Base Examples & Use Cases

Learn from real-world Base configurations and discover how to apply Bases to your workflows. This guide covers common use cases, configuration examples, and best practices.

Prerequisites: This guide assumes familiarity with Bases Overview, Properties, and Views.

Project Management

Track projects with status, priority, timelines, and team members.

Configuration

Properties:

# Identity
title: text (required)
project_code: text
description: long_text
 
# Status & Priority
status: select
  options:
    - Planning (blue)
    - Active (green)
    - On Hold (yellow)
    - Completed (gray)
    - Cancelled (red)
 
priority: select
  options:
    - Critical (red)
    - High (orange)
    - Medium (yellow)
    - Low (blue)
 
# Timeline
start_date: date
due_date: date
completed_date: date
 
# Resources
budget: number (currency, USD)
owner: text
team: tags
 
# Tracking
progress: number (percentage)
health: select
  options:
    - On Track (green)
    - At Risk (yellow)
    - Blocked (red)

Views

Table View: All Projects

name: "All Projects"
type: table
visible_properties:
  - title
  - status
  - priority
  - owner
  - due_date
  - budget
  - progress
sort:
  - priority: desc
  - due_date: asc

Kanban View: By Status

name: "Project Board"
type: kanban
column_property: status
card_properties:
  - priority
  - owner
  - due_date
  - progress
wip_limits:
  Active: 5

Calendar View: Timeline

name: "Project Timeline"
type: calendar
date_field: due_date
color_by: status
show_properties:
  - owner
  - priority

Saved Filters

"Active High Priority":
  - status equals "Active"
  - priority in ["Critical", "High"]
 
"At Risk":
  - health equals "At Risk"
  - status equals "Active"
 
"Due This Month":
  - due_date relative "this month"
  - status not_equals "Completed"
 
"My Projects":
  - owner equals "{{current_user}}"
  - status in ["Planning", "Active"]

Best Practices

Do:

  • Set realistic due dates
  • Update progress regularly (weekly)
  • Use health status to flag issues early
  • Assign clear ownership
  • Track budget vs actual spending

Don’t:

  • Leave projects in “Planning” indefinitely
  • Skip status updates for weeks
  • Assign multiple owners (use team tags instead)
  • Ignore “At Risk” or “Blocked” projects

Task Management

GTD-style task management with priorities, contexts, and due dates.

Configuration

Properties:

# Core
title: text (required)
description: long_text
completed: checkbox
 
# Organization
status: select
  - Inbox (gray)
  - Next (blue)
  - Waiting (yellow)
  - Someday (purple)
  - Done (green)
 
priority: select
  - P1 - Urgent (red)
  - P2 - High (orange)
  - P3 - Normal (yellow)
  - P4 - Low (blue)
 
# Context
project: text
area: select
  - Work
  - Personal
  - Home
  - Learning
 
tags: tags
  - urgent
  - quick-win
  - deep-work
  - admin
 
# Timing
due_date: date
scheduled_date: date
completed_date: date
 
# Effort
estimated_hours: number
actual_hours: number
 
# Assignment
assignee: text

Views

List View: Next Actions

name: "Next Actions"
type: list
filters:
  - status equals "Next"
  - completed is_false
group_by: project
sort: priority desc

Table View: This Week

name: "This Week"
type: table
filters:
  - due_date relative "this week"
  - completed is_false
sort:
  - due_date asc
  - priority desc

Kanban View: Workflow

name: "Task Board"
type: kanban
column_property: status
filters:
  - status not_equals "Done"
  - completed is_false
swimlane: priority

Saved Filters

"Inbox":
  - status equals "Inbox"
 
"Overdue":
  - due_date before today
  - completed is_false
 
"Quick Wins":
  - tags contains "quick-win"
  - estimated_hours less_than 1
  - completed is_false
 
"Waiting For":
  - status equals "Waiting"
 
"Today":
  - due_date equals today
  OR scheduled_date equals today

GTD Workflow

Weekly Review Checklist:

  1. Process Inbox → Assign status
  2. Review “Waiting For” items
  3. Check overdue tasks
  4. Schedule next week’s tasks
  5. Update project progress
  6. Archive completed items

Content Management

Manage blog posts, articles, and content calendars.

Configuration

Properties:

# Content
title: text (required)
subtitle: text
slug: text
content_type: select
  - Blog Post
  - Article
  - Tutorial
  - Case Study
  - Newsletter
 
# Status
status: select
  - Idea (gray)
  - Outline (blue)
  - Draft (yellow)
  - Review (orange)
  - Scheduled (purple)
  - Published (green)
 
# Meta
author: text
publish_date: date
updated_date: date
featured: checkbox
 
# Organization
categories: select
  - Product
  - Engineering
  - Design
  - Company
  - Tutorial
 
tags: tags
seo_keywords: tags
 
# Metrics
word_count: number
reading_time: number
target_audience: select
 
# Media
featured_image: text (URL)
thumbnail: text (URL)

Views

Calendar View: Editorial Calendar

name: "Editorial Calendar"
type: calendar
date_field: publish_date
color_by: category
filters:
  - status in ["Scheduled", "Published"]
  - publish_date after "{{today-30d}}"

Table View: Content Pipeline

name: "Content Pipeline"
type: table
visible_properties:
  - title
  - status
  - author
  - publish_date
  - word_count
  - categories
filters:
  - status not_equals "Published"
sort:
  - publish_date asc
  - status asc

Gallery View: Published Posts

name: "Published Posts"
type: gallery
image_property: featured_image
filters:
  - status equals "Published"
sort: publish_date desc
show_captions: true

Saved Filters

"This Month":
  - publish_date relative "this month"
 
"Needs Review":
  - status equals "Review"
 
"Ready to Schedule":
  - status equals "Draft"
  - word_count greater_than 800
 
"Top Performing":
  - featured is_true
  - status equals "Published"

Best Practices

Do:

  • Set publish dates early
  • Use consistent categories
  • Add SEO keywords to all posts
  • Review drafts before scheduling
  • Track word count targets
  • Schedule featured images early

Don’t:

  • Skip the outline stage
  • Publish without review
  • Ignore SEO optimization
  • Leave drafts unfinished
  • Forget to update old content

CRM (Contacts)

Customer and contact relationship management.

Configuration

Properties:

# Identity
name: text (required)
company: text
title: text
email: email
phone: text
linkedin: text (URL)
 
# Classification
contact_type: select
  - Lead
  - Prospect
  - Customer
  - Partner
  - Vendor
 
status: select
  - New (blue)
  - Qualified (green)
  - Nurturing (yellow)
  - Closed Won (green)
  - Closed Lost (red)
 
priority: select
 
# Engagement
last_contact: date
next_followup: date
meeting_scheduled: date
 
# Context
source: select
  - Referral
  - Website
  - Event
  - Social
  - Cold Outreach
 
interests: tags
stage: select
 
# Business
deal_value: number (currency)
probability: number (percentage)
 
# Notes
notes: long_text

Views

Card View: Contact Cards

name: "Contact Cards"
type: card
card_properties:
  - company
  - title
  - email
  - status
  - next_followup
show_thumbnail: true
columns: 3

Table View: Pipeline

name: "Sales Pipeline"
type: table
filters:
  - contact_type in ["Lead", "Prospect"]
  - status not_in ["Closed Won", "Closed Lost"]
sort:
  - priority desc
  - deal_value desc

Calendar View: Follow-ups

name: "Follow-up Calendar"
type: calendar
date_field: next_followup
color_by: priority
show_properties:
  - company
  - status
  - deal_value

Saved Filters

"Hot Leads":
  - status equals "Qualified"
  - priority equals "High"
  - next_followup is_not_empty
 
"Needs Follow-up":
  - next_followup before "{{today+7d}}"
  - status not_in ["Closed Won", "Closed Lost"]
 
"Recent Customers":
  - status equals "Closed Won"
  - last_contact relative "last 30 days"
 
"Stale Leads":
  - status equals "Nurturing"
  - last_contact before "{{today-30d}}"

CRM Workflow

Weekly Tasks:

  1. Review “Needs Follow-up” filter
  2. Update status for recent calls
  3. Schedule next follow-ups
  4. Qualify new leads
  5. Check “Stale Leads” for re-engagement

Inventory Management

Track items, stock levels, and suppliers.

Configuration

Properties:

# Item
item_name: text (required)
sku: text
barcode: text
description: long_text
 
# Classification
category: select
  - Electronics
  - Furniture
  - Supplies
  - Equipment
  - Tools
 
brand: text
model: text
 
# Stock
quantity: number
min_stock: number
max_stock: number
unit: select
 
# Status
status: select
  - In Stock (green)
  - Low Stock (yellow)
  - Out of Stock (red)
  - Discontinued (gray)
 
# Pricing
cost: number (currency)
price: number (currency)
margin: number (percentage)
 
# Location
location: text
warehouse: select
 
# Supplier
supplier: text
supplier_sku: text
lead_time: number (days)
last_ordered: date

Views

Table View: Inventory

name: "Current Inventory"
type: table
visible_properties:
  - item_name
  - sku
  - quantity
  - min_stock
  - status
  - location
  - cost
sort:
  - status asc
  - quantity asc

List View: Low Stock

name: "Low Stock Alert"
type: list
filters:
  - status in ["Low Stock", "Out of Stock"]
  - status not_equals "Discontinued"
sort: quantity asc
group_by: category

Gallery View: Products

name: "Product Gallery"
type: gallery
filters:
  - status equals "In Stock"
sort: item_name asc

Saved Filters

"Needs Reorder":
  - quantity less_than_or_equal min_stock
  - status not_equals "Discontinued"
 
"High Value":
  - cost greater_than 1000
  - quantity greater_than 0
 
"Recent Orders":
  - last_ordered relative "last 30 days"
 
"Discontinued":
  - status equals "Discontinued"

Best Practices

Base Design Principles

1. Start Simple

  • Begin with 5-8 core properties
  • Add complexity as needed
  • Don’t over-engineer upfront

2. Consistent Naming

# Good
due_date, start_date, end_date
 
# Avoid
dueDate, StartDate, end-date

3. Use Defaults

status:
  default: "Backlog"
created_date:
  default: "{{today}}"

4. Required Fields

  • Only mark truly essential fields
  • Too many required fields = friction
  • Usually just title is required

5. Color Coding

  • Green = positive/complete
  • Red = negative/urgent/blocked
  • Yellow = warning/in-progress
  • Blue = neutral/new
  • Gray = inactive/archived

Property Organization

Group Related Properties:

# 1. Identity (top)
title
description
 
# 2. Status & Classification
status
priority
category
tags
 
# 3. People
owner
assignee
team
 
# 4. Dates
start_date
due_date
completed_date
 
# 5. Metrics (bottom)
budget
hours
progress

Performance Optimization

For Large Bases (1,000+ entries):

  1. Use specific source folders

    source: "/projects/active"
    # Not: "/"
  2. Add default filters

    default_filters:
      - status not_equals "Archived"
  3. Enable Quantum Search

    • Preferences → Performance → Quantum Search
  4. Limit visible properties

    • Show 6-8 columns max in table view
  5. Use pagination

    • 50-100 entries per page

Data Entry Efficiency

Use Templates:

---
template: project
status: planning
priority: medium
owner: "{{current_user}}"
start_date: "{{today}}"
---
 
# {{title}}
 
## Overview
{{description}}
 
## Goals
- Goal 1
- Goal 2
 
## Tasks
- [ ] Initial task

Keyboard Shortcuts:

  • Cmd/Ctrl + N - New entry
  • Cmd/Ctrl + E - Edit selected
  • Tab - Next cell
  • Enter - Edit cell
  • Esc - Cancel edit

Maintenance Routines

Daily:

  • Update task statuses
  • Check overdue items
  • Process inbox/new items

Weekly:

  • Review all active items
  • Archive completed items
  • Update priorities
  • Schedule next week’s work

Monthly:

  • Analyze trends and metrics
  • Clean up old data
  • Review and adjust workflows
  • Update templates

Troubleshooting

Base Loading Slowly

Solutions:

  1. Reduce visible entries with filters
  2. Enable Quantum Search
  3. Use specific source folder
  4. Hide unused properties
  5. Close unused Base tabs

Missing Data

Solutions:

  1. Check YAML frontmatter format
  2. Verify property names match
  3. Refresh Base index
  4. Check file permissions

Inline Editing Not Working

Solutions:

  1. Ensure file is not read-only
  2. Check property is editable
  3. Validate YAML syntax
  4. Wait for auto-save (300ms)

What’s Next?

Additional Resources