Obsidian Block View
A Bases view for Obsidian that turns your notes into a database of blocks.
---
## Table of Contents
- [Installation](#installation)
- [Examples](#examples)
- [How it works](#how-it-works)
- [Filters & View Options](#filters--view-options)
- [Style Settings](#style-settings)
- [Contributing](#contributing)
## What is Block View?
Block View is an extension for the Bases core plugin that lets you list and filter the content of your notes - _"blocks"_ - across your entire vault.
For example, you could resurface specifically tagged bullet points from your daily notes every week. Or build a vault-wide library of quotes.
Because it works as a Bases view, you can still use the standard features like file filtering, sorting, and grouping. Block View then divides each file's content into blocks, so you can filter and display specific sections from multiple notes in the same view.
## Installation
Install from the official community plugins store: https://community.obsidian.md/plugins/block-view
## Examples
Still not sure what this is? Let's look at some examples.
### 1. Daily Logs
Review your work history by listing every paragraph tagged with `#log` or `#work` from your daily notes in a single timeline, without opening each file individually.
Show Bases Snippet
````markdown
```base
views:
- type: block-view
name: Daily Logs
filters:
and:
- file.folder == "Daily Notes"
sort:
- property: file.mtime
direction: DESC
tagFilter:
- "#log"
- "#work"
```
````
### 2. Project Tasks
Collect all incomplete tasks from your project folders in a single list. You can group them by project and check them off directly in the view, without opening the corresponding note.
Show Bases Snippet
````markdown
```base
views:
- type: block-view
name: Active Tasks
groupBy:
property: file.folder
direction: ASC
filterTasks: true
filterTasksType: incomplete
```
````
### 3. Code Snippets
Build a searchable library of your code snippets. This example collects every `python` code block scattered across your vault into one reference list.
Show Bases Snippet
````markdown
```base
views:
- type: block-view
name: Python Snippets
filterCodeBlocks: true
filterCodeBlocksLanguages:
- python
groupBy:
property: file.folder
direction: ASC
sort:
- property: file.mtime
direction: DESC
```
````
### 4. Quotes and Highlights
Surface key information from your notes. This collects every blockquote tagged `#insight` so you can review all your insights in one place.
Show Bases Snippet
````markdown
```base
views:
- type: block-view
name: "Highlights"
filterQuotes: true
tagFilter:
- insight
matchLogic: all
```
````
## How it works
Block View filters blocks by checking if any line in a markdown section matches your filters.
For example:
- **Quotes:** If any line in a blockquote matches the filter, the view includes the content of that blockquote.
- **Headers:** If a header matches the filter, the view includes the content of that section up to the next header of the same level.
- **Lists:** If a list item matches, it includes all nested children items and continuation paragraphs.
- **Paragraphs:** If a paragraph matches, the view includes the content of that paragraph.
## Filters & View Options
You can configure these settings via the view options panel in the Bases view.
| Option | Description |
| :------------------ | :---------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Tasks** | Toggle to include task items (`- [ ]`). |
| **Show** | If tasks are enabled, choose `Any`, `Incomplete`, or `Complete`. |
| **Quotes** | Toggle to include quotes (`> quote`) and/or callouts. |
| **Quote type** | If quotes are enabled, choose `Any`, `Blockquotes`, or `Callouts`. |
| **Code Blocks** | Toggle to include fenced code blocks. |
| **Languages** | Multi-select language filter for code blocks. Use `-` prefix to exclude (e.g., `ts`, `js`, `-base`). Default excludes `base`. |
| **Tables** | Toggle to include Markdown tables. |
| **Tags** | Multi-select list of tags to filter by. Use `-` prefix to exclude (e.g., `#work`, `-#archived`). Supports nested tags. |
| **Text pattern** | Match any line in a block by plain text or regex. Plain text matches the start of a line. For regex, use something like `/^## ToDos/i`. |
| **Invert text filter** | Include blocks whose lines do not match the text pattern. |
| **Include if** | `Any filter matches` or `All filters match`. |
| **Display Options** | Show files without matches, include non-Markdown files, only include matching table rows, and cap max blocks per file. |
> Text pattern example: `meeting` matches `Meeting notes`, but not `Notes from the meeting`. Use regex like `/meeting/i` to match anywhere in a line.
## Style Settings
Block View supports configuring some of the styles via the [Style Settings](https://obsidian.md/plugins?id=obsidian-style-settings) plugin.
## Contributing
### Development
This project uses [bun](https://bun.sh/) as a package manager.
#### Install dependencies
```bash
bun install
```
#### Build
```bash
bun run build
```
### Commit messages
This project follows the [Conventional Commits](https://www.conventionalcommits.org/) guidelines. I recommend using [commitizen](https://github.com/commitizen/cz-cli) for automated commit messages.