Frontmatter (Metadata)

Frontmatter is a YAML metadata block placed at the very beginning of a Markdown file, wrapped with ---. It does not affect the display of the body text, but adds structured information such as title, tags, date, and publish status to your notes.

Note

Tydora provides a dedicated Frontmatter property panel at the top of the editor for viewing and copying metadata, allowing management without switching to Source View.

Basic Syntax

Starting from the first line of the file, wrap YAML content with ---:

---
title: My Note Title
tags: [tag1, tag2]
date: 2024-01-01
---

The body content follows after.

Supported Properties

Property Type Description
title string Document title (overrides the filename display)
tags string[] Tag list, e.g., [reading, tech]
date string Creation date, recommended format YYYY-MM-DD
publish string Publish status; public means the note is included in "Public Notes Only" publish mode
author string Author
description string Document description (used for SEO on published sites)
Tip

Tags participate in Tydora's tag indexing; you can filter notes by tag in the sidebar.

Property Panel

Tydora provides a collapsible Frontmatter property panel at the top of the editor:

  • Collapsible: Click to expand/collapse, taking no writing space when not in use
  • Sorted Display: Common properties (title, tags, date, etc.) are shown with priority
  • One-click Copy: Copy the complete YAML block to the clipboard for easy pasting into other files

Publish Control

The publish property in Frontmatter determines whether a note participates in the "Public Notes Only" publish mode:

---
title: Public Note
publish: public
---
  • Set publish: public → Included in "Public Notes Only" mode
  • Not set or set to other values → Included only in "Full Publish" mode

See 08-Advanced-Features/01-Publish-Website for differences between publish modes.

Writing Guidelines

  • Frontmatter must be at the very beginning of the file; no characters (including blank lines) may precede it
  • Start with --- and end with ---
  • Follow standard YAML syntax: strings can be quoted, arrays use [ ], numbers and booleans are supported
  • Property names are case-sensitive (lowercase recommended)
Warning

If the YAML syntax is incorrect (e.g., missing closing ---, incorrect indentation), the Frontmatter may not be parsed, and the property panel will display abnormally.