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Last Updated

Show a badge with the page's last-modified time, relative or absolute

Displays a "Last updated" badge showing when the page was last modified, using either a relative timestamp ("3 days ago") or an absolute date. Disabled by default.

Enable the plugin

sarde.yaml

YAML
plugins:
  enabled:
    - search
    - seo
    - sitemap
    # ... other default plugins
    - last-updated

How it works

The badge reads the page's last-modified timestamp, which Sarde resolves through a fallback chain:

  1. The frontmatter updated field, if set.
  2. The file's last git commit time (when build.last_updated is "git").
  3. The file's filesystem modification time (when build.last_updated is "mtime", the default).

Pages without a resolvable timestamp receive no badge.

By default, the badge appears at the bottom of the page above the previous/next navigation. It shows relative time ("3 days ago") with the full date available on hover as a tooltip.

Configuration

sarde.yaml

YAML
plugins:
  config:
    last-updated:
      position: "bottom"
      use_relative_time: true
      date_format: "short"
Option Type Default Description
position String "bottom" "bottom" places the badge above the page navigation. "top" places it below the title, next to the reading time badge if present.
use_relative_time Boolean true Show relative time ("3 days ago") instead of an absolute date. The full date appears as a hover tooltip regardless.
date_format String "short" Format for absolute dates: "short" (Jan 5, 2026), "long" (January 5, 2026), or "iso" (2026-01-05).

Date source configuration

The timestamp source is controlled by the site-wide build.last_updated setting, not the plugin itself:

sarde.yaml

YAML
build:
  last_updated: "git"
Value Behavior
"mtime" (default) Uses the file's filesystem modification time.
"git" Uses the file's last git commit time. Falls back to mtime if the file is untracked or git is unavailable.
"false" Disables timestamp resolution entirely. The badge does not appear on any page.

Override the timestamp for a specific page with the updated frontmatter field:

YAML
---
updated: 2026-03-15
---

Suppress the badge on a specific page with show_updated: false in frontmatter.

Injection rule

This plugin activates on pages with a non-zero updated timestamp (has_updated). Pages without a resolvable timestamp receive no plugin config or behavior.

Edge cases

  • Relative time uses fixed-length approximations (30-day months, 365-day years), not calendar-aware math.
  • Absolute dates use the visitor's browser locale for formatting, so month names and punctuation may vary.
  • When positioned at the top alongside a reading time badge, both are wrapped in a shared flex row to avoid layout shifts.
  • The badge icon is a hardcoded SVG. All user-facing text is set via textContent to prevent injection.