Checkpoints

What checkpoints are

A checkpoint is a complete snapshot of your machine's disk state at a point in time. It captures every file, every installed package, every configuration change. Restoring a checkpoint returns the machine to exactly that state, regardless of what you did in between.

This is not a backup in the traditional sense. You are able to rollback machine state to a checkpoint in the past or *fork* and create a new machine based on an older checkpoint. Checkpoints are integrated into the machine lifecycle. You create one with a name and a note. You restore one with a single click. The machine reboots into the checkpointed state in under a minute.

Creating a checkpoint

1. Open the machine you want to snapshot.
2. Click Settings in the top bar, then select the Checkpoints tab.
3. Click Create Checkpoint.
4. Enter a name and an optional description.
5. Click Save. The snapshot is taken in the background. You can continue working.

Best practices

• Checkpoint before risky changes. Installing a new compiler, upgrading the kernel, or experimenting with system drivers are all good reasons to snapshot first.
• Delete old checkpoints you no longer need. They consume disk quota. The dashboard shows how much space each checkpoint uses.
• Checkpoint after successful setup. Once you have a clean, working environment, snapshot it. This becomes your known-good baseline for future clones.

Restoring a checkpoint

From the Checkpoints tab, click the three-dot menu on any snapshot and select Restore. The machine will stop, revert its disk to the snapshot, and restart. Any changes made after the snapshot was taken are lost. The assistant will warn you if there are unsaved files in common locations before it proceeds.

Checkpoints vs. clones

Checkpoints are snapshots in time on the same machine. Clones create a new independent machine from a checkpoint or the current state. Use checkpoints when you want to roll back. Use cloning when you want to fork an environment for a teammate or a parallel experiment.