Tidemark: Backup & Restore

How to see what changed in a Shopify theme

A page looks wrong after a theme edit, and nobody is sure what changed. Here's how to find out with Shopify's own tools, where they stop, and how Tidemark shows every change to every file.

Before you edit: duplicate the theme

Shopify recommends duplicating a theme before you edit its code. The copy is your backup: if the edit goes wrong, you can discard it and start again from the copy.

Shopify's built-in history: Timeline

Shopify's code editor keeps a Timeline for most theme files. Open the file, pick an earlier entry in its Timeline and choose Restore contents to put that version back. It's useful, but the Help Center lists its limits:

• It works one file at a time and can't bring back a whole theme.
• Deleted theme files can't be recovered.
• History is finite, so older versions might not be there.
• Files in the assets folder, such as images, CSS, JavaScript and fonts, have no Timeline at all.
• Restoring replaces the whole file, including changes you meant to keep, so copy the current contents first.

With Tidemark: every version, line by line

Tidemark saves every theme in your store each time it changes, with every file in it, assets included. Open a theme in Tidemark to see each saved version and exactly which lines changed in each file, so you can tell what broke the page and when.

History goes back as far as your plan keeps it.

Next time: duplicate first, and keep a history

Duplicate the theme before big edits, and keep Tidemark running for the edits nobody planned: an app that adds code to your theme, a teammate's quick fix, or a change in the theme editor that breaks a page.

Tidemark is coming soon to the Shopify App Store. See what else it saves.