View and restore document versions

Last updated: September 4, 2026

Every document keeps an Activity Log of who changed it, how, and when, with the versions each change produced. Open it from ⋯ › Show Activity Log on the document, compare any version with the one before it, and restore an earlier version in a couple of clicks. Rhythms saves the current content as a version before restoring, so a restore never loses anything.

How document versions are recorded

Versions are created automatically for every document; there is nothing to switch on. While a document is being edited, Rhythms saves a new version every couple of minutes, and each change made by the assistant, by a playbook, by an auto-refresh, or through a connected agent is recorded as an activity with the version range it produced. Edits from every source are covered: typing in the editor, chat edits, auto-refresh, manual refresh, and edits made from tools such as Claude or Cursor through the Rhythms MCP connector.

Open the Activity Log

  1. Open the document.
  2. Click ⋯ in the document header and choose Show Activity Log. (Choose Hide Activity Log to close it.)

The log opens on the right, grouped into Today, Yesterday, Previous 7 days, Previous 30 days and then by month. Each entry shows who made the change and how: a plain name for a hand-typed edit, via Rhythms for an edit the assistant made in chat, via a playbook, via Claude (or another connected agent), Manual refresh for a Refresh now, and Auto-refresh for a scheduled refresh. Expand an entry to see the individual versions it produced, listed as v1, v2 and so on.

If your workspace has the newer document panel enabled, the same history lives in the Change Log pane of the document's side panel, next to Comments and Info.

Compare a version with the one before it

Click any version chip (for example v7) under an activity. The document switches to a comparison view headed Viewing Version 7 that shows what that version added and removed compared with the previous version. Close the comparison with the X in that header to return to the live document.

Clicking Restore on an activity entry itself (rather than on a version chip) compares the document as it was before that whole activity with the result of it, which is the quickest way to review everything an auto-refresh or an assistant edit changed.

Restore an earlier version

  1. In the Activity Log, click the version chip you want to go back to, or click Restore on an activity to go back to the state before that activity.
  2. Check the comparison view, then click Restore in the header.
  3. Rhythms asks Replace current content? Click Restore to confirm, or Cancel.

Before the content is replaced, Rhythms saves the current content as a version named "Before revert to …", followed by the restored content as a new version. Both appear at the top of the Activity Log, so you can always undo a restore by restoring the "Before revert" version.

You need Can edit or higher to restore. Anyone who can open the document can read the Activity Log and view comparisons.

Activity Log and auto-refresh

A document that refreshes automatically records an Auto-refresh entry on every run, so the log doubles as an archive of each refresh and you can compare or restore any of them. Documents that are part of a series (a new copy each week or month) are separate documents, each with its own Activity Log; earlier copies are locked once the next one is created.

Frequently asked questions

Can anyone view the Activity Log? Anyone who can open the document can read the log and view comparisons. Restoring requires Can edit or Can manage.

Does restoring delete the newer versions? No. Restoring adds two new versions on top: the pre-restore snapshot and the restored content. Everything that was there before stays in the log.

Why do I not see a Restore button? You may have view-only or comment access, the document may be locked (an earlier copy in a series), or you may be viewing the newest version, which cannot be restored onto itself.

What counts as a version? Any change saved to the document, whether typed, made by the assistant, by a playbook, by an auto-refresh, or through a connected agent. Rhythms groups rapid consecutive edits into versions a couple of minutes apart rather than saving one per keystroke.

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