Notion Bases

pending

by bgarciamoura

Turn any folder into a database — table, kanban board, gallery, calendar, timeline and list views powered by frontmatter.

72 starsUpdated 13d agoGPL-3.0Discovered via Obsidian Unofficial Plugins
View on GitHub

Notion Bases for Obsidian

The database engine Obsidian deserves

7 views. 18 column types. Charts, subtasks, formulas and relations. Zero code required.

Turn any folder into a Notion-style database with Table, Board (Kanban), Gallery, List, Calendar, Timeline (Gantt), and Chart views — powered by plain Markdown and frontmatter. Your data stays yours, always.

GitHub release Obsidian License Downloads

Stars Issues PRs Welcome

Website · Latest Release · Report Bug · Request Feature

Hero — Table view overview


Highlights

  • 7 views — Table, Board (Kanban), Gallery, List, Calendar, Timeline (Gantt), Chart
  • 18 column types — Title, Text, Number, Select, Multi-select, Checkbox, Date, URL, Email, Phone, Status, Formula, Relation, Lookup, Rollup, Image, Audio, Video
  • Charts — Bar, line, and pie charts with configurable axes, aggregations, and smart formatting — pure SVG, zero dependencies
  • Subtasks — Hierarchical rows with expand/collapse, up to 3 levels deep, powered by self-relation columns
  • Rollup columns — Aggregate values across related databases with 7 functions (sum, count, avg, min, max, count_values, list)
  • Formula engine — Spreadsheet-style functions: IF, SUM, AVG, CONCAT, LEFT, ROUND, and many more
  • Relations & Lookups — Link rows across databases and pull values from related notes
  • Advanced filters — Type-aware operators with AND/OR logic
  • 100% local Markdown — Every row is a .md file, every column is a frontmatter field. No lock-in, no cloud, no telemetry

Why Notion Bases?

Obsidian's built-in Bases plugin is great for tables and has its own expression-based formula system. Notion Bases focuses on a different set of trade-offs — more views, more column types, and a spreadsheet-style formula syntax.

Views

ViewNotion BasesCore Bases
TableYesYes
Board / KanbanYesNo
GalleryYesNo
ListYesYes
CalendarYesNo
Timeline / GanttYesNo
Chart viewYesNo

Notion Bases offers 5 exclusive views that Core Bases doesn't have — Board, Gallery, Calendar, Timeline, and Chart — giving you the flexibility to visualize data the way that fits your workflow.

Data modeling

FeatureNotion BasesCore Bases
Column types186
FormulasSpreadsheet-style (IF, SUM, AVG, CONCAT)Expression-based (JS-like)
Relation columnsYesNo
Lookup columnsYesNo
Rollup columnsYesNo
Image columnsRendered in cellText only
Subtasks / Sub-rowsYesNo
Number formatting (prefix, suffix, decimals, thousands)YesNo

With relation and lookup columns, you can link databases together and pull values across notes — just like Notion. The spreadsheet-style formula syntax is familiar to anyone who has used Excel or Google Sheets.

Table experience

FeatureNotion BasesCore Bases
Column reordering (drag)YesYes
Column resizing (drag)YesYes
Column pinningYesNo
Row height optionsYesYes
Text wrap toggleYesNo
Aggregation row5 functions always visibleRight-click → Summarize
Multi-column sort with priorityYesBasic sort
CSV import / exportYesNo
Bulk actions (delete, duplicate, move)YesNo

Both plugins let you resize, reorder columns and adjust row height. Notion Bases goes further with column pinning, text wrap, a persistent aggregation footer, multi-column sort with drag-to-reorder priority, CSV import/export, and bulk row actions.

Shared features

FeatureNotion BasesCore Bases
Embed database in any noteYesYes
Multiple views per databaseYesYes
AND/OR filter logicYesYes
100% local MarkdownYesYes

If you ever wished Obsidian had Notion-level databases without leaving your vault, this is it.


Views

Table

A fully interactive spreadsheet: inline editing, resizable/reorderable/pinnable columns, aggregation footer, row height options, text wrap, multi-column sort, and bulk row actions.

Table view

Board (Kanban)

Drag cards between columns grouped by any select or status field. Add cards directly to a column. Hide empty or no-value columns. Configure which properties appear on each card.

Board view

Board drag

Gallery

A responsive card grid. Pick a cover field, choose card size (small / medium / large), and display any properties below the title.

Gallery view

List

A minimal, single-line view — title plus property chips. Great for quick overviews and task-oriented databases.

List view

Calendar

Monthly calendar. Position notes by any date field. Click a day to create a note with the date pre-filled. Notes without a date appear in a collapsible section.

Calendar view

Timeline (Gantt)

Horizontal bar chart with three zoom levels (days / weeks / months). Drag bar edges to resize start or end dates. Group rows by any field.

Timeline view

Timeline resize

Chart

Bar, line, and pie charts rendered as pure SVG. Pick a category column (X axis), choose count or a number column (Y axis), and select an aggregation function. Smart axis formatting with k/M suffixes and integer ticks. Responsive sizing and full mobile support.

Chart view


Features

CategoryWhat you get
Column typesTitle, Text, Number, Select, Multi-select, Checkbox, Date, URL, Email, Phone, Status, Formula, Relation, Lookup, Rollup, Image, Audio, Video
FormulasIF, SUM, AVG, CONCAT, LEFT, ROUND and more
Relations & LookupsLink rows across databases, pull values from related notes
RollupAggregate values across related databases: sum, count, avg, min, max, count_values, list
ChartsBar, line, pie — pure SVG with aggregations and smart axis formatting
SubtasksHierarchical rows with expand/collapse up to 3 levels via self-relations
FiltersType-aware operators, AND/OR groups
SortsMulti-column with priority ordering
AggregationSum, Average, Min, Max, Count — updates live
Number formattingPrefix ($, R$), suffix (%, kg), decimals, thousands separator
Column controlsPin, resize (drag), reorder (drag)
CSVImport and export
Bulk actionsSelect rows to delete, duplicate or move
Schema inferenceAuto-detects column types from existing frontmatter
EmbedsEmbed any database inside a note via code block
Multi-viewEach view has independent filters, sorts and field visibility
100% MarkdownEvery row is a .md file. No lock-in, ever

Inline editing

Filters


Column types

TypeDescription
titleNote filename — always the first column
textPlain text
numberNumeric value with optional formatting
selectSingle option from a defined list
multiselectMultiple options
checkboxBoolean true / false
dateDate value
urlClickable link
emailEmail address
phonePhone number
statusColored badge with inline management
formulaComputed value from other columns
relationLink to a note in another database
lookupPull a field from a related database
imageDisplay an image from the vault
rollupAggregate values from related databases
audioInline audio player with folder-based file picker
videoVideo with modal player and folder-based file picker

Getting started

Installation

Note: Notion Bases is not yet available in Obsidian's Community Plugins directory. For now, use one of the methods below.

Via BRAT (recommended)

  1. Install BRAT from Community Plugins
  2. Open BRAT settings → Add Beta plugin
  3. Paste: bgarciamoura/obsidian-notion-bases-plugin
  4. Enable Notion Bases in Settings → Community plugins

Manual installation

  1. Download main.js, manifest.json and styles.css from the latest release
  2. Create <your-vault>/.obsidian/plugins/notion-bases/
  3. Copy the three files into it
  4. Reload Obsidian and enable the plugin in Settings → Community plugins

Create your first database

  1. Open the command palette (Ctrl/Cmd + P) → "Create new database"
  2. Pick a folder — a _database.md file marks it as a database
  3. Click the table icon in the ribbon (or run "Open database") to open it

Add views

Click + in the view tab bar to add a new view. Each view has its own filters, sorts and field visibility. Drag tabs to reorder.

Embed in a note

```nb-database
path: Projects
```

Pin a fixed view type (no tabs):

```nb-database
path: Projects
type: table
```

Embed in note


How data is stored

Everything lives in your vault as plain Markdown:

WhatWhere
Rows.md files in the database folder
Column valuesFrontmatter fields in each note
Schema & view configFrontmatter of _database.md
Embed view configsFrontmatter of the hosting note

Open any file in any text editor and your data is right there.


Requirements

  • Obsidian 1.4.0 or later
  • Desktop and mobile supported

Support the project

If Notion Bases makes your vault more powerful, consider supporting development:

GitHub Sponsors Buy Me a Coffee


Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please read the Contributing Guide before submitting a pull request.

For bugs and feature requests, use the issue tracker.


License

GPL v3 — free to use and modify, but any distribution must remain open source under the same license.

For plugin developers

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