obsidian-vault-changelog

Obsidian Vault Changelog Plugin

A plugin to maintain a change log of recently edited files in your Obsidian vault. Updates can be triggered manually or automatically.

Why Use This Plugin?

Vault Changelog is ideal if you want:

A persistent, text-based record of recently edited files that survives vault moves and syncing
Simple configuration with a single command to update your changelog
Minimal overhead without needing to learn query syntax or manage complex workflows
Embeddable output that can be referenced from other notes (e.g., a dashboard or index)
Clean graph view option by disabling wiki-links to avoid cluttering your graph

Use Cases

Personal knowledge base: Track your daily writing and review what you’ve been working on
Team collaboration: Share a changelog of recent edits with collaborators
Obsidian Publish: Display a nicely formatted list of recent updates on your published site
Daily/weekly reviews: Embed the changelog in periodic notes to reflect on your work
Project tracking: Monitor activity in specific folders (using excluded folders feature)

Features

Tracks recently edited notes in a centralized changelog.
Supports both manual and automatic updates.
Customizable file paths, timestamps, and entry limits.
Optional wiki-links and heading configuration.

Important

⚠️ The change log note is entirely overwritten at each update.
Use a dedicated change log note and embed it elsewhere if you need historical tracking.

Project History

This project was originally created by Badr Bouslikhin (2020-2024).
In January 2025, Badr transferred the repository to Mark Ayers.
On behalf of the Obsidian community, we extend our gratitude to Badr for this valuable contribution.

Installation

Open Settings in Obsidian.
Navigate to Community plugins.
Select Browse.
Search for Changelog.
Install and enable the plugin.

🔗 Plugin Page

Usage

Manual Update: Use the command palette and run Vault Changelog: Update.
Automatic Update: If enabled, the changelog updates whenever a file is modified.

Example Output

With wiki-links enabled (default):

- 2024-01-28T14:30 · [[Note Title]]
- 2024-01-28T14:25 · [[Another Note]]

With wiki-links disabled:

- 2024-01-28T14:30 · Note Title
- 2024-01-28T14:25 · Another Note

With a heading configured:

# Changelog

- 2024-01-28T14:30 · [[Note Title]]
- 2024-01-28T14:25 · [[Another Note]]

Settings

Auto update: Enable automatic updates (false by default).
Changelog path: File location for the changelog (Changelog.md by default).
Datetime format: Moment.js format string (YYYY-MM-DD[T]HHmm by default).
Max recent files: Number of tracked files (25 by default).
Use wiki-links: Format filenames as wiki-links [[note]] instead of plain text (true by default).
Changelog heading: Optional heading to prepend to the changelog (empty by default). Example: # Changelog
Excluded folders: Folders to exclude from the changelog (empty by default).

Alternatives

While Vault Changelog provides a simple, persistent changelog, you might prefer alternatives depending on your needs:

Other Plugins

List Modified: A more advanced changelog plugin that links modified files to daily, weekly, or monthly notes. Best for users who want changelog entries integrated into periodic notes rather than a single standalone file.
Recent Files: Adds a sidebar pane showing recently opened (not edited) files. Great for quick navigation but doesn’t create a persistent text record.
Obsidian Git: For detailed version control and change history. Overkill if you only need a simple list of recently edited files, but essential for tracking actual content changes and collaboration.

Dataview Alternative

If you already use the Dataview plugin, you can achieve similar results with a query:

```dataview
TABLE dateformat(file.mtime, "yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm") AS "Last Modified"
FROM ""
SORT file.mtime DESC
LIMIT 25
```

Dataview pros: Dynamic queries, no plugin needed if you already use Dataview, can filter by folders/tags Dataview cons: Requires learning query syntax, queries don’t work in all contexts (e.g., mobile widgets, some themes)

Vault Changelog pros: Simple one-command update, works everywhere (embeds, Obsidian Publish, mobile), persistent text output, no query syntax needed

Documentation

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