[Feature]: Allow rewinding a conversation without restoring the workspace

[michael-dm]

Before submitting

• I searched existing issues and did not find a duplicate.
• I am describing a concrete problem or use case, not just a vague idea.

Area

Not sure

Problem or use case

“Go back” rewinds both the conversation and the workspace checkpoint. Sometimes I want to remove recent messages that were sidetracks, dead ends, or one-off questions, while keeping the useful code currently on disk.

There does not appear to be a way to keep a clean, relevant conversation history without also reverting workspace changes.

Proposed solution

Allow users to rewind the conversation without restoring workspace files. The exact UX could be decided separately.

Why this matters

Long-running threads accumulate irrelevant context. Removing it can keep the thread focused and useful without discarding valid work produced since that point.

Smallest useful scope

Provide one explicit way to return to an earlier conversation turn while leaving the workspace unchanged.

Alternatives considered

Copy the current changes elsewhere, use “Go back,” then restore them manually. This is cumbersome and risks losing work.

Risks or tradeoffs

The retained workspace may no longer match the earlier conversational context, so the action should make that state clear.

Examples or references

Related but distinct: #331 and #4070.

[chiqors]

any progress on this? it's the main factor that i can't migrate to t3code over codex

[juliusmarminge]

Resolved by #11358 — rewind now offers Revert and keep changes (conversation-only) alongside full file restore.