TAGS

Tag Taxonomy

Overview

About:

This document defines the complete tag taxonomy for this Obsidian Vault. Tags are organized into three root-level categories: Status, Type, and Topic.

The tagging system for this vault relies on the following foundational tag “types”:

• Status/{Status}: Define the note’s current state from a set of pre-defined possible statuses.
• Type/{Type}: Define the note’s “Type” from a pre-defined, managed set of possible note types.
• Topic/{Topic}: Define the note’s associated topic(s). Can be multiple topics as separate Topic/ tags as well as nested, layered topics as needed (i.e. Topic/Science/Physics). It becomes increasingly important to manage and groom the nested tag taxonomy over time consistently.

Design Principles

1. Flat over nested - Avoid deep nesting like Topic/Dev/Lang/R/Framework/Shiny
2. Combinable - Use multiple flat tags: #Topic/R + #Topic/Shiny
3. Consistent - Every note gets Status + Type + Topic tags
4. Purposeful - Tags enable filtering and discovery

Implementation

Tags in Obsidian are defined in the note’s YAML Frontmatter (Metadata) like so:

tags:
  - Status/{Status}
  - Type/{Type}
  - Topic/{Topic}  

or alternatively,

tags: [Status/{Status}, Type/{Type}, Topic/{Topic}]

For example, this note’s frontmatter declares the following tags:

tags:
  - Status/Ongoing
  - Type/Meta
  - Topic/Obsidian
  - Topic/PKM
  - Topic/Meta

Notice how multiple Topic/ tags are implemented as this note relates to the Obsidian, PKM, and Meta topics.

Status Tags

Rule:

Every note gets exactly one Status tag.

The note status tag is an essential piece of metadata describing the current state of the note or its active phase in the generalized note lifecycle.

It should be applied to every note in the vault, and by default new notes should typically use a status tag of WIP for notes in progress.

Currently, the defined possible note status tags are as follows:

Order	Tag	Description	Use When
0	Status/Ongoing	Continuously updated	READMEs, MOCs, living documents
1	Status/WIP	Work in progress	Notes in progress or needing further development or processing
2	Status/Draft	Initial state	First pass, needs refinement
3	Status/Complete	Finished, polished	Note is reviewed and done

Type Tags

Classification of the note. Should match the file prefix.

Tag	File Prefix	Description
Type/MOC	MOC -	Map of Content, navigation index
Type/Code	Code -	Code snippet or example
Type/Definition	Definition -	Term definition
Type/Acronym	(with Definition)	Acronym definition
Type/List	List -	Curated list with links
Type/Guide	Guide -	Step-by-step how-to
Type/Checklist	Checklist -	Actionable checklist
Type/Quote	Quote -	Quotation
Type/Readme	index	Folder index
Type/Note	(none)	Generic slipbox note
Type/Daily	YYYY-MM-DD	Daily journal
Type/Weekly	(varies)	Weekly review
Type/Monthly	(varies)	Monthly review
Type/Project	(varies)	Project-specific note

Rule: Every note gets at least one Type tag.

Topic Tags

Subject domain. Flat structure, combinable.

Programming Languages

Tag	Description
Topic/R	R programming language
Topic/Python	Python programming
Topic/PowerShell	PowerShell scripting
Topic/SQL	SQL and databases
Topic/JavaScript	JavaScript
Topic/TypeScript	TypeScript
Topic/Bash	Bash/shell scripting
Topic/CSS	CSS styling
Topic/HTML	HTML markup
Topic/Go	Golang
Topic/Rust	Rust programming

Frameworks and Libraries

Tag	Description
Topic/Shiny	R Shiny framework
Topic/React	React framework
Topic/Node	Node.js ecosystem
Topic/Plumber	R Plumber API framework
Topic/FastAPI	Python FastAPI
Topic/Django	Python Django

Platforms and Tools

Tag	Description
Topic/Docker	Docker containerization
Topic/Git	Git version control
Topic/GitHub	GitHub platform
Topic/AWS	Amazon Web Services
Topic/Azure	Microsoft Azure
Topic/GCP	Google Cloud Platform
Topic/Vercel	Vercel platform
Topic/Netlify	Netlify platform

Domains

Tag	Description
Topic/GIS	Geographic Information Systems
Topic/Database	Database design and management
Topic/Cloud	Cloud computing general
Topic/DevOps	DevOps practices
Topic/AI	Artificial Intelligence/ML
Topic/Web	Web development general
Topic/API	API design and integration
Topic/Security	Security practices
Topic/Testing	Testing and QA

Business

Tag	Description
Topic/Business	Business operations
Topic/Finance	Finance and accounting
Topic/Legal	Legal matters
Topic/Marketing	Marketing and outreach
Topic/Strategy	Business strategy

Meta

Tag	Description
Topic/PKM	Personal Knowledge Management
Topic/Obsidian	Obsidian-specific
Topic/Meta	About the vault itself
Topic/Productivity	Productivity methods

Usage Examples

Code Snippet

tags:
  - Status/Complete
  - Type/Code
  - Topic/R
  - Topic/Shiny

Definition with Acronym

tags:
  - Status/Complete
  - Type/Definition
  - Type/Acronym
  - Topic/GIS

MOC

tags:
  - Status/Ongoing
  - Type/MOC
  - Topic/R

Daily Note

tags:
  - Status/Complete
  - Type/Daily

Dataview Queries

Find all R code snippets

Find all WIP notes

Find notes by combined topics

Adding New Tags

When adding new tags:

1. Add to the appropriate category in this document
2. Use singular form (Topic/Database not Topic/Databases)
3. Use PascalCase for multi-word tags (Topic/DevOps)
4. Prefer existing tags over creating new ones
5. Keep Topic tags flat - don’t nest

Related Notes

• PHILOSOPHY
• AGENTS

Appendix

Created: 2024-12-20 | Modified: 2024-12-20

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