rollback

name	rollback
description	Use to reverse a prior self-evolution commit — restores a snapshot from `.claude/lineage/versions/<slug>/<version>` and appends a rollback entry to the ledger. The rollback itself is logged so history stays append-only and auditable.
when_to_use	Reach for this when a recent `/commit-proposal` produced a regression, when `/lineage-audit` flags a bad commit, or when reverting to a known-good resource version. Do NOT use for arbitrary working-tree changes — use `git revert` instead. Do NOT use for assessing whether rollback is needed — use `/lineage-audit` instead.
disable-model-invocation	true
argument-hint	<resource-slug> [target-version]
allowed-tools	["Read","Write","Edit","Bash","Glob","Grep"]
logical	resource restored from snapshot; rollback ledger entry appended; forward snapshot saved for re-roll

/rollback — Reverse a Commit

Fourth operator (alongside propose/assess/commit). See docs/self-evolution.md §The Four Operators.

Input

• <resource-slug> — required. Same slug format as commit (rules.d/<f>, skills/<p>/<n>, env/<VAR>, etc.).
• [target-version] — optional. Default: the most recent snapshotted version (i.e. the one replaced by the latest commit).

Preconditions

1. Ledger has a commit entry for this resource.
2. Snapshot file exists at .claude/lineage/versions/<slug>/<target-version>.
3. User confirms. Show a diff preview (current → target) and ask y/N.

If any precondition fails, stop and report the specific gap.

Steps

Step 0 — Suggest a rollback target via failure attribution

Before asking the user which version to roll back to, run failure attribution to surface an evidence-grounded suggestion:

bash plugins/traces/skills/failure-attribute/scripts/attribute.sh .claude/evolution/change_manifest.jsonl 20

If primary_suspect is non-null, show it as the suggested default:

Attribution suggests: <primary_suspect.id> by <primary_suspect.agent> at <primary_suspect.ts>
Files: <primary_suspect.files>
Reason: <primary_suspect.reason>

The user can confirm this suggestion or provide their own target. If attribution returns exit 0 (no suspects) or the manifest is missing (exit 2), skip the suggestion and ask the user directly.

Step 1 — Resolve paths

Same slug → on-disk path mapping as /commit-proposal (see that skill for the table).

Step 2 — Snapshot the current state first

Before restoring, copy current contents to .claude/lineage/versions/<slug>/<current-version> if not already present. Rollbacks are commits in reverse — the forward state must also be snapshotted so a subsequent /rollback can restore it.

Example: current is v3, user rolls back to v2. Snapshot v3 → versions dir. Then restore v2 from versions dir.

Step 3 — Restore

For file resources, Write the snapshot contents over the live file. For env/<VAR>, parse the snapshot's value: line and write it back into .claude/settings.json.

Step 4 — Append ledger entry

{"ts":"<UTC>","operator":"rollback","resource":"<slug>","version":"<target-version>","prev":"<current-version>","trigger":"user","evidence":".claude/lineage/versions/<slug>/<target-version>","actor":"workflow:/rollback"}

Step 5 — Report

Rolled back <slug> <current> → <target>. Forward version snapshot saved: /rollback <slug> <current>

The report hints at the re-roll-forward path: the user can /rollback back to the version they just rolled out of.

Known Failure Modes

• No commit found for this resource → "nothing to roll back" message.
• Snapshot file missing → /entropy-scan should have caught this; tell the user to investigate manually. Do not fabricate a version.
• Current contents already match target snapshot → no-op, report that and skip the ledger write.

Do NOT

• Do not delete snapshot files. They are the append-only history. Cleanup is a separate concern (not implemented in v1).
• Do not roll back to a version that has no snapshot file — the v0 state (original shipped file) is not automatically snapshotted. Use git for pre-evolution history.
• Do not rollback batch. One resource per call.

Examples

Input: /rollback skills/workflow/router-tune v2 — current is v3 with snapshot present; target v2 snapshot present.

Output:

{"ts":"2026-05-19T09:14:22Z","operator":"rollback","resource":"skills/workflow/router-tune","version":"v2","prev":"v3","trigger":"user","evidence":".claude/lineage/versions/skills/workflow/router-tune/v2","actor":"workflow:/rollback"}

Rolled back skills/workflow/router-tune v3 → v2. Forward version snapshot saved: /rollback skills/workflow/router-tune v3

Input: /rollback rules.d/read-before-edit v1 — ledger has no commit entry for this resource.

Output:

nothing to roll back: no commit entry found for rules.d/read-before-edit

Execution Checklist

• Run bash plugins/traces/skills/failure-attribute/scripts/attribute.sh and show primary_suspect if found; ask user to confirm or override the suggested target
• Read the resource slug and target version from arguments (or from attribution suggestion if user confirmed)
• Confirmed .claude/lineage/versions/<slug>/<target> exists (otherwise abort with the entropy-scan hint)
• Compared current file content to the snapshot — if identical, report no-op and exit
• Restored the snapshot to the resource's actual path
• Appended a rollback entry to the ledger with the prior version recorded
• Reported the rollback + the re-roll-forward path the user can take next