Manage prompts and versions

PromptBranch lets you make quick edits while keeping reliable versions to return to later.

Right-click a prompt in the list for quick access to Copy prompt name, star, rename, collection, duplication, export, and delete actions. In a collection, the menu also removes the prompt from that collection. In Trash, it offers Restore, Copy prompt name, and Delete permanently.

Edit and save a version

Use Edit, Split, or Preview in the prompt editor to work in the view you prefer. The formatting toolbar helps with common Markdown.

With Autosave drafts enabled in Settings → Editor, unfinished edits are kept against the exact saved version you were editing when you switch prompts or close the app. You have two save actions:

• Press ⌘S on macOS or Ctrl+S on Windows and Linux, or select Save changes, to update the exact version displayed in the editor. Its ID, number, label, parent, and current/default status stay unchanged.
• Select Save as new version to preserve the displayed version and create a descendant. Add a short change note, then select Save version.

You can open any active version from the version menu or History and edit it directly. Saving as new creates the next unused number on that variation and records the displayed version as its parent. If you started from a historical version, neither save action changes the prompt's current/default version automatically.

The History tab also lets you rename versions, duplicate the selected version as a standalone prompt, or compare two versions side by side or as a unified diff. Duplicate actions always copy the version displayed or explicitly chosen, not an unrelated branch head.

Browse history as a list or graph

Open a prompt's History tab and use the List / Graph switcher to choose how you want to browse its saved versions. List is the default view and groups versions by branch. Graph lays out the same versions as a read-only timeline: solid edges continue a branch and dashed edges show a variation created from another version. The graph uses the saved parent relationship, so version numbers or gaps never invent a connection.

Select a graph node with the mouse, Enter, or Space to see its actions. From the selected-version bar you can view, restore, create a variation, duplicate as a new prompt, rename, or delete it, with the same current-version rules as List view. The compare checkboxes and comparison bar work in either view, so you can switch views without losing a pair that is already selected.

Drag the empty canvas to pan, use the Zoom in, Zoom out, and Fit graph controls to change the viewport, or use trackpad pinch/scroll gestures. Nodes themselves cannot be dragged and the graph never changes lineage; use the version actions when you want to create or update data. PromptBranch keeps your List/Graph choice on this device for the next prompt you open.

Use variations

A variation is an alternative direction for a prompt. It keeps experiments away from the version you normally use.

1. Open More actions → Duplicate as variation…, or duplicate a version from the History tab.
2. Give the variation a name and optional description.
3. Edit it and save versions as usual.

Each variation starts from the displayed or explicitly selected version and has its own version numbers. Creating one opens its copied v1 for editing without changing the prompt's current/default version. Choose Set as current in the History tab when a version should become the one opened by search and Quick access and returned by the CLI and MCP server by default.

Delete and recover

More actions → Delete prompt moves a prompt to Trash. Restore it from Trash to bring back its versions, notes, and runs. Permanently deleting a prompt, or choosing Permanently empty Trash in Settings → Data & Backup, cannot be undone.

To permanently remove an older version, use Delete beside that version in the History tab, or open the version and choose More actions → Delete version…. The current version cannot be deleted. Deleting an older version removes its run results and ratings, keeps its notes as prompt-level notes, keeps already-published shares live, and leaves every surviving version number unchanged. A history can therefore contain gaps such as v1, v3, and v4.

For exporting, importing, backups, and the library-wide activity feed, see Library data, backups, and transfer.