Logseq DB Plugin Development Reference

Target: @logseq/libs v0.2.3 | Logseq 0.11.0+ (DB graphs)

This guide focuses on DB (database) graphs, which differ fundamentally from markdown/file-based graphs. Critical differences are highlighted throughout.

Environment Setup

Package.json

{
  "name": "logseq-example-plugin",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "main": "dist/index.js",
  "logseq": {
    "id": "logseq-example-plugin",
    "title": "Example Plugin",
    "icon": "./icon.svg"
  },
  "dependencies": {
    "@logseq/libs": "^0.2.3"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "typescript": "^5.0.0",
    "vite": "^5.0.0",
    "vite-plugin-logseq": "^1.1.2"
  }
}

Basic Plugin Entry Point

import '@logseq/libs'

async function main() {
  console.log('Plugin loaded')

  logseq.Editor.registerSlashCommand('My Command', async () => {
    // Command implementation
  })
}

logseq.ready(main).catch(console.error)

Creating Pages

MD Graphs (File-based)

// Simple page creation
const page = await logseq.Editor.createPage(
  'Page Name',
  {
    property1: 'value1',
    property2: 'value2'
  }
)

DB Graphs (Database)

Key Difference: DB graphs support explicit schema definitions and automatic property namespacing.

// Page with explicit schema (v0.2.3+)
const page = await logseq.Editor.createPage(
  'Article Title',
  {
    title: 'My Article',
    year: 2025,
    verified: true,
    url: 'https://example.com'
  },
  {
    schema: {
      title: { type: 'string' },
      year: { type: 'number' },
      verified: { type: 'checkbox' },
      url: { type: 'url' }
    },
    redirect: false,
    createFirstBlock: false
  } as any  // TypeScript defs not yet updated
)

Property Types:

• string - Text
• number - Numbers
• checkbox - Boolean checkboxes
• url - URLs (validated)
• date - Date values
• datetime - Date with time
• page - Page references
• node - Block references

Important:

• Properties are namespaced as :plugin.property.{plugin-id}/{property-name}
• Use as any for schema parameter (TypeScript definitions lag behind runtime API)
• Schema parameter eliminates DataCloneError from v0.0.17

Creating Class/Tag Pages

MD Graphs

Not applicable - tags are just page references.

DB Graphs

Key Difference: DB graphs have dedicated class/tag pages, but plugin API cannot set class property schemas.

// Create a class page (v0.2.3+)
const tagPage = await logseq.Editor.createPage(
  'research',
  {},
  {
    class: true
  } as any
)

IMPORTANT LIMITATION: The schema parameter on createPage() creates page-level schemas, NOT class schemas. Plugins cannot programmatically set the :logseq.property.class/properties field due to security restrictions.

Alternative: Property Entities with Schemas

Instead of class schemas, use property entities:

// Step 1: Create property entities with schemas
await logseq.Editor.upsertProperty('year', {
  type: 'number'
})

await logseq.Editor.upsertProperty('title', {
  type: 'string'
})

await logseq.Editor.upsertProperty('tags', {
  type: 'string',
  cardinality: 'many'
})

// Step 2: Use properties on pages with explicit schemas
const page = await logseq.Editor.createPage(
  'Study on XYZ #research',
  {}
)

// Set each property with its schema
await logseq.Editor.upsertBlockProperty(
  page.uuid,
  'year',
  2025,
  { type: 'number' }
)

await logseq.Editor.upsertBlockProperty(
  page.uuid,
  'title',
  'XYZ Study',
  { type: 'string' }
)

Why This Works:

• Property entities are created with schemas stored at the property level
• upsertBlockProperty() with schema parameter sets typed values on pages
• Properties maintain correct types without class schema inheritance
• Fully automatic - no manual setup required

What Cannot Be Done:

// ❌ FAILS - Plugins cannot set class/properties
await logseq.Editor.upsertBlockProperty(
  classPage.uuid,
  'class/properties',
  ['year', 'title', 'verified']
)
// Error: "Plugins can only upsert its own properties"

The :logseq.property.class/properties field is a system property that plugins cannot modify. Users must manually add properties to class schemas via the Logseq UI if they want centralized schema management.

Adding Tags to Pages

MD Graphs

// Tags can be added as page properties or in content
const page = await logseq.Editor.createPage(
  'My Page',
  { tags: ['tag1', 'tag2'] }
)

DB Graphs

Key Difference: Tags must be included in the page title. No explicit addTag() API exists.

// ✅ CORRECT - Tags in page title
const page = await logseq.Editor.createPage(
  'My Article #research #science',
  { year: 2025 }
)

// ❌ WRONG - No effect in DB graphs
const page = await logseq.Editor.createPage(
  'My Article',
  { tags: ['research', 'science'] }  // Creates custom property, not actual tags
)

// ❌ WRONG - addTag() method doesn't exist
await logseq.Editor.addTag(page.uuid, 'research')  // Error: "Not existed method"

Creating Blocks

MD Graphs

// Simple block insertion
const block = await logseq.Editor.insertBlock(
  parentBlock,
  'Block content',
  { sibling: true }
)

DB Graphs

Key Difference: Blocks in DB graphs have strict UUID requirements and different property handling.

// Single block with properties
const block = await logseq.Editor.appendBlockInPage(
  'Page Name',
  'Block content',
  {
    properties: {
      customProp: 'value'
    }
  }
)

// Batch blocks (nested structure)
const blocks = await logseq.Editor.insertBatchBlock(
  parentBlock,
  [
    {
      content: 'Parent block',
      children: [
        { content: 'Child 1' },
        { content: 'Child 2' }
      ]
    }
  ],
  { sibling: false }
)

Important:

• properties parameter in insertBatchBlock is not supported in DB graphs
• Use insertBlock with properties option instead for individual blocks
• Blocks without UUIDs get auto-generated UUIDs

Property Management

Creating Property Entities (v0.2.3+)

DB Graphs Only: Properties can be created as standalone entities with schemas.

// Create a property entity with schema
const property = await logseq.Editor.upsertProperty('customField', {
  type: 'string',
  cardinality: 'one'
})

// Property is created with namespace
// Result: :plugin.property.my-plugin-id/customfield

// Get property entity
const prop = await logseq.Editor.getProperty('customField')
console.log(prop.id)  // Database ID
console.log(prop.type)  // 'string'

Available Schema Options:

{
  type: 'default' | 'number' | 'date' | 'datetime' | 'checkbox' | 'url' | 'node' | 'json' | 'string',
  cardinality: 'one' | 'many',  // Default: 'one'
  hide?: boolean,
  public?: boolean
}

Benefits:

• Properties get database IDs
• Schemas stored at property level
• Reusable across pages
• Type validation automatic

Setting Properties with Schemas

// Set a property on a block/page with schema
await logseq.Editor.upsertBlockProperty(
  page.uuid,
  'year',
  2025,
  { type: 'number' }
)

// Multi-value property
await logseq.Editor.upsertBlockProperty(
  page.uuid,
  'tags',
  ['research', 'science'],
  { type: 'string', cardinality: 'many' }
)

When to use upsertBlockProperty() with schema:

• When you need explicit type control per-property
• When property entity doesn't exist yet
• When you want to ensure type even if property schema changes

When to use upsertProperty() first:

• When you have a set of standard properties
• When you want centralized schema definitions
• When you want to reuse schemas across many pages

Property Handling

Reserved Property Names

Both MD and DB: Avoid these reserved names - they have special validation:

• created
• modified
• updated

Issue in DB graphs (v0.2.3):

• Reserved names don't throw errors anymore
• BUT they silently drop all subsequent properties
• Workaround: Use alternative names

// ❌ PROBLEMATIC - Drops 'title' property
const page = await logseq.Editor.createPage(
  'My Page',
  {
    created: '2025-01-15',
    title: 'Will be dropped'  // This gets lost
  }
)

// ✅ SAFE - Use alternative names
const page = await logseq.Editor.createPage(
  'My Page',
  {
    dateCreated: '2025-01-15',
    publicationDate: '2025-01-15',
    title: 'Works correctly'
  }
)

Property Namespacing

MD Graphs: Properties stored as-is in frontmatter.

DB Graphs: Plugin properties are automatically namespaced.

// Plugin creates this property:
{ title: 'My Article' }

// Stored in DB as:
:plugin.property.my-plugin-id/title "My Article"

Important: This prevents conflicts but means you can't modify Logseq's built-in properties like :block/tags.

Querying Data

MD Graphs

Query markdown files directly or use Datalog on file-based database.

DB Graphs

Key Difference: Must use Datalog queries against the database.

// Find pages by property value
const results = await logseq.DB.q(`
  [:find (pull ?b [*])
   :where
   [?b :plugin.property.my-plugin/doi "${doi}"]]
`)

// Check if page exists
const existing = await logseq.DB.q(`
  [:find (pull ?b [*])
   :where
   [?b :block/original-name ?name]
   [(= ?name "${pageName}")]]
`)

Important:

• Use :block/original-name for case-sensitive page name lookups
• Property queries must use full namespaced property name
• Results are arrays of arrays: [[{page1}], [{page2}]]

Handling HTML Content

MD Graphs

Can insert HTML directly into markdown.

DB Graphs

Key Difference: HTML must be converted to markdown first.

import TurndownService from 'turndown'

const turndownService = new TurndownService({
  headingStyle: 'atx',
  codeBlockStyle: 'fenced'
})

// Convert HTML to markdown
const markdown = turndownService.turndown(htmlContent)

const block = await logseq.Editor.appendBlockInPage(
  pageName,
  markdown
)

Duplicate Detection

MD Graphs

Check for existing files.

DB Graphs

Key Difference: Query by unique property, not page title.

// ❌ UNRELIABLE - Page titles can change
const existing = await logseq.Editor.getPage(pageName)

// ✅ RELIABLE - Query by unique property (DOI, URL, etc.)
const results = await logseq.DB.q(`
  [:find (pull ?b [*])
   :where
   [?b :plugin.property.my-plugin/doi "${doi}"]]
`)

if (results && results.length > 0) {
  console.log('Page already exists')
}

Testing in Browser Console

Plugins run in iframes. To test functions from browser console:

// In your plugin code - expose to parent window
if (typeof parent !== 'undefined' && parent.window) {
  // @ts-ignore
  parent.window.myTestFunction = async function() {
    // Test code here
  }
}

// In browser console
await window.myTestFunction()

Common Gotchas

DB Graphs Specific

1. Tags must be in page title - No addTag() API
2. Properties auto-namespaced - Can't modify :block/tags directly
3. Reserved names drop subsequent properties - Use alternative names
4. HTML must be converted to markdown - Use Turndown
5. Cannot set class schemas programmatically - Use upsertProperty() and upsertBlockProperty() instead
6. TypeScript defs lag behind - Use as any for schema parameters
7. Query by unique properties - Not by page titles

Both MD and DB

1. React StrictMode causes double execution - Avoid if possible
2. Empty properties auto-hidden - Set to null or "" to preserve
3. Case-insensitive tag lookup - #Tag and #tag are the same

API Differences Summary

Feature	MD Graphs	DB Graphs
Page creation	Simple properties	Schema-based with types
Property storage	Frontmatter	Namespaced database entities
Tags	Property or content	Must be in page title
HTML content	Direct insertion	Convert to markdown
Duplicate detection	By filename	By unique property query
Class pages	Not applicable	Schema inheritance support
Block properties	Frontmatter	Database properties

Known Limitations (v0.2.3)

1. No tag insertion API - Must use #tag in title
2. Reserved date properties partially broken - Drop subsequent properties
3. Cannot set class property schemas programmatically - :logseq.property.class/properties is a system property that plugins cannot modify. Users must manually configure class schemas in the UI.
4. TypeScript definitions incomplete - schema and class parameters not defined

Class Schema Workaround

Since plugins cannot set class schemas, use this pattern:

// Create property entities on plugin init
async function initProperties() {
  const properties = {
    year: { type: 'number' },
    title: { type: 'string' },
    verified: { type: 'checkbox' }
  }

  for (const [name, schema] of Object.entries(properties)) {
    await logseq.Editor.upsertProperty(name, schema)
  }
}

// Use explicit schemas when setting properties on pages
async function createPage(data) {
  const page = await logseq.Editor.createPage(
    `${data.title} #mytag`,
    {}
  )

  await logseq.Editor.upsertBlockProperty(
    page.uuid, 'year', data.year, { type: 'number' }
  )
  await logseq.Editor.upsertBlockProperty(
    page.uuid, 'title', data.title, { type: 'string' }
  )
}

This provides typed properties without requiring class schema setup.

Requirements

• Logseq: 0.11.0+ (for DB graphs)
• @logseq/libs: 0.2.3+
• Build tool: vite-plugin-logseq recommended
• Testing: Must test on actual DB graphs, not MD graphs

Best Practices

1. Create property entities first - Use upsertProperty() to define reusable properties with schemas
2. Use explicit schemas - Pass schema parameter to upsertBlockProperty() for type safety
3. Alternative names for reserved properties - Avoid created, modified, updated
4. Tags in page title - Include tags using #tag syntax, not as properties
5. Convert HTML to markdown - Use Turndown for DB graphs
6. Query by unique properties - Use DOI, URL, etc. for duplicate detection, not page titles
7. Critical properties first - Put important properties early (validation failures drop subsequent ones)
8. Expose test functions - Use parent.window for console testing
9. Type assertions - Use as any for schema parameters until TypeScript defs updated
10. Document manual setup - If class schemas are important for your use case, provide user instructions for manual configuration