Undo

Automation

File edit time machine for AI agents. Automatically snapshot file changes after every Write, Edit, or Shell operation, and provide undo/revert capabilities to any previous state. Supports: undo last change, undo N steps, undo to timestamp, undo to named checkpoint, list change history, and create checkpoints. Use this skill after the user says "track changes", "enable undo", or when they want to safely experiment with file edits. Also activates automatically when the user asks to "undo", "revert", "go back", "restore", or "show history" of file changes.

Install

openclaw skills install undo

Undo.skill — File Edit Time Machine

CRITICAL: After EVERY file modification (Write, Edit, MultiEdit, Shell commands that change files), you MUST run the snapshot script. This is non-negotiable — without snapshots, undo is impossible.

Base Directory

All scripts are located in this skill's directory. Use {baseDir} to reference them:

SCRIPTS="{baseDir}/scripts"

Quick Reference

Command	Purpose
`node "$SCRIPTS/init.js" /path/to/project`	Start tracking a project
`node "$SCRIPTS/snapshot.js" /path/to/project "Description"`	Record current state
`node "$SCRIPTS/undo.js" /path/to/project --steps 1`	Undo last change
`node "$SCRIPTS/undo.js" /path/to/project --to <name>`	Undo to checkpoint
`node "$SCRIPTS/undo.js" /path/to/project --timestamp "2026-04-10T14:00"`	Undo to time
`node "$SCRIPTS/list.js" /path/to/project`	List change history
`node "$SCRIPTS/checkpoint.js" /path/to/project "name"`	Create named checkpoint
`node "$SCRIPTS/watcher.js" /path/to/project &`	Start background watcher

Output Format

Every script outputs exactly one line of JSON. Parse it with your environment's JSON parser — do NOT read the human text.

init.js

{"action":"init","status":"success","initialized":true,"project":"/abs/path","storagePath":"~/.local/share/...","message":"Tracking initialized"}

{"action":"init","status":"success","initialized":false,"project":"/abs/path","storagePath":"~/.local/share/...","message":"Already tracked"}

snapshot.js

{"action":"snapshot","status":"success","committed":true,"project":"/abs/path","description":"Added error handling","hash":"abc1234","changedFiles":["src/index.js"],"fileCount":1}

{"action":"snapshot","status":"success","committed":false,"project":"/abs/path","description":"..."}

(committed=false means no changes since last snapshot)

list.js

{
  "action":"list",
  "status":"success",
  "project":"/abs/path",
  "count":3,
  "commits":[
    {
      "hash":"abc1234",
      "date":"2026-04-10 14:05:12 +0800",
      "timestamp":"2026-04-10T06:05:12.000Z",
      "description":"Added error handling",
      "files":[{"status":"M","path":"src/index.js"}],
      "isCheckpoint":false,
      "isInitial":false
    }
  ],
  "checkpoints":[{"name":"checkpoint/before-refactor","hash":"def5678"}]
}

undo.js

{"action":"undo","status":"success","undone":true,"mode":"steps","project":"/abs/path","steps":1,"targetHash":"abc1234","checkpointBranch":"checkpoint/undo-1712736312000"}

{"action":"undo","status":"error","error":"not_enough_history","mode":"steps","project":"/abs/path","requested":5}

checkpoint.js

{"action":"checkpoint","status":"success","project":"/abs/path","checkpoint":"before-refactor","branch":"checkpoint/before-refactor"}

watcher.js

On start:

{"action":"watcher-start","status":"success","project":"/abs/path","pid":12345,"debounceMs":5000,"pollMs":2000}

On each auto-snapshot:

{"action":"watcher-snapshot","status":"success","committed":true,"project":"/abs/path","hash":"abc1234","description":"[watcher] added: 1, modified: 2","timestamp":"2026-04-10T06:05:12.000Z","files":{"added":["new.js"],"changed":["index.js"],"deleted":[]}}

On stop:

{"action":"watcher-stop","status":"stopped","project":"/abs/path"}

Error Codes

error code	meaning	action
`missing_project_path`	No path argument given	Pass absolute path
`git_not_found`	Git not installed and auto-install failed	Install git manually (see `detail.manual_install_hint`, try `apt-get install git` / `brew install git` / `pkg install git`)
`not_tracked`	Project not initialized	Run init.js first
`no_changes`	Nothing changed since last snapshot	Safe to skip
`not_enough_history`	Not enough snapshots to undo requested depth	Use fewer steps
`checkpoint_not_found`	Named checkpoint doesn't exist	Check list.js output
`checkpoint_exists`	Checkpoint name already taken	Use a different name
`invalid_timestamp`	Timestamp format invalid	Use ISO 8601
`no_commits_before_timestamp`	No snapshots before that time	Use earlier time or different approach

First-Time Setup

After installing this skill, run init.js on the user's project before any other commands:

node "$SCRIPTS/init.js" /path/to/project

This attempts to auto-install git if missing, then initializes tracking. If git auto-install fails, it returns a structured error with platform details and install hints — use that info to guide manual installation.

Core Workflow

Rule 1: Snapshot After Every File Change

After ANY Write/Edit/Shell that modifies files, immediately run:

node "$SCRIPTS/snapshot.js" /path/to/project "Brief description of what changed"

Description guidelines:

Specific: "Refactored auth middleware to use JWT" not "changed files"
Mention key files
Include intent
Under 80 chars for the summary

Rule 2: Checkpoint Before Major Operations

node "$SCRIPTS/checkpoint.js" /path/to/project "before-refactor"

Rule 3: List History When Asked

node "$SCRIPTS/list.js" /path/to/project

Parse the commits array. Each entry has hash, timestamp, description, files, and isCheckpoint flag.

Rule 4: Undo on Request

# Undo last N changes
node "$SCRIPTS/undo.js" /path/to/project --steps 3

# Undo to named checkpoint
node "$SCRIPTS/undo.js" /path/to/project --to before-refactor

# Undo to specific time (ISO 8601)
node "$SCRIPTS/undo.js" /path/to/project --timestamp "2026-04-10T14:00"

After successful undo, inform the user that previous state is preserved on the branch from the JSON's checkpointBranch field.

Rule 5: Watcher for Long Sessions

node "$SCRIPTS/watcher.js" /path/to/project &

Auto-snapshots if you forget. PID in startup JSON. Stop with kill <PID>.

How It Works (Architecture)

~/.local/share/undo-skill/repos/
├── abc123def456/          # Bare git repo (MD5 hash of project path, 12 chars)
│   ├── HEAD
│   ├── refs/heads/main    # Latest snapshot
│   ├── refs/heads/checkpoint/undo-1712736312000
│   ├── refs/heads/checkpoint/before-refactor
│   └── _worktree/         # Temp working directory (auto-managed)
└── projects.json           # hash → absolute path mapping

Storage: External bare git repo, indexed by MD5 of absolute project path
Project isolation: The project's own .git is NEVER touched
Branch strategy: main = current state; checkpoint/* = preserved states (never deleted)
Undo: Creates checkpoint branch at HEAD → resets to target → force-pushes main

Important Notes

ALWAYS snapshot after writes — #1 rule, no exceptions
Output is JSON — parse the JSON line, ignore any other text
Don't double-snapshot — one change = one snapshot
Describe accurately — the description is how users and future AI understand history
Absolute paths only — always pass full absolute path
Undo preserves history — previous states live forever as checkpoint/* branches