Facet Folders

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Facet Folders turns folders, properties, and tags into three views of the same Obsidian vault. It adds a compact sidebar for navigating metadata like folders, then carries the same property groups into the native Properties panel and Bases tables.

Nothing is moved into a proprietary database. Notes, frontmatter, physical folders, tags, and .base files remain the source of truth.

What makes it different

Facet Folders is not another isolated property browser or tag manager. Its main difference is one grouping model across navigation and native Obsidian surfaces.

Tool	Its focus	What Facet Folders adds or does differently
Obsidian File Explorer	The physical folder tree	Adds saved virtual subfolders generated from a property value or tag prefix, without creating folders or moving files.
Property Explorer	Browse property → value → note	Adds named property groups, pinned/manual ordering, folder and tag modes, batch edits, and the same grouping inside native Properties and Bases. Property Explorer remains stronger if you only want a dedicated property browser with its own sorting options.
Foldable Frontmatter Groups	Keep frontmatter fields grouped and ordered through rules and templates	Facet Folders focuses on navigation and runtime presentation. It can read compatible FFG groups, but it does not auto-reconcile or rewrite frontmatter order. FFG remains the better choice for frontmatter lifecycle and template enforcement.
Tag Tactician	Batch-edit tags and find related notes	Adds a folder-like tag hierarchy beside folder/property modes. It intentionally omits related-note scoring; Tag Tactician remains useful for that workflow.

These plugins are references and possible companions, not dependencies. Facet Folders is an independent implementation.

What it does

Browse one vault in three modes

Use the compact 文件夹 / 属性 / 标签 switch above the search bar.

• Folders: mirrors the physical tree, shows recursive Markdown-note counts, opens native file menus, and supports pinned files.
• Properties: shows group → property → value → note, with search and live vault updates.
• Tags: shows inline and frontmatter tags as a hierarchy of child tags and notes.

The last mode and expansion state are restored when Obsidian reopens.

Turn metadata into virtual folders

Right-click a physical folder and choose a property or tag-prefix grouping. A folder containing notes with status: active and status: done, for example, gains virtual active and done children.

For hierarchical tags, selecting 熟悉度 can produce virtual folders such as 高 and 低 from #熟悉度/高 and #熟悉度/低.

The generated folders are presentation only. They persist in Facet Folders, but never create directories, move notes, or rewrite .base files.

Reuse property groups everywhere

Create, edit, and dissolve groups directly in the sidebar. A group can contain selected properties, wildcard prefixes such as pa_*, or regular expressions.

The same groups appear as collapsible sections in:

• the sidebar property tree;
• the native Properties area of open notes;
• native Bases table headers.

In Bases, folding compresses a group into a narrow header handle. Filtering, sorting, resizing, and inline editing remain native Bases behavior. Fold state is saved per Base file and view; embedded Bases are left unchanged.

Choose alphabetical or manual order

• Alphabetical: groups and properties sort A–Z; right-click either row to pin it within its level.
• Manual: drag groups among groups and properties within their current section.

The two modes keep independent state, so switching does not discard pins or manual order.

Edit without deleting notes

Right-click a property to rename it across the vault or remove that field from every matching note. Values and frontmatter key position are preserved on rename. Removing a property deletes only that frontmatter field, never the note file.

In tag mode, multi-select notes and add or remove several frontmatter tags in one confirmed operation. Inline #tags in note bodies are not edited.

Install

Community plugins

Install Facet Folders from Settings → Community plugins → Browse after it is accepted into the Obsidian community directory.

Manual installation

Download main.js, manifest.json, and styles.css from the latest release, then place them in:

<vault>/.obsidian/plugins/grouped-property-explorer/

Reload Obsidian, enable Facet Folders, and use the list-tree ribbon icon or the Open Facet Folders command.

Quick start

1. Open Facet Folders from the ribbon.
2. Switch between folder, property, and tag mode above the search box.
3. In property mode, use + to create a group; right-click a group to edit or dissolve it.
4. Right-click a physical folder to create a virtual grouping from one property or tag prefix.
5. Open a note or Base table to see the same property groups in the native interface.

There is no separate settings page: grouping, ordering, pins, and batch actions stay beside the content they affect.

Data and compatibility

• All indexing and edits happen locally in the vault.
• Plugin-only view state is stored in its local data.json.
• Existing Pinit order can be imported once when no Facet Folders pin order exists.
• Compatible Foldable Frontmatter Groups settings can be reused and mirrored locally.
• Native Bases enhancement targets Obsidian 1.12.7 and later and does not modify .base definitions.

Development

The source is TypeScript in src/ and bundles to main.js.

npm install
npm run typecheck
npm run build

Issues and contributions are welcome in the GitHub repository.

Credits and license

Facet Folders was informed by the interaction patterns of Property Explorer, Foldable Frontmatter Groups, and Tag Tactician. Its implementation is maintained separately and does not require those plugins.

Facet Folders is licensed under GPL-3.0-only.