Block Properties

Add metadata to individual blocks in Obsidian

Extend block references with inline key-value properties

Quick Start

Any paragraph with a block ID. ^my-block [status: draft, priority: high]

That's it. Properties appear after the block ID in [key: value] format.

The Problem

Obsidian's properties exist only at the note level. But knowledge isn't atomic—notes contain structure, and that structure carries meaning:

Documentation: Some sections are stable, others deprecated, others experimental
Long-form writing: Different passages have different states, POVs, timelines
Research: Claims from different sources have different confidence levels

There's no native way to attach metadata below the note level without fragmenting content into separate files.

The Solution

Block Properties extends Obsidian's block reference syntax to support inline metadata:

This section is stable. ^api-docs [status: stable, version: 2.0]

This needs review. ^draft-section [status: draft, reviewer: pending]

Features

Core

Inline Syntax — Natural extension of existing ^block-id syntax
Display Modes — Inline (dimmed text) or Badge (compact count)
Hover Tooltips — See all properties at a glance
Reading View — Properties visible in both edit and reading mode
Query Command — Find blocks by property across your vault

Property Panel

Sidebar View — All block properties in the current note
Inline Editing — Click any value to edit directly
Quick Navigation — Click block IDs to jump to location
Property Summary — See which keys are used and how often

Linked Properties

Note Links — Reference notes with [[Note]] syntax
Block References — Link blocks with ^block-id syntax
Click Navigation — Navigate links from panel or editor
Backlink Tracking — See which blocks reference each other

Conditional Styling

Auto CSS Classes — Every property generates bp-{key}-{value}
Styling Target — Apply to property text or entire line
Preset Styles — Built-in styles for common patterns
Custom Rules — Define your own key-value → class mappings

Bulk Editing

Vault-Wide Changes — Update properties across all files at once
Preview First — See exactly which blocks will be affected
Value Filtering — Target specific values or match any

Block Graph View

Visualize Relationships — See block connections as interactive graph
Auto Edge Detection — Links like blocked-by: ^task-2 become edges
Status Coloring — Nodes colored by status property
Click Navigation — Double-click to jump to any block

Block Graph View

Visualize block-level relationships in a dedicated graph view.

Opening the Graph

Open Command Palette (Cmd/Ctrl + P)
Search for "Block Properties: Open block graph"
The graph opens in a new tab

How It Works

The graph scans your vault for blocks that reference other blocks:

^task-1 [status: todo, blocked-by: ^task-2]
^task-2 [status: in-progress, depends-on: ^setup]
^setup [status: done]

This creates:

Nodes: ^task-1, ^task-2, ^setup
Edges: task-1 → task-2 (blocked-by), task-2 → setup (depends-on)

Graph Features

Feature	Description
Interactive	Drag nodes, zoom, pan
Navigation	Double-click to jump to block
Tooltips	Hover to see all properties
Status Colors	done=green, blocked=red, in-progress=blue
Refresh	Click ↻ to rebuild graph
Themes	Adapts to light/dark mode

Linked Properties

Property values can contain links to notes and blocks.

Syntax

Note links:
^task-1 [docs: [[Project Documentation]]]

Block references:
^subtask [blocked-by: ^parent-task]

Mixed:
^feature [spec: [[Design Doc]], depends: ^api-refactor]

Navigation

Location	Action
Property Panel	Click any link to navigate
Editor	`Cmd/Ctrl + Click` on link

Backlinks

The Property Panel shows a "Referenced by" section:

^parent-task [status: in-progress]

Referenced by:
  → subtask-1 (blocked-by)
  → subtask-2 (depends-on)

Conditional Styling

Blocks automatically receive CSS classes based on property values.

How It Works

Every property generates a class bp-{key}-{value}:

^task-1 [status: done, priority: high]
→ Classes: bp-status-done, bp-priority-high

Styling Target

Target	Effect
Property	Only `[...]` text is styled
Line	Entire line/paragraph is styled

Preset Styles

Property	Effect
`status: done`	Strikethrough, reduced opacity
`status: blocked`	Red left border
`status: in-progress`	Blue background tint
`priority: high`	Red text/background
`priority: low`	Reduced opacity
`type: deprecated`	Strikethrough, red, faded
`type: experimental`	Italic, purple tint
`status: draft`	Yellow background tint

Custom Rules

Define rules in Settings → add CSS in your snippets:

.my-review-style {
  background: rgba(255, 200, 0, 0.2);
  border-left: 3px solid orange;
}

Property Panel

Features

Block Overview — All blocks with properties at a glance
Context Preview — Text before each block ID
Quick Navigation — Click block ID to jump
Inline Editing — Click value to modify with suggestions
Add/Delete — Manage properties directly
Summary — Statistics on property usage
Backlinks — Incoming references (when enabled)

Inline Editing

Click any property value
Dropdown appears with suggestions
Enter to save, Escape to cancel

Bulk Editing

Change property values across your entire vault.

Usage

Command Palette → "Bulk edit properties"
Select property key
Optionally filter by current value
Enter new value
Preview → Apply

Example

Property key:    status
Current value:   draft
New value:       review

Preview: 15 blocks will be updated
├── notes/project.md → ^task-1
│   status: draft → review
└── ...

Property Templates

Define reusable property sets in Settings:

Template: "task"
Properties: status: todo, priority: medium, assignee: (empty)

Using Templates

Via Command: "Insert property template" opens picker

Via Autocomplete: Type preset: task → auto-expands to full template

Syntax Reference

Basic

^block-id [key: value]
^block-id [key1: value1, key2: value2]

With Links

^block-id [ref: [[Note Name]]]
^block-id [depends: ^other-block]
^block-id [docs: [[Folder/Note]], blocked-by: ^task-1]

Whitespace

^id[key:value]           ✓ Works
^id [key: value]         ✓ Works
^id [ key : value ]      ✓ Works

Special Characters

^id [message: Hello, World]     ✗ Comma splits properties
^id [url: https://example.com]  ✓ Colons in values OK

Commands

Command	Description
Insert block property	Add block property at cursor
Insert property template	Choose from saved templates
Query block properties	Search by property key/value
Open property panel	Show sidebar panel
Bulk edit properties	Change values across vault
Open block graph	Visualize block relationships

Settings

Setting	Description
Display Mode	Inline or Badge
Property Color	Color for property text
Opacity	Transparency (0.1–1.0)
Enable linked properties	Allow `[[Note]]` and `^block` in values
Show backlinks	Display "Referenced by" section
Enable conditional styling	Add CSS classes from properties
Styling target	Property only or entire line
Use preset styles	Built-in visual styles
Custom rules	Key-value → class mappings
Auto-expand presets	Expand `preset: name` automatically
Templates	Manage property templates

Installation

Manual

Download latest release from GitHub Releases
Extract to .obsidian/plugins/block-properties/
Enable in Settings → Community plugins

BRAT

Install BRAT plugin
Add Querulantenkind/obsidian-block-properties-plugin
Enable Block Properties

From Source

git clone https://github.com/Querulantenkind/obsidian-block-properties-plugin.git
cd obsidian-block-properties-plugin
npm install
npm run build

Use Cases

Project Management

^setup-db [status: done, type: infrastructure]
^implement-api [status: in-progress, depends-on: ^setup-db]
^write-tests [status: blocked, blocked-by: ^implement-api]

Documentation

^auth-api [status: stable, version: 2.0]
^legacy-endpoint [status: deprecated, removed-in: v3.0]

Research

^hypothesis-a [status: testing]
^experiment-1 [supports: ^hypothesis-a, methodology: [[Methods]]]
^experiment-2 [contradicts: ^hypothesis-a]

Creative Writing

^scene-1 [draft: 2, pov: narrator, timeline: present]
^flashback [draft: 1, pov: maria, continues: ^scene-1]

FAQ

How is this different from YAML frontmatter? Frontmatter applies to entire notes. Block Properties apply to individual paragraphs or sections.

Does it work with Dataview? Not yet. Dataview integration is planned. Use the built-in Query command for now.

Will this break existing block references? No. Standard ^block-id syntax works as before. Properties are additive.

Can I link to blocks in other files? Yes. Block references search across your entire vault.

Limitations

No nested properties (values are plain strings)
Properties must be on same line as block ID
Commas in values not supported (splits properties)
Backlinks are plugin-only (not in Obsidian's native backlinks)

Roadmap

Planned

Completed

Block Graph View (v1.0.5)
Bulk Editing (v1.0.4)
Conditional Styling (v1.0.3)
Linked Properties (v1.0.2)

Changelog

v1.0.5 — Block Graph View

Interactive graph view for block relationships
Automatic edge detection from block references
Status-based node coloring
Double-click navigation
Theme support

v1.0.4 — Bulk Editing

Vault-wide property changes
Preview before applying
File-grouped updates

v1.0.3 — Conditional Styling

Auto CSS classes (bp-{key}-{value})
Preset styles for common patterns
Custom style rules

v1.0.2 — Linked Properties

Note links in values ([[Note]])
Block references (^block-id)
Backlink tracking
Click navigation

v1.0.1 — Templates & Panel Editing

Property templates
Inline editing in panel

v1.0.0 — Initial Release

Block property syntax
Display modes
Property panel
Query command
Autocomplete

Contributing

Contributions welcome! Please open an issue first to discuss major changes.

License

MIT

GitHub · Codeberg

If you find this plugin useful, consider starring the repository!

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE		.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE
assets		assets
src		src
.editorconfig		.editorconfig
.gitignore		.gitignore
.npmrc		.npmrc
CLAUDE.md		CLAUDE.md
LICENSE		LICENSE
README.md		README.md
esbuild.config.mjs		esbuild.config.mjs
eslint.config.mts		eslint.config.mts
main.js		main.js
manifest.json		manifest.json
package-lock.json		package-lock.json
package.json		package.json
styles.css		styles.css
tsconfig.json		tsconfig.json
versions.json		versions.json

Latest commit

History

Folders and files

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Block Properties

Quick Start

The Problem

The Solution

Features

Core

Property Panel

Linked Properties

Conditional Styling

Bulk Editing

Block Graph View

Block Graph View

Opening the Graph

How It Works

Graph Features

Linked Properties

Syntax

Navigation

Backlinks

Conditional Styling

How It Works

Styling Target

Preset Styles

Custom Rules

Property Panel

Features

Inline Editing

Bulk Editing

Usage

Example

Property Templates

Using Templates

Syntax Reference

Basic

With Links

Whitespace

Special Characters

Commands

Settings

Installation

Manual

BRAT

From Source

Use Cases

Project Management

Documentation

Research

Creative Writing

FAQ

Limitations

Roadmap

Planned

Completed

Changelog

v1.0.5 — Block Graph View

v1.0.4 — Bulk Editing

v1.0.3 — Conditional Styling

v1.0.2 — Linked Properties

v1.0.1 — Templates & Panel Editing

v1.0.0 — Initial Release

Contributing

License

About

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