🕒 Dev Time Machine
Save and restore your uncommitted changes instantly - like Git stash, but visual and organized.
🤖 Built for the AI Development Era
Working with AI agents like Cursor, Claude, or ChatGPT? You know the struggle:
- 🔄 Rapid iterations - AI suggests changes faster than you can evaluate them
- 🚫 Dead ends - Promising approaches that don't work out
- 📚 Messy Git history - Don't want "WIP: trying AI suggestion #47" commits
- ⚡ Need quick rollbacks - When AI changes break something that was working
🎯 The Solution: Lightweight Snapshots
Dev Time Machine lets you save snapshots of your work and restore them instantly - perfect for AI-assisted development!
Think of it as:
- 📸 Instagram for your code - Save moments in time before trying AI suggestions
- 🔄 Undo/Redo for entire projects - Not just single files
- 🛡️ Safety net for experiments - Try bold AI changes risk-free
- ⚡ Faster than Git commits - No commit messages, no ceremony
- 🧠 AI workflow optimized - Designed for rapid iteration cycles
🚀 Quick Start
1️⃣ Install
- Open VS Code → Extensions (
Ctrl+Shift+X)
- Search "Dev Time Machine"
- Click Install
2️⃣ Save Your First Snapshot
- Make some changes to your code
- Press
Cmd+Shift+P → Type "Dev Time Machine: Save"
- ✅ Snapshot saved!
3️⃣ Restore When Needed
- Press
Cmd+Shift+P → Type "Dev Time Machine: Restore"
- Pick from your snapshots:
📎 before-refactor 2 hours ago • 3 files changed
📎 working-login This morning • 1 file changed
📎 30 minutes ago Just now • 2 files changed
- ✅ Your code is restored!
💡 Perfect for AI Development Workflows
🤖 AI Agent Collaboration
You: "Add user authentication"
AI: Generates 15 files of auth code
↓ Save snapshot before applying
AI: Makes changes
↓ Something breaks?
Restore: Back to working state instantly
🔄 Compare AI Suggestions
AI Suggestion A → Save snapshot → Try it
AI Suggestion B → Save snapshot → Try it
Now easily switch between approaches to see which works better!
🧪 Experiment Safely
Current: Working feature
↓ Save snapshot
AI: "Let's refactor this completely"
↓ Refactoring breaks everything?
Restore: Back to working version in 2 clicks
🛡️ Before Major AI Changes
Before: AI suggests "Let me rewrite your entire API"
↓ Save snapshot (safety first!)
During: AI makes sweeping changes
↓ Something goes wrong?
After: Restore and you're back to safety
⚡ Clean Git History
Instead of: 47 commits like "trying AI suggestion", "reverting", "trying again"
Use: Save snapshots for experiments, commit only the final working solution
🎯 Rapid Iteration Cycles
Working Code → Save → AI Iteration 1 → Save → AI Iteration 2 → Save
Pick the best version, restore it, then commit to Git
🎮 How to Use
📸 Saving Snapshots
Quick Save (unnamed):
- Command Palette:
Cmd+Shift+P → "Dev Time Machine: Save Snapshot"
- When: For quick experiments
- Result: Snapshot saved with timestamp
Save with Alias:
- Command Palette:
Cmd+Shift+P → "Dev Time Machine: Save Snapshot with Alias"
- When: For important milestones
- Example names: "before-refactor", "working-login", "backup-v1"
⏮️ Restoring Snapshots
Restore Menu:
- Command Palette:
Cmd+Shift+P → "Dev Time Machine: Restore Snapshot"
- Shows: Smart list with context:
📎 before-refactor 2 hours ago • Jan 15, 10:30 AM • 3 files
📎 working-login This morning • Jan 15, 8:45 AM • 1 file
📎 30 minutes ago Jan 15, 1:45 PM • 2 files
What Gets Restored:
- ✅ All your changes - Modified files, new files, deleted files
- ✅ Exact state - Everything exactly as it was
- ✅ Safe process - Your current work is automatically backed up first
🎨 User Interface
📋 Snapshot List
When you restore, you'll see a clean list like this:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 📎 before-refactor │
│ 2 hours ago • Jan 15, 2024, 10:30:00 AM │
│ 📄 3 modified files, 1 new file │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 📎 working-login │
│ This morning • Jan 15, 2024, 8:45:30 AM │
│ 📄 1 modified file │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 📎 30 minutes ago │
│ Jan 15, 2024, 1:45:22 PM │
│ 📄 2 modified files │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
💬 Smart Messages
- ✅ "Snapshot saved successfully!"
- ✅ "Snapshot restored successfully!"
- ⚠️ "No changes to snapshot" (when nothing to save)
- 🛡️ "Auto-recovered your changes" (if restore fails)
⚙️ All Commands
| Command |
What it does |
How to Access |
| Save Snapshot |
Quick unnamed snapshot |
Cmd+Shift+P → "Dev Time Machine: Save Snapshot" |
| Save with Alias |
Named snapshot for important moments |
Cmd+Shift+P → "Dev Time Machine: Save Snapshot with Alias" |
| Restore Snapshot |
Pick and restore any snapshot |
Cmd+Shift+P → "Dev Time Machine: Restore Snapshot" |
| Show Logs |
View detailed logs (for troubleshooting) |
Cmd+Shift+P → "Dev Time Machine: Show Logs" |
🎹 Set Your Own Shortcuts (Optional)
Want keyboard shortcuts? You can easily add your own:
- Open Keyboard Shortcuts:
Cmd+K Cmd+S (or Preferences → Keyboard Shortcuts)
- Search: "Dev Time Machine"
- Click the
+ icon next to any command
- Press your preferred key combination
- Press Enter to save
Suggested shortcuts that usually work:
Save Snapshot: Cmd+Option+1 (Mac) / Ctrl+Alt+1 (Win/Linux)
Save with Alias: Cmd+Option+2 (Mac) / Ctrl+Alt+2 (Win/Linux)
Restore Snapshot: Cmd+Option+3 (Mac) / Ctrl+Alt+3 (Win/Linux)
💡 Pro Tip: Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P) is fast and always works - no shortcuts needed! 🎉
🧠 Why Not Just Use Git?
Git is perfect for permanent history, but not for rapid AI experimentation:
| Git Commits |
Dev Time Machine Snapshots |
| 🐌 Requires commit messages |
⚡ Instant saves |
| 📚 Pollutes project history |
🧹 Local only, stays clean |
| 🔍 Hard to find experimental versions |
📋 Visual list with timestamps |
| 🌐 Shared with team (awkward WIP commits) |
🔒 Private experimentation |
| 🎯 Best for: Final, meaningful changes |
🎯 Best for: Rapid iteration & experiments |
Perfect workflow: Use snapshots for AI experiments, Git commits for final solutions! 🎊
🛡️ Safety Features
🔒 Zero Data Loss
- Before restore: Your current changes are automatically stashed
- If restore fails: Your original work is automatically recovered
- Smart detection: Won't let you lose any uncommitted changes
📁 Clean Organization
- Local storage: Snapshots saved in
.checkpoints/ folder
- Auto .gitignore: Snapshots never accidentally committed
- No conflicts: Works alongside your normal Git workflow
❓ Troubleshooting
"Not a Git repository"
- Fix: Open a folder that has Git initialized (
git init)
- Why: Extension only works in Git projects for safety
"Failed to apply snapshot"
- Fix: Commit or stash your current changes first
- Why: Current changes conflict with the snapshot
Need help?
- Command Palette → "Dev Time Machine: Show Logs"
- Copy the logs when reporting issues
🎯 Requirements
Must have:
- ✅ VS Code 1.50.0 or newer
- ✅ Git repository (run
git init if needed)
- ✅ Git installed (check with
git --version)
Works with:
- ✅ Any programming language
- ✅ Windows, Mac, Linux
- ✅ VS Code, Cursor, other VS Code-based editors
🚀 Pro Tips
💡 Best Practices
- Save before experiments: Always snapshot before trying something new
- Use descriptive names: "before-refactor" is better than "test"
- Clean up regularly: Delete old snapshots you don't need
- Combine with Git: Use for experiments, Git for permanent history
⚡ Workflow Ideas
# Feature development workflow
1. Save snapshot: "feature-base"
2. Try approach A → Save: "approach-a"
3. Try approach B → Save: "approach-b"
4. Compare both, pick the best
5. Continue development
📄 License
MIT License - Use freely in personal and commercial projects.
Happy Time Traveling! 🕒✨
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