Recover from AI Coding Mistakes

AI assistant broke your code? Whether you're using Cursor, Claude, Copilot, or any other tool, here's how to recover.

If You Have mrq Running

Recovery is one command:

$ mrq history

Recent Snapshots
────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  16:15:33  abc123  Refactored payment processing
                    +156 lines, -89 lines across 6 files

  16:12:45  def456  Added webhook handlers
                    +234 lines, -12 lines across 4 files

  16:08:12  ghi789  Initial payment setup
                    +89 lines across 3 files
────────────────────────────────────────────────────

$ mrq restore def456
✓ Restored to snapshot def456

That's it. Your current state is backed up automatically before restore. If you change your mind, you can always get back.

You can also browse your history visually in the dashboard and copy the restore command from there.

Don't have mrq yet? Skip to setup, or read on for other options.

If You Don't Have mrq Yet

Your options are more limited and less reliable:

Step 1: Don't Panic (or Close Your Editor)

Your editor's undo history and local file buffers might still have the previous state:

Don't close any editor tabs
Don't restart your IDE
Try Cmd+Z / Ctrl+Z in affected files

Step 2: Check Git (If You Committed Recently)

git status
git diff

If you have uncommitted changes and want to discard them:

git checkout -- .             # Revert modified files
git clean -fd                  # Remove new untracked files

The problem: Most developers don't commit during active AI sessions. You're iterating quickly, and stopping to commit breaks your flow. If you haven't committed recently, git can't help.

Step 3: IDE Local History (Unreliable)

VS Code: Right-click file → "Open Timeline"
JetBrains: Right-click file → "Local History" → "Show History"

This only works for files that are still open or were recently edited. Deleted files won't appear here. It's incomplete and inconsistent.

Step 4: Check OS Trash

Files deleted by AI tools sometimes go to the system trash. Check your Trash/Recycle Bin for recently deleted files.

Set Up mrq (30 Seconds)

All those recovery methods are reactive and incomplete. mrq captures state automatically so you never have to scramble:

npm install -g mrq-cli@latest
mrq login
mrq watch

Now every meaningful change is captured. Recovery is always one command away.

Works with Any AI Tool

mrq monitors your file system, not your editor. It works with:

Cursor
Claude Code
GitHub Copilot
Windsurf
Aider
OpenAI Codex
Any other tool that modifies files