---
title: "Version control"
description: "Version control plugin guide: automatically save versions during AI Builder sessions, create and restore versions manually, configure retention, set shortcuts, and include user collections in saved versions."
keywords: "Version control,ops management,AI Builder,nocobase-revision,nb revision create,create version,restore version,NocoBase"
---

# Version control

In NocoBase, **Version control** lets you save a restorable version of the current application. You can create versions manually, restore the application to a saved version when needed, and let AI Builder automatically save versions after meaningful milestones.

Version control depends on [Backup manager](../backup-manager/index.mdx) to save and restore application states. Before using Version control, enable Backup manager first.

:::warning Note

Community and Standard editions do not include the Version control plugin. If you need to save a restorable application state, use [Backup manager](../backup-manager/index.mdx): create a backup manually before key changes, and restore the corresponding backup when you need to roll back.

:::

## AI auto-saved versions

After the Version control plugin is enabled, AI Builder gets an extra rollback safeguard. When an AI Agent starts working on a request, it checks the NocoBase Skills available to the current application. If it finds the `nocobase-revision` skill, it can save key building milestones as restorable versions.

![AI detects the nocobase-revision skill when building starts](https://static-docs.nocobase.com/20260611115845.png)

When AI completes a piece of work that can be reviewed on its own, such as building a page, creating a set of collections, or configuring a workflow, it runs `nb revision create` through the NocoBase CLI. You do not need to click 「Create version」 manually each time, and small adjustments will not create noisy version records.

![AI creates a version after building](https://static-docs.nocobase.com/20260611115804.png)

These versions appear in the versions list. If later changes do not match your expectations, you can restore to the previous clear building milestone and continue adjusting from there.

## Open the plugin

After the plugin is enabled, a 「Version control」 menu appears in the top bar. You can create a version directly from there or open the versions list.

You can also open the plugin from 「System settings / Version control」. The default shortcut for creating a version is `Ctrl + K`, and you can change it in the settings tab.

![Version control menu](https://static-docs.nocobase.com/20260611112317.png)

## Create a version

Click 「Create version」, enter a description, and save it. The description can be up to 2000 characters. It is useful for recording the background of the change, such as “Adjusted approval fields and permissions”.

![Create version](https://static-docs.nocobase.com/20260611112739.png)

After you click save, the list first shows a temporary “Saving” entry. When the task finishes, the saved version appears in the list.

Key points:

- Version names are generated automatically
- Creating a version from the top bar, the shortcut, or the list page behaves the same
- The list shows the version name, description, file size, creation time, creator, and available actions

## Manage and restore versions

The versions list mainly provides these actions:

- 「Refresh」 reloads the current list
- 「Delete」 removes one version, or multiple selected versions in batch
- 「Restore」 restores the application to the state saved in that version

:::warning Notice

Restoring a version overwrites the current application configuration and the data included in that version. It is recommended to create a version of the current state before restoring, so you can roll back again if needed.

:::

After you click 「Restore」, the application enters maintenance mode for a short time while the restore is running. Do not submit another restore request during that time. If the restore fails, the UI shows an error notification.

## Configure version rules

Open the 「Settings」 tab to control retention and what each version includes.

![](https://static-docs.nocobase.com/20260526220720.png)

The settings include:

- `Versions to keep`: the maximum number of saved versions. Older versions are deleted automatically after the limit is exceeded
- `Shortcut: create version`: the shortcut for creating a version. Press `Ctrl + a letter key` to set it, or `Backspace` to clear it
- `User collections`: choose which user-created collections should have their data included in saved versions

:::tip

By default, saved versions do not include data from user-created collections. You only need to select collections here when you want some business data to be restored together with the application version.

:::

If you include a user collection, NocoBase also includes related collections automatically, so restores are usually more complete.

## Related links

- [Backup manager](../backup-manager/index.mdx) — the underlying capability required by Version control
- [Migration manager](../migration-manager/index.md) — move application configuration across environments
- [Release management](../release-management/index.md) — plan release workflows with backups, migrations, and variables
- [AI Builder quick start](../../ai-builder/index.md) — use natural language to complete data modeling, page configuration, and workflow orchestration
