Checkpoints & Rollback

MonoClaw creates automatic checkpoints before destructive operations. If something goes wrong, you can roll back to a known-good state.

What gets checkpointed

Before any destructive file operation (edit, delete, move), Mona:

1. Creates a git commit in a shadow repository
2. Stores the pre-operation state
3. Proceeds with the operation

Shadow git repos

MonoClaw maintains a shadow git repo inside ~/.monoclaw/checkpoints/ for each project you work on. These repos:

• Mirror your project's file structure
• Store full history of changes
• Are independent of your project's own git history

Automatic snapshots

In addition to operation-level checkpoints, MonoClaw takes periodic snapshots:

• Every 5 minutes during active sessions
• Before gateway restarts
• Before updates
• On demand: /snapshot in chat

Snapshots are stored as compressed archives in ~/.monoclaw/snapshots/.

Rolling back

Roll back the last operation

monoclaw checkpoint rollback

This restores files to their state before the most recent destructive operation.

Roll back to a specific snapshot

monoclaw snapshot list
monoclaw snapshot restore <snapshot-id>

Roll back in chat

/rollback

Mona will restore the project to its pre-operation state and explain what was reverted.

Manual checkpoints

Create a checkpoint on demand:

monoclaw checkpoint create "Before refactoring auth"

Or in chat:

/checkpoint

Snapshot management

List snapshots

monoclaw snapshot list

Output:

2026-05-10 14:32:01  before-gateway-restart
2026-05-10 14:28:15  auto-snapshot
2026-05-10 14:23:00  before-update
2026-05-10 14:15:42  auto-snapshot

Export a snapshot

monoclaw snapshot export <id> > snapshot.tar.gz

Clean up old snapshots

monoclaw snapshot prune --keep-last 20
monoclaw snapshot prune --older-than 7d

Integration with project git

If your project is already a git repo, Mona will:

1. Prefer your project's git history for rollback
2. Fall back to shadow repos for untracked files
3. Never modify your project's git history without explicit consent

Best practices

• Commit frequently in your own git repo — Mona respects existing commits
• Use /checkpoint before asking Mona to make large changes
• Review before rollback — use monoclaw snapshot show <id> to inspect
• Clean up snapshots — Old snapshots consume disk space

Troubleshooting