Update Time

Automatically update front matter to include creation and last update times.

This Obsidian plugin keeps the created and updated front-matter properties of your notes in sync with the file's actual creation (ctime) and modification (mtime) timestamps. Once installed and enabled, it runs in the background — no commands to click, no manual housekeeping.

This plugin is a simplified reimplementation of the update-time-on-edit plugin. It was originally created to work around the fact that the original plugin did not integrate well with Obsidian Publish (see beaussan/update-time-on-edit-obsidian#75).

Features

• Automatic — front matter updates happen whenever a note is modified (from Obsidian or from external tools).
• Accurate — values come from the file's underlying ctime and mtime.
• Respects existing values — created is never overwritten; updated is debounced (MINUTES_BETWEEN_SAVES = 1 minute) to avoid fighting active edits.
• Configurable property names — pick the front-matter keys for the creation and last-update timestamps (defaults: created, updated).
• Edit-friendly — updates are delayed until you stop typing (configurable Save delay), so they don't refresh the editor mid-edit or knock your cursor out of a table.
• One-shot backfill — a command to add the front-matter properties to all existing notes that don't have them yet.
• Folder exclusions — skip templates, archives, or any other folder.
• Excalidraw-aware — Excalidraw files are detected and skipped.
• Canvas-safe — Canvas.md and non-Markdown files are skipped.
• Fully local — no network calls, no telemetry.

Installation

Community plugins (recommended)

1. In Obsidian, go to Settings → Community plugins.
2. Disable Restricted mode if it's enabled.
3. Select Browse, search for Update Time, install it, then enable it.

You can also browse the catalog on the Obsidian Community website.

Manual installation

If the plugin isn't listed in the community catalog yet (or you want a specific version):

1. Download main.js, manifest.json, and styles.css from the latest release.
2. Copy them into <Vault>/.obsidian/plugins/update-time/.
3. Reload Obsidian and enable Update Time in Settings → Community plugins.

BRAT (bleeding edge)

BRAT (Beta Reviewers Auto-update Tool) installs plugins straight from a GitHub repo and keeps them updated automatically. Use this if you want the latest commits — things might break.

1. Install Obsidian42 - BRAT from Settings → Community plugins → Browse and enable it.
2. Run BRAT: Add a beta plugin for testing from the command palette.
3. Paste https://github.com/dsebastien/obsidian-update-time.
4. Select the latest version and confirm.
5. Enable Update Time in Settings → Community plugins.

Configuration

Open Settings → Community plugins → Update Time to:

• Customize the front-matter keys used for the creation and last-update timestamps (defaults: created, updated).
• Set the Save delay — how long to wait after you stop typing before updating the front matter (default: 2 seconds). Raise it if you lose your cursor while editing, e.g. inside tables.
• Add folders to the exclusion list. Any note whose path starts with an excluded folder will not be touched.

Full settings reference: docs/configuration.md. User guide: docs/.

Important: this plugin modifies files in your vault. Back up your vault before enabling it.

What the plugin accesses

• Vault read — listens for vault.on('modify'). For each modified file, the plugin reads the file's content once (to skip empty notes and Excalidraw files).
• Vault write — only sets two front-matter properties on .md files: created (when missing) and updated (debounced, every minute at most). No other file content is touched.
• No file enumeration loops — the plugin does not iterate the vault on a schedule. It only reacts to Obsidian's own modify events.
• No network — no fetch, no analytics, no remote services. The Buy Me a Coffee badge image in the settings tab is bundled with the plugin and rendered locally.
• Excluded folders — files whose path starts with any folder listed in Settings → Update Time are skipped entirely (no read, no write).

Known issues

Multi-device sync conflicts

The plugin reacts to all file modifications — including writes made by sync tools (Obsidian Sync, Syncthing, etc.). If Obsidian is open on two devices at the same time, each device can trigger front-matter updates in response to the other's syncs, producing conflict files.

Mitigations: only leave Obsidian running on one device at a time, or enable the plugin on a single device.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome. See CONTRIBUTING.md.

License

MIT.

News & support

To stay up to date about this plugin, Obsidian in general, personal knowledge management, and note-taking, subscribe to my newsletter. The best way to support my work is to become a paid subscriber, or to buy me a coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dsebastien ❤️.