/rewind Is Your Agent's Undo
Claude Code silently checkpoints before every request — /rewind rolls files, conversation, or both back to any of the last ~100 points, surviving app restarts. It only sees the agent's own edits though: your manual changes and shell-level moves are invisible to it. It complements version control, never replaces it.
Why it works
Claude Code silently checkpoints before every request — /rewind rolls files, conversation, or both back to any recent point, and the checkpoints survive app restarts. It's the difference between experimenting freely and experimenting anxiously. But it sees only the agent's own edits: your manual changes and anything moved by shell commands are invisible to it, which is why it complements version control instead of replacing it.
How to do it
- Type /rewind in the prompt field (or double-press Esc on an empty prompt).
- Pick the checkpoint — they map to your requests, newest first.claude code
/rewind › 12:40 add pricing table files · chat · both 12:31 restyle header files · chat · both 12:18 build landing v1 files · chat · bothCheckpoints map to your requests — pick the moment, pick the scope. - Choose what to restore: files only, conversation only, or both.
- Confirm; the project folder returns to that moment.
- Remember the blind spots: manual edits and shell-level file operations don't rewind.
- For history that must survive weeks, not minutes: version control — 'commit the current state.'
Copy this
/rewind
What to watch for
- Treating checkpoints as backup is the documented mistake: rewind is local undo for the last stretch of work; git is the permanent history. You need both.
- If you edited files by hand since the checkpoint, a rewind can mix restored agent-state with your untouched manual changes — commit before big experiments.
Sources