File Creation Tracker

pending

by Hyeji Jung

Shows recently created files in a sidebar, sorted by date. Detects files created in any editor (VS Code, terminal, etc.) using filesystem creation time.

Updated 8d agoMITDiscovered via Obsidian Unofficial Plugins
View on GitHub

File Creation Tracker

An Obsidian plugin that shows recently created files in a sidebar, sorted by date.

Why I built this

I use VS Code and AI CLI tools (Claude Code, etc.) to create most of my documents. Obsidian is great for browsing and reviewing notes, but the built-in file explorer doesn't help much when I want to quickly find files I just created from outside Obsidian.

The existing "Recent Files" plugin only tracks files you've opened inside Obsidian. If you create a file in VS Code or through a terminal command, it won't show up. That was my daily frustration.

File Creation Tracker reads the actual filesystem creation date, so it catches every file regardless of where it was created.

Features

  • Shows recently created files in a sidebar view
  • Works with files created outside Obsidian (VS Code, terminal, scripts, etc.)
  • Sorts by file creation date, filename date pattern (YYYY-MM-DD), or modified date
  • Groups files by date: Today, Yesterday, This Week, This Month, Older
  • User-friendly settings - no regex, no code:
    • Sort by: dropdown selection
    • Exclude folders: checkbox list of your vault folders
    • Exclude file types: toggle for images, audio, code files, etc.
    • Display count: slider (10-100)
    • Date range: 7 days / 30 days / 90 days / 1 year / all
  • Auto-refreshes when new files are created or deleted
  • Click any file to open it directly

Installation

From Obsidian Community Plugins (coming soon)

  1. Open Settings > Community Plugins > Browse
  2. Search for "File Creation Tracker"
  3. Install and enable

Manual Installation

  1. Download main.js, manifest.json, and styles.css from the latest release
  2. Create a folder: your-vault/.obsidian/plugins/file-creation-tracker/
  3. Place the three files in that folder
  4. Restart Obsidian and enable the plugin in Settings > Community Plugins

Usage

After enabling, click the clock icon in the left ribbon or use the command palette: "Open File Creation Tracker".

Who this is for

  • People who create files outside Obsidian (VS Code, CLI tools, scripts)
  • People who use Obsidian primarily for reading and reviewing, not writing
  • Anyone who wants a quick chronological view of their vault activity

Development

This plugin is plain JavaScript with no build step. Edit main.js directly.

With Obsidian CLI (v1.11.5+), you can streamline the dev workflow:

# Reload the plugin after editing
obsidian reload-plugin file-creation-tracker

# Open DevTools for debugging
obsidian devtools

# Inspect the sidebar DOM
obsidian eval "document.querySelector('.fct-container')?.innerHTML"

Enable CLI in: Settings > General > Command line interface.

Note

This plugin was built with Claude Code (AI CLI). Desktop only - uses filesystem creation time which may not be available on mobile.

Support

If you find this plugin useful:

PayPal

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