Frontmatter
The YAML block at the top of a Markdown file — between two --- lines — gets its own editable
section above the document title.
How to reach it
A collapsible frontmatter block sits above the title whenever the file has one. Click its header to expand or collapse it. That collapsed/expanded state is a single app-wide preference, not saved per file — the block starts in the same state on every document you open.
Editing
The block is a syntax-highlighted text area; edits save automatically as you type, exactly like the rest of the document. It's only editable while the document itself is in editing mode — in reading mode, click a line inside the expanded block and the same Edit pill as in the document body appears.
Frontmatter is never validated. Malformed YAML is written back exactly as you typed it — Context Raven doesn't check it, reformat it, or block the save. Comments, key order, and quoting inside the block are all preserved byte for byte. Because the block and the document body are one file, an edit to frontmatter re-serializes the whole document underneath it.
Autocomplete
With your cursor on a value for a key that's used consistently across other files in the same
folder, a ranked popup suggests the values those other files use for that key. Typing a value that
isn't in the list shows a subtle "New value for <field>" hint instead of blocking you — matching
against the existing list is exact, but the popup itself is lenient about how you type. Neither the
hint nor an unlisted value ever prevents saving.
In the cloud workspace
The cloud workspace shows frontmatter differently: a metadata panel with separate Description, YAML Form, and raw YAML tabs. There, invalid YAML shows an inline error and blocks autosave until it's fixed — the opposite of the desktop block's byte-preserving, never-validated behavior. Autocomplete isn't available in the cloud workspace, since encrypted notes there can't be indexed for suggestions.
Limits
- Frontmatter isn't validated on the desktop, so a typo in your YAML is saved as typed rather than flagged.
- The block's collapsed/expanded state is one preference for the whole app, not a per-document setting.