Timestamp Link

An Obsidian plugin to copy timestamped links to blocks, headings and notes.

Why You Need Timestamp Link

Have you ever considered how the connections you make in Obsidian can be enhanced with a simple yet powerful addition? When creating a knowledge base using the slip-box method, you link notes to uncover unexpected connections, but what if you could also capture the timing of those links?

The Importance of Timing in Context

The inventor of the slip-box method, Niklas Luhmann, emphasized the need to create notes with the future in mind, as if for a stranger. This approach highlights the importance of context—not just the content of your notes, but also when they were created and linked. By adding timestamps to your note links, you enrich your knowledge base with valuable contextual information. You’ll know not only what information is linked but also when those connections were made, providing deeper insights into your thought process over time.

Why This Matters

By incorporating timestamps into your links, you’re not just creating connections; you’re building a narrative of your knowledge journey. This added layer of context that can help you:

• Track the evolution of your thoughts: Understand how your ideas have changed over time.
• Enhance discoverability: Quickly locate when specific connections were made, facilitating better retrieval of information.
• Provide clarity for future reference: Ensure that you and others can appreciate the context behind your links.

Introducing Timestamp Link

Imagine being able to add timestamps to three different types of links within your notes. With the Timestamp Link plugin, you can effortlessly do just that:

1. Block Links: When you create a block link, you can include two timestamps that indicate when the link was created and inserted. The first timestamp captures the moment you created the block link, while a second timestamp records when you insert that link into another node, providing a clear timeline of your thought process. This redundancy allows you to track the evolution of your ideas.
2. Note Links: For links to existing notes, you can add a timestamp whenever you insert the link. This feature ensures that you can always reference when a particular connection was made, enhancing your understanding of how your knowledge has developed.
3. Heading Links: Similar to note links, heading links can also include timestamps upon insertion. This allows you to maintain a comprehensive timeline of your notes, making it easier to navigate your knowledge base.

Timestamp Link was crafted with two PTKM Core Principles that shape its functionality:

• Providing Context: Ensuring no valuable information is lost
• Linking Everything: Allowing seamless navigation

By including timestamp information, you can easily see when each block link was created and when note links were inserted into the entry notes, enhancing your understanding of the timeline and evolution of your ideas.

Features

Standard Link Commands

• Copy block/heading link: Copy an internal Obsidian link to a block or heading
• Copy block/heading embed: Copy an embed link to a block or heading
• Copy block/heading link & append text: Copy a link with an appended timestamp
• Copy block/heading embed & append text: Copy an embed link with an appended timestamp
• Copy note link: Copy an internal link to the current note
• Copy note link & append text: Copy a note link with an appended timestamp

Advanced URI Commands

Requires the Advanced URI plugin to be installed and enabled.

• Copy advanced URI to block/heading: Copy an advanced URI external link to a block or heading
• Copy advanced URI to block/heading & append text: Copy an advanced URI link with an appended timestamp
• Copy advanced URI to note: Copy an advanced URI external link to the current note
• Copy advanced URI to note & append text: Copy an advanced URI note link with an appended timestamp

Advanced URI links:

• Work as external links that can be used outside of Obsidian
• Support both UID-based and filepath-based linking (based on Advanced URI plugin settings)
• Automatically create and manage UIDs in frontmatter when UID mode is enabled
• Generate block IDs automatically when needed
• Can be copied in plain URL format or Markdown format with display text (configurable in settings)
  • Plain format: obsidian://adv-uri?vault=...&uid=...
  • Markdown format: [Note Name](obsidian://adv-uri?vault=...&uid=...) for notes, [Note#^blockid](obsidian://adv-uri?...) for blocks, [Note#Heading](obsidian://adv-uri?...) for headings

Documentation

📚 View Full Documentation

Visit the documentation site to learn how to make the most of Timestamp Link in your Obsidian workflow.

Support & Community

This plugin is a labor of love, developed and maintained during my free time after work and on weekends. A lot of thought, energy, and care goes into making it reliable, user-friendly, and aligned with PTKM principles.

If you find this plugin valuable in your daily workflow, please consider supporting my work. Your support would mean the world to me and would help me dedicate more time and energy to:

• Developing new features
• Maintaining code quality
• Providing support and documentation
• Making the plugin even better for everyone

Ways to Support

You can support this project in several ways:

• ⭐ Star the project on GitHub
• 💝
• Sponsor my work on GitHub
• 💌 Share your success stories and feedback
• 📢 Spread the word about the plugin
• 🐛 Report issues to help improve the plugin

Thank you for being part of this journey! 🙏