Google Workspace Events vs Obsidian Bases

Google Workspace Events

By Google Workspace

Get notified when things change in your Google Workspace—new emails, calendar updates, file edits.

Obsidian Bases

By Steph Ango (Kepano / Obsidian)

Create database views over your Obsidian notes to track projects, tasks, and reading lists.

Google Workspace Events

• Subscribe to live event streams from Gmail, Calendar, Drive, and other Google Workspace apps
• Receive instant notifications when emails arrive, calendar events are created, or files are edited
• Renew or pause subscriptions to control when you receive alerts
• List and manage all active event subscriptions across your Workspace

Obsidian Bases

• Creates table, card, list, or map views of your notes based on filters you set
• Lets you group and sort notes by any property (status, date, tags, folders)
• Calculates fields automatically like days until deadline or price totals
• Shows summaries like averages, sums, and counts across your filtered notes
• Works with your existing Obsidian notes without changing how you write them

Reach for Google Workspace Events when…

• You need to know immediately when a specific email arrives or a file is updated
• You're automating workflows that depend on Google Workspace activity (e.g., logging meeting invites to Notion)
• You want to monitor shared Drive folders for new uploads or changes

Reach for Obsidian Bases when…

• You're managing projects or tasks in Obsidian and want a cleaner view than scattered notes
• You need to track reading lists, book notes, or research with custom filters and groupings
• You want to see calculated info like "days overdue" or "total budget" without manual updates
• You're organizing lots of notes and need different views (table vs cards) for different contexts