How to Write an Obsidian Dataview Query from a Note Schema

Dataview queries invent folders. Columns only from the schema.

The matching generator is the Obsidian Dataview Query from a Note Schema (No Invented Fields) prompt. Browse related cards in the PromptDig library (Browse more prompts). When a filled run survives, share the version you actually use (Share a prompt).

Map schema keys first

Write an Obsidian Dataview query from a pasted note schema. Never invent frontmatter fields, folders, or fake result counts. Start by filling Inputs, not by asking the model to remember last week's run. If a field is blank, write NONE or NOT IN INPUTS and leave it blank through Generate. The card is built so the model cannot honestly invent a number, owner, URL, or command that you did not paste.

Paste these fields before you hit run:

Note schema / frontmatter keys: [Schema]
Folder path I allow (or UNKNOWN): [Folder]
Query type I lock: [Type]
Words I must not use: [Banned]
What I must never invent: [Never]
Output format: [Format]
Language: [Lang]
Max columns: [Max]

That inventory is the honesty ledger. Anything that does not appear there is forbidden in the draft. If you catch yourself adding a nice-to-have after the run, you are no longer using the card. You are ghostwriting. Put the extra fact in Inputs and run again.

Omit FROM when folder is UNKNOWN

Generate is numbered on purpose. Do not skip a step because the first paragraph looked done. The early steps exist to stop later prose from smuggling claims.

Walk the Generate list in order:

1. Honesty ledger: Schema keys, Folder, Type, Lang, Max. Forbidden: invented fields, invented folders, invented hit counts.
2. Schema map: each key type if provided else UNKNOWN.
3. Query: Dataview block of Type. Columns only from Schema up to Max. FROM Folder or omit if UNKNOWN.
4. Column list: provenance to Schema.
5. Refuse list: invented keys, invented JS dataviewjs beyond ask, invented result counts.
6. Diff notes: Banned/Never cuts.
7. Folder note: UNKNOWN means no FROM path.
8. Compliance pass: Banned/Never hits. Column count vs Max. Gaps list of five. Format as Format.

If a step asks for a version lock, quote the version from Inputs in the output. If a step asks for a refuse list, keep the refuse list in the published artifact, not in a sidebar you delete. Reviewers should see what the model was not allowed to do.

Refuse invented row counts

Most failures are the same shape: a missing field gets a confident fill. A conversion rate appears. A Gradle task appears. A flash point appears. A caption appears on a job that asked for slide text only. Your review is to search the draft for numbers, names, and commands, then grep Inputs. No match means cut.

Honor the constraints as hard stops, not vibes:

• Dataview from Schema only. Not Notion and not Logseq.
• Never invent fields, folders, or result counts.
• Honor Max columns.
• No emojis.

When the card says not legal advice, not certification, not an exam dump, or not a caption engine, that sentence belongs at the top of the output. Deleting it to look more finished is how you inherit risk.

Skip dataviewjs unless asked

Finish with the compliance pass the prompt already asks for. Quote the banned-word hits. Cut them. Print character counts when the job has a cap. Print word counts when the job has a budget. List gaps as gaps. Five missing facts are more useful than one smooth paragraph.

Tags on the card (obsidian dataview query, no invented fields, dataview from schema) are a reminder of the job shape, not an invitation to wander into a neighboring cluster. If you need a different surface, open a different PromptDig card rather than stretching this one.

Fill the card, then run

Replace every bracket. Run on ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini. Read the ledger first, then the artifact. If the model invents a commit, KPI, DOI, PEL, bid, or logo, discard the run. Tighten Inputs. Run again. Share the filled card that survived, not the first draft that sounded done.