An example Obsidian vault demonstrating how to manage notes without folders, using links, tags, and index notes instead of hierarchical structures.
Although Obsidian has grown into one of the most powerful bidirectional note-taking tools,
with countless plugins and configuration options, its co-founder Steph Ango (kepano) follows a few minimalist principles when managing his own vault1.
One of them is simple but radical:
Do not build complex folder hierarchies.
Organize notes with links and tags instead.
This repository provides a practical, working example of such a system.
This example vault shows how to manage notes in a non-hierarchical (flat) structure, mainly based on:
- Index Notes
- Tags (with hierarchy)
- Bidirectional links
Core plugins used:
- Index Notes
- Templater
- QuickAdd
Folders exist only for technical or archival purposes, not as the primary organizational method.
This vault has a single main entry point:
- [[Dashboard]]
The Dashboard is divided into two parts:
- Pinned notes (top)
- Project-based or thematic index notes (bottom), such as:
- Projects
- Literature
- Work logs
If you use daily notes, your workflow can also start from the daily note and link back into the system.
Without relying on folders, you no longer need to decide where a note belongs.
Recommended ways to create notes:
Ctrl + O→ type a new note name- Create a new note directly using
[[New Note]]from an existing note
After creating a note:
- Add tags to describe its meaning and context
- Optionally set a
titlefield in frontmatter for better previews
Index notes (e.g. [[Archive/Project A|Project A]]) automatically collect notes using tags.
How it works:
- Add a tag like
#projects/project-ato your notes - In the corresponding index note, add a tag:
#projects/project-a/idx
This index note will then aggregate all related notes.
To create a meta-index (like the Dashboard):
- Add an additional tag:
#projects/meta_idx
This allows index notes themselves to be collected and displayed.
Work logs are created via a QuickAdd template.
Usage:
- Press
Alt + Q - Press Enter
- A timestamp-based work log note is created automatically
Features:
- Tags link logs to projects
titlemetadata enables preview in index notes
The daily note template is located at:
[[Archive/Templates/日记模板|Daily Note Template]]
It is created automatically when clicking a date in the calendar.
Each daily note provides:
- Notes of the Day – newly created or modified notes
- Literature of the Day – newly added references
- Tasks Completed Today
Implementation:
- Notes & literature: Obsidian Base (official plugin)
- Tasks: Dataview
All entries are clickable and link back to their original notes.
From the pinned notes on the Dashboard, you can access:
[[Archive/任务汇总|Task Overview]]
This page shows:
- Unread literature (via Base queries)
- Pending tasks (via Dataview)
All items link back to their source notes for quick context switching.
The following components are not strictly required, but highly recommended:
- Daily notes for temporal context
- Literature management via Citations
Alt + Eto insert a referenceCtrl + Shift + Oto open literature notes
When used together, they significantly improve discoverability and reduce cognitive load.
This vault is designed to:
- Reduce over-classification
- Avoid premature structure
- Let structure emerge from usage
- Support notes belonging to multiple contexts naturally
It reflects a workflow refined through continuous personal use and iteration.
- Obsidian users curious about folderless workflows
- PKM / Zettelkasten practitioners
- Users overwhelmed by complex folder trees
- Anyone who wants a scalable, link-first note system