restore
Restore a target from a backup.
skillshare restore # Interactive TUI (browse + restore)
skillshare restore claude # Latest backup
skillshare restore claude --from 2026-01-19_10-00-00 # Specific backup
skillshare restore claude --dry-run # Preview
When to Use
- A sync went wrong and you need to revert a target to its previous state
- You accidentally removed skills from a target
- Browse backup versions interactively and compare against current state
Interactive TUI
On a TTY, skillshare restore (with no arguments) launches a unified restore TUI:
- Source picker — Choose between "Backup Restore" and "Trash Restore"
- Backup Restore — Select a target, then browse backup versions with a detail panel showing:
- Backup date, size, and skill count
- Diff vs current target (added/removed skills)
- Individual file listings
- Trash Restore — Opens the trash TUI to restore deleted skills
Key Bindings
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
↑/↓ | Navigate targets / versions |
Enter | Select target / restore version |
/ | Filter targets |
d | Delete a backup version |
Ctrl+d/Ctrl+u | Scroll detail panel |
Esc | Go back |
q/Ctrl+C | Quit |
Use --no-tui to skip the TUI and show a plain backup list instead.
What Happens
Options
| Flag | Description |
|---|---|
--all | Restore both skills and agents |
--project, -p | Use project mode (.skillshare/backups/); agents only |
--global, -g | Use global mode (default for skills) |
--from, -f <timestamp> | Restore from specific backup |
--force | Overwrite without confirmation |
--dry-run, -n | Preview without making changes |
--no-tui | Skip interactive TUI, show backup list instead |
restore also accepts a positional kind argument: skillshare restore agents claude restores the agent backup for the claude target.
Finding Backups
List available backups:
skillshare backup --list
All backups (15.3 MB total)
2026-01-20_15-30-00 claude, cursor 4.2 MB
2026-01-19_10-00-00 claude 2.1 MB
2026-01-18_09-00-00 claude, cursor 4.0 MB
Examples
# Restore from latest backup
skillshare restore claude
# Restore from specific backup
skillshare restore claude --from 2026-01-19_10-00-00
# Preview restore
skillshare restore claude --dry-run
# Force restore (skip confirmation)
skillshare restore claude --force
After Restoring
After restore, your target will have regular directories instead of symlinks. To re-sync:
skillshare restore claude # Restore backup
skillshare sync # Re-sync from source (creates symlinks)
Or keep the restored state:
skillshare restore claude # Restore backup
# Done - skills are now local copies
Use Cases
Accidental Deletion
If you accidentally deleted a skill:
skillshare restore claude --from 2026-01-19_10-00-00
Reverting Changes
If a sync went wrong:
skillshare restore claude # Go back to pre-sync state
Testing
Restore to test old skill versions:
skillshare restore claude --from 2026-01-15_10-00-00
# Test old skills...
skillshare sync # Return to current state
Agent Restore
Agent restore mirrors skill restore but operates on the parallel <target>-agents backup entries created by backup agents (and the auto-backup that runs before sync agents):
skillshare restore agents claude # Latest agent backup for claude
skillshare restore agents claude --from 2026-01-19_10-00-00
skillshare restore agents -p # Project agents (the only project mode allowed)
skillshare restore --all claude # Skills + agents in one shot
In project mode, restore — like backup — only operates on agents. Without the agents argument it errors:
restore is not supported in project mode (except for agents)
When listing backups via skillshare backup --list, agent backups show as separate entries with the -agents suffix (e.g. claude-agents).