Rollback Feature

Undo changes and return to a previous working version

What is Rollback?

Rollback lets you turn back time on your project. If something breaks or the agent goes in the wrong direction, you can go back to any earlier point in your conversation and start fresh from there.

Think of it like:

• A save point in a video game
• The undo button, but for your entire project
• A checkpoint you can return to

Here's how it looks in Emergent:

When Should You Use Rollback?

Perfect Situations for Rollback

**Solution:** Roll back to when it worked!

**Solution:** Roll back and explain better!

**Solution:** Roll back to last stable point!

**Solution:** Roll back and try new approach!

How to Use Rollback

Example: When to Roll Back

Scenario: Broken Payment Feature

You: "Add a checkout page with Stripe"
Agent: Builds checkout page - works great!

You: "Add a discount code field"
Agent: Adds discount field - still works!

You: "Make the button bigger and add animations"
Agent: Now checkout is completely broken!

You: "Why isn't it working?"
Agent: Tries fix #1... doesn't work
Agent: Tries fix #2... still broken
Agent: Tries fix #3... making it worse

Time to roll back!

1. Click rollback button
2. Go back to: "Add a discount code field" (when it worked)
3. Choose "Erase all messages and generated code"
4. Now try again with better instructions:

You: "Make the checkout button bigger - but test it carefully 
and make sure payments still work before finishing."

Two Types of Rollback

Complete Rollback (Recommended)

"Erase all messages and generated code"

Example:

Working app at message #15
↓
Made changes, now broken at message #23
↓
Roll back to message #15
↓
Back to working app!

Message-Only Rollback

"Erase messages only"

Example:

Long conversation with many back-and-forth messages
Code is actually working fine
Just want to clean up chat and start fresh
Roll back messages only
Code unchanged, conversation clean
## Important Things to Know

### You Cannot Undo Rollback

Send a Better Prompt After Rollback

After rolling back, don't just repeat the same request!

Give the agent more context:

Don't do this:

(After rollback)
You: "Add a checkout page"
(Same request that caused problems)

Do this instead:

(After rollback)
You: "Add a checkout page with Stripe integration.

Make sure to:
- Test the payment flow
- Handle errors gracefully
- Keep the existing discount code working
- Test everything before finishing"

More details = Better results!

Does Rollback Cost Credits?

Good news: Rollback itself is free.

However:

• You'll need to spend credits again to rebuild features you lost
• If you rolled back 30 minutes of work, you'll need credits to redo it

Example:

Built feature A: 500 credits
Built feature B: 300 credits
Built feature C: 400 credits (broke everything)

Roll back to before feature C
↓
Feature C work lost, but you get features A & B working

To rebuild C better: ~400 credits again
## Rollback vs Forking

Real Examples

Example 1: Broken After Styling Changes

Message 20: "App works perfectly!"

Message 25: "Changed colors, now buttons don't work"

Action: Roll back to Message 20
Result: App working again, can try styling more carefully

Example 2: Agent Misunderstood

Message 15: "Build a simple blog"

Message 22: Agent built a complex social network instead

Action: Roll back to Message 15
New prompt: "Build a SIMPLE blog - just posts and comments, 
nothing else. Keep it minimal."
Result: Got what you wanted!

Example 3: Repeated Failed Fixes

Message 30: "Database queries working"

Message 32: Database breaks
Message 33: Agent tries fix 1 - doesn't work
Message 34: Agent tries fix 2 - still broken
Message 35: Agent tries fix 3 - worse!

Action: Roll back to Message 30
New prompt: "The database queries were working. 
I just want to add pagination - please be very 
careful not to break existing queries."
Result: Pagination added without breaking things!

Tips for Using Rollback Effectively

Good Practices

1. Roll back early - If you see problems, don't wait
2. Choose the right checkpoint - Go back to last stable state
3. Improve your prompt - Add more detail when you restart
4. Test after changes - Ask agent to test before moving on

Avoid These Mistakes

1. Rolling back too far - Don't go back further than needed
2. Repeating same prompt - If it failed once, explain better
3. Not confirming it worked - Test the feature before continuing
4. Forgetting to save info - Copy any important notes before rolling back

Quick Decision Guide

Should I roll back?

Is something broken? → YES → Roll back!
Did agent misunderstand? → YES → Roll back!
Stuck in error loop? → YES → Roll back!

Is it just a small bug? → NO → Ask agent to fix it
Do I want to try something else? → MAYBE → Consider forking instead

How to Access Rollback

On Desktop

1. Look at the chat interface
2. Find the rollback button (usually top or side)
3. Click it
4. Select checkpoint
5. Confirm

On Mobile

1. Look for the clock icon
2. Tap it
3. Browse conversation history
4. Select where to roll back to
5. Confirm

Remember

Rollback is FREE - No extra credits charged

Cannot be undone - Choose carefully!

Lose work after that point - Make sure that's okay

Give better prompts after - More detail helps

Use early if stuck - Don't wait too long

Test after rolling back - Make sure it's actually working

Common Questions

Still Stuck?

If rolling back didn't help:

1. Try the troubleshoot agent - It can find deeper issues
2. Fork the project - Start fresh with current code
3. Ask for help - Describe the problem clearly

Also, check out the troubleshooting tips we have.

I rolled back but still having issues.

What was working: [describe]
What's broken: [describe]
What I tried: [describe]

Can you help?

Pro tip: Think of rollback as your "safety net" - don't be afraid to use it! It's better to roll back early than to let the agent struggle with a broken state.