Version View

Note: This community-maintained rebuild is based on the original Version View plugin by joeytoday. The original repository was missing main.js, so this implementation was rebuilt using AI. The maintained repository, releases, and issue tracker are at maoqingwei/obsidian-version-view.

A simple version control plugin for Obsidian. Save, manage, compare and restore file versions with an intuitive interface.

简体中文

Language

The interface follows Obsidian’s language setting: Chinese (zh, including regional variants) uses Simplified Chinese; other languages use English. Automatic language detection uses the public API available in Obsidian 1.8.7 and later; older versions fall back to English. After changing the app language, restart Obsidian to refresh all labels. Saved version names, descriptions, and note content are preserved.

English translations adapted from ThisIsKenta’s contribution in PR #2.

Features

• Save Version Snapshots - Save current file version with optional name
• Visual Version Comparison - Side-by-side diff with line numbers, highlighting added (green) and removed (red) content
• One-Click Restore - Revert to any previous version instantly
• Edit Version Info - Update version name and description
• Compare Any Two Versions - Select two versions to compare, or compare with current document
• Fullscreen Diff View - Toggle fullscreen mode for better readability
• Show Only Differences - Filter to show only changed lines
• Frontmatter-Aware Diff - YAML frontmatter is visually distinguished for cleaner comparison
• Configurable Settings - Set version storage folder and maximum version count

Installation

Community Plugin Store (Recommended)

1. Open Settings → Community plugins
2. Click Browse and search for "Version View"
3. Click Install, then Enable

Manual Installation

1. Download main.js, styles.css, and manifest.json from the latest release
2. Create a folder version-view in your vault's .obsidian/plugins/ directory
3. Copy the downloaded files into the version-view folder
4. Enable the plugin in Settings → Community plugins

BRAT Installation

1. Install the BRAT plugin
2. Add this repository: https://github.com/maoqingwei/obsidian-version-view

Usage

1. Open any note
2. Click the clock icon 🕐 in the ribbon, or run the command "Toggle Version View"
3. Enter a version name (optional) and click "Save version"
4. Each card shows its version number, full name, and a compact timestamp (hover for the full date and time).
5. Click Compare with Current Version to inspect changes. Open More actions (⋯) to edit, restore, or delete a version.
6. Select two versions with checkboxes to compare them directly; the selection hint shows progress.
7. Press Enter in the version name field to save. Confirming text with an input method does not trigger saving.

Saving, comparing, and restoring

• The sidebar identifies the active note. While a version is being saved, the save button shows “Saving…” and ignores repeated clicks.
• Comparisons always show the older version on the left and the newer version on the right, with names and timestamps. Comparing against the current note always puts the current note on the right. Red indicates removed content and green indicates added content from older to newer.
• Before restoring, the plugin saves the current note as a “Before restore” version. If the backup fails, the note is not replaced.
• Use Undo restore in the sidebar to undo the most recent restore for that note during the current plugin session. If you have edited the note since restoring, undo leaves those edits intact; compare with the backup to recover earlier content. The saved backup remains in the version list after restarting Obsidian.

Settings

• Version Storage Folder - Where version files are stored (default: res/versions)
• Maximum Versions - Auto-delete old versions when exceeding this limit (default: 50)

License

MIT