Markdown Timeline

A plugin for Obsidian that creates a timeline view of your notes.

Features

• Create beautiful timelines from your markdown notes
• Support for both positive and negative years (BCE/CE dates)
• Customizable date formats
• Ascending or descending timeline order
• Search and filter timeline events
• Add new events directly from the timeline view

Usage

Create a timeline by using the timeline code block:

```timeline
# 2024-03-21
## Launch of Timeline Plugin
First release of the Timeline plugin for Obsidian.

---

# -500-03-15
## Ancient Event
This event happened in 500 BCE.

### Date Format Options

You can customize how dates are displayed in the timeline through the plugin settings. The following format tokens are supported:

- `YYYY`: Year (supports both positive and negative years)
  - Examples: "2024", "-500", "-50"
- `MM`: Month as a zero-padded number (01-12)
- `MMM`: Month as a short name (Jan, Feb, Mar...)
- `MMMM`: Month as a full name (January, February, March...)
- `DD`: Day of the month as a zero-padded number (01-31)

You can combine these tokens with any separator. Some examples:

- `YYYY-MM-DD` → "2024-03-21" or "-500-03-15"
- `DD MMM YYYY` → "21 Mar 2024" or "15 Mar -500"
- `MMMM DD, YYYY` → "March 21, 2024" or "March 15, -500"
- `YYYY/MM/DD` → "2024/03/21" or "-500/03/15"

The format will automatically adapt to handle missing month or day values:
- Year only: "-500" (regardless of format)
- Year and month: "Mar -500" (for format "MMM YYYY")
- Complete date: "March 15, -500" (for format "MMMM DD, YYYY")

### Timeline Entry Format

Each timeline entry should follow this format:

```markdown
# YYYY[-MM[-DD]]
## Title
Content (in markdown)

• The date line starts with a single # and can include:
  • Year (required): Any number, including negative years for BCE
  • Month (optional): 1-12
  • Day (optional): 1-31
• The title line starts with ##
• The content can include any valid markdown
• Entries are separated by ---

Installation

1. Open Obsidian Settings
2. Go to Community Plugins and disable Safe Mode
3. Click Browse and search for "Timeline"
4. Install the plugin and enable it

Settings

• Date Format: Choose how dates are displayed in the timeline
• Default Sort Order: Choose whether to show oldest or newest events first
• Show Header Buttons: Toggle visibility of timeline operation buttons

License

MIT License