Front matter reference
The YAML block at the top of a markdown file, and the keys Treehouse reads from it to label, title and schedule your files.
Keys Treehouse understands
| Key | Where it goes | Value | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
title | A folder's README.md or index.md | Text | Replaces the folder's name as the heading of its Files and Calendar views. |
title | Any markdown note in a calendar folder | Text | Labels the note on the calendar instead of its file name. |
view | A folder's README.md or index.md | calendar | Opens the folder on its calendar, as long as it has dated notes. |
date | Any markdown note | YYYY-MM-DD | Places the note on its folder's calendar. Dragging it to another day rewrites this value. |
Turn a folder into a page or calendar shows these keys at work.
What front matter is
Front matter is a block of YAML at the very top of a markdown file, between two lines of three dashes. It holds facts about the document, separate from the text itself:
---
title: Q4 roadmap
date: 2026-10-01
status: draft
tags: [planning, product]
---
The roadmap starts here.
The block must be the first thing in the file. Treehouse reads it only from markdown files.
Other keys
You can add any other keys you like. Treehouse keeps them exactly as written and shows them in the file's Metadata, but gives them no special meaning. Nothing in the app filters, sorts or acts on status, tags, owner or anything else.
That still makes them useful. Agents read front matter well, so a small shared vocabulary is a good way to tell them things. A common pattern is status: draft on work that isn't ready and status: ready once it is, with a line in your AGENTS.md saying what each value means. It's a convention you and your agents agree on, not a Treehouse feature. The routines playbook shows where conventions like this fit.
Where you see it in the app
- Reading a file: a collapsed Metadata card above the document, showing a couple of values and the number of fields. Select it to see them all.
- The Info tab: the details panel lists every field under Metadata.
- Editing: a Metadata form above the document lets you change existing values. True or false values are checkboxes, and lists have an Add… box for new items. To add or remove a key, or change a nested value, switch the editor to Source and edit the YAML directly.
If the YAML can't be parsed, the editor says so and offers to open Source so you can fix it.
How agents set it
There's no separate metadata API. Front matter is part of the file, so an agent sets it by writing the file with the block at the top, and changes it the same way. Everyone sees the change as a new version of the file, with the usual history.
Related
- Turn a folder into a page or calendar
Give a folder a front page with a README, or show a folder of dated notes as a calendar you can reschedule by dragging.
- Create and edit files
Make new files and folders in the web app, edit markdown, code and HTML, and save your changes.
- Set up routines
Recurring agent work, like a morning inbox run or a weekly review, and where the schedule lives when Treehouse doesn't run agents itself.
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