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Frontmatter

DescriptionYAML frontmatter syntax, reserved keys, type declarations, and built-in fields.
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The frontmatter is the YAML block between --- markers at the top of a .td file. It holds the structured data for the resource. This page covers every key and directive you can use.

Structure ​

yaml
---
_type: Person
name: "Alice"
role: "developer"
---

The top-level value must be a YAML mapping. Keys are identifiers (alphanumeric and underscores). Values are expressions.

Reserved keys ​

Keys starting with _ are reserved for built-in directives.

Key Required Description
_typeyes Schema name this resource conforms to
_labelno Human-readable display label (expression)
_iconno Page icon from the icon module (e.g., icon.rocket)
_extendsno Parent schema name (schema files only)
_importsno Map of alias to vault-relative file path
_contentimplicit The markdown body (available as self._content)

Type declaration: _type ​

Declares the schema. The value is a PascalCase schema name matching a file in _types/.

yaml
_type: Person

For schema files, the value is schema:

yaml
_type: schema

Display label: _label ​

A display label for the resource. Shown in the sidebar, breadcrumbs, and link text. It is an expression that can reference other fields.

yaml
_label: "Alice Chen"
_label: "${self.first_name} ${self.last_name}"

Page icon: _icon ​

An icon displayed in the sidebar and page header. Uses the built-in icon module with dot access syntax.

yaml
_icon: icon.rocket
_icon: icon.book
_icon: icon.lightbulb

See Icons reference for the full list of available icons.

Schema inheritance: _extends ​

Schema inheritance. The child schema inherits all properties from the parent.

yaml
_type: schema
_extends: Person
properties:
  agency:
    type: string?

Module imports: _imports ​

Import files from the vault into the current file's scope. Each key is an alias, each value is a vault-relative file path.

yaml
_imports:
  colors: "_partials/colors.td"
brand: colors.primary

Comments ​

Line comments use #:

yaml
name: "Alice" # this is a comment

Values ​

All values are expressions. Strings must be quoted. Unquoted values are identifiers, numbers, or compound expressions.

yaml
name: "Alice"                             # string
count: 42                                 # number
active: true                              # boolean
author: fref("people/bob.td")            # file reference
full_name: self.first_name + " " + self.last_name  # computed

Explicit type tags ​

Optional type tags override inference. Rarely needed since types are inferred from the schema.

yaml
name: !string "Alice"
count: !number 42
birth_date: !date "1990-07-04"

Available tags: !string, !number, !boolean, !date, !time, !datetime, !type.