Contact Schema Sync

Obsidian plugin for managing contact notes with:

• properties schema from contact-schema.yaml
• body template from contact-schema.md

It is designed for people who keep many contact notes in one folder and want a repeatable way to:

• keep properties consistent
• apply a shared body template
• preview changes before updating existing contacts
• auto-initialize newly created blank contact notes

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What this plugin does

1. Properties schema

The plugin reads a YAML schema file and uses it to sync frontmatter / Properties for contact notes.

Examples:

• add missing fields
• keep fields in schema order
• support basic type coercion such as string → list in safe cases

2. Body template

The plugin reads a Markdown template file and applies missing headings into contact note bodies.

Current model:

• contact-schema.yaml = properties schema
• contact-schema.md = body template

The body template is compared by headings. Existing same-heading content is preserved.

3. Preview-first sync

For existing contacts, the normal workflow is:

1. preview changes
2. inspect what will change
3. apply changes

4. New note initialization

The plugin can auto-apply template content to new blank contact notes created inside the configured contacts folder.

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Current concept

The plugin works best when you separate contact structure into two parts:

A. contact-schema.yaml

Use this for properties / frontmatter fields.

Example:

version: 1
noteType: contact
frontmatter:
  required:
    - key: Gender
      type: string
      default: ""
    - key: Age range
      type: string
      default: ""
    - key: Tags
      type: list
      default: []
    - key: Relationship
      type: string
      default: ""
  optional: []
sections: []

B. contact-schema.md

Use this for the body template.

Example:

# Profile

# Work

# Interests

# Notes

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Setup

1. Install the plugin into your vault.
2. Enable it in Community plugins.
3. Open plugin settings.
4. Configure:
   • Contacts folder
   • Schema YAML path
   • Schema doc path
5. If the files do not exist yet, use Apply Settings and let the plugin create them.

---

Settings

Contacts folder

The folder that contains your contact notes.

Schema YAML path

The path to the properties schema file.

Schema doc path

The path to the Markdown body template file.

Enable existing contacts startup check

When enabled:

• the plugin checks existing contact notes once at startup
• it shows a single summary notice if some notes can be updated
• it does not auto-apply changes

Enable auto-apply for new blank contact notes

When enabled:

• if you create a new blank markdown note inside the contacts folder
• the plugin auto-applies the configured schema/template

This is only for new blank notes, not existing notes.

---

Main workflow

Edit properties schema

Use:

• Open Schema Editor in settings
• or command: Contact Schema: Edit schema

Schema Editor v1 currently supports:

• version
• note type
• required fields
• optional fields
• field key / type / default
• YAML preview
• validate
• save

Sync existing contacts

Use:

• Preview and Sync Contacts in settings
• or command: Contact Schema: Sync all contacts

This opens a preview modal first. Then you can apply the changes.

Sync current contact only

Use command:

• Contact Schema: Sync current contact

Create a new contact note

Create a new blank .md note inside the contacts folder. If the blank-note auto-apply switch is enabled, the plugin will initialize it automatically.

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Commands

• Contact Schema: Sync all contacts
• Contact Schema: Sync current contact
• Contact Schema: Preview schema changes
• Contact Schema: Edit schema
• Contact Schema: Create new contact from schema (placeholder / not fully implemented)

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Current behavior notes

Existing contacts

• checked separately from new blank notes
• startup check only gives a summary notice
• updates are still manual via preview/apply

New blank notes

• auto-apply can be enabled independently
• only blank notes are targeted

Body template behavior

• body template comes from contact-schema.md
• headings are used as template sections
• existing same-heading content is preserved
• new inserted sections no longer add visible markers

Type coercion

Current sync supports some safe coercions, especially for list fields. Examples:

• "" → []
• "a, b" → ["a", "b"]

Not every possible type migration is fully generalized yet.

---

Recommended usage pattern

For existing contacts

1. Edit contact-schema.yaml
2. Edit contact-schema.md
3. Run Preview and Sync Contacts
4. Review preview
5. Apply changes

For new contacts

1. Create a new blank note inside the contacts folder
2. Let the plugin auto-apply template (if enabled)
3. Fill in the actual content

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Limitations

Current known limitations:

• Schema Editor v1 does not yet provide a full sections editor UI
• Existing-note startup check is summary-only, not a full guided workflow
• Some field type migrations are conservative rather than aggressive
• Create new contact from schema command is still a placeholder

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Repo

GitHub: https://github.com/dos1989/obsidian-contact-schema-sync

Open source

This repository is public and released under the MIT license. GitHub Issues are enabled for bug reports and feature requests.

License

MIT