Snapshots Timeline

The Snapshots Timeline window provides a chronological, visual history of all snapshots for a virtual machine — displayed as a scrollable timeline with alternating left/right cards around a central spine.

📸 Screenshot:

Each snapshot appears as a card showing its thumbnail, name, date, notes, and disk usage. Time gaps between snapshots are labelled directly on the spine so you can see at a glance how much time passed between each saved state.

Access

You can open the Snapshot Timeline from three places:

Snapshots toolbar — click the 🕐 clock icon in the top toolbar of the Snapshots window.
Right-click context menu — right-click any snapshot in the Snapshots window and choose Show Timeline.
Menu Bar — open the Snapshots menu and choose Show Timeline.

📸 Screenshot:

The toolbar adapts based on whether a snapshot card is selected.

When a snapshot is selected (left to right):

ℹ️ Quick Info
View CPU, RAM, disk, and network configuration details for the selected snapshot in a pop-up.
✏️ Edit
Edit the name and notes of the selected snapshot.
🗑 Delete
Permanently delete the selected snapshot.
↺ Restore
Revert the virtual machine to the state captured in the selected snapshot. You will be asked to confirm and optionally create a safety snapshot before restoring.
⚙️ Configuration
Open the configuration of the selected snapshot (read-only).

Always visible:

➕ Take Snapshot
Create a new snapshot of the current state of the virtual machine.
❓ Help
Open this help page.

Right-clicking any snapshot card opens a context menu with the following actions:

Edit: Rename the snapshot or update its notes.
Delete: Permanently remove the snapshot.
Restore: Revert the virtual machine to this snapshot's state.
Create Template: Save this snapshot as a reusable VM template.
Create Virtual Machine: Create a new standalone virtual machine from this snapshot.
Show in Finder: Reveal the snapshot bundle in Finder.
Configuration: View the configuration of the snapshot.

Timeline Layout

Snapshots are displayed oldest at the top → newest at the bottom, matching the order in the Snapshots window.

Each row uses a three-column layout:

Disk column (inner edge) — a proportional bar showing disk usage relative to the largest snapshot, the usage label (e.g. 0.3 / 20 GB), and the VM icon below.
Spine (centre) — a vertical line connecting all nodes. A short horizontal arm extends toward the card. Time gap labels appear on the spine between each pair of snapshots.
Card (outer half) — the snapshot card with thumbnail, name, date, notes, and a Restore button. Cards alternate left and right so consecutive snapshots sit on opposite sides.

Clicking a card selects it and enables the selection-dependent toolbar buttons.

Manual vs Auto Snapshots

The timeline visually distinguishes between manually created snapshots and automatically scheduled ones.

Element	Manual	Auto
Node	Filled circle (accent colour)	Hollow ring with 🕐 clock icon
Card border	Accent colour, slightly prominent	Subtle grey
Card background	Full opacity	Slightly dimmed
Name weight	Semibold	Regular
Disk bar colour	Blue (accent)	Orange
Auto badge	Not shown	`🕐 Auto` pill on the card

Time Gap Labels

Between every pair of adjacent snapshots, the spine displays a label showing the elapsed time:

Display	Meaning
`moments`	Less than 2 minutes
`Xm`	Minutes
`1h` / `Xh`	Hours
`1d` / `Xd`	Days
`1w` / `Xw`	Weeks

Restoring a Snapshot

You can restore from the timeline in two ways:

Inline Restore button on any card — restores immediately after confirmation.
Toolbar Restore button — available when a card is selected.

Both methods show a confirmation dialog with an option to Create a Safety Snapshot Before Restore. Enabling this takes a new snapshot of the current state before overwriting it, so you can return if needed.

⚠️ The virtual machine must be stopped before restoring a snapshot.

💡 The Snapshot Timeline is a read-focused companion to the Snapshots window. Use it to understand the history and progression of your virtual machine at a glance.