diff --git a/packages/obsidian/src/watchlist/parse.ts b/packages/obsidian/src/watchlist/parse.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..29a2eb8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/obsidian/src/watchlist/parse.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+export interface ParsedNote {
+	frontmatter: Record<string, string>;
+	body: string;
+}
+
+export function parseNote(content: string): ParsedNote {
+	const m = /^---\n([\s\S]*?)\n---([\s\S]*)$/.exec(content);
+	const frontmatter: Record<string, string> = {};
+	let body = content;
+	if (m) {
+		body = m[2];
+		for (const line of m[1].split('\n')) {
+			const mm = /^([A-Za-z0-9_]+):\s*(.*)$/.exec(line);
+			if (mm) frontmatter[mm[1]] = mm[2].trim();
+		}
+	}
+	return { frontmatter, body };
+}
+
+export function extractMyNotes(body: string): string {
+	const m = /##\s*My Notes\s*([\s\S]*)$/.exec(body ?? '');
+	return m ? m[1].trim() : '';
+}
+
+function stripQuotes(s: string | undefined): string {
+	return (s ?? '').trim().replace(/^"|"$/g, '');
+}
+
+export function noteTmdbRef(fm: Record<string, string>): { tmdbId: string; isMovie: boolean } | null {
+	const tid = stripQuotes(fm['tmdb_id']);
+	if (tid) return { tmdbId: tid, isMovie: stripQuotes(fm['media_type']) === 'Movie' };
+	const rawId = stripQuotes(fm['id']);
+	const ds = (fm['dataSource'] ?? '').trim();
+	if (rawId && ds.startsWith('TMDB')) return { tmdbId: rawId, isMovie: ds.includes('Movie') };
+	return null;
+}
diff --git a/tests/watchlist-parse.test.ts b/tests/watchlist-parse.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..27c0f70
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/watchlist-parse.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+import { describe, expect, test } from 'bun:test';
+import { parseNote, extractMyNotes, noteTmdbRef } from 'packages/obsidian/src/watchlist/parse';
+
+const NOTE = `---
+type: watchlist_item
+media_type: TV Series
+tmdb_id: 84958
+last_air_date: 2023-11-09
+watch_status: Watched
+---
+
+# Loki
+
+## My Notes
+
+great finale
+`;
+
+describe('parseNote', () => {
+	test('splits frontmatter and body', () => {
+		const { frontmatter, body } = parseNote(NOTE);
+		expect(frontmatter['tmdb_id']).toBe('84958');
+		expect(frontmatter['media_type']).toBe('TV Series');
+		expect(body).toContain('# Loki');
+	});
+	test('no frontmatter → empty fm, full body', () => {
+		const { frontmatter, body } = parseNote('# Just a heading');
+		expect(Object.keys(frontmatter).length).toBe(0);
+		expect(body).toBe('# Just a heading');
+	});
+});
+
+describe('extractMyNotes', () => {
+	test('extracts trailing section', () => {
+		expect(extractMyNotes(parseNote(NOTE).body)).toBe('great finale');
+	});
+	test('missing section → empty', () => {
+		expect(extractMyNotes('# T\n\ncontent')).toBe('');
+	});
+});
+
+describe('noteTmdbRef', () => {
+	test('canonical note', () => {
+		expect(noteTmdbRef({ tmdb_id: '84958', media_type: 'TV Series' })).toEqual({ tmdbId: '84958', isMovie: false });
+		expect(noteTmdbRef({ tmdb_id: '693134', media_type: 'Movie' })).toEqual({ tmdbId: '693134', isMovie: true });
+	});
+	test('quoted values stripped', () => {
+		expect(noteTmdbRef({ tmdb_id: '"84958"', media_type: '"TV Series"' })).toEqual({ tmdbId: '84958', isMovie: false });
+	});
+	test('raw Media DB note fallback (id + dataSource)', () => {
+		expect(noteTmdbRef({ id: '693134', dataSource: 'TMDBMovieAPI' })).toEqual({ tmdbId: '693134', isMovie: true });
+		expect(noteTmdbRef({ id: '84958', dataSource: 'TMDBSeriesAPI' })).toEqual({ tmdbId: '84958', isMovie: false });
+	});
+	test('no id → null', () => {
+		expect(noteTmdbRef({ type: 'list' })).toBeNull();
+	});
+});