Data safety
Writer Studio protects your work with four independent mechanisms. Use them together for reliable protection.
Overview
| Mechanism | Scope | Creation | Recovery |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scene snapshots | Scene | Manual | Manual |
| Version history (Git) | Project | Manual | Manual |
| Backups | Project | Auto + manual | Manual |
| Crash recovery | Project | Automatic | Automatic |
Scene snapshots
A snapshot captures the current contents of a single scene at any moment. Useful before experimenting with the text.
Where to find: the Snapshots panel in the activity bar (available only when a scene is open — when the editor is closed, the panel is inactive).
- Create snapshot — saves the scene's current text. You can add a name.
- Restore — replaces the current text with the snapshot. A confirmation appears before restoring.
- Delete snapshot — this action is irreversible.
Snapshots apply only to a specific scene and do not affect the rest of the project's text.
Version history
The version history is a Git repository for your project. It lets you save the state of the entire project with a description and return to any saved point.
Where to find: sidebar -> the Version history icon.
Viewing history
The panel lists snapshots in chronological order (newest first). Each snapshot shows:
- a description (for manual snapshots) or the Auto-save label
- creation time (relative: "2 hours ago")
- the number of changed files
Manual snapshots are marked with a blue dot, automatic ones with a gray dot.
Creating a manual snapshot
Click Save snapshot in the panel header. A dialog opens with a description field — write what changed (for example, "Finished chapter three") and click Save.
A snapshot covers the entire project. Recommended moments to create one: after finishing a chapter, before major edits, before structural changes.
Restoring to a snapshot
Hover over the entry in the list — a Restore button appears. Before rolling back, Writer Studio automatically creates a snapshot of the current state so it can be brought back if needed.
Auto-save
While a project is open, Writer Studio automatically creates snapshots every 30 minutes. If there are no changes, the snapshot is skipped. Automatic snapshots appear in the list with the Auto-save label and look less prominent so they don't clutter the history.
Backups
A backup is an archive of the entire project. It is stored separately from your working files.
Where to find: sidebar -> the "Backups" icon.
- Automatic backup — created on a set interval while the project is open
- Create backup manually — at any time
- Restore — current project data will be overwritten. Confirmation is required.
Auto-backup settings (interval, maximum number of stored copies) are available in Settings -> "Backups".
The backup status indicator is always visible on the left side of the status bar.
Crash recovery
If Writer Studio closed incorrectly (a crash or forced shutdown), a recovery dialog appears automatically on the next launch.
The dialog lists the affected files and the date of the last activity. Two options are available:
- Restore — files will be restored for review
- Delete — the temporary files will be removed and you will start fresh