Frontmatter

Frontmatter is the YAML block at the top of each Markdown file, between --- lines. Astro and your theme read it for title, dates, SEO, images, and drafts.

Default template

Creating a note with Ctrl/Cmd + N (with Astro Composer configured) may insert a template like:

---
title: "{{title}}"
date: {{date}}
description: ""
tags: []
image: ""
imageAlt: ""
imageOG: false
hideCoverImage: false
hideTOC: false
targetKeyword: ""
draft: true
---

Placeholders depend on your content type and Astro Composer settings.

Fields

Field	Type	Notes
title	string	Page title and often the <title> tag.
date	string	Often YYYY-MM-DD; used for sorting, RSS, and display.
description	string	Meta description; aim for ~150–160 characters for SEO.
tags	string[]	e.g. tags: [astro, tutorial]
image	string	Cover image URL or vault-relative path.
imageAlt	string	Alt text for the cover image.
imageOG	boolean	If true, use cover image for Open Graph / social previews.
hideCoverImage	boolean	Hide cover on the page while still using it for OG/SEO if configured.
hideTOC	boolean	Hide table of contents where the theme supports it.
targetKeyword	string	Primary keyword for the SEO plugin.
draft	boolean	true keeps content out of production builds when the theme respects it.

Caution

New drafts often set draft: true. Set draft: false or remove draft when you intend to publish.

Normalize frontmatter

Astro Composer: Standardize Properties (command palette) can align fields across files.

Wikilinks

Astro Composer: Convert Wikilinks to Astro rewrites [[links]] to Markdown Astro can resolve.

Date format

Default is often YYYY-MM-DD. Adjust in Settings → Astro Composer if your theme expects another format.