UndoTree & RewindCode
Reclaiming Creative Control Over Your Code History
UndoTree and RewindCode are two VSCode extensions that try to fix something most developers quietly hate: the fragile, linear undo stack.
They share the same core idea — non-linear, non-destructive history — but serve different people at different stages of their workflow.
UndoTree is the lightweight, reliable daily driver.
RewindCode is the deeper, more powerful session-level version control system you reach for when you’re really experimenting, debugging, or refactoring large code.
The Real Pain of Linear Undo
We’ve all been there.
You’re experimenting with three different ways to refactor a function.
You undo a few steps to compare approaches → make a small tweak → suddenly your other two promising branches are gone forever.
Or worse: you’re deep in a debugging session, you undo to see the previous state, then accidentally type something → the entire future is erased.
The classic undo/redo stack is great for tiny corrections, but it’s fundamentally at war with exploratory coding.
UndoTree and RewindCode try to fix that by turning your edit history into a persistent, navigable tree — like a lightweight Git for your current session, but without ever leaving the editor or committing anything.
The dream is simple:
You should be able to explore ideas freely, without fear of losing work you already did.
UndoTree: The Minimal, Forgiving Daily Driver
UndoTree is intentionally small, fast, and stable.
It’s for developers who just want undo/redo to stop punishing experimentation — without learning a whole new system.
Key Features
- Non-linear undo/redo tree — every branch you create survives
- Manual save points — mark a state with one shortcut and keep going
- Tree visualization — see your edit history as a simple branch diagram
- Reset tree — wipe history when you want a clean slate
- Keyboard-first — everything bound to fast, memorable shortcuts
- Zero configuration by default — works out of the box
Best for:
- Rapid prototyping
- Small-to-medium files
- JavaScript/TypeScript daily work
- Anyone who’s ever rage-quit after losing a good branch
UndoTree is production-ready, lightweight (~200 KB installed), and has almost no performance impact even on large files.
RewindCode: Session-Level Version Control
RewindCode takes the tree concept and turns it into a full productivity suite.
It’s built for people who live in long, complex sessions — refactoring legacy code, writing tests first, debugging tricky logic, or comparing multiple architectural approaches.
Advanced Features (on top of UndoTree)
- Selective undo/redo — restore only a specific function or block without touching the rest of the file
- Function-level version history — see every past version of the function under your cursor, across all branches
- Named branches — label important states (“before-auth-refactor”, “promise-version”)
- Diff preview in-editor — quick side-by-side or inline diff of any two points in history
- Configurable auto-save points — e.g., every 50 changes, on save, on test pass
- Export/import session — save your entire tree as JSON to resume later
- Searchable history — fuzzy search commit messages or code snippets
RewindCode blurs the line between in-editor undo and lightweight Git.
You get Git-like power (branches, diffs, selective revert) without staging, committing, or context-switching.
Development Philosophy
Both extensions are written in TypeScript using the VS Code Extension API.
- UndoTree → minimal, single-responsibility, easy to maintain forever
- RewindCode → modular, extensible, built for long-term feature growth
The guiding belief is simple:
Editing history should be a creative asset, not a fragile liability.
Undo shouldn’t feel like a panic button.
It should feel like a time machine that lets you freely explore multiple futures without destroying the past.
We wanted tools that reward curiosity and experimentation instead of punishing it.
Closing Thoughts
If you’ve ever lost good code because “undo went too far”, or wished you could quickly jump back to “that one version that almost worked” without losing everything else — these extensions are for you.
Start with UndoTree if you want instant relief and zero learning curve.
Move to RewindCode when you realize you’re spending more time fighting history than writing code.
Undo is no longer just “go back”.
It’s go explore — safely.
Give them a try.
Worst case, you can always reset the tree.
Happy (non-destructive) coding!
Would love to hear how (or if) these change your daily workflow.