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Rewind in Agent

Branch conversations and rewind Agent memory to any previous point using the enhanced tracing and context system.

The rewind feature allows you to go back to any point in a conversation and explore different paths. This creates branching conversations where you can test alternative responses or recover from errors.

How It Works​

Every agent interaction creates a RunContext with a unique run_id. The framework automatically traces each step, allowing you to reference any previous point in the conversation.

Creating Branches​

You can create new branches by setting RunContext(parent_id=...) to rewind to any previous point. The agent will only remember the conversation up to that specific point, ignoring everything that happened after.

Example​

from timbal import Agent
from timbal.state import RunContext, set_run_context


agent = Agent(name="example", model="openai/gpt-4o-mini")


# Main conversation path
print("=== Main Path ===")
step1 = await agent(prompt="Hello").collect()
step2 = await agent(prompt="My name is David").collect() 
step3 = await agent(prompt="What's my name?").collect()
print(f"Normal: {step3.output.content[0].text}")  # "Your name is David"


# Branch from step 1 (skip the name introduction)
print("\n=== Branch 1: Rewind to Hello ===")
context = RunContext(parent_id=step1.run_id)
set_run_context(context)


branch1 = await agent(prompt="What's my name?").collect()
print(f"Branch 1: {branch1.output.content[0].text}")  # "I don't know your name"

This creates a branching structure:

Root: "Hello"
├── Main Path: "My name is David" → "What's my name?" → "David"
└── Branch 1: "What's my name?" → "I don't know"  


Each branch maintains independent memory from the rewind point.

Use Cases​

  • Testing: Try different conversation paths
  • Error Recovery: Go back before an error occurred
  • Exploration: Explore "what if" scenarios
  • A/B Testing: Compare different response strategies
  • Debugging: Isolate specific conversation states

Rewind gives you full control over conversation flow and memory management.