promptrail

Promptrail

git blame, but for AI coding agents.

See which prompt changed which files. View diffs and rollback by intent. Works with Cursor and Claude Code.

npx promptrail timeline

The Problem

You ask an AI agent to refactor a function. It edits 4 files. You ask it to add error handling. It edits 6 more. After a few rounds you have no idea:

• Which prompt caused which changes
• Why the agent touched a seemingly unrelated file
• How to undo just one specific instruction without losing everything after it

Cursor checkpoints help but only show a flat list. Git commits are too coarse. Neither tracks the intent behind each change.

How It Works

Promptrail reads your AI sessions automatically — no manual tagging, no configuration. It builds a timeline where each entry is a prompt with its associated file changes.

Supported Agents

Agent	Diff Quality
Cursor	Edit-level hunks via hooks (auto-installed)
Claude Code	Edit-level hunks

What You Can Do

• Browse: See every prompt in the sidebar timeline, grouped by source (Cursor / Claude)
• Trace: See exactly which files changed for each prompt, with model and mode badges
• Diff: View before/after diffs for any prompt's changes
• View Response: Read the AI's full response for any prompt (text replies + tool calls)
• Cherry Revert: Undo a specific prompt's changes without losing unrelated work
• Export: Export any conversation to markdown
• Search: Full-text search across prompts and AI responses (FTS5), or filter by file name
• Filter: Toggle to show only prompts that changed files

Extension Commands

Command	Description
Promptrail: Refresh Timeline	Refresh the sidebar timeline
Promptrail: View Task Diff	Open before/after diffs for a prompt's changes
Promptrail: View AI Response	View the AI's response for a prompt (text + tool calls)
Promptrail: Rollback to Task	Cherry revert a prompt's changes using exact edit reversal
Promptrail: Export Chat to Markdown	Export a conversation as .md

Installation

CLI

npm install -g promptrail

Or run directly without installing:

npx promptrail timeline

Cursor Extension

Install from Open VSX:

cursor --install-extension thisalihassan.promptrail

From Source (CLI + Extension)

git clone https://github.com/thisalihassan/promptrail
cd promptrail
npm install
npm run build

Install the CLI globally from the local build:

npm link
# Now you can run: promptrail timeline

Or run it directly without linking:

node dist/cli.js timeline

To install the extension locally:

npm run package
cursor --install-extension promptrail-*.vsix

Claude Code Plugin

Promptrail includes a Claude Code plugin that adds skills for timeline, diff, search, response, and rollback. Install from inside Claude Code:

/plugin marketplace add thisalihassan/promptrail
/plugin install promptrail@promptrail

Once installed, Claude Code sessions are automatically tracked via hooks. The timeline, diffs, search, and rollback all work through the CLI. See claude-plugin/README.md for full usage.

For Development

Open the repo in Cursor and press F5 to launch the Extension Development Host.

CLI Usage

Run from your project root:

promptrail timeline              # List all prompts with file counts and model badges
promptrail timeline --files      # Include file lists per prompt
promptrail timeline -n 10        # Show only the last 10 prompts
promptrail diff 3                # Show diff for prompt #3
promptrail diff "refactor auth"  # Diff for prompt matching text
promptrail response 3            # Show AI response for prompt #3
promptrail search "shadow DB"    # Search prompts and responses (FTS5)
promptrail search "auth.ts"      # Search by file name
promptrail rollback 5            # Cherry revert prompt #5 (preserves later edits)
promptrail --version             # Print version
promptrail sessions              # List all sessions
promptrail migrate ../old-project  # Copy sessions from another workspace

Filters