Update Time

Update Time automatically maintains created and updated front-matter properties on your Obsidian notes. Once enabled, it watches for file modifications (from Obsidian or external tools) and keeps those properties in sync with the file’s actual creation and last-modification times.

Key features

Automatic — no commands to run. Whenever a note changes, its front matter is updated in the background.
Accurate — values come from the file’s underlying ctime and mtime, not from Obsidian-internal state.
Non-destructive for existing values — created is only set when missing; updated is debounced to avoid fighting your edits.
Folder exclusions — exclude templates, daily notes, or any other folder from automatic updates.
Configurable property names — rename the created / updated keys to anything you like.
One-shot backfill — a command that adds the properties to all notes you already had in your vault.
Excalidraw-aware — Excalidraw files are skipped.
Fully local — no network calls, no telemetry.

Quick start

Install the plugin from Obsidian’s community catalog (Settings → Community plugins → Browse → Update Time) and enable it.
(Optional) Open Settings → Community plugins → Update Time and add any folder paths to exclude (e.g., Templates, _archive).
Start editing notes — created and updated properties appear automatically in front matter.

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

What the plugin accesses

Vault read — listens for Obsidian’s vault.on('modify') event. For each modified file, the plugin reads its content once to filter out empty notes and Excalidraw files.
Vault write — only writes two front-matter properties on .md files: created (when missing) and updated (refreshed at most once per minute). The Backfill created / updated properties in all notes command iterates every Markdown file in the vault on demand and applies the same fill-missing-only logic.
No vault scans on a timer — the plugin does not iterate over your vault on a schedule; it only reacts to modify events emitted by Obsidian and to the explicit backfill command.
No network calls — no analytics, no remote services. The Buy Me a Coffee badge in the settings tab is bundled inside the plugin and rendered locally.
Excluded folders — any file whose path starts with a folder listed in Settings → Update Time is skipped entirely (no read, no write).

About

Created by Sébastien Dubois.

To stay up to date, subscribe to my newsletter. The best way to support this plugin is to become a paid subscriber or to buy me a coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dsebastien.