# The History screen

**History** in the left nav. One theme's history — your live theme — newest first.

## The timeline

Every recording of the theme, one per row.

| Column | What it holds |
| --- | --- |
| **When** | When the recording was taken |
| **Trigger** | Why it exists — see below |
| **Kind** | **Baseline** for the first recording of a timeline; **Snapshot** for every other |
| **Kept** | Marked when the recording is exempt from roll-off — because you kept it, or because it is a baseline or a before-a-restore recording, which Snapty keeps on its own |
| **Files changed** | How many files differ from the recording before it. Precomputed when the recording was taken |

Click a row to open it — see [Reading and comparing a recording](https://docs.foxecom.com/snapty-app/history-and-restore/reading-and-comparing-a-recording).

### Triggers

| Trigger | What happened |
| --- | --- |
| **first seen** | Your baseline — the first recording of this theme |
| **on schedule** | A scheduled check found something different |
| **publish** | You published a theme, so Snapty recorded the new live theme |
| **you asked** | You pressed **Take a snapshot now** |
| **before a restore** | Snapty recorded the target theme automatically, just before writing a restore into it |

<Hint type="info" title="“before a restore” is the one worth knowing about">

Every restore that writes into a theme you already have is preceded by a recording of that theme as it was. That recording is how the restore itself can be undone.

</Hint>

### Kind: Baseline or Snapshot

There is one baseline per timeline. It is the point every later change is measured from, and it records the theme as it was found.

## Take a snapshot now

Reads your live theme immediately, without waiting for the next scheduled check.

| Result | What you see |
| --- | --- |
| Something changed | A new recording appears, tagged **you asked** |
| Nothing changed | *"Nothing had changed since the last recording."* No entry is written — writing one would put a false cause on your timeline |

A recording usually takes a few seconds; the first recording of a large theme about a minute. If you press it many times in a short period, Snapty asks you to wait a few minutes — that is protection for the system, not a limit on your plan.

## Keep this snapshot

On any recording. A kept recording is exempt from the 30-day roll-off for as long as you keep it. The free plan allows **3** kept recordings at a time; at the limit, Snapty names it and offers to release one.

<Hint type="info">

Your baseline and every **before a restore** recording are permanent on their own and do not use one of the three. The row says which is which, so you do not spend a keep on something already permanent. The count in use is on the Settings screen.

</Hint>

## Recent activity

The newest checks and restores, with a **View all activity** link. This is the evidence Snapty is running when the timeline stands still. The full log, with every column explained, is on [The Activity log](https://docs.foxecom.com/snapty-app/history-and-restore/the-activity-log).

## Include what came before this theme

Off by default: the timeline shows your current live theme. Turn it on to see the timelines of themes that were live before — each marked as no longer your live theme, with the date its history ends. Those recordings can still be opened, compared and restored from.

## The roll-off banner

Seven days before your oldest recordings start rolling off:

> **Your history reaches its limit on 4 October**
> Snapshots older than 30 days roll off from that date. We never trim silently, and you get this warning well before it happens.

## The screen when there is nothing to show

- **No published theme found** — Snapty has nothing to record, and says so. The next check asks Shopify again.
- **No recording yet** — the first scan has not completed. The dashboard shows its progress.