Snapshot

You capture, list, show, or replay point-in-time workflow snapshots so that any execution state can be preserved and reproduced exactly.

Triggers

Alternate expressions and non-obvious activations (primary phrases are matched automatically from the skill description):

• "freeze this state" → capture a snapshot
• "show me all snapshots" → list snapshots
• "what's in snapshot X" → show snapshot details
• "run from that snapshot" → replay a snapshot
• "save current state" → capture a snapshot

Trigger Patterns Reference

Pattern	Example	Action
Capture (named)	"snapshot this as baseline-v1"	Run aiwg snapshot capture --name baseline-v1
Capture (anonymous)	"take a snapshot"	Run aiwg snapshot capture
List	"what snapshots exist?"	Run aiwg snapshot list
Show details	"show snapshot abc123"	Run aiwg snapshot show abc123
Replay	"replay snapshot baseline-v1"	Run aiwg snapshot replay baseline-v1

Behavior

When triggered:

1. Extract intent:

   • Which subcommand: capture, list, show, or replay?
   • Is a name or snapshot ID provided?
   • For replay, does the user want to preview first or go directly?

2. Run the appropriate subcommand:

   # Capture — anonymous
   aiwg snapshot capture
   
   # Capture — named
   aiwg snapshot capture --name <name>
   
   # List all snapshots
   aiwg snapshot list
   
   # Show details of a specific snapshot
   aiwg snapshot show <id>
   
   # Replay from a snapshot
   aiwg snapshot replay <id>
   

3. Snapshot contents: Each snapshot records:

   • AIWG version at capture time
   • Installed frameworks and their versions
   • Active execution mode and seed
   • Artifact checksums (.aiwg/ directory)
   • Timestamp and optional name

4. Storage: Snapshots are stored in .aiwg/snapshots/ as JSON files with a short content-addressed ID.

5. Report the result — on capture, confirm the snapshot ID and name; on list, summarize available snapshots; on replay, confirm what is being restored.

Examples

Example 1: Capture a named snapshot

User: "Take a snapshot before we start the architecture phase — call it pre-arch"

Extraction: Capture subcommand, name pre-arch

Action:

aiwg snapshot capture --name pre-arch

Response: "Snapshot pre-arch captured (ID: snap_a3f92d). Recorded AIWG v2026.3.15, 2 frameworks, execution mode strict, seed 42, and checksums for 14 artifacts. Stored at .aiwg/snapshots/snap_a3f92d.json."

Example 2: List available snapshots

User: "What snapshots do we have?"

Extraction: List subcommand

Action:

aiwg snapshot list

Response:

ID            Name           Date                  AIWG Version
snap_a3f92d   pre-arch       2026-03-28 14:22:05   2026.3.15
snap_c71b4e   post-sad       2026-03-29 09:11:42   2026.3.15
snap_00f813   (unnamed)      2026-03-30 16:05:17   2026.3.15

Example 3: Show snapshot details

User: "What's in snapshot post-sad?"

Extraction: Show subcommand, ID/name post-sad

Action:

aiwg snapshot show post-sad

Response: "Snapshot post-sad (ID: snap_c71b4e) captured 2026-03-29 09:11:42. AIWG v2026.3.15, frameworks: sdlc-complete v2026.3.15, ring-methodology v2026.3.10. Execution mode: strict, seed: 42. 18 artifacts checksummed."

Example 4: Replay a snapshot

User: "Replay from pre-arch"

Extraction: Replay subcommand, name pre-arch

Action:

aiwg snapshot replay pre-arch

Response: "Restoring from snapshot pre-arch (snap_a3f92d). AIWG v2026.3.15 verified. Execution mode reset to strict, seed 42. Artifact state restored. Ready to re-run the workflow from this point."

Clarification Prompts

If the user's intent is ambiguous:

• "Should I capture a new snapshot, list existing ones, or replay a specific one?"
• "Which snapshot would you like to replay? Run aiwg snapshot list to see what's available."

References

• @$AIWG_ROOT/src/cli/handlers/subcommands.ts — Snapshot command handler
• @$AIWG_ROOT/docs/cli-reference.md — CLI reference
• @$AIWG_ROOT/agentic/code/addons/aiwg-utils/skills/checkpoint/SKILL.md — Lightweight mid-workflow checkpoints (compare to snapshots)