Timeline & Checkpoints

Overview

Timeline & Checkpoints provide powerful session versioning capabilities, allowing you to create save points during your development sessions, navigate through your session history with a visual timeline, and create branching workflows for exploring different approaches.

Session Versioning

Create and manage checkpoints at any point in your coding session:

Checkpoint Creation

• Manual Checkpoints: Create save points whenever you want
• Automatic Checkpoints: System-generated checkpoints at key moments
• Named Checkpoints: Add descriptive names to important milestones
• Checkpoint Metadata: Store context and notes with each checkpoint

Checkpoint Types

Manual Checkpoints

• Created on-demand by the user
• Include custom descriptions and tags
• Mark important milestones or decision points
• Can be created before risky operations

Automatic Checkpoints

• Generated before major file changes
• Created at regular time intervals
• Triggered by specific events (compilation, testing, etc.)
• Configurable frequency and conditions

Milestone Checkpoints

• Mark major project phases
• Include comprehensive project state
• Can include external dependencies
• Suitable for long-term archival

Checkpoint Content

Each checkpoint captures:

• Session State: Complete conversation history up to that point
• File Changes: All modified files and their states
• Project Context: Current working directory and environment
• Metadata: Timestamp, description, and user notes

Visual Timeline

Navigate through your session history with an intuitive branching timeline interface:

Timeline Visualization

• Chronological View: See checkpoints arranged by time
• Branch Visualization: Visual representation of session forks
• Interactive Navigation: Click to jump to any point in time
• Zoom Controls: Focus on specific time periods or view entire session

Timeline Features

Visual Elements

• Checkpoint Nodes: Visual markers for each save point
• Branch Lines: Show relationships between different session paths
• Time Markers: Clear timestamp indicators
• Status Indicators: Visual status of each checkpoint (stable, experimental, etc.)

Navigation Tools

• Timeline Scrubber: Drag to quickly navigate through time
• Jump to Checkpoint: Direct navigation to specific checkpoints
• Search Timeline: Find checkpoints by description or content
• Filter Views: Show only specific types of checkpoints

Information Display

• Checkpoint Previews: Quick preview of checkpoint content
• Change Summaries: Overview of what changed at each point
• Branch Information: Details about session branches and merges
• Performance Metrics: Time spent between checkpoints

Instant Restore

Jump back to any checkpoint with one click, preserving your ability to continue from that point:

Restore Capabilities

• Complete State Restoration: Restore entire session state including conversation history
• Selective Restoration: Choose specific aspects to restore (files only, conversation only, etc.)
• Non-destructive Restore: Keep current state while exploring past states
• Background Restoration: Restore in background while continuing current work

Restore Options

Full Restore

• Restores complete session state
• Includes all files, conversation history, and context
• Replaces current session state
• Creates automatic checkpoint before restore

Preview Restore

• View checkpoint state without changing current session
• Compare current state with checkpoint state
• Make informed decisions about restoration
• No impact on current work

Selective Restore

• Choose specific files to restore
• Restore only conversation history
• Restore environment settings only
• Mix and match restoration options

Safety Features

• Pre-restore Checkpoints: Automatic checkpoint creation before restore
• Restore Confirmation: Confirm before potentially destructive operations
• Undo Restore: Ability to undo restoration operations
• Restore History: Track all restoration operations

Fork Sessions

Create new branches from existing checkpoints to explore different approaches:

Branching Workflow

• Branch Creation: Start new development paths from any checkpoint
• Parallel Development: Work on multiple approaches simultaneously
• Branch Naming: Descriptive names for different experimental paths
• Branch Management: Organize and manage multiple session branches

Fork Operations

Creating Forks

1. Navigate to desired checkpoint
2. Click "Fork Session" or "Create Branch"
3. Provide descriptive name for new branch
4. Continue development on new path

Managing Forks

• Branch Switching: Move between different session branches
• Branch Comparison: Compare different development approaches
• Branch Merging: Combine successful elements from different branches
• Branch Cleanup: Archive or delete unsuccessful experimental branches

Use Cases for Forking

Experimental Development

• Try different implementation approaches
• Test risky changes without affecting main development
• Explore alternative solutions
• Prototype new features

Collaborative Workflows

• Share specific development paths with team members
• Allow multiple developers to work on different approaches
• Review and compare different solutions
• Merge best elements from multiple contributors

Learning and Training

• Explore different coding techniques
• Compare beginner vs. advanced approaches
• Create tutorial paths showing different solutions
• Build educational content with multiple examples

Diff Viewer

See exactly what changed between checkpoints with comprehensive diff visualization:

Diff Capabilities

• File-level Diffs: See changes in individual files
• Conversation Diffs: Compare conversation states between checkpoints
• Side-by-side Comparison: Visual side-by-side diff display
• Unified Diff View: Traditional unified diff format

Diff Features

Visual Diff Display

• Syntax Highlighting: Color-coded changes with syntax highlighting
• Line-by-line Comparison: Precise change tracking at line level
• Word-level Highlighting: Highlight specific word changes within lines
• Change Statistics: Summary of additions, deletions, and modifications

Navigation Tools

• Jump to Changes: Quick navigation between modified sections
• Change Filtering: Show only specific types of changes
• Search in Diffs: Find specific changes or patterns
• Export Diffs: Export diff results for external review

Advanced Diff Options

• Ignore Whitespace: Option to ignore whitespace-only changes
• Context Lines: Adjust number of context lines shown
• Binary File Handling: Handle non-text file changes
• Custom Diff Algorithms: Choose different diff algorithms for better results

Best Practices

Checkpoint Strategy

• Regular Checkpoints: Create checkpoints at logical stopping points
• Descriptive Names: Use clear, descriptive names for manual checkpoints
• Before Major Changes: Always checkpoint before risky operations
• Milestone Marking: Mark significant project milestones

Timeline Management

• Clean Organization: Keep timeline organized with meaningful checkpoints
• Branch Cleanup: Regularly clean up unsuccessful experimental branches
• Archive Old Sessions: Archive completed session timelines
• Performance Consideration: Balance checkpoint frequency with performance

Collaboration Guidelines

• Shared Checkpoints: Create checkpoints that are useful for team members
• Branch Naming: Use consistent naming conventions for branches
• Documentation: Document significant checkpoints and branches
• Merge Strategy: Plan how to merge successful experimental branches

Advanced Features

Checkpoint Automation

• Smart Checkpoints: AI-suggested checkpoint creation
• Event-based Triggers: Automatic checkpoints based on specific events
• Custom Rules: User-defined rules for automatic checkpoint creation
• Integration Hooks: Connect with external tools and services

Timeline Analytics

• Development Patterns: Analyze your development workflow patterns
• Time Tracking: Track time spent on different development phases
• Productivity Metrics: Measure productivity using checkpoint data
• Optimization Suggestions: AI-powered suggestions for workflow improvement

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Checkpoint Creation Fails

• Check available disk space
• Verify file permissions
• Review checkpoint size limits
• Check for file conflicts

Timeline Navigation Problems

• Clear timeline cache
• Refresh timeline view
• Check for corrupted checkpoints
• Restart session if necessary

Restore Operations Fail

• Verify checkpoint integrity
• Check for file conflicts
• Review permissions
• Try selective restore instead of full restore

Ready to learn about documentation management? Check out our CLAUDE.md Management documentation for comprehensive project documentation tools.