It describes the document for another tool.
YAML front matter is a metadata block at the beginning of a file. It can hold a title, date, tags, or settings used by a publishing system or another app. It belongs to the Markdown source, even when a viewer presents it separately from the body.
The fields do not all have a universal meaning. A publishing tool might use title for its page title, while another app ignores it. Keep unfamiliar fields until you know which tool uses them.
For a publishing example, Jekyll’s front matter documentation explains how its metadata fields control the generated page. Zizeg lets you read and edit the file; it does not turn those fields into a publishing workflow automatically.
Metadata first, document text second.
An example Markdown file
---
title: "Project handover"
date: "2026-10-18"
tags: [handover, project]
---
# Project handover
The draft is ready for review.
| Part | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Opening and closing --- | Mark the boundaries of the metadata block at the top. |
| title | A metadata value that another tool may use as the document title. |
| date | A quoted date value. Its purpose depends on the receiving tool. |
| tags | A list of two labels: handover and project. |
| # Project handover | The visible heading in the Markdown body, outside the metadata. |
The metadata title and the body heading are separate text. Changing one does not necessarily change the other. If you want both to match, check both places.
Download this small example to inspect it in Zizeg.
The position and surrounding text matter.
In Zizeg, front matter starts with a --- line at the beginning of the file and ends with another --- line or a ... line. In the example, the title, date, and tags sit between those boundaries.
A line of dashes elsewhere can be ordinary Markdown: a horizontal rule, or part of a heading depending on the surrounding text. The characters alone do not tell the whole story.
If a document looks different in another app, inspect the opening lines in Source before removing anything. Different Markdown tools can treat metadata differently.
Read in Preview. Change the fields in Source.
- Open the Markdown file.If Zizeg is your default app for .md files, just double-click it in Finder.
- Look at the top of Preview.Zizeg presents the metadata in a box labeled Front matter — read-only in Preview. You can edit the document body while the front matter stays separate.
- Choose Edit in Source to change metadata.Or switch to Source (⌘2) or Split (⌘3) and edit the opening block directly.
- Keep the structure and check the result.For example, change the quoted title value while retaining the field name and delimiter lines. Keep list syntax and indentation intact when editing more complex blocks.
With Preview or Split set as your default viewing mode, the formatted view opens automatically. Click the active Split control again to swap Source and Preview; click it again to swap back.
If you want to experiment with unfamiliar fields, make a separate copy with File → Save As… (⇧⌘S) first. See working with a separate copy.
Reading is free. Changing metadata and using HTML or PDF export require a one-time unlock or an active subscription.
Keep working metadata out of a reader’s copy when it adds no value.
For a client report or a handover PDF, the recipient usually needs the document body rather than publishing fields. In Zizeg’s HTML and PDF save panels, Include front matter starts unchecked for every export.
Leave it unchecked to exclude the metadata from that exported copy. This does not delete or change the front matter in your Markdown source.
If the reader needs to see it, select Include front matter and check the finished file. Zizeg renders included front matter like ordinary Markdown, so it can look like a horizontal line followed by a heading rather than the separate metadata box shown in Preview.
For the export steps, follow Markdown to PDF or standalone HTML. If the recipient needs to continue the publishing workflow, consider sending the Markdown source with its metadata and assets intact; the format-choice guide helps with that decision.
