Tips and best practices

Getting more snapshots

File Recovery’s default snapshot interval is 2 minutes. If you want more granular history, reduce the interval in Settings -> Core plugins -> File Recovery. Keep in mind that shorter intervals use more storage.

You can also use the Time Machine: Force file recovery snapshot for current file command to create a snapshot on demand, without waiting for the next interval. This is useful before making a large edit, so you have a restore point.

If your vault is a git repository, committing frequently gives you additional snapshots on the timeline alongside File Recovery’s automatic ones.

Using hunk restore for selective undo

Instead of restoring an entire version, you can restore individual hunks. This is useful when you want to undo a specific change while keeping other edits. Each hunk in the diff view has its own restore button.

The Time Machine panel stays in sync with your active file. Keep it open in the right sidebar while you work – it will automatically update as you switch between files.

Git integration tips

Git integration is read-only – Time Machine never creates commits, pushes, or modifies your repository
The --follow flag is used when fetching git history, so renames are tracked
If a file is not tracked by git, only File Recovery snapshots are shown (no error)
Reduce the “Maximum git commits” setting if loading is slow for files with long histories
Git integration only works on desktop; on mobile, only File Recovery snapshots are shown

Troubleshooting

“No snapshots found for this file”

This can happen for several reasons:

The file is new. File Recovery needs time to create its first snapshot. Edit the file and wait for the snapshot interval to pass. If using git, make your first commit.
All snapshots match the current content. Time Machine hides snapshots identical to the current file. If you recently saved and nothing has changed, there may be no differences to show.
Snapshots have expired. File Recovery deletes snapshots older than the configured history length (default: 7 days). Git commits, however, are permanent.
The file exceeds the size limit. File Recovery skips files larger than the configured maximum (default: 2 MB). Git snapshots are still shown for large files.
The file is not tracked by git. Only files committed to git produce git snapshots. Untracked or gitignored files will only have File Recovery snapshots.

“File Recovery core plugin is not enabled”

Go to Settings -> Core plugins and enable File Recovery. This message only appears when File Recovery is disabled and no snapshots were found from git either. If your vault is a git repository and the file has commits, Time Machine will still work without File Recovery.

No git snapshots appearing

Make sure git is installed and available on your system (git --version in a terminal)
Verify your vault is inside a git repository (look for a .git folder)
Check that the file has been committed at least once
Confirm that “Enable git integration” is turned on in the Time Machine settings
Git integration is desktop-only – it does not work on mobile

The view is empty after switching files

The view should auto-update when you switch files. If it doesn’t, close and reopen the panel using the Time Machine: Open view command.

Restore didn’t work as expected

Full version restore replaces the entire file content. If you only wanted to undo one specific change, use the per-hunk restore button instead.

Restoring from a git snapshot works identically to restoring from a File Recovery snapshot – the file is updated through Obsidian’s vault API. No git operations (like git checkout or git revert) are performed.

After any restore, the view refreshes to show the updated diff. You can continue restoring additional hunks if needed.