--- title: Obsidian Bases turned my notes into a database, and I... description: Obsidian's Bases plugin, introduced in version 1.9, lets users query and view their existing notes as a database using YAML frontmatter properties — without... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/obsidian-bases-turned-my-notes-into-a-database-and-i-cancelled-my-notion-plan-omchmk5e1 twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Obsidian Bases turned my notes into a database, and I cancelled my Notion plan | daily.dev og:description: Obsidian's Bases plugin, introduced in version 1.9, lets users query and view their existing notes as a database using YAML frontmatter properties — without... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/obsidian-bases-turned-my-notes-into-a-database-and-i-cancelled-my-notion-plan-omchmk5e1 og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/OMchmK5E1.png og:image:alt: Obsidian Bases turned my notes into a database, and I cancelled my Notion plan og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Obsidian Bases turned my notes into a database, and I cancelled my Notion plan **[XDA Developers](https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers)** · 5 min read · 2 upvotes · 1 comments ## Summary Obsidian's Bases plugin, introduced in version 1.9, lets users query and view their existing notes as a database using YAML frontmatter properties — without building separate database structures from scratch. Unlike Notion, Bases works directly on local vault files, requires no data import, and saves configurations as .base files that travel with your notes. The author switched away from Notion after finding Bases a better fit for solo workflows, noting it replaces the Dataview plugin for most use cases. Key limitations include the need for consistent tagging/properties across notes and lack of real-time collaboration, making Notion still preferable for team use. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [I tested Obsidian Bases against Notion with a real project, and one of them fell apart](https://daily.dev/posts/i-tested-obsidian-bases-against-notion-with-a-real-project-and-one-of-them-fell-apart-jjnhnogr8) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [I ditched my database app after Obsidian added one feature, and I'm not paying for separate tools anymore](https://daily.dev/posts/i-ditched-my-database-app-after-obsidian-added-one-feature-and-i-m-not-paying-for-separate-tools-an-7ml4szauk) · XDA Developers · 58 upvotes · 5 comments - [This Obsidian plugin turned my vault into a local Notion replacement overnight](https://daily.dev/posts/this-obsidian-plugin-turned-my-vault-into-a-local-notion-replacement-overnight-ypo7cudjk) · XDA Developers · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [I stopped using Obsidian like a notes app, and started using it like a database](https://daily.dev/posts/i-stopped-using-obsidian-like-a-notes-app-and-started-using-it-like-a-database-ugyzbp9yb) · XDA Developers · 2 upvotes · 0 comments - [I turned Obsidian into a full project manager by adding one folder to my vault](https://daily.dev/posts/i-turned-obsidian-into-a-full-project-manager-by-adding-one-folder-to-my-vault-wlgpyviov) · XDA Developers · 13 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#notion](https://daily.dev/tags/notion) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/obsidian-bases-turned-my-notes-into-a-database-and-i-cancelled-my-notion-plan-omchmk5e1) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Obsidian Bases turned my notes into a database, and I cancelled my Notion plan","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/obsidian-bases-turned-my-notes-into-a-database-and-i-cancelled-my-notion-plan-omchmk5e1","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/obsidian-bases-turned-my-notes-into-a-database-and-i-cancelled-my-notion-plan-omchmk5e1"},"datePublished":"2026-06-06T10:03:28.618Z","dateModified":"2026-06-06T10:03:52.555Z","description":"Obsidian's Bases plugin, introduced in version 1.9, lets users query and view their existing notes as a database using YAML frontmatter properties — without...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/645ddb9f80a65f1de7d8f9a49c42f499?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/645ddb9f80a65f1de7d8f9a49c42f499?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"XDA Developers","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"XDA Developers","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--kCg6yyAP--/f_auto,q_auto/v1774964407/logos/xda-developers?_a=BAMAMiWQ0","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers"},"commentCount":1,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/obsidian-bases-turned-my-notes-into-a-database-and-i-cancelled-my-notion-plan-omchmk5e1","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":2},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":1}],"keywords":"notion","timeRequired":"PT5M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"XDA Developers","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Obsidian Bases turned my notes into a database, and I cancelled my Notion plan"}]} ```