Version history

View, restore, and recover previous versions of your notes and deleted files using Obsidian Sync’s version history.

Obsidian Sync records every change to your synced files. You can browse past versions of a note, restore the version you want, or recover a file you’ve deleted.

Version history covers notes, attachments, and vault settings files.

How long versions are kept

The retention period depends on your Sync plan:

Plan	Notes and settings	Attachments
Sync Standard	1 month	2 weeks
Sync Plus	12 months	2 weeks

After the retention period, older versions are permanently deleted.

Version history is separate from the File recovery plugin, which keeps local snapshots on each device. Both can be useful, but only Sync version history tracks changes across all your devices.

Sync history sidebar

The Sync history sidebar (added in Obsidian 1.7) shows recently created or modified files that have been synced. Think of it as an editing activity feed.

Select any item in the sidebar to open it. You can also right-click an item to move the file, view its full version history, or take other actions.

On desktop, hovering over a synced file in the sidebar shows who last edited it — useful when collaborating on a shared vault.

Settings files and deleted items don’t appear in the Sync history sidebar. Use Version history (described below) to find those.

Show the Sync history sidebar

Desktop / Tablet

1. Open the Command palette

   Open the Command palette (Ctrl+P / Cmd+P).
2. Search for Sync

   Type Sync.
3. Show Sync history

   Select Sync: Show Sync history. The panel appears in the right sidebar.

Mobile

1. Open the Ribbon

   Open the Ribbon menu.
2. Open the Command palette

   Tap the Command palette icon.
3. Search and select

   Type Sync and select Sync: Show Sync history. It appears as a dropdown option in the right sidebar.

You can also assign a hotkey: go to Settings → Hotkeys, search for Sync: Show Sync history, and assign your preferred shortcut.

View version history for a file

Desktop / Tablet

1. Locate the file

   In the File explorer, select the note you want to inspect.
2. Open version history

   Select Open version history from the context menu (right-click the file).
3. Browse versions

   Select a version on the left. The contents are displayed on the right.

Mobile

1. Locate the file

   In the File explorer, long-press the note to open the context menu.
2. Open version history

   Select Open version history.
3. Browse versions

   In the pop-up, select the version you want to review.

Restore a previous version of a file

Desktop / Tablet

1. Open version history

   Right-click the file in File explorer and select Open version history.
2. Choose a version

   Select the version you want to restore on the left. The contents are shown on the right.
3. Restore

   Select Restore. The note’s content is replaced with the selected version.

Mobile

1. Open version history

   Long-press the file and select Open version history.
2. Choose a version

   Select the version you want to restore from the list.
3. Restore

   Select Restore. The note’s content is replaced with the selected version.

Recover a deleted file

1. Open Sync settings

   Open Settings → Sync.
2. View deleted files

   Next to Deleted files, select View.
3. Select the file

   Choose the file you want to recover from the list.
4. Choose a version

   In the version list on the left, select the version you want to restore.
5. Restore

   Select Restore on the right. The file is restored to its original location in your vault.

You can select multiple deleted files at once using the checkboxes or Shift+click, then restore them all with bulk restore.

View version history for a renamed or deleted file

1. Open Sync settings

   Open Settings → Sync.
2. View deleted files

   Next to Deleted files, select View.
3. Select the file

   Choose the file you want to inspect.
4. Browse versions

   In the version history pop-up, select the version you want to view on the left.

View and restore settings history

Obsidian Sync also records changes to your vault configuration files, such as plugin settings and appearance.

View settings version history

1. Open Sync settings

   Open Settings → Sync.
2. Go to Vault configuration sync

   Scroll down to Vault configuration sync.
3. Open Settings version history

   Select View next to Settings version history.
4. Choose a settings file

   In the Settings File pop-up, choose the configuration file you want to inspect.

Restore a previous settings version

1. Open Settings version history

   Follow the steps above to open the settings file’s history.
2. Restore

   In the changes view, select Restore.
3. Restart Obsidian

   Reload or restart Obsidian to apply the restored settings.