Versioning

Save named snapshots of an automation to compare changes and restore an earlier working state. See Operating Automations for the full test-to-Live process.

At a glanceVerified in app · Oct 30, 2026

Use it to: Save named snapshots, inspect automatic restore points, compare field-level diffs, or copy an auto-generated Markdown runbook
Find it: Canvas top bar → More (⋮) → Documentation & history (History and Documentation tabs)
Cost: Free (0 Step credits)
Limits: History tab lists Saved versions, Automatic restore points, and the latest 50 recorded changes

You save versions manually when you want a named snapshot. Draft only controls whether triggers fire; it does not hold a separate copy of your edits.

Saving a version and automatic restore points

Save a named version whenever you want a permanent restore point. Open More (⋮) → Documentation & history on the canvas or from any automation card’s ⋮ menu. Enter a title and description to snapshot the automation as it stands.

Schedules in saved versions are configuration records, not active triggers. Saving a version does not arm or run another schedule.

Alongside manual Saved versions, Glow records Automatic restore point (checkpoint) snapshots before major changes:

Switching an automation between Draft and Live (set_workflow_status) or restoring a version (restore_workflow_version).
Applying a direct MCP update_workflow batch to a Live automation.
Starting a new Workflow Assistant conversation on an automation that already has Steps.

Save a named version before an important manual edit so you can find it later.

Draft is a trigger switch, not a staging area

Each automation has one working copy. Edits take effect immediately, even while the automation is Live.

Status toggleDraft vs. Live

Controls only whether automatic triggers fire.
Draft disables automatic triggers and allows manual runs.
Does not hold a separate staging copy of your edits or queue missed events.

Point-in-time snapshotSaved Versions

Created manually in Documentation & history with a title and description, or automatically before high-impact changes.
Preserves a known canvas state that you can compare or restore in full.
Restoring replaces the current canvas but does not undo external actions from past runs.

Editing a Live automation changes what runs on the next trigger immediately. Before changing a busy automation, save a version and switch to Draft so triggers stop firing. Test your change with Run, then switch back to Live. Events arriving while in Draft are not processed.

Restoring and comparing in Documentation & history

Open Documentation & history from the canvas More (⋮) menu or any automation card’s ⋮ menu. The drawer has two tabs:

History tab: unified timeline & version compare

The History tab lists Saved versions, Automatic restore point snapshots, and the latest 50 recorded changes (published, paused, restored, and edited):

Source & attribution badges: Each entry names who made the change. Badges show In Glow, Workflow Assistant, "<App Name>" via MCP, or Personal MCP token via MCP. When an MCP client includes a changeSummary on update_workflow, it appears on the card.
Step change chips: Edit entries count how many Steps were + added, ~ changed, or − removed. Click the summary to view Step numbers, names, and changed fields.
Compare with now: Click Compare with now on any version or restore point to inspect Step and connection changes. The diff includes per-field variable references such as {{1.a}} → {{1.b}}.

Restore replaces the current automation with that version and records an automatic restore point in the same transaction. Pause automatic triggers first if the restored configuration should not process live events immediately. Restoring a version does not undo external actions from earlier runs.

Restoring a deployed schedule into a Live automation recalculates the next future run time. It never replays past occurrences. Inactive automations stay unarmed, and schedules with no future dates expire. If a saved rule cannot be parsed, the Scheduler restores with an error until fixed.

Documentation tab: auto-generated runbook

Switch to the Documentation tab inside Documentation & history to view an auto-generated Markdown runbook:

Summarizes Purpose, Trigger, and Steps in topological order with branches and error handling. It also lists Apps and data and Workspace values ($var.* and $secret.* names, with secrets masked).
Click Copy as Markdown to paste the runbook into a pull request, incident ticket, or team wiki.

Verify it works

Run: Open More (⋮) → Documentation & history, save a named version, and click Compare with now after editing a Step
You should see: The History tab highlights the added, changed, and removed Steps alongside field-level reference diffs.

What’s Next?

👉 Operating Automations →: test a controlled change and take the automation Live.
Activity: monitor the whole run after a change or restore.
Step-Level Executions: inspect what one Step received and produced.