Version history

Buildliy saves a new version of your app every time it changes. You can look back through those versions, see exactly what changed, and go back to any of them. Going back is free (your live preview uses a small amount of credit while it's running) and never deletes anything, so it's safe to experiment.

What creates a version

A new version is saved when:

• The AI finishes a build that changed your app.
• You click Save in Edit mode. See Edit by clicking.
• You pick a palette, font pair or preset in Settings → Design. See Design and themes.
• You restore an older version. The restore is saved as a new version named Restored: …, so the versions after it are kept too.

Open Build history

There are two ways in:

• Click the history icon (a clock) at the top right of the chat.
• Click your project's name at the top left, then choose Build history.

Build history becomes available once your project has at least two versions. It lists your 50 most recent versions, newest first, grouped into Today, Yesterday, Last 7 days and Older.

Each version shows:

• A small picture of your app after that change, when one was taken.
• Its title, with Current on the newest version and Live on the version your published site is running.
• A short note about what changed.
• How long ago it was made. Hover over the time to see the exact date.
• Restore and Publish this version buttons on every version except the current one. (Publish this version isn't shown on the version that's already live.)

Use the filters at the top to narrow the list: All, Successful only, and With photos (shown once some versions have pictures).

Restore a version

1. 1

   Open Build history

   Click the history icon at the top right of the chat.

2. 2

   Click Restore on the version you want

   If your app keeps data on Buildliy hosting and you own the project, Buildliy first asks whether to rewind the data too. See Rewind your app's data too.

3. 3

   Wait for the preview to update

   You'll see Restoring — your preview will update in a moment. A line in the chat names the version you went back to and which later requests it undid.

Restoring is free, though your live preview uses a small amount of credit while it's running. Both the old and the new versions stay in your chat and in Build history, so you can go forward again by restoring a newer version.

Other ways to go back

• From the chat. Hover over any AI reply that changed your app and click the circular arrow (Restore this version). Confirm with Restore this version.
• Undo last build. Click your project's name, then Undo last build to go back to the version before the newest one. This is free too (apart from the preview's running time).
• Re-run from here. Hover over a message you sent and click Re-run from here, then Go back and re-run. Your app goes back to how it was before that message, then the message is sent again so the AI builds it from that point. The re-sent message uses credits, like any build.

Rewind your app's data too

Restoring normally brings back only your app's code and design. If your app's database is on Buildliy hosting and you're the project's owner, clicking Restore in Build history opens a card titled Restore to and the time of that version (for example, "Restore to yesterday at 3:14 PM").

Under What to restore:

• Code and design is always included.
• Data (labelled with your tables, for example "Data: bookings and members") is off by default. Tick it to also take your app's data back to that moment.

When you tick the data box, a warning tells you what will be lost, for example: "12 bookings added since then will be removed. Other changes since then are undone too. A copy of today's data is kept for 7 days." Then click Restore both, or Restore code to leave the data alone.

Undo a data rewind

Before rewinding, Buildliy keeps a copy of your current data for 7 days. To put it back, open the Manage tab, go to Backups and click Undo rewind. This puts the data back; it doesn't change your code. See The Manage tab.

When only the code can go back

Restore goes straight back to the code, with no data option, when:

• You aren't the project's owner. Teammates can still restore the code.
• Your app uses your own database, or doesn't have a database yet. See Use your own backend.

The card still opens, but the data option is greyed out with a short reason, when the version is older than your app's data history. The card tells you how far back the data can go.

If a data rewind fails, your data isn't changed and the card offers Restore just the code. The data option is only offered from Build history, not from the restore button on a chat reply.

See what changed, file by file

To see the exact changes a build made:

1. Hover over the AI reply and click ⋯ (More actions).
2. Choose See changed files. It shows how many files changed.
3. A Files changed list opens under the reply. Each file shows a New or Deleted label when it applies and the number of lines added and removed. Hover over a file for a plain-English line about the change.
4. Click a file to see the exact lines that changed. Use the arrows to move to the previous or next file.

Your app's first version shows Built your app with a file count instead, since there's nothing to compare it with.

Publish an older version

To put an older version on your live site without changing your preview, click Publish this version next to it in Build history. The confirmation explains what happens: your live site switches to that version in a minute or two and stays on it until you publish again, your site info, secret keys and database stay as they are, and your preview and chat don't change. See Publish your app.

While a build is running

You can't restore, undo, re-run or rewind data while the AI is working on your app. You'll see "Your app is still being worked on. Wait for the current build to finish, then restore." Wait for the build to finish, or stop it (the project owner or an Admin on the team can), and try again.

Related

• Edit by clicking
• Publish your app
• Database
• Chat with Buildliy