Gemini Checkpoint Management

Gemini Checkpoint Management

MANDATORY: Invoke gemini-cli-docs First

STOP - Before providing ANY response about Gemini checkpointing:

1. INVOKE gemini-cli-docs skill
2. QUERY for the specific checkpointing topic
3. BASE responses EXCLUSIVELY on official documentation loaded

Overview

Meta-skill for managing Gemini CLI's checkpointing system. Checkpointing creates automatic snapshots before file modifications, enabling instant rollback.

When to Use This Skill

Keywords: checkpoint, rollback, restore, undo, snapshot, revert, experiment, checkpointing, /restore

Use this skill when:

• Enabling or configuring checkpointing
• Listing available checkpoints
• Restoring to a previous state
• Understanding checkpoint storage
• Planning experimental workflows

How Checkpointing Works

When enabled, before any file modification Gemini creates:

1. Git Snapshot: Shadow repo at ~/.gemini/history/<project_hash>
2. Conversation History: Complete session state
3. Pending Tool Call: The operation about to execute

Checkpoints are stored locally and don't interfere with your project's Git repository.

Configuration

Enable Checkpointing

Add to settings.json:

{
  "general": {
    "checkpointing": {
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}

Verify Configuration

cat ~/.gemini/settings.json | jq '.general.checkpointing'

Commands

List Checkpoints

/restore

Shows available checkpoint files for the current project.

Restore Checkpoint

/restore <checkpoint_file>

Restores files and conversation to the checkpoint state.

Checkpoint Naming

Format: {timestamp}-{filename}-{tool_name}

Example: 2025-06-22T10-00-00_000Z-my-file.txt-write_file

Storage Locations

Keyword Registry (Delegates to gemini-cli-docs)

Quick Decision Tree

What do you want to do?

1. Enable checkpointing -> Query gemini-cli-docs: "checkpointing enabled settings"
2. List checkpoints -> Use /restore command
3. Restore state -> Use /restore <checkpoint_name>
4. Find storage -> Query gemini-cli-docs: "checkpoint storage ~/.gemini/history"
5. Understand workflow -> Query gemini-cli-docs: "checkpointing workflow"

Best Practices

1. Enable for experiments: Always enable when doing risky refactors
2. Note checkpoint names: Before major changes, list existing checkpoints
3. Test after restore: Verify state after restoring
4. Clean up periodically: Old checkpoints consume disk space

Verification Checkpoint

• Did I invoke gemini-cli-docs skill?
• Did official documentation load?
• Is my response based EXCLUSIVELY on official docs?

Test Scenarios

Scenario 1: Direct Activation

Query: "Use the gemini-checkpoint-management skill to enable checkpointing" Expected Behavior:

• Skill activates on keyword "checkpoint"
• Delegates to gemini-cli-docs for official documentation Success Criteria: User receives accurate checkpointing configuration steps

Scenario 2: Keyword Activation

Query: "How do I rollback changes in Gemini CLI?" Expected Behavior:

• Skill activates on keywords "rollback", "restore"
• Provides /restore command usage Success Criteria: Response includes command syntax and checkpoint listing

Scenario 3: Troubleshooting

Query: "Where are Gemini checkpoints stored?" Expected Behavior:

• Skill activates on "checkpoint storage"
• Provides ~/.gemini/history path information Success Criteria: User understands checkpoint storage structure

References

Query gemini-cli-docs for official documentation on:

• "checkpointing"
• "/restore command"
• "checkpoint storage"

Version History

• v1.1.0 (2025-11-30): Added Test Scenarios section
• v1.0.0 (2025-11-25): Initial release