How to Undo Changes in Cursor AI: Complete Guide (2025)

You asked Cursor to refactor a function. It refactored your entire codebase. Now you need to undo it.

This guide covers every method to revert changes in Cursor, from quick keyboard shortcuts to automatic snapshot tools like mrq.

The Quick Fix: Ctrl+Z / Cmd+Z

The standard undo shortcut works in Cursor, but with limitations:

• Single file only: Each file has its own undo history
• Gets messy with AI changes: Cursor’s undo can behave unpredictably after accepting AI suggestions
• Limited depth: Undo history is lost when you close the file

For small, single-file changes, this works fine. For multi-file AI refactors, you need something else.

Cursor Checkpoints

Cursor automatically creates checkpoints when you send prompts in Composer.

To restore a checkpoint:

1. Look for “Checkpoint created” in the Composer panel
2. Click the “Restore” button next to it
3. All changes from that prompt are reverted

Limitations:

• Only works for Composer changes (not Tab completions)
• You have to remember which checkpoint to restore
• If you’ve made manual edits after the AI change, those get reverted too

Local History (Hidden Feature)

VS Code (and Cursor, which is built on it) keeps a local history of file changes.

To access it:

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+P (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Shift+P (Mac)
2. Type “Local History: Find Entry to Restore”
3. Select the file you want to recover
4. Browse through previous versions and restore

This is useful for recovering deleted files or finding older versions, but it’s manual and easy to forget about.

Git: The Traditional Approach

If you’re committing regularly, Git is your safety net:

# See what changed
git diff

# Discard all uncommitted changes
git checkout .

# Or reset to a specific commit
git reset --hard HEAD~1

The problem: You have to remember to commit. When you’re in flow with Cursor, iterating quickly, stopping to write commit messages breaks that flow. And if you forget to commit before the AI goes haywire, you’re out of luck.

The Automatic Approach: Continuous Snapshots

What if you didn’t have to remember anything?

mrq watches your project directory and captures every file change automatically. No commits, no checkpoints to click, no decisions.

Setup:

npm install -g mrq-cli
mrq login
mrq watch

That’s it. mrq runs silently in the background.

When Cursor breaks something:

# See recent snapshots
mrq history

# Restore to 2 minutes ago
mrq restore abc123

Every change is captured. Every experiment is recoverable. You can iterate as fast as you want with Cursor, knowing you can always go back.

Which Method Should You Use?

Method	Best For	Limitation
Ctrl+Z	Small, single-file edits	Unreliable for AI changes
Checkpoints	Reverting specific Composer prompts	Only covers Composer
Local History	Recovering deleted files	Manual, easy to forget
Git	Intentional version control	Requires discipline
mrq	Continuous protection	Requires setup once

For serious work with AI coding assistants, we recommend using Git for intentional milestones and mrq for automatic protection between commits.

Summary

Cursor’s undo can be unpredictable, especially with multi-file AI changes. Checkpoints help but only cover Composer. Git works if you’re disciplined about committing.

If you want protection without thinking about it, set up automatic snapshots. You’ll thank yourself the next time an AI refactor goes wrong.

Related Reading

• How to Undo in Claude Code - Same guide for Claude Code users
• Cursor Checkpoints vs Git vs mrq - Comparing your options
• Best Practices for AI Pair Programming - Work safely with AI

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mrq is a continuous versioning tool built for AI coding. It captures every file change automatically, so you can always recover from AI mistakes.