# Meta-Colors
Colors are used in [[Obsidian]] to encode semantic meaning across three visual surfaces: the **file browser** (via [[Obsidian-Iconic]]), the **graph view** (via color groups), and **tags** (via Obsidian-Iconic). These draw from a nine-layer color schema, which maps the [[Obsidian-Minimal Theme|theme]]'s named colors to the [[Flexoki]] color-palette.
## Color layers
The schema defines nine functional layers. Each layer covers a group of note types or queries and is assigned one named color. The layers are ordered by priority — both the graph and Iconic, which evaluate rules top-to-bottom and apply the first match. Projects and TTRPG-related notes are treated as a "domain", which have a special color assigned to them, in order to group them visually (dark red for TTRPG and light green for projects).
```yaml
Status:
Color: "Red"
Covers: "draft: true"
Capture:
Color: "Orange"
Covers: "Fleeting, Idea"
Log:
Color: "Yellow"
Covers: "categories: Logs"
TTRPG:
Color: "#942822"
Covers: "Campaigns, Lore"
Projects:
Color: "#CE5D97"
Covers: "categories: Projects"
Develop:
Color: "Green"
Covers: "Zettel, Fieldnote, SOP, Structure"
Navigate:
Color: "Cyan"
Covers: "Hub, Keyword"
Store:
Color: "Blue"
Covers: "Reference"
Output:
Color: "Purple"
Covers: "categories: Output"
System:
Color: "Gray"
Covers: "path: Bases"
```
## Graph view
Color groups are configured in the global graph and synced to the local graph via [[Obsidian-Sync Graph Settings]]. The query syntax uses Obsidian's graph filter format. Groups are listed in priority order — the first matching group wins.
```yaml
1:
Query: '["draft":true]'
Color: "Red"
2:
Query: '["type": Fleeting OR Idea]'
Color: "Orange"
3:
Query: '["categories":Logs]'
Color: "Yellow"
4:
Query: '["categories": Campaigns OR Lore]'
Color: "#942822"
5:
Query: '["categories":Projects]'
Color: "#9D4310"
6:
Query: '["type": Zettel OR Fieldnote OR SOP OR Structure]'
Color: "Green"
7:
Query: '["type": Hub OR Keyword]'
Color: "Cyan"
8:
Query: '["type":Reference]'
Color: "Blue"
9:
Query: '["categories":Output]'
Color: "Purple"
10:
Query: "path:Bases"
Color: "Gray"
```
## File icons
Icon colors in Obsidian-Iconic are set per rule — each rule defines both an icon and a color together. Rules are evaluated top-to-bottom and the first match wins for the icon; color follows the same first-match logic. The rule order therefore determines both which icon and which color a file receives.
The rule evaluation order is:
1. Infrastructure rules — icon + color (gray; Templates, Bases, Archived files)
2. Status rules — icon + color (`draft: true`)
3. Entity rules — icon + color
4. Type rules — icon + color (one rule per type, colored by layer)
5. Category rules — icon + color (fallback when no type rule matches)
## Tags
Tags use the same nine colors. The assignments are semantically motivated — each tag's color echoes the layer it is closest to in meaning, even though tags operate in a separate visual dimension from note types.
```yaml
continue:
Color: "Red"
Echoes: "Unfinished work with a leftover note, come back to it"
distill:
Color: "Yellow"
Echoes: "Re-shape the content into your own"
research:
Color: "Pink"
Echoes: "Explore or check facts"
draft:
Color: "Green"
Echoes: "Develop this note into a finished piece for publishing"
organize:
Color: "Cyan"
Echoes: "Integrate into the navigation by moving or linking"
sleep:
Color: "Blue"
Echoes: "Hard to process right now - look at it again next month"
review:
Color: "Purple"
Echoes: "Come back at a later point to look at it again"
```
---
## Related
- **previous** [[Meta]]
- **see** [[Obsidian]] for more information about the software
- **see** [[Obsidian-Iconic]] for the plugin used to apply colors and icons
- **see** [[Obsidian-Minimal Theme]] for more information about the theme
- **see** [[Flexoki]] for more information about the color-palette
- **see** [[Obsidian-Sync Graph Settings]] for more information about the plugin
- **see** [[Obsidian-Graph view]] for graph settings and color group configuration
- **see** [[Meta-Icons]] for the full icon configuration per type, category and entity
- **see** [[Meta-Tags]] for the tag definitions and their Iconic rules
## Sources
- **references** [Flexoki](https://stephango.com/flexoki) as the source palette for color hex values
## Usage
- **used in** none
---
## Changelog
- [[2026-06-07]]: Initial creation