Every workflow keeps a version history— a timeline of the edits made over time, so you can look back at how a workflow evolved, see who changed what, and roll back to an earlier version if something goes wrong. It works automatically in the background; there's nothing to switch on and nothing to save by hand.
Open it from the history button — the clock-style icon near the top-right of the canvas in the workflow editor. The history panel slides out with the most recent version at the top and older versions below it, each one stamped with when it was made and who made it.
How Versions Are Created
ORCFLO doesn't create a new version for every keystroke — that would bury the useful checkpoints under hundreds of tiny ones. Instead, versions are grouped by editing session: a burst of related edits is rolled up into a single entry. While you're actively working, your changes keep flowing into the same version, and a new entry is started once there's been a pause of about five minutes.
In practice this means a focused stretch of building — adding a few steps, wiring them up, tweaking some prompts — shows up as one clean entry rather than a cluttered list. Come back tomorrow and make more changes, and that becomes its own entry.
Contributors & Attribution
Each version entry shows who edited during that session. If you built it solo, you'll see just your own avatar. If you and one or more editors worked together during the same session, every contributor appears on that entry — so a single version can be credited to several people.
Contributors are shown as small colored avatars, and the colors match the ones used for live collaboration cursors. Whatever color a teammate's cursor and selection highlight use while editing together is the same color you'll see on their avatar in the history — making it easy to track who did what at a glance.
Previewing a Version
Before you decide to restore anything, you can previewa past version to see exactly what the workflow looked like at that point. Click a version in the history panel and the canvas loads that version in a read-only preview — the steps, connections, and configuration all show as they were, but you can't edit while previewing.
From the preview you have two choices:
- Exit preview — go straight back to your current version. Nothing changes; you were only looking.
- Restore this version — bring the previewed version back as your live workflow (see below).
Seeing What Changed
While you preview a version, ORCFLO highlights exactly what's different between that version and your current workflow — so you can see at a glance what restoring it would do, without reading every step. The differences are color-coded right on the canvas:
- Green — a step that exists in this older version but not in your current workflow. Restoring would bring it back.
- Amber — a step that exists in both, but whose settings changed. Restoring would revert it to how it was configured here.
- Red, dashed — a step that exists in your current workflow but not in this older version. These appear as faded, dashed outlines where they sit today, marking what restoring would remove.
A small summary — like "2 added · 1 modified · 1 removed" — appears alongside the preview so you get the headline at a glance. If a version is identical to what you have now, ORCFLO simply tells you there's nothing to change.
For a step marked amber(modified), hover the "Modified" label on the step to see exactly which settings changed — its model, task, tools, inputs, and so on. Settings with a simple value (like the model or temperature) show the change as current → this version, so you can see at a glance what restoring would set them back to. Longer fields, like the task text, are listed as "changed" without spelling out the whole before-and-after.
Restoring a Version
Restoring takes an earlier version and makes it your current workflow again. The key thing to understand is that restoring is non-destructive: it never erases anything.
When you restore version X, ORCFLO doesn't roll the timeline backwards or delete the versions that came after it. Instead, it adds the restored content as a brand-new entry at the top of the history. Your later versions stay exactly where they are, just below the restore point.
If you're collaborating live, everyone's canvas updates to the restored version the moment it's restored, so the whole team stays in sync.
Naming Versions
By default, versions are labeled by their time and contributors. When you reach a milestone worth remembering — "Working draft for review", "Before the big rewrite", "Launch version" — you can give that version a name. Named versions stand out in the timeline so you can find your important checkpoints instantly.
Who Can Do What
Version history follows the same access model as sharing & collaboration:
- Anyone with access can view history — whether you own the workflow, can edit it, or can only view it, you can open the history panel and preview past versions.
- Owners and editors can restore and name versions — making changes to the live workflow (including restoring an old version) and pinning milestones with a name are reserved for the owner and editor-collaborators.
- Viewers can look but not change — viewers can browse and preview the whole timeline, but the restore and name actions stay read-only for them.
How Long Versions Are Kept
ORCFLO keeps your recent versions so the history stays useful without growing forever. The most recent versions are always retained, and older entries are cleared out over time once they age past a few months.
Common Questions
- Does restoring delete my newer work? No. A restore is added as a new version at the top of the history — your later versions stay put, so you can always go forward again or undo the restore.
- Why don't I see a version for every little edit?Edits are grouped into sessions, so a burst of changes becomes a single entry. A new entry starts after about five minutes of inactivity. Pure layout moves don't create entries at all.
- Can I keep a version forever?Yes — name it. Named versions aren't removed when older unnamed versions are cleared out.
- What do the colors mean when I preview?Green steps exist in the older version but not your current one (restoring adds them back), amber steps changed configuration, and red dashed outlines are steps you have now that the older version doesn't (restoring removes them). The comparison is always against your current workflow.
- Can viewers restore a version? No. Anyone with access can view and preview history, but only owners and editors can restore or name versions.
- What shows up as a contributor? Whoever edited during that session. If several people built together, they all appear on the entry, each with the same color as their live collaboration cursor.