Your Obsidian Bases, one click away in the menu bar.

Point BaseBar at a .base file and it shows that view as a board — your filters, your grouping, your property names. Drag a card and it writes one line back into the note. Obsidian can stay closed.

See how it works ↓

macOS 13+ · One-time purchase · 30-day refund

Works with Bases, a plain folder of notes, or an old Kanban-plugin board.

# How it works

Your Base, in the bar, in three moves.

No sync engine, no account, nothing to configure twice. The board you already built in Obsidian, shown where your eyes already are — watch it happen.

  1. Tasks.base
    filters:
    inFolder("tasks")
    views:
    groupBy: status
    order: due, priority
    todo
    Reply to testers
    in progress
    Ship v1.0
    done
    Set up DB
    01

    Point it at a .base

    BaseBar reads that file: its filters, the view you picked, what it groups by, the column order, and your own property names. It never writes to the .base.

  2. 312:09
    TasksMedia planReading
    todo
    Reply to testers
    Draft tweet
    in progress
    Ship v1.0
    Record demo
    done
    Set up DB
    02

    That view lives in the menu bar

    One click and the board is there, over whatever app you're in. Several bases? Each one is a tab — and one base with two views can be two tabs.

  3. Doing
    Ship v1.0
    Done
    Ship v1.0.md
    status: doingdone
    03

    Drag a card — one line changes

    BaseBar rewrites only the property the view groups by, inside that one note. Everything else in the file is untouched, and Obsidian picks it up whenever you open it.

# the whole idea

Your .base file is already the setup.

BaseBar doesn't ask you to rebuild a board. It reads the Base you already made in Obsidian and renders that exact view in the menu bar — including the names you gave your properties.

Tasks.base
filters:
  and:
    - file.inFolder("tasks")1
    - file.hasTag("task")
properties:
  due:
    displayName: Deadline4
views:
  - type: kanban-view
    name: Pipeline2
    groupBy: status3
    order: [due, owner]4
  - type: table
    name: Everything
  1. 1

    which notes are on the board

    The filters are yours: inFolder, hasTag, and the != rules a view uses to hide finished work. BaseBar matches the same notes Obsidian does.

  2. 2

    which view you meant

    A base usually holds several views — by status, by weekday, a flat table. You pick one, and that one is the board. Add the same file twice and you get two tabs.

  3. 3

    what makes the columns

    Whatever the view groups by — status, stage, day — becomes the columns, in the order the view fixes. That one property is also the only thing BaseBar ever writes back.

  4. 4

    what goes on a card

    The properties the view lists, labelled the way you labelled them. Your board about films has a “Runtime”, not a “priority” you never set.

read-onlyBaseBar never rewrites your .base file. The one thing it writes is the grouping line inside a note — nothing else in the vault is touched.

# What it can read

Three kinds of board, one menu bar.

Bases is the main road, but you don't have to be on it. Whatever your vault already looks like, there's a way in.

the main way

An Obsidian Base

A .base file you already built. BaseBar takes its filters, the view you choose, what that view groups by, the column order and your property labels.

Tasks.base
filters:
  and:
    - file.inFolder("tasks")
views:
  - type: kanban-view
    name: Pipeline
    groupBy: status
no Bases needed

A folder of notes

Point it at a folder instead and every note in it becomes a card, grouped by whichever frontmatter property you name.

Ship v1.0.md
---
status: in progress
due: 2026-09-22
---

Ship notes and the DMG.
old boards welcome

A Kanban-plugin note

The abandoned Kanban plugin kept boards as one note. BaseBar reads that format directly — ## headings are columns, - [ ] lines are cards — and moving a card moves its line.

Launch board.md
## Backlog

- [ ] Write the changelog
- [ ] Call the bank #high

## In progress

- [ ] Record the demo

# What you can do

Everything the app actually does.

No roadmap promises — just what ships today. Every tile is a live loop of the real behaviour.

312:40
Tasks
Inbox
Reply
Draft
Doing
Ship v1
Demo
Done
Set up DB
menu bar

Your Base over every app

One click in the menu bar — no window to hunt for, no app to switch to, Obsidian open or closed.

Doing
Ship v1.0
Done
drag

Drag to move, one line changes

Drop a card in another column and BaseBar rewrites only the property the view groups by.

Inbox
Draft launch tweet
Reply to testers
＋ Add task
＋ add

Add a note in two clicks

Fields come from the base, and each one offers the values you already use. Pick, don't retype.

Dune, part two
Runtime166 min
DirectorVilleneuve
Watchednot yet
properties.displayName — straight from your .base
properties

Your property names

Cards are labelled the way you labelled them in Obsidian — not with a status/priority guess.

Rename a column
Doing
In progress
columnDoingIn progress
views

Pick the view you meant

One base, several views. Choose one per tab — by status here, by weekday next to it.

32
Tasks3
Content plan2
tabs

Several bases, one icon

Tasks, a media plan, a reading list — each a tab in the same popover.

Ship BaseBar v1.0
Ship v1.0.md
---
status: doing
due: 2026-09-22
---
obsidian

Open the note

Click a card's title to jump straight to the full note in Obsidian.

BaseBar39:41
✓Open at login
launch

Launch at login

There the moment your Mac starts. No account, no sync, no server.

↔Nothing here needs a plugin: Bases ships with Obsidian, and BaseBar reads your file without changing a byte of it.

# What it doesn't do

The honest list.

Fewer surprises means fewer refunds. BaseBar only ever reads and writes plain Markdown — so here's exactly what it won't do, before you pay for it.

30 daysmoney-back, no questions asked

wont-do.md
---
platform:macOS only# native Mac app — no iPhone, iPad, or Windows
sync:false# local files only — no account, no cloud
network:update check# one daily GET of version.json; switch it off in Settings
formulas:false# filters and grouping yes, computed formula columns no
editing_notes:one line# moves rewrite the grouping property; nothing else
writes_to_base:never# your .base file is read-only to BaseBar
reminders:false# no notifications yet
affiliation:none# independent tool; Obsidian is a trademark
---

Keep your Base one click away.

Early access is $9.99 — locked in before it goes to $19.99.

See pricing & reserve your price

# Installation

Download to first board in two minutes.

BaseBar is made by a solo developer and isn't notarized yet, so macOS shows a warning on first launch — the two highlighted steps below. Here's exactly what you'll see and what to click.

  1. 01

    Download BaseBar.dmg

    Use the link in your email to download BaseBar.dmg.

    Mail — Inbox
    BaseBar
    [email protected]
    Your BaseBar download is ready

    Thanks for your order — grab the app below and follow the steps.

    Download BaseBar.dmg
  2. 02

    Drag it into Applications

    Open the DMG and drop the BaseBar icon onto the Applications folder.

    BaseBar
    BaseBar
    Applications
  3. 03

    First launch: "Open Anyway"

    macOS can't verify the developer. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll down, click Open Anyway.

    Privacy & Security
    Security
    “BaseBar” was blocked to protect your Mac.
    Apple could not verify it is free of malware.
    Open Anyway
    Allow applications from: App Store & Known Developers
  4. 04

    If it says the app is "damaged"

    That's the quarantine flag, not real damage. Run the one-line command in Terminal — copy it from the window.

    zsh — BaseBar
    $ remove the quarantine flag, once:
    xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/BaseBar.app
  5. 05

    Point it at your board

    A short wizard asks where your tasks live — a .base, a folder, or a board note — and that's the whole setup.

    12:40
    Where do your tasks live right now?
    Each task is its own note
    a folder of notes
    Choose…
    I already built a Base in Obsidian
    a .base file
    Choose…
    None of these — I'm starting fresh
    we'll write you one
    Choose…
  6. 06

    (Optional) Let it make you one

    No Base yet? The wizard writes a small working board into your vault so you can see it move.

    Starter board — your vault
    • Reply to testers.mdinbox
    • Ship v1.0.mddoing
    • Record demo.mddoing
    • Set up the DB.mddone

?Why the “unverified” and “damaged” warnings?

BaseBar isn't notarized by Apple, so macOS can't confirm who built it and shows those warnings. Notarizing requires a paid Apple Developer Program membership — $99/year, and as a solo developer on a tight budget I haven't bought in yet. The app only touches your Markdown files; its one network request is a daily check for a newer version, which you can turn off. Once BaseBar earns enough to cover it, I'll notarize and these steps disappear.

# Pricing

One price. You own it.

Early access
$9.99$19.99

One-time. Price goes up after launch.

  • ✓One-time purchase — no subscription
  • ✓1 user, up to 2 Macs
  • ✓30-day money-back refund
  • ✓Free updates for v1.x

macOS 13+ · Secure checkout when it opens

# what you get

  • The BaseBar app

    The native menu-bar app itself — a universal .app for Apple Silicon and Intel that you drag into Applications. Works whether Obsidian is open or closed.

  • A starter board if you need one

    No Base yet? The setup wizard writes a small working board into your vault — no plugins to enable, nothing to configure.

  • Free updates through 1.x

    Every 1.x release is included — you buy once, updates keep coming at no extra charge.

How you get it

  1. 1Buy once
  2. 2Get an email with your download link
  3. 3Open the file, drag to Applications

No account to create, no activation server. It's just a file you own.

# FAQ

Questions people ask before buying.

Obsidian helps, Bases is optional. A .base file is the best way in — BaseBar reads its filters, its view and your property names. But you can also point it at a plain folder of Markdown notes, or at a board note in the old Kanban-plugin format. It reads files, not a database.

Your .base file is never written to at all. In a note, BaseBar rewrites exactly one line: the property your view groups by, and only when you move a card. Adding a note creates a new file. Nothing else in the vault is touched.

No. There is no account, no sync and no analytics in the app — your notes never leave your Mac. BaseBar makes exactly one network request: once a day it downloads basebar.app/version.json to see whether a newer version exists. That request carries nothing about you or your vault, and you can switch it off in Settings.

macOS 13 (Ventura) or newer, on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.

Yes — 30 days, no questions asked. If BaseBar isn't for you, email us and we'll refund it.

The one you pick. BaseBar lists every view in the file and you choose per tab — so the same base can appear twice, grouped by status in one tab and by weekday in the next.

They still show up. A note with no value for the grouping property gets its own lane at the end instead of disappearing, and a view with no grouping at all is simply shown as a list.

Not right now. BaseBar is a native macOS menu-bar app, and there's no mobile or Windows build planned.

BaseBar is made by a solo developer and isn't notarized yet, so macOS asks you to confirm on first launch. It's standard for independent Mac apps — the Installation section shows each step.