Versioning

Save snapshots of your recipes, lock versions, and restore previous versions at any time

Recipe Versioning lets you save snapshots of your recipe at different points in time, lock them as immutable references, and restore any previous version. This is especially useful when experimenting with recipe changes, preparing for competitions, or tracking how a recipe evolves over multiple brew sessions.

Tip

Recipe Versioning requires a Premium Plus subscription. See Subscription for details.

How Versioning Works

Every recipe has a working version — this is the current, editable copy of your recipe. When you create a version, Brewfather takes a complete snapshot of the recipe at that moment.

There are two types of versions:

• Working Version — The current editable version of your recipe. Only one exists per recipe at a time.

• Immutable Version — A locked snapshot that cannot be modified. These serve as permanent reference points.

Creating a Version

1. Open a recipe in the Designer

2. Tap the version selector in the toolbar

3. Tap Create New Version

4. Enter a description for this version (e.g., "Competition entry 2024", "Before adjusting water chemistry")

5. Optionally check Lock current version to mark the current state as immutable before creating the new working version

6. Tap Create

Brewfather saves a complete snapshot of the recipe, including all ingredients, profiles, and settings. A new working version is created with the next version number.

Tip

It is recommended to lock the current version when creating a new one. This ensures you always have an immutable reference point to go back to.

Viewing Versions

1. Open a recipe and tap the version selector

2. The Version History modal opens showing:

   • The active version at the top (highlighted)

   • Other versions listed below, sorted by version number (newest first)

3. Tap any version to preview it

Preview Modes

• List view (default on mobile) — Shows version list with descriptions and dates

• Split view (default on desktop) — Shows the version list on the left and a full recipe preview on the right

• Preview view — Full-screen preview of a single version

On desktop, you can resize the split view panel by dragging the divider.

Navigating Versions

When previewing a version, use the navigation toolbar to move between versions:

• Previous / Next arrows to step through versions

• Position indicator shows where you are in the version list (e.g., "3 of 7")

Restoring a Version

You can restore any immutable version in two ways:

Restore as Overwrite

Replaces the current working version with the selected version's snapshot.

1. Open the Version History

2. Tap the menu on the version you want to restore

3. Select Restore (Overwrite)

4. Confirm the action

This is useful when you want to go back to an earlier version and discard your current changes.

Restore as New Version

Creates a new working version from the selected version's snapshot while preserving all existing versions.

1. Open the Version History

2. Tap the menu on the version you want to restore

3. Select Restore as New

4. Confirm the action

This is useful when you want to branch from an older version without losing your current work.

Rollback

Rollback is a special restore option available only for the immediately previous version. It deletes the current working version and restores the previous immutable version.

1. Open the Version History

2. On the most recent immutable version, select Rollback

3. Confirm the action

This is the quickest way to undo your latest changes.

Editing Version Descriptions

You can update the description of any version to keep your version history well-documented:

1. Open the Version History

2. Tap the edit icon next to a version's description

3. Enter a new description

4. Tap Save

When editing a version that is not yet locked, you can also choose to mark it as immutable at this point.

Deleting a Version

Only working (non-immutable) versions can be deleted. Immutable versions are locked to protect your version history.

1. Open the Version History

2. Tap the menu on the version you want to delete

3. Select Delete

4. Confirm the action

Batch Integration

When creating a batch from a recipe, you can select which version to brew from:

1. Open a recipe and tap Brew

2. In the Create Batch dialog, tap Select Version

3. Choose the version you want to brew

4. The batch is created with that version's recipe snapshot

The selected version is displayed in the batch creation dialog with its version number, description, and lock status. This ensures your batch records reference the exact recipe version you brewed, even if you continue to modify the recipe later.

Version History Limits

• Versions are loaded 10 at a time with a Load More button for recipes with extensive histories

• Version data is stored server-side and requires an internet connection to access

• All version operations (create, restore, switch, delete) are performed through a secure backend API