Universe Notes - banisterious/obsidian-charted-roots GitHub Wiki

Universe Notes

Universe Notes allow you to manage fictional worlds as first-class entities. Instead of using plain strings for the universe field, you can create dedicated universe notes that serve as a canonical registry for your fictional worlds (Middle-earth, Westeros, your own custom settings).

Table of Contents

Overview

Universe Notes solve several problems for worldbuilders:

Problem Solution
Typos create duplicate "universes" Autocomplete from universe notes
No central overview Universe notes + Universes tab
Can't store metadata Universe note holds description, author, genre, etc.
No validation Orphan detection for unlinked universe strings
No discoverability Browse universe notes, Universes section in Statistics

Universe Notes support:

  • Canonical registry: One note per fictional world with metadata
  • Entity aggregation: See all people, events, places, sources, and organizations in a universe
  • Guided setup: Wizard to create universe with linked calendar, map, and schema
  • Always accessible: Universes tab is always visible with helpful getting started tiles

Creating Universe Notes

Ways to Create a Universe

There are several entry points to create a new universe:

Method How
Command palette Ctrl/Cmd+P → "Charted Roots: Create universe"
Universes tab Open Control Center → Universes tab → "Create Universe" tile
Statistics Dashboard Open Statistics Dashboard → Universes section → Create button

Using the Create Universe Wizard

The wizard guides you through creating:

  • The universe note with metadata
  • An optional default calendar — choose None, a Built-in calendar (Galactic Standard, Middle-earth, Westeros, Generic Fantasy Ages), or a Custom calendar you define inline. When the universe name slug-matches a built-in's universe field (e.g., "Star Wars" → Galactic Standard, "Middle-earth" → Middle-earth Calendar), that built-in is preselected and you only need to confirm the choice.
  • An optional custom map
  • An optional validation schema scoped to the universe

From the Universes tab:

  1. Open the Control Center (Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+F or command palette: "Open Control Center")
  2. Navigate to the Universes tab
  3. Click the Create Universe tile (if no universes exist) or the Create universe button in the Actions card
  4. Follow the multi-step wizard

Manual Creation

Create a note with the following frontmatter:

---
cr_type: universe
cr_id: middle-earth
name: Middle-earth
description: A fantasy world created by J.R.R. Tolkien
author: J.R.R. Tolkien
genre: fantasy
status: active
default_calendar: shire-reckoning
default_map: middle-earth-map
---

## Overview

Middle-earth is the setting for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings...

Universe Properties

See also the Frontmatter Reference for complete property documentation.

erDiagram
    UNIVERSE ||--o| CALENDAR : "default_calendar"
    UNIVERSE ||--o| MAP : "default_map"
    UNIVERSE ||--o{ PERSON : "universe"
    UNIVERSE ||--o{ PLACE : "universe"
    UNIVERSE ||--o{ EVENT : "universe"
    UNIVERSE ||--o{ ORGANIZATION : "universe"
    UNIVERSE ||--o{ SCHEMA : "scoped to"

    UNIVERSE {
        string cr_id PK
        string cr_type
        string name
        string description
        string author
        string genre
        string status
        string default_calendar FK
        string default_map FK
        date created
    }

    CALENDAR {
        string cr_id PK
        string name
        array eras
    }

    MAP {
        string cr_id PK
        string name
        string image_path
        object bounds
    }

Key relationships:

  • Universe → Calendar: Default date system for events in this universe
  • Universe → Map: Default custom map for geographic visualization
  • Universe → Entities: People, places, events, and organizations can be scoped to a universe via the universe property
  • Universe → Schema: Validation schemas can be scoped to enforce universe-specific rules
Property Type Required Description
cr_type string Yes Must be universe
cr_id string Yes Unique identifier (auto-generated or custom)
name string Yes Universe display name
description string No Brief description of the world
author string No Creator of the fictional world
genre string No Genre (fantasy, sci-fi, historical, etc.)
status string No Status: active, draft, or archived
default_calendar string No ID of the default date system for this universe
default_map string No ID of the default custom map for this universe
created date No Creation date of the universe note

Status Values

Status Description
active Currently being developed or in use
draft Work in progress, not yet complete
archived No longer actively maintained

Universes Tab

The Universes tab is always visible in the Control Center, providing easy access to universe management.

Quick Actions Card

The first card provides quick access to universe-related features:

Tile Description
Create Universe Opens the Create Universe wizard to set up a new fictional world
Date Systems Links to the Events tab to learn about custom calendars
Custom Maps Links to the Places tab to learn about custom geographic maps

Your Universes Card

The second card lists all universe notes with:

  • Universe name and description
  • Entity counts (people, events, places, sources, organizations)
  • Click to open the universe note
  • Hover for additional details

Orphan Universe Strings Card

Shows entities that reference a universe value that doesn't match any universe note. This helps identify:

  • Typos in universe names
  • Missing universe notes that should be created
  • Entities that need their universe field updated

Click an orphan string to see all entities using that value, then either:

  • Create a universe note with that ID
  • Update the entities to use an existing universe

Create Universe Wizard

The wizard provides a guided setup for new fictional worlds:

Step 1: Universe Details

Required information about your universe:

  • Name: Display name (e.g., "Middle-earth")
  • ID: Auto-generated from name, or customize
  • Description: Brief overview of the world
  • Author: Creator of the fictional world
  • Genre: Fantasy, sci-fi, historical, etc.
  • Status: Active, draft, or archived

Step 2: Custom Calendar (Optional)

Create a date system for your universe:

  • Skip if using standard dates or an existing calendar
  • Define eras with names, abbreviations, and epochs
  • Set year direction (forward or backward counting)
  • The calendar is automatically linked to the universe

See Fictional Date Systems for details on calendar configuration.

Step 3: Custom Map (Optional)

Create a map configuration for your universe:

  • Skip if using real-world maps
  • Select an image file for the map background
  • Define coordinate bounds
  • The map is automatically linked to the universe

See Geographic Features for details on custom maps.

Step 4: Validation Schema (Optional)

Create a schema scoped to this universe:

  • Skip if not using schema validation
  • Define required properties for entities in this universe
  • Set custom validation rules
  • The schema is automatically scoped to the universe

See Schema Validation for details on schemas.

Step 5: Summary

Review all created entities:

  • Universe note with link to open
  • Calendar (if created) with link
  • Map (if created) with link
  • Schema (if created) with link

Statistics Integration

The Statistics dashboard includes a Universes section showing:

Universe Overview

  • Total universe count
  • List of all universes with status badges

Per-Universe Breakdown

For each universe, see entity counts:

  • People in this universe
  • Events in this universe
  • Places in this universe
  • Sources in this universe
  • Organizations in this universe

Drill-Down

Click a universe to see all its entities. Click "View full statistics →" to open the Statistics dashboard filtered to that universe.

Universes Base Template

Charted Roots includes a pre-configured Bases template for universes with 12 views.

Creating the Template

  1. Open the Universes tab in Control Center
  2. Click Create universes base in the Actions card

Or use the command palette: "Charted Roots: Create universes base template"

Available Views

View Description
All Universes Every universe sorted by name
By Status Grouped by status (active, draft, archived)
Active Universes Only active status
Draft Universes Only draft status
Archived Universes Only archived status
By Genre Grouped by genre
By Author Grouped by author
With Calendars Universes with a default calendar
Without Calendars Universes missing a calendar
With Maps Universes with a default map
Without Maps Universes missing a map
Recently Created Sorted by creation date

Formulas

The template includes these formulas:

  • display_name: Shows name or falls back to filename
  • is_active: Shows "Yes" or "No" based on status
  • has_calendar: Shows "Yes" or "No" based on default_calendar
  • has_map: Shows "Yes" or "No" based on default_map

Commands

Command Description
Create universe Opens the Create Universe wizard
Create universes base template Creates the Bases template file

Context Menu Actions

Universe Notes

Right-click a universe note to access:

  • Add essential universe properties: Adds all standard universe frontmatter fields
  • Open in Universes tab: Opens Control Center to the Universes tab

Creating Related Entities

When creating new entities (people, events, places, etc.) from the context menu, if you have a universe note open or selected, the new entity will be pre-populated with that universe.

Linking Entities to Universes

Using Universe Notes (Recommended)

Link entities to universes using the universe's cr_id:

---
cr_type: person
name: Bilbo Baggins
universe: middle-earth
---

Or use a wikilink to the universe note:

---
cr_type: person
name: Bilbo Baggins
universe: "[Middle-earth](/banisterious/obsidian-charted-roots/wiki/Middle-earth)"
---

Using Plain Strings (Legacy)

Plain string values continue to work for backward compatibility:

---
cr_type: person
name: Bilbo Baggins
universe: Middle-earth
---

However, plain strings won't benefit from autocomplete, validation, or orphan detection.

Autocomplete

When creating or editing entities, the universe field offers autocomplete suggestions from your existing universe notes.

Best Practices

Create Universe Notes First

Before adding characters, events, or places to a fictional world, create the universe note. This enables:

  • Autocomplete when adding entities
  • Proper entity aggregation
  • Statistics tracking

Use Consistent IDs

The cr_id field is used for linking. Use kebab-case IDs that match your universe name:

  • middle-earth for Middle-earth
  • westeros for Westeros
  • my-custom-world for My Custom World

Link Related Configuration

Use the Create Universe wizard to automatically link:

  • Custom calendars via default_calendar
  • Custom maps via default_map

This ensures entities in your universe use the correct date system and map.

Use Status for Organization

  • Active: Universes you're currently working on
  • Draft: Universes in early development
  • Archived: Completed projects or abandoned ideas

Add Descriptive Metadata

Fill in the description, author, and genre fields to make your universes easier to identify and organize.

Dynamic Content Blocks

Universe notes support dynamic content blocks that automatically list all entities belonging to the universe. Place these code blocks in your universe note to create live, auto-updating tables.

Available Blocks

Block Content Default Sort
charted-roots-universe-people Name, born, died, occupation Name
charted-roots-universe-places Name, place type Name
charted-roots-universe-events Event name, date, type, place Date
charted-roots-universe-organizations Name, organization type Name
charted-roots-universe-maps Clickable map image thumbnails Name

Parameters

Entity blocks (people, places, events, organizations)

Parameter Values Default Description
sort name, date, type name Sort order for entries
limit Any number Show all Maximum entries to display

Map block

Parameter Values Default Description
size small, medium, large medium Thumbnail size

Example

Add this to a universe note to list all characters with their dates:

```charted-roots-universe-people
sort: name
```

Add this to show events in chronological order:

```charted-roots-universe-events
sort: date
```

Add this to show clickable map thumbnails:

```charted-roots-universe-maps
size: medium
```

Behavior

  • Entities are matched by the universe frontmatter field on person, place, event, and organization notes
  • All entries render as clickable wikilinks that navigate to the entity note
  • Tables auto-refresh when vault metadata changes
  • Fictional date prefixes (e.g., DE 1169, GR 1492) display as-is from the frontmatter
  • Map thumbnails show the map's base image; clicking opens the map in Map View

Integration with Other Features

Fictional Date Systems

Universes can have a default calendar system. When creating events in a universe, the date system dropdown will highlight the universe's default calendar.

See Fictional Date Systems for full documentation.

Custom Maps

Universes can have a default custom map. When viewing geographic features for entities in a universe, the map view will use the universe's default map.

See Geographic Features for full documentation.

Schema Validation

Create schemas scoped to specific universes to enforce different validation rules per world. For example, a sci-fi universe might require different properties than a fantasy universe.

See Schema Validation for full documentation.

Organizations

Organizations can be scoped to universes. The Organizations tab respects universe filtering.

See Organization Notes for full documentation.

Statistics

The Statistics dashboard provides per-universe breakdowns and supports filtering by universe.

See Statistics & Reports for full documentation.

Related Documentation

Questions? Open an issue on GitHub.