Claude Code automatically snapshots your code before every edit. Each time you send a prompt, a checkpoint is created. If Claude takes a wrong turn — breaks a feature, goes down the wrong path, or over-engineers a solution — you can rewind to any previous state in seconds. Checkpoints persist across sessions and are cleaned up automatically after 30 days.
Result:
> Esc Esc (press Escape twice)
┌─ Rewind to ──────────────────────────┐
│ ● Message 5: "Add auth middleware" │
│ ○ Message 4: "Create user model" │
│ ○ Message 3: "Set up database" │
│ │
│ Restore: ◉ Both ○ Code ○ Convo │
└──────────────────────────────────────┘
Setup
No setup needed. Checkpointing is enabled by default.
1. Make some changes with Claude
Work normally — every prompt you send creates a checkpoint automatically.
2. Rewind when needed
Press Esc twice quickly, or type /rewind. Select the checkpoint and what to restore:
Esc + Esc → Opens the rewind menu
/rewind → Same thing, via command
3. Choose what to restore
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Both code and conversation | Restores files and rewinds the chat to that point |
| Code only | Reverts file changes, keeps the full conversation |
| Conversation only | Rewinds the chat, keeps current file state |
Reference
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Trigger | Esc • Esc or /rewind |
| Checkpoint creation | Automatic on every user prompt |
| Persistence | Survives session restarts and /resume |
| Retention | 30 days (configurable via cleanupPeriodDays) |
| Tracks | File edits made through Claude's editing tools |
| Does NOT track | Bash commands (rm, mv, cp), external edits |
Limitations
- Files modified by bash commands (e.g.,
rm file.txt) are not tracked - Manual edits you make outside Claude Code are not captured
- Checkpoints are session-level recovery, not a replacement for Git
Official docs: Checkpointing
EscEscrewinds, but a singleEscis a different move: stop and redirect Claude mid-task without losing what it's done.