• SAVE
  • REVERT
  • VIEW
  • MANUAL

How to manage environment snapshots with your AI

Connect Daytona to your AI client to treat your development environments like versioned assets. You can freeze a working state and jump back to it if a new setup breaks.

Ask AI about this page

Short answer

How can I use my AI to handle environment snapshots?

Your AI uses Daytona tools to save current workspace states, list available versions, or switch to a previous configuration. This lets you instantly revert to a working setup when dependencies fail. You get full control over your workspace lifecycle through chat.

Snapshot outcomes

Where your states land.

The AI manages the lifecycle of your workspace configurations.

SAVE

Capture current state

The AI creates a point-in-time copy of your environment. You won't lose your setup when you move to a new task.

REVERT

Restore working versions

If a configuration breaks, your AI switches the workspace back to a previous snapshot. It removes the need to manually fix broken dependencies.

VIEW

List available states

Your AI pulls a list of all saved snapshots. You can see exactly which versions are ready to use.

MANUAL

Human decision needed

The AI won't decide which version is 'safe' to revert to. You must name the specific snapshot you want to use.

The workflow

What your AI does when the request arrives.

The AI translates your natural language into specific Daytona operations.

  1. Freeze the environment

    When you want to save your current setup, the AI triggers a snapshot creation to lock in the state.

    create_snapshot

  2. Check existing versions

    If you need to see what you've saved, the AI fetches a list of all available environment versions.

    list_snapshotsget_snapshot

  3. Roll back changes

    To fix a broken workspace, the AI activates a specific saved state to replace the current environment.

    activate_snapshot

  4. Clean up storage

    To remove old or unnecessary versions, the AI deletes the specific snapshot you no longer need.

    delete_snapshot

Try it

Copy these to start.

Use these prompts to begin managing your Daytona environments.

Starting points

These are opening lines. Swap out the workspace names or snapshot IDs for your actual ones.

Daytona Connector

You're all set. Choose your MCP client and follow the setup instructions.

Connector linkhttps://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_AkqYHK4XFPqtgrdtnVnobFEfCwP5QQF4omfr3EXo/mcp

Claude Desktop

Follow the steps below to connect in seconds.

  1. 1In Claude Desktop, open Settings → Connectors.
  2. 2Click “Add custom connector” and paste the connector link above as the remote MCP server URL.
  3. 3Click Add and start a new chat — Daytona capabilities are ready to use.
Configuration · claude_desktop_config.jsonCopy
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "daytona-dev-workspaces-mcp": {
      "url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_AkqYHK4XFPqtgrdtnVnobFEfCwP5QQF4omfr3EXo/mcp"
    }
  }
}
Copy into chat04

  • Create a snapshot of my 'frontend-dev' workspace.

  • List all snapshots available in my current environment.

  • Restore my workspace to the 'stable-v1' snapshot.

  • Delete the snapshot named 'temp-test-run'.

  • Claude
  • ChatGPT
  • Cursor
  • VS Code
  • Windsurf
  • Claude Code
  • JetBrains
  • Cline

Start here

Connect Daytona once, then ask.

One link connects Daytona to your AI client. Your login stays encrypted on our side, and you can start managing snapshots immediately.

Connect Daytona to your AI

FAQ

How snapshot management behaves

  • 01

    Can the AI create snapshots of my local machine?

    No. The AI only manages snapshots within Daytona development workspaces.

  • 02

    Will the AI delete my code when it creates a snapshot?

    No. Creating a snapshot saves the environment state; it doesn't modify or delete your files.

  • 03

    Can the AI automatically delete old snapshots?

    No. The AI only deletes a snapshot when you explicitly tell it to.

  • 04

    Can the AI see the files inside a snapshot?

    No. The AI uses tools to manage the environment state, but it doesn't have a tool to browse the internal file system of a snapshot.

  • 05

    Does the AI decide which snapshot is the best one to restore?

    No. You must specify which snapshot you want to activate.

  • More questions about Daytona? The Connector page answers them. See everything the Daytona Connector can do

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