The Claude Code safety-net cheat sheet

From @learningwithcole

Undo anything Claude did: checkpoints #

1. Make sure the prompt box is empty. If there's text, Esc Esc clears it; press ↑ to get it back.
2. Press Esc Esc, or type /rewind. /checkpoint and /undo work too.
3. Pick the message from just before things went wrong.
4. Choose an option:
   • Restore code and conversation: as if it never happened
   • Restore conversation: keep the code, rewind the chat
   • Restore code: keep the chat, roll back the files
   • Summarize from here / up to here: shrinks context without touching files

What it does NOT undo:

• File changes made by terminal commands Claude ran (e.g. a migration or rm), unless Claude had also edited that file with its edit tools
• Edits you made yourself outside Claude Code
• Most subagent edits
• Symlinked files

Claude Code keeps the 100 most recent checkpoints per session; old snapshots are cleaned up after about 30 days.

Rule #1: commit before anything big #

Checkpoints are not Git.

git add -A && git commit -m "before Claude refactor"

If everything goes wrong: git restore ., or git reset --hard HEAD, which discards ALL uncommitted changes.

Plan before it touches files #

Press Shift+Tab until you see plan mode, or type /plan fix the login bug. Claude reads the code and writes a plan, and edits wait until you approve it.

Ask a side question without derailing it #

/btw what was that config file called? The answer pops up but doesn't go into the conversation.

Pick up where you left off #

claude --continue resumes your last conversation. /resume lets you pick any older one.