Formulas allow you to create calculated properties in Bases using data from other properties. You can perform calculations, manipulate text, work with dates, and more.

What formulas can do #

Formulas can help you:

• Calculate values, add prices, compute totals, or perform math operations.
• Manipulate text, combine strings, change case, or extract substrings.
• Work with dates, calculate time differences, format dates, or determine deadlines.
• Apply logic, use conditional statements to display different values.
• Process lists, filter, sort, map, or aggregate list data.

Create a formula property #

To create a formula property:

1. In your base, click Properties in the toolbar.
2. Click Add formula at the bottom of the menu.
3. Enter a name for your formula property.
4. Type your formula in the Formula field.
5. Close the dialog.

The formula editor will autocomplete function and property names as you type to validate your formula syntax. A green checkmark appears when your formula is valid.

Once created, you can use a formula property like any other property in your base. Add it to views, use it in filters, sort by it, and more.

Write a formula #

In the formula editor, type an expression using properties, operators, and functions.

Reference properties #

You can reference different types of properties in your formulas:

• Note properties — Properties from a note's frontmatter.
• File properties — Built-in properties like file.name, file.size, or file.mtime.
• Formula properties — Other formulas using formula.formula_name.

Examples:

• price * quantity — multiply two note properties
• file.name + " - " + description — combine file name with a note property
• formula.price_per_unit * 1.1 — use another formula property

Use operators #

Arithmetic operators perform math on numbers:

• price + tax — add
• price - discount — subtract
• price * quantity — multiply
• price / quantity — divide
• (part / whole) * 100 — use parentheses for order of operations

Comparison operators compare values:

• price > 100 — greater than
• age < 18 — less than
• status == "Done" — equals
• status != "Done" — not equals
• file.mtime > now() - '7d' — compare dates

Boolean operators combine logical conditions:

• !completed — not
• price > 0 && quantity > 0 — and
• urgent || important — or

Learn more in Bases syntax.

Use functions #

Functions perform operations on values. The available functions depend on the type of value you're working with. See the complete list of Functions.

Common function categories:

• Global functions — if(), now(), date(), link(), max(), min()
• String functions — contains(), replace(), split(), lower(), title()
• Number functions — round(), ceil(), floor(), abs(), toFixed()
• Date functions — format(), relative(), date(), time()
• List functions — filter(), map(), sort(), join(), unique()

Examples:

• if(price, "$" + price.toFixed(2), "") to define a conditional with number formatting.
• file.name.lower() to convert to lowercase.
• tags.contains("urgent") to check if the tags list contains a value.
• due_date.format("YYYY-MM-DD") to format a date.

Formula examples #

Calculate a deadline #

Set a project's due date as 2 weeks after the start date:

start_date + "2w"

Display overdue status #

Show "Overdue" if the due date has passed and status is not "Done":

if(due_date < now() && status != "Done", "Overdue", "")

Format currency #

Display a price with 2 decimal places and currency symbol:

if(price, "$" + price.toFixed(2), "")

Count list items #

Count the number of items in a list property:

tasks.length

Calculate priority score #

Combine multiple factors into a priority score:

(impact * urgency) / effort

Combine text fields #

Create a full name from first and last name:

first_name + " " + last_name

Calculate total cost #

Multiply monthly cost by number of months owned:

monthlyUses * formula.Owned.round()

Data types #

Formulas work with different types of data:

• Strings — Text enclosed in quotes: "hello" or 'world'
• Numbers — Numeric values: 42, 3.14, (2 + 2)
• Booleans — True or false: true, false
• Dates — Created with date(), today(), or now()
• Lists — Collections of values: [1, 2, 3]
• Objects — Key-value pairs: {"name": "value"}

The output type of a formula is determined by the data and functions used.

Reference other formulas #

Formulas can reference other formulas, creating derived calculations. For example, if you have a formula called price_per_unit:

price / quantity

You can reference it in another formula:

formula.price_per_unit * 1.1

[!warning] Avoid circular references A formula cannot reference itself directly or indirectly through other formulas.