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Save points and history

Your project keeps a timeline of past versions, so you can name a moment you want to keep, look back at how the script changed, and bring an earlier version back if you need it.

Nabu saves your work constantly on its own (autosave), and on top of that it keeps a version history — a list of saved states you can return to. Some of those states Nabu creates automatically as you go; others you create deliberately, by saving a version you want to mark as important. The History page is where all of that lives, and where you go to get an earlier version back.

Opening your history

You reach your version history from the project's left sidebar:

  1. Open the project you want.
  2. In the project sidebar, click History (the clock-style History icon).

You land on a timeline of versions, newest at the top. Each entry shows a label, when it was saved, and a small badge telling you what kind of thing it is — a snapshot of the whole project, a single document like your treatment, or one scene.

Note: Your draft-revision timeline (the colored dots and draft number) also appears here. It's a running picture of how your script has progressed; you don't have to do anything with it to use everything below.

How versions get created

You don't have to remember to save — Nabu does it two ways:

  • Automatically. As you write, Nabu quietly captures versions for you: at intervals while you work, and right before anything significant changes your script (for example, just before Nisaba writes into a scene). These automatic captures are there so there's always a recent point to fall back to.
  • On purpose, with Save Version. When you reach a moment you want to be sure you can return to — the end of a good writing session, a draft you're proud of — you save a version yourself and it stays put.

Nisaba is your AI writing partner inside Nabu. See the glossary for the terms used here.

Saving a version yourself

To mark the current state of your whole project as a keeper:

  1. On the History page, click Save Version in the top bar.
  2. Nabu takes a snapshot of the project and adds it to the top of the timeline, scrolling to the new entry so you can see it land.
  3. It may then offer to lock your scene numbers so they stop shifting around — this is optional, and you can say no.

You can also save a version without leaving the editor: press Cmd+Shift+S (use Ctrl+Shift+S on Windows). Nabu first makes sure your latest typing is saved, then creates the version and shows a small Saved version message with an Open History link so you can jump straight to it.

Note: If your most recent edits couldn't be saved for some reason, the keyboard save stops and tells you to save your changes first. That's on purpose — Nabu won't bottle up a version of work it isn't sure it captured.

Tip: Press Cmd+S (or Ctrl+S) on its own to simply make sure your current typing is saved. It doesn't create a named version — it just flushes the autosave so you can step away with peace of mind.

What you can do with a saved version

Each entry in the timeline has its own set of actions. Hover or tap an entry to find them.

  • Rename — Give a version a name that means something to you ("End of act one," "Before the big rewrite"). You rename it right there in the row. Naming a version also keeps it from ever being cleaned up later.
  • Pin — Click the pin (📌) to keep a version forever. A pinned version is never tidied away automatically. Click it again to unpin.
  • Compare — Pick two versions and Nabu shows you a side-by-side of exactly what changed between them — added lines, removed lines, scene by scene. Scene headings in the comparison are clickable, so you can jump to the part you care about.
  • Lineage — See the chain a version came from, newest back to the very first state, so you can trace how you got here.
  • Restore — Bring that version's state back. (See the next section.)

Note: A saved coverage report appears in this timeline too, with a Download PDF link instead of the restore and compare actions — it's a document to keep, not a state to roll back to. Coverage is Nabu's read-the-script feedback feature; see Coverage and the Script Doctor.

Restoring an earlier version

If you want an earlier version back — the whole project, a single document, or one scene — that's what Restore does.

  1. Find the version you want in the timeline.
  2. Click Restore on that entry.
  3. Nabu brings that earlier state back as your current working state.

Restoring is safe and additive: it doesn't erase anything. Nabu makes a fresh save of where you were just before restoring, then brings the older state forward as a new point on the timeline. So if you restore and then change your mind, the version you came from is still right there to restore back to. Nothing in your history is thrown away when you restore.

Tip: Because restoring always leaves a trail, it's a low-stakes thing to do. If you're not sure an older version is the one you want, restore it and look — you can always restore back.

Note: Restoring needs editor access to the project. If you're viewing someone else's project as a guest, you'll see the history but won't be able to restore.

Keeping a backup of the whole project

The Export Backup button in the top bar of the History page downloads a complete backup of your project — a single .nabu file you can keep somewhere safe or re-open in Nabu later. It's your whole project's content in one file.

For all the ways to get your work out of Nabu — PDF, Final Draft, Fountain, and this backup bundle — see Exporting your screenplay.

Good to know

  • You don't have to manage your history. Nabu tidies up old automatic captures on its own over time so the list stays useful. The versions you mark matter — anything you save by hand, rename, or pin is kept and won't be cleaned up.
  • Versions cover more than the script. A version can be a snapshot of the whole project, a single document like your treatment or synopsis, or one scene. The badges on each row tell you which.
  • Filter the list when it gets long. Chips at the top let you show only certain kinds of versions (the whole project, documents, scenes, and so on), and there's a toggle to show or hide the behind-the-scenes wizard steps, which are hidden by default.
  • History is the durable safety net. The undo button in the editor is quick but only lasts for your current session. When you want a state back for good — even after closing the project — this page is where it lives. See Undo and redo.