Bases Note Templates makes the New button of a base start from a template

Press New in a base and the note arrives with your template, the filter values, a folder and a name.

MIT · no telemetry · core features free

Open larger. A Tasks base with a new row named 2026-10-10 Apollo, and a popover that shows the headings Goal, Steps and Notes.
version
1.0.0
downloads
1
review
Passed
health
Excellent
license
MIT
platforms
Desktop, Mobile
obsidian
1.13.4 or later

Directory facts fetched from community.obsidian.md/users/theluckystrike.

About Bases Note Templates

People who use a base as a data entry tool for tasks, bugs, books or meetings.

You pick a template note for the base. When you press New, the new note gets the properties and the text of that template, plus the values of the base filters. It lands in the right folder, with a file name from a pattern.

A base filtered by status == "todo" and project == "[[Apollo]]" then gives notes like 2026-10-10 Apollo.md. You no longer make a note, delete it, and insert a template by hand.

Pressing New in a base: the new note gets the template and a name from the patternPlay demo

Free features

A template for the New button

Press New in a base as usual. The app makes the note and writes the filter values, then the plugin adds the template. If the base has no setup, the New button works exactly as before.

Filter values as properties

A value from the filters wins over the same property in the template, so the new note shows up in the view. An empty value never hides a template value. The plugin reads the same filter rules as the app, such as ==, contains, file.hasTag and file.inFolder.

Open larger. A new note with status and project from the view filters, priority from the template and the template headings.

Folder and name pattern

Run Set up templates for this base from an open base, then choose the template, a folder and a name pattern. The pattern can use {{date}}, {{time}}, {{base}}, {{view}}, {{template}} and any filter property, such as {{project}}. If the name is taken, the plugin adds a number, like the app does.

Open larger. The setup dialog of the Tasks base, with fields for the template, the folder and the name pattern.

Command and header button

The command New note from template in this base makes the same note without the New button. It opens the note in a new tab. A base with a setup also gets a button in its tab header that does the same.

Open larger. The Tasks base with the New note from template button highlighted in its tab header.

The free version uses one template for each base.

Pro features

Pro costs $5 a month or $15 one time through GitHub Sponsors. One sponsorship turns on Pro in all 13 plugins.

More templates with a list to pick from Pro

Add up to 10 templates to a base. When you press New, run the command or select the header button, a list asks which template to use. Press Escape and the note stays as the app made it.

Open larger. A list titled Template for the new note with the choices Task, Bug and Meeting.

A template for each view Pro

Give a view its own template, for example a Bug template for the Bugs view of a Tasks base. In that view, the view template comes first in the list.

Open larger. The setup dialog with three templates and the Bug template set for the Bugs view.

Duplicate as new note Pro

Right-click a row of a base and select Duplicate as new note. The plugin copies the note, with all its properties, to a new note next to it and opens it. The copy shows up in the same base.

Open larger. The command palette with the command Duplicate the current note as a new note.

Templater on new notes Pro

With Pro, the plugin can hand a new note to Templater. If the note still has Templater tags after Templater had its own chance, the plugin asks Templater to fill them in.

Set up Bases Note Templates

needs

  • Obsidian 1.13.4 or later
  • The core plugin Bases, turned on
  • Templater, only for the Pro setting Run Templater on new notes

steps

  1. Make a template note, for example Templates/Task.md, with the properties and headings that each new note needs.

  2. Open a base file and run the command Set up templates for this base.

  3. Choose the template. Add a folder and a name pattern if you want them, then select Save.

  4. Press New in the base, or run New note from template in this base.

  5. For Pro, sponsor on GitHub, then open the settings and select Sign in with GitHub.

Why this exists

A forum feature request for a template on the New button of Bases has 148 votes and 297 likes. It has 34 posts, from 2025-07-05 to 2026-09-03.

Read the request

How it compares

The New button alone
The New button writes the filter values and uses the folder of file.inFolder(). It has no view template, no name pattern and no setting for a template.
The hidden newItemTemplate key
Obsidian 1.13.4 and 1.14.4 read this key in a base file. It copies only the template's properties, not its text, and then the filter values are lost.

Questions about Bases Note Templates

Can the New button in Obsidian Bases use a template?

Partly. The New button writes the filter values and uses the folder of file.inFolder(). Obsidian 1.13.4 and 1.14.4 also read a hidden newItemTemplate key, but it copies only the template's properties. The template text is left out, and then the filter values are lost.

Does Bases Note Templates change my base files?

No. The setup lives in the plugin's data.json. Base files stay as they are.

Why does the New button of an embedded base not use my template?

When a base is embedded in a note, the active tab is the note. The plugin can't tell which base made the new note, so it leaves that note alone. Open the base file and use New or the command there.

Can I use date and title variables in a template?

Yes. Templates can use the variables of the core Templates plugin, {{title}}, {{date}} and {{time}}, with or without a format. They work in the text and in property values.

Are formulas in Bases filters supported?

Filters that compare with a formula or with this are skipped when the command makes a note. The New button of the app still writes them.

Network use

Until you select Sign in with GitHub, Bases Note Templates makes no network requests. After sign in, one query asks GitHub about your sponsorship, at most once every 7 days or on Refresh. It sends no note content, file names or other vault data.

Read the full network disclosure

Bases Note Templates 1.0.0, MIT license

MIT · no telemetry · core features free