Recent Notes
vault_recent_notesList recently modified or created notes in an Obsidian vault, sorted by timestamp. Use it to catch up on changes, find recent work, or orient after a break.
Instructions
List recently modified or created notes, sorted by timestamp — a time-ordered window into the vault, not a date-range filter.
Example: vault_recent_notes({ sort_by: "modified", limit: 10 }) Example: vault_recent_notes({ sort_by: "created", limit: 5 })
When to use: Catching up on vault changes, finding recent work, or orienting after a break. Prefer vault_search for content-based discovery. Prefer vault_search_by_folder for browsing a specific folder.
Parameters:
sort_by + limit interact: "modified" (default) uses filesystem mtime, so every note has a value and limit works predictably. "created" uses the frontmatter created property — notes without it sort last (not excluded), so a small limit may return only notes that have the property; increase limit or use "modified" for broader coverage.
"modified" includes any file write (content edits, property changes, sync touches), so recently-synced notes appear recent even without user edits.
Errors:
An empty vault returns an empty array, not an error.
Returns: JSON array of note metadata (path, title, tags, related, folder, type, created, modified, bytes, leading_callout?, additional_properties), sorted descending by chosen timestamp. created is null when the property is missing; bytes is on-disk file size.
Input Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| limit | No | Max results (default 20, no upper cap) | |
| sort_by | No | Sort order (default "modified") | modified |