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Migrate Dataview Properties to Frontmatter

This script allows you to migrate inline Dataview properties to YAML frontmatter. It's particularly useful when transitioning from Dataview's inline syntax to native Obsidian properties, which offer better performance and broader compatibility.

The script handles comma-separated values with special care for commas inside wikilinks, ensuring that links like [[Note, with comma]] are preserved correctly.

Use Case​

If you've been using Dataview's inline property syntax like this:

Reference:: [[2025-10-12 - Sun Oct 12]]
Related:: [[Agentic Engineering|Agentic coding]], [[Note, with comma]]
Tags:: #project, #important

This script will migrate those properties to frontmatter:

---
Reference: "[[2025-10-12 - Sun Oct 12]]"
Related:
  - "[[Agentic Engineering|Agentic coding]]"
  - "[[Note, with comma]]"
tags:
  - "project"
  - "important"
---

The inline properties are removed from the body of the note after migration.

Note: The tags property is automatically normalized to lowercase and # symbols are stripped, following Obsidian's frontmatter conventions for reserved property names.

Installation​

  1. Save the script (migrateDataviewToFrontmatter.js) to your vault. Make sure it is saved as a JavaScript file, meaning that it has the .js at the end. Important: Do not save scripts in the .obsidian directory - they will be ignored. Valid locations include folders like /scripts/, /macros/, or any custom folder in your vault.
  2. Open the Macro Manager by opening the QuickAdd plugin settings and clicking Manage Macros.
  3. Create a new Macro - you decide what to name it. I named mine Migrate Dataview Properties.
  4. Add the user script to the macro command list.
  5. Click the cog ⚙ icon next to the script to configure its settings (see Configuration below).
  6. Go back out to your QuickAdd main menu and add a new Macro choice. I named mine Migrate Properties.
  7. Attach the Macro to the Macro Choice you just created by clicking the cog ⚙ icon and selecting it.

You can download the script here: migrateDataviewToFrontmatter.js

Configuration​

The script offers two configuration options:

Migrate All Properties​

Type: Toggle (on/off) Default: Off

When enabled, the script will migrate all inline properties found in the note, regardless of their names. When disabled, only the properties specified in "Properties to Migrate" will be migrated.

Properties to Migrate​

Type: Text input Default: Reference, Related

A comma-separated list of property names to migrate (case-insensitive). This setting is ignored if "Migrate All Properties" is enabled.

Examples:

  • Reference, Related - Migrates only Reference and Related properties
  • Author, Title, Date, Tags - Migrates these four properties
  • Leave empty with "Migrate All Properties" off to use the default (Reference, Related)

Usage​

  1. Open a note that contains inline Dataview properties
  2. Run the macro (via command palette, QuickAdd menu, or hotkey)
  3. The script will:
    • Add the properties to the note's frontmatter
    • Remove the inline property lines from the note body
    • Show a notification with the migrated property names

Key Features​

  • Smart Wikilink Parsing: Preserves commas inside wikilinks (e.g., [[Note, with comma]])
  • Comma-Separated Values: Automatically handles multiple values separated by commas
  • Single vs Multiple Values: Stores single values as strings, multiple values as arrays
  • Case-Insensitive Matching: Property names are matched case-insensitively
  • Selective Migration: Choose to migrate all properties or only specific ones
  • Reserved Property Handling: Special handling for Obsidian reserved properties like tags
  • Frontmatter Merging: Merges with existing frontmatter values instead of overwriting (deduplicates)
  • Clean Output: Removes excessive blank lines after migration

Examples​

Example 1: Migrate Specific Properties​

Configuration:

  • Migrate All Properties: Off
  • Properties to Migrate: Reference, Related

Input:

# My Note

Reference:: [[2025-10-12 - Sun Oct 12]]
Related:: [[Agentic Engineering|Agentic coding]]
Author:: John Doe
Status:: In Progress

Output:

---
Reference: "[[2025-10-12 - Sun Oct 12]]"
Related: "[[Agentic Engineering|Agentic coding]]"
---

# My Note

Author:: John Doe
Status:: In Progress

Note: Only Reference and Related were migrated. Author and Status remain as inline properties.

Example 2: Migrate All Properties​

Configuration:

  • Migrate All Properties: On
  • Properties to Migrate: (ignored)

Input:

# Project Notes

Reference:: [[Main Document]]
Related:: [[Doc A]], [[Doc B]]
Author:: John Doe
Status:: In Progress
Priority:: High

Output:

---
Reference: "[[Main Document]]"
Related:
  - "[[Doc A]]"
  - "[[Doc B]]"
Author: "John Doe"
Status: "In Progress"
Priority: "High"
---

# Project Notes

All inline properties are migrated to frontmatter.

Input:

Related:: [[Book Title, by Author]], [[Article, from Journal]], [[Simple Note]]

Output:

---
Related:
  - "[[Book Title, by Author]]"
  - "[[Article, from Journal]]"
  - "[[Simple Note]]"
---

Commas inside wikilinks are preserved correctly.

Example 4: Handling Tags Property​

Input:

Tags:: #project, #work, #important

Output:

---
tags:
  - "project"
  - "work"
  - "important"
---

The tags property is special in Obsidian:

  • It's automatically normalized to lowercase (even if you write Tags:: or TAGS::)
  • The # symbols are stripped from tag values
  • This follows Obsidian's frontmatter convention where tags don't use #

Example 5: Merging with Existing Frontmatter​

Input:

---
tags:
  - existing-tag
Reference: "[[Existing Reference]]"
---

# My Note

Tags:: #new-tag, #another-tag
Reference:: [[New Reference]]
Related:: [[Some Link]]

Output:

---
tags:
  - existing-tag
  - new-tag
  - another-tag
Reference:
  - "[[Existing Reference]]"
  - "[[New Reference]]"
Related: "[[Some Link]]"
---

# My Note

The script merges values instead of overwriting:

  • Existing tags are preserved and new tags are added
  • Existing Reference value is kept and the new one is added
  • Related is added as a new property
  • All values are deduplicated

Obsidian Reserved Properties​

Obsidian has special handling for certain property names in frontmatter. The script automatically handles these:

tags​

  • Must be lowercase: Tags:: is converted to tags: in frontmatter
  • No hash symbols: #project becomes project
  • Why: Obsidian's native tag system expects tags without # in frontmatter

Example:

# Inline format (with #)
Tags:: #project, #important

# Frontmatter format (without #)
---
tags:
  - project
  - important
---

Other reserved properties (like aliases, cssclass) are preserved as-is but may have special behaviors in Obsidian. Always verify the Obsidian documentation for the latest reserved property names.

Technical Details​

Smart Comma Splitting​

The script uses a custom parser that tracks whether it's inside a wikilink when splitting comma-separated values:

function parseCommaSeparatedWithWikilinks(value) {
    let insideWikilink = false;

    for (let i = 0; i < value.length; i++) {
        if (char === '[' && nextChar === '[') {
            insideWikilink = true;
        }
        if (char === ']' && prevChar === ']') {
            insideWikilink = false;
        }

        // Only split on commas outside wikilinks
        if (char === ',' && !insideWikilink) {
            // Split here
        }
    }
}

Race Condition Prevention​

The script uses processFrontMatter to update the frontmatter, then re-reads the file before removing inline properties. This prevents race conditions where the frontmatter changes might be overwritten:

// Update frontmatter first
await app.fileManager.processFrontMatter(activeFile, (frontmatter) => {
    // Add properties to frontmatter
});

// Re-read the file to get updated frontmatter
const updatedContent = await app.vault.read(activeFile);

// Then remove inline properties
await app.vault.modify(activeFile, cleanedContent);

Tips​

  1. Test on a Copy First: Try the script on a copy of your note to ensure it works as expected
  2. Use Version Control: If you use Git, commit your vault before running bulk migrations
  3. Migrate Gradually: Start with specific properties before using "Migrate All"
  4. Check Frontmatter Format: After migration, verify that the frontmatter is formatted correctly
  5. Tags Property: Remember that tags must be lowercase in frontmatter and shouldn't have # symbols
  6. Combine with Other Macros: You can add additional steps to the macro, such as opening a specific note or running another script

Troubleshooting​

Properties not migrating:

  • Check that the property names are spelled correctly in the settings
  • Ensure the inline properties use :: syntax (two colons)
  • Verify that the properties aren't inside code blocks or task checkboxes

Commas not handled correctly:

  • Make sure wikilinks use proper [[ and ]] syntax
  • Check for unmatched brackets in your wikilinks

How are existing frontmatter values handled:

  • The script merges with existing frontmatter values instead of overwriting
  • If a property already exists in frontmatter, the new values are combined and deduplicated
  • Example: If frontmatter has tags: [project] and inline has Tags:: #work, result will be tags: [project, work]