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Inkwell automatically saves your work and tracks changes, allowing you to recover from accidental edits or restore earlier versions. This guide explains how auto-save and version history work.

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How auto-save works

Inkwell saves your script automatically in the background—you never need to manually save (though Cmd/Ctrl+S works if you prefer).

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Save frequency

Auto-save triggers when the renderer detects changes and sends updated data to the main process. This happens:
  • While you’re actively editing (tracks changes continuously)
  • When you stop typing (after a brief pause)
  • When you close the file or quit the app

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What gets saved

  • All screenplay content (scenes, dialogue, action, etc.)
  • Script Info (title, author, contact details)
  • Project Info (logline, scratchpad notes)
  • Character metadata (age, gender, aliases, bios)
  • Revision marks and colors
  • Formatting and structure
Auto-save uses an efficient patch-based system that only saves what changed, keeping file sizes small and saves fast.

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Save location

Scripts save as .ink files in the location you chose when creating the script:
  • Default location: ~/Documents/Inkwell Scripts/
  • Custom location: Wherever you selected in the “Save As” dialog
You can move .ink files to other folders—just open them from their new location with Cmd/Ctrl+O.

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Version history system

Inkwell uses a sophisticated version history system that efficiently tracks all changes to your script.

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How history works

Instead of storing complete copies of your script for every save, Inkwell uses:
  • Snapshots: Full copies of your script at key moments (initial state, manual saves, checkpoints)
  • Patches: Efficient change records between snapshots (auto-saves)
This approach keeps file sizes small while maintaining complete version history.

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Automatic checkpoints

Inkwell automatically creates checkpoints (full snapshots) when:
  • Too many patches have accumulated since the last checkpoint
  • Too much time has passed since the last checkpoint
This ensures you can always restore to any point in history quickly.

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Access version history

Click the save status indicator in the bottom-right corner of the status bar to open the Save History popover:
1

Open Save History

Click the save status text (e.g., “Saved”) in the status bar, or look for the clock icon
2

Browse history

The popover shows all save points chronologically:
  • Time saved: How long ago each save occurred
  • Save type: Manual Save (💾) or Auto-save (🕐)
  • Current: Highlighted entry shows your current position
3

Restore a version

Click the restore icon (↻) next to any entry to revert to that version. A confirmation dialog appears before restoring.
Restoring a version creates a backup of your current state before reverting. The backup is saved to your backup folder and can be recovered if needed.

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Common rollback scenarios

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Accidental deletion

Problem: You deleted a scene or dialogue and need it back. Solution:
  1. Click the save status in the status bar to open Save History
  2. Find a save point from before the deletion (check timestamps)
  3. Click the restore icon (↻) next to that entry
  4. Confirm the restore in the dialog that appears
  5. Your deleted content returns, and a backup of your current state is saved

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Rewrite gone wrong

Problem: You rewrote a scene but prefer the original. Solution:
  1. Open Save History from the status bar
  2. Find the save from before your rewrite
  3. Restore that version
  4. Your original writing returns, and your experimental version is backed up

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Want to experiment safely

Scenario: You want to try a major rewrite without fear of losing your current draft. Approach:
  1. Press Cmd/Ctrl+S to create a manual save of your current state
  2. Make your experimental changes
  3. If you like them, keep writing
  4. If not, restore the manual save from Save History
Manual saves (Cmd/Ctrl+S) create clear markers in your history, making it easy to find important drafts.

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Compress history

Over time, your .ink file accumulates version history. If file size becomes large, you can compress history.

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When to compress

Consider compressing when:
  • Your .ink file exceeds 20-30 MB
  • You’re archiving a finished draft and won’t need edit history
  • You want to share a script without including your editing process

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How to compress

1

Open Save History

Click the save status in the status bar
2

Click Compress history

At the bottom of the popover, click Compress history
3

Confirm

A dialog explains that this keeps only your current state and removes all history. A backup is created automatically.Click Confirm Compress to proceed.
4

Review results

A summary shows how many entries were removed and how much space was saved.
Compression is permanent for the file itself, but a backup with full history is automatically created in your backup folder before compression.

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Backup folder

All revert backups and compression backups are saved to a dedicated backup folder. To access it:
  1. Open Save History from the status bar
  2. Click Open backup folder at the bottom
  3. Your file manager opens to the backup directory
Backups are named with timestamps and the reason they were created (e.g., my-script-revert-2025-01-15.ink).

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Frequently asked questions

No. Auto-save is always active to protect your work. The patch-based system is efficient and doesn’t interrupt writing.
Your script is saved up to the last auto-save (usually recent). When you reopen Inkwell, your work will be recovered automatically.
Inkwell keeps all history until you manually compress it. The patch-based system keeps file sizes reasonable even with extensive history.
Backups created during restores and compressions are saved to a dedicated backup folder. Click “Open backup folder” in the Save History popover to access them.
Yes! Restoring automatically creates a backup. Open your backup folder (from Save History popover → “Open backup folder”) and open the most recent backup file.
Files imported from Fountain or Final Draft don’t include version history. History tracking starts fresh when you import and begin editing in Inkwell.

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Troubleshooting

Possible causes:
  • Disk full: Check available storage space
  • File permissions: Ensure Inkwell can write to the save location
  • File in use: Close other apps accessing the .ink file
If the issue persists, export to PDF or Fountain immediately, then contact support.
This occurs when:
  • You just created a new script (history starts accumulating as you edit)
  • You compressed history (only current state remains)
  • The file was just imported (no history transfers from other formats)
Large files (20+ MB) usually have extensive history. Compress history from the Save History popover to reduce file size. A backup with full history is created automatically.

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Next steps

Exporting files

Export your script to PDF, Fountain, or Final Draft

Importing files

Import scripts from other formats

Keyboard shortcuts

Learn all available shortcuts

Troubleshooting

Fix common issues and recover lost work