Checkpoints

Automatically saved snapshots let you roll back code changes while keeping your conversation. Experiment freely and restore any previous state.

Checkpoints let you undo code changes without losing your conversation. Every time Cline modifies a file or runs a command, it saves a snapshot of your project files. You can restore to any checkpoint while keeping all the context you’ve built up in chat.

This changes how you work with Cline. Instead of carefully reviewing every change before approving, you can let Cline move fast and roll back if something goes wrong. The cost of a mistake drops to nearly zero.

Checkpoints are enabled by default. See enable or disable checkpoints if you need to turn them off.

How checkpoints work

Cline maintains a shadow Git repository that is completely separate from your project’s own Git history. After each tool use — file edits, commands, and so on — Cline commits the current state of your files to this shadow repo. Your main Git repository stays untouched.

This means:

• Your Git history remains clean and under your control
• Checkpoints capture all files, including ones not tracked by Git
• You can restore to any point in a task without affecting commits you’ve already made
• Checkpoints persist across editor sessions

Each checkpoint captures the complete file state at that moment. If Cline edits three files in sequence, you get three checkpoints and can restore to any of them independently.

Enable or disable checkpoints

1. Open Cline settings

   Click the gear icon in the Cline sidebar.

2. Find Feature settings

   Scroll to the Feature Settings section.

3. Toggle checkpoints

   Toggle Enable Checkpoints on or off.

For very large repositories, checkpoints may use significant storage and slow down Cline slightly as it commits file snapshots after each tool use. Consider disabling them if you notice performance issues.

Viewing and comparing changes

After each tool use, a checkpoint indicator appears in your conversation — a bookmark icon labeled Checkpoint with Compare and Restore buttons.

Click Compare to open a diff view showing exactly what changed at that checkpoint. This opens in your editor’s diff viewer, letting you see additions, deletions, and modifications across all affected files.

This is useful when Cline makes changes you want to understand before deciding whether to keep them. Review the diff, then either continue or restore.

Restoring checkpoints

Click Restore next to any step to open the restore menu. You have three options:

Option	What it does	When to use it
Restore Files	Reverts your project files to the snapshot at this checkpoint	Code changes broke something but the conversation is still productive
Restore Task Only	Deletes conversation messages after this point, does not touch files	Code changes are good but the conversation went off-track
Restore Files & Task	Reverts files and deletes messages after this point	Starting over completely from a known-good state

Choosing the right restore option

The code broke but the conversation is useful

Use Restore Files. Cline keeps all the context from your conversation and can try a different implementation approach without you needing to re-explain the goal.

The code is good but the conversation went off-track

Use Restore Task Only. Your file changes are preserved and you can guide the conversation in a different direction from that point.

Everything went wrong — start over

Use Restore Files & Task. This resets both files and the conversation to the checkpoint, giving you a clean slate from a known-good state.

When to use checkpoints

Scenario	Recommended action
Cline refactored code and broke something	Restore Files, ask for a different approach
Experimenting with multiple solutions	Compare each checkpoint, restore to the best one
Cline misunderstood your intent	Restore Files & Task, rephrase your request
You want to try a different prompt	Restore Task Only, keep the files, resubmit
Reviewing changes before committing to Git	Use Compare to inspect, then commit manually
Testing risky changes	Let Cline proceed, restore if it fails

Checkpoints and auto-approve

Checkpoints make auto-approve practical. Without checkpoints, auto-approve feels risky because Cline can make many changes before you notice a problem. With checkpoints, you can let Cline work autonomously and roll back if needed.

1. Enable auto-approve

   Turn on auto-approve for file edits and commands in Cline settings.

2. Let Cline work

   Cline moves through the task quickly without waiting for approval at each step.

3. Review the final result

   Inspect the outcome once Cline finishes. Use Compare on any checkpoint to review what changed.

4. Restore if needed

   If something went wrong, restore to the last good checkpoint and give Cline more specific guidance.

Checkpoints and message editing

Checkpoints integrate with message editing. When you edit a previous message and select Restore All, Cline restores your files to the checkpoint at that point before resubmitting your edited message.

This lets you fix a poorly worded prompt and automatically undo all the file changes that resulted from it — in a single action.