★ METADATA ARCHITECTUREAug 9, 2026 • 5 min read
YAML Frontmatter: Structuring Note Metadata for AI & Databases
Why placing key-value meta blocks at the absolute top of your Markdown notes is crucial for document filtering, Obsidian attributes, and vector storage.
1. What is YAML Frontmatter?
Frontmatter is a block of YAML formatting enclosed by triple hyphens (`---`) placed at the very beginning of a Markdown file:
--- title: "Quarterly Financial Analysis" date: 2026-08-09 author: "Finance Team" tags: ["reports", "q2-financials"] security: "internal" ---
This header block is parsed separately from the note content. In vector databases, this data is mapped directly to chunk metadata, allowing you to run fast query filters like `security == "internal"` or `tags IN ["reports"]` before semantic vector matches are computed.
Add metadata easily in RAG Studio
Our split-screen markdown editor has a built-in YAML injector. Define headers and properties in one click.