

The frontmatter block

Properties live in a YAML block at the very top of the file, fenced by a line of exactly --- above and below. It must be the first thing in the file, with nothing before it.

---
title: A New Hope
year: 1977
tags:
  - sci-fi
  - classic
---

The note body starts here.

Each property is name: value, with a colon and a space between them.
Property names must be unique within a note.
If the block is missing or malformed, the note simply has no properties.

Property types

Fable understands seven property types. A type is chosen per property name and applies across the whole vault, so once year is a Number, every note's year is treated as a number.

Type	Stored as	Notes
Text	A single-line string	Plain text. Can hold a URL or a quoted internal link.
List	Hyphen-prefixed items	Multiple text, number or link values.
Number	A bare number, like `1977` or `3.14`	Enables sorting and arithmetic. A quoted number becomes text.
Checkbox	`true` or `false`	An interactive checkbox in the editor.
Date	`YYYY-MM-DD`	Shown in your local date format.
Date & time	`YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS`	Shown in your local date and time format.
Tags	A list of tag names	The special type used only by the `tags` property.

Here is a note using several types at once:

---
title: A New Hope
cast:
  - Mark Hamill
  - Harrison Ford
year: 1977
favorite: true
release: 1977-05-25
---

Reserved keys

Three property names have special meaning:

Property	Effect
`tags`	Adds the note to those tags, combined with any inline `#tags`.
`aliases`	Alternative names for the note, used by link autocomplete and the quick switcher.
`cssclasses`	Applies the listed CSS class names to the note's view, for per-note styling.

The older singular keys tag, alias and cssclass are still read for compatibility, but the plural forms are current.

Internal links in properties

You can put wikilinks in Text and List properties, but they must be quoted so YAML does not misread the brackets:

---
director: "[[George Lucas]]"
related:
  - "[[The Empire Strikes Back]]"
  - "[[Return of the Jedi]]"
---

Links written this way are indexed as real links: they show up in backlinks and in the graph, unlike plain-text values.

The Properties editor

By default Fable renders frontmatter as a structured editor of typed rows at the top of the note rather than raw YAML, so you can add and edit properties without worrying about indentation. Click a value to edit it inline: text, numbers and dates each get the right input, a Checkbox property is an interactive checkbox, and a List is edited as comma-separated values. Use + Add property to add a row, or the row's × to delete one. Press Enter or click away to commit, Esc to cancel.

Edits are written straight back to the YAML, changing only the property you touched and preserving the order of your keys, any comments, and keys Fable does not recognize. The note body is never altered. The Add file property command adds a property to the active note (creating the frontmatter block first if it has none).

Control how the panel appears under Settings → Editor → Properties in document:

Mode	What you see
Visible (default)	The typed properties editor at the top of the note.
Hidden	Properties are not shown in the note.
Source	Properties shown as raw YAML text.

How properties feed the rest of Fable

Search: query properties by name and value, for example [status:Draft] or [year:>1980]. See search.
Links and graph: quoted wikilinks in properties count as real links.
Templates: when a template's frontmatter meets a note that already has properties, the two sets are combined rather than replaced.