Tag and file Obsidian notes from the email subject line

The best time to organize a note is the moment you capture it. You know what it's about, and you know where it belongs. With Email2Obsidian, the subject line is where that happens, so notes arrive already tagged and your Dataview or Bases views pick them up without any tidying.

The syntax at a glance

• #tag at the end of the subject is removed from the title and added as a note tag.
• A tag runs until the next #.
• @@VaultName sends the note to that vault (Pro). Use quotes for names with spaces: @@"Second Brain".
• You can combine both in one subject.

Adding tags

Put your hashtags at the very end of the subject. Here's how a few subjects turn out:

Watch out for spaces

Because a tag runs until the next #, any words after a hashtag become part of that tag. Spaces inside a tag are turned into underscores, so #project alpha becomes the tag project_alpha. That's rarely what you meant. Use hyphens instead: #project-alpha.

Keep tags simple

Tags can use letters, numbers, hyphens and underscores. Punctuation at the start or end of a tag is trimmed, so a stray comma won't break anything. And keep tags at the end of the subject, after the words you want in the title.

Tag patterns that work well

A small, consistent set of tags beats a sprawling one. You'll type them on a phone keyboard, so short and memorable wins. A few patterns people find useful:

• Status: #todo, #waiting, #read-later
• Area: #finance, #travel, #health
• Project or client: #client-acme, #kitchen-reno
• Course code: #COMP101

Pair that with a query and your captures start working for you. For example, a Dataview or Bases view that lists notes in your Inbox folder tagged #todo gives you a running task list. See a #todo inbox in Obsidian for more on that.

Routing to a specific vault (Pro)

If you keep separate vaults for work and personal life, for different clients, or for your thesis and everything else, vault routing sends each email where it belongs. Add @@ followed by the vault name to the subject:

• Contract redlines @@Work #client-acme
• Weekend recipe idea @@"Second Brain" #cooking

A few details:

• Without quotes, the vault name ends at the first space. If your vault name has spaces, wrap it in quotes.
• If a subject contains more than one @@ marker, the first valid one wins.
• Vault names can be up to 64 characters.
• Don't send a subject that's only markers. It needs real words, or the note ends up titled "(no subject)".

Vault routing is a Pro feature. Starter is a single-vault plan. If you're deciding whether it's worth it, see when Pro's multiple vaults are worth it.

Putting it together

Tags and vault routing combine in one subject. Write the title first, then the vault marker, then the tags:

Where tags can't go (and what to use instead)

The subject line handles tags and vaults. It doesn't choose a folder, and it doesn't set reminders. The destination folder and note template are set in the plugin settings, so every email lands in the same place, ready for you to file.

If you're coming from Evernote, here's how its subject-line syntax maps, at the time of writing (November 2026):

More on switching in coming from Evernote's email syntax.

Tagging forwards and rules

When you forward by hand, edit the subject before you send: delete the "Fwd:" prefix (it isn't removed for you) and add your tags at the end. Fwd: Your order has shipped becomes Standing desk order shipped #home #receipts.

Automatic rules, like an Outlook rule using "Forward to" or an Apple Mail rule on a Mac, usually keep the original subject. For those, rely on your folder and template settings, and save tagging for the emails you forward yourself. The forwarding guide covers each email app.

Troubleshooting

A tag is missing. Check that it's at the end of the subject, spelled the way you expect, and doesn't have a space in it that merged it with the next word.

Vault routing was ignored. Routing needs the Pro plan. Then check the spelling of the vault name, and that names with spaces are in quotes.

The title looks odd. Leftover "Fwd:" or "RE:" prefixes stay in the title. Tidy them before sending. And remember every email needs a subject; empty ones are rejected.

Capturing on the go? See tagged captures from your phone.