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 |
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.
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.
Open the Command palette
Open the Command palette (Ctrl+P / Cmd+P).
Search for Sync
Type Sync.
Show Sync history
Select Sync: Show Sync history. The panel appears in the right sidebar.
Open the Ribbon
Open the Ribbon menu.
Open the Command palette
Tap the Command palette icon.
Search and select
Type Sync and select Sync: Show Sync history. It appears as a dropdown option in the right sidebar.
Sync: Show Sync history, and assign your preferred shortcut.
View version history for a file
Locate the file
In the File explorer, select the note you want to inspect.
Open version history
Select Open version history from the context menu (right-click the file).
Browse versions
Select a version on the left. The contents are displayed on the right.
Locate the file
In the File explorer, long-press the note to open the context menu.
Open version history
Select Open version history.
Browse versions
In the pop-up, select the version you want to review.
Restore a previous version of a file
Open version history
Right-click the file in File explorer and select Open version history.
Choose a version
Select the version you want to restore on the left. The contents are shown on the right.
Restore
Select Restore. The note’s content is replaced with the selected version.
Open version history
Long-press the file and select Open version history.
Choose a version
Select the version you want to restore from the list.
Restore
Select Restore. The note’s content is replaced with the selected version.
Recover a deleted file
Open Sync settings
Open Settings → Sync.
View deleted files
Next to Deleted files, select View.
Select the file
Choose the file you want to recover from the list.
Choose a version
In the version list on the left, select the version you want to restore.
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
Open Sync settings
Open Settings → Sync.
View deleted files
Next to Deleted files, select View.
Select the file
Choose the file you want to inspect.
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
Open Sync settings
Open Settings → Sync.
Go to Vault configuration sync
Scroll down to Vault configuration sync.
Open Settings version history
Select View next to Settings version history.
Choose a settings file
In the Settings File pop-up, choose the configuration file you want to inspect.
Restore a previous settings version
Open Settings version history
Follow the steps above to open the settings file’s history.
Restore
In the changes view, select Restore.
Restart Obsidian
Reload or restart Obsidian to apply the restored settings.
