[Feature] Optional timestamps in chat

[bykovser]

Feature

Currently, when using BDS, there's no way to see the exact time when each message was sent in the chat. Sometimes it's important to track message flow, especially in long technical discussions, for reference, logging purposes

For me its all about character's understandig of time

Solution

It would be wonderful if BDS optionally showed timestamps for each message in chat. Ideally, this could be toggled on or off for each chat (ON by default). The timestamp should be clearly visible (but unobtrusive) alongside each message, showing at least the time, and possibly the date for older messages.
Deepseek shold see it too tho))

Alternatives

• Making timestamp display a global extension setting only, not per chat.
• Allowing timestamp only for user messages (not for assistant).

Additional context

A small UI badge or timestamp string near each message bubble (configurable location) would be sufficient. This feature would help users keep track of conversation context and troubleshooting steps over time.

[bykovser]

i've thought about this many times and forget after few minutes
finally remebmered this wish)

[bykovser]

oh man, that was fast
love your repo :D

[bykovser]

fuck, i cant reopen it
timestamps are sent just with big system propmt
i've tried to set some memory with "Always" flag, still no timestamp((
@EdgeTypE sry for bothering btw)

[EdgeTypE]

I actually tried to add this but kept running into weird edge cases that made it unstable, so I decided to rebuild it from scratch properly. It probably won't make it into the next update, but I'll aim for the one after. Thanks for the patience.

[simonlpaige]

Looking at this from the perspective of both the user-facing feature and the character memory system, I think there are two distinct problems here that need different approaches:

For the UI timestamp feature: This is straightforward. The extension already parses message elements in the DOM (I see chatManager handling message injection in the source). Adding a configurable timestamp toggle would involve:

• Storing a per-chat preference (could use the existing memoryStore pattern)
• Injecting a <time> element during message rendering in renderMessage() or equivalent
• Formatting: use Intl.DateTimeFormat for locale-aware display, relative timestamps for recent messages, absolute for older ones

For the character/system prompt timestamp issue: The user's real need is deeper. The character doesn't perceive time because the system prompt is static. A more robust solution than appending timestamps to the system prompt would be:

• Injecting a dynamic [Current timestamp: ${new Date().toISOString()}] into the first message of each conversation turn (not the system prompt)
• Or using the existing "Always" memory feature but with a dynamic update mechanism - currently memories are static strings, so "The current time is: [timestamp]" won't update

I'd suggest looking at src/background/memoryManager.js - specifically the injectMemory() function. If you make the memory content evaluable (e.g., support template strings like {{currentTime}}), that would solve both the character awareness issue and keep implementation clean without bloating the system prompt.