Daily Notes Timeline for Obsidian

A powerful Obsidian plugin that displays all your daily notes in a unified timeline with always-on editing, vim mode support, and keyboard navigation. Perfect for reviewing your journal entries, tracking progress, and managing your daily notes efficiently.

Features

Core Features

• Unified View: See all your daily notes in one place, sorted by date
• Always-On Editing: All notes are editable by default - just start typing
• Auto-Save: Changes are automatically saved while you type (configurable delay)
• Keyboard Navigation: Navigate between notes using arrow keys (or j/k in vim mode)
• Vim Mode: Optional vim-style editing with command and insert modes
• Auto-Open on Startup: Automatically opens the viewer when Obsidian starts
• Customizable: Extensive settings for folder location, sort order, navigation, and more

Interface

• Clean UI: Beautiful, responsive interface that adapts to your Obsidian theme
• Visual Indicators: Save status and vim mode indicators for each note
• Quick Actions: Open notes in new tabs with a single click
• Date Navigation: Click on dates to open notes in the editor
• Auto-Resizing: Textareas automatically adjust to content size

Installation

From Obsidian Community Plugins (Recommended)

1. Open Obsidian Settings
2. Go to Community Plugins and disable Safe Mode (if needed)
3. Click Browse and search for "Daily Notes Timeline"
4. Click Install, then Enable

Manual Installation

1. Download the latest release from the releases page
2. Extract main.js, styles.css, and manifest.json to:

   <vault>/.obsidian/plugins/daily-notes-timeline/
   

3. Reload Obsidian
4. Enable the plugin in Settings → Community Plugins

For Development

1. Clone this repository to your vault's plugins folder:

   cd /path/to/your/vault/.obsidian/plugins
   git clone https://github.com/rohittp0/obsidian-daily-notes-timeline daily-notes-timeline
   cd daily-notes-timeline
   npm install
   npm run dev
   

2. The plugin will automatically build and copy files to your vault

3. Reload Obsidian to see changes

Usage

Opening the Daily Notes Timeline

Access the timeline in multiple ways:

1. Ribbon Icon: Click the calendar icon in the left sidebar
2. Command Palette: Cmd/Ctrl + P → "Open Daily Notes Timeline"
3. Auto-open: Opens automatically on startup (if enabled in settings)

Editing Notes

All notes are always editable - no buttons needed:

1. Click in any note to start editing
2. Changes auto-save after 2 seconds (default, configurable)
3. Watch the status indicator: ● (typing) → ✓ (saved)

Keyboard Navigation

Without Vim Mode:

• ↑ at cursor start → Move to previous note
• ↓ at cursor end → Move to next note
• Can be disabled in settings

With Vim Mode Enabled:

Command Mode (NORMAL):

• j / k - Navigate between notes (no cursor position check)
• ↑ / ↓ - Navigate between notes
• i - Enter insert mode at cursor
• I - Enter insert mode at line start
• a - Enter insert mode after cursor
• A - Enter insert mode at line end
• o - Open new line below and enter insert mode
• O - Open new line above and enter insert mode

Insert Mode (INSERT):

• All keys work normally for text editing
• Esc - Return to command mode
• No navigation (j/k type normally)

Quick Actions

• Date Link: Click to open note in new tab
• Open Button: Opens note in new tab
• Refresh Button: Reload all daily notes
• Mode Indicator: Shows NORMAL/INSERT when vim mode is active
• Save Indicator: Shows save status (●/✓)

Commands

• Open Daily Notes Timeline: Opens or reveals the timeline
• Refresh Daily Notes Timeline: Refreshes the notes list

Settings

Access via Settings → Daily Notes Timeline

File Settings

Daily notes folder

• Folder where your daily notes are stored
• Leave empty to search in root folder
• Example: Daily Notes or Journal/Daily

Date format

• Currently supports YYYY-MM-DD format only
• Files must be named like 2025-10-24.md

Sort order

• Newest first: Most recent notes at the top
• Oldest first: Oldest notes at the top

Behavior Settings

Open on startup

• Automatically open the viewer when Obsidian starts
• Default: Enabled

Keyboard navigation

• Enable navigation between notes using arrow keys (and j/k in vim mode)
• Default: Enabled
• When disabled: All keys work normally (no navigation)

Vim mode

• Enable vim-style editing with command and insert modes
• Default: Disabled
• Includes mode indicators (NORMAL/INSERT)

Auto-Save Settings

Auto-save

• Automatically save notes while typing
• Default: Enabled

Auto-save delay

• Delay in milliseconds before auto-saving
• Default: 2000ms (2 seconds)
• Lower values save more frequently

Daily Notes Format

The plugin detects daily notes by filename:

• Required format: YYYY-MM-DD.md
• Valid examples:
  • 2025-10-24.md ✓
  • 2024-12-31.md ✓
  • 2023-01-01.md ✓
• Invalid examples:
  • Oct 24, 2025.md ✗
  • 2025-10-24-notes.md ✗
  • 24-10-2025.md ✗

Notes with other naming patterns will not be displayed.

Development

Build Commands

npm run dev        # Start development with watch mode
npm run build      # Build for production
npm run version    # Bump version and update manifest

Project Structure

daily-notes-timeline/
├── src/
│   ├── main.ts                    # Plugin entry point
│   ├── types.ts                   # Type definitions & constants
│   ├── settings/
│   │   └── settingsTab.ts         # Settings UI
│   └── view/
│       ├── dailyNotesView.ts      # Main view orchestrator
│       ├── editorManager.ts       # Textarea & auto-save logic
│       ├── fileManager.ts         # File loading & filtering
│       ├── navigation.ts          # Keyboard navigation
│       ├── renderer.ts            # UI rendering
│       └── vimMode.ts             # Vim mode manager
├── styles.css                     # Plugin styles
├── manifest.json                  # Plugin manifest
├── .github/workflows/release.yml  # Auto-release workflow
└── README.md                      # This file

Key Components

• DailyNotesView: Main view orchestrator
• VimModeManager: Handles vim mode states and transitions
• NavigationManager: Keyboard navigation between notes
• EditorManager: Textarea creation and auto-save
• FileManager: File discovery and sorting
• Renderer: UI rendering

Code Quality

• TypeScript with strict typing
• Modular architecture (8 focused files)
• No file over 200 lines
• Single responsibility principle
• Clean separation of concerns

Tips and Tricks

1. Vim Mode: Enable for efficient keyboard-based editing and navigation
2. Pin the View: Open in main pane for a dedicated daily notes workspace
3. Custom Hotkey: Assign a hotkey to "Open Daily Notes Timeline" for quick access
4. Disable Navigation: Turn off keyboard navigation if you prefer standard text editing
5. Adjust Auto-Save: Increase delay if you want fewer saves, decrease for more frequent saves
6. Refresh: Use the refresh button after creating new daily notes
7. Sort Order: Try different sort orders to find what works for your workflow

Troubleshooting

No daily notes showing up?

• Check filename format: Must be YYYY-MM-DD.md
• Verify "Daily notes folder" setting points to correct location
• Click Refresh button to reload
• Check that files exist in your vault

Vim mode not working?

• Ensure "Vim mode" is enabled in settings
• Look for mode indicator (NORMAL/INSERT)
• Press Esc to enter command mode
• Press i to enter insert mode

Navigation not working?

• Check "Keyboard navigation" is enabled in settings
• In vim mode: Must be in command mode for j/k
• Without vim mode: Cursor must be at start/end of note
• Try arrow keys instead of j/k (when vim is off)

Auto-save not working?

• Verify "Auto-save" is enabled in settings
• Look for save indicator (● while typing, ✓ when saved)
• Check auto-save delay setting
• Ensure file permissions allow writing

Plugin not opening on startup?

• Verify "Open on startup" is enabled
• Check plugin is enabled in Community Plugins
• Restart Obsidian
• Check for console errors (Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + I)

Roadmap

Potential future features:

• ✓ Vim mode support
• ✓ Keyboard navigation
• ✓ Auto-save functionality
• Support for custom date formats
• Date range filtering
• Tag-based filtering
• Search within daily notes
• Bulk export functionality
• Note statistics and analytics
• Customizable vim keybindings

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Test thoroughly
5. Submit a pull request

Support

If you encounter issues or have feature requests:

1. Check existing GitHub issues
2. Create a new issue with:
   • Obsidian version
   • Plugin version
   • Steps to reproduce
   • Expected vs actual behavior

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details

Credits

• Built with the Obsidian API
• Inspired by the daily notes workflow
• Thanks to the Obsidian community for feedback and support

---

Made with ❤️ for the Obsidian community

If you find this plugin helpful, consider:

• ⭐ Starring the repository
• 🐛 Reporting bugs
• 💡 Suggesting features
• 📝 Contributing code