A commit is like a bookmark: you’re marking a point you can return to if needed. Each time you arrive at a decision while designing, commit your changes. If you change your mind about a decision, you can restore a project’s main branch back to any previous commit and take a different direction. We recommend committing several times a day to best document your team’s decision-making and iteration process.
Committing your changes does not affect the main branch. You change the main branch by merging.
Commit changes on a branch
To commit your changes:
- Create a branch in the Abstract desktop app.
If you don’t open your Sketch files via the Abstract app, your work is not backed up in Abstract and you can’t commit changes.
- Make changes to your file(s).
- Save your changes in Sketch either by clicking File > Save or by pressing ⌘ + S.
- Click Commit Changes in the Abstract overlay, which defaults to the bottom of your Sketch window.
If you’re not seeing the Abstract overlay, make sure you opened your file via the Abstract desktop app. If you’re still not seeing the Commit Changes button, click File > Save. The button only becomes active when there are saved changes that have not yet been committed.
- Summarize your changes in the commit message.
- Commit comments are visible to your team. They act as a reminder of what was changed if you ever need to restore a previous Commit.
- Select COMMIT CHANGES.
- You can click More Options to see what’s changed or to discard changes before committing.
The edits you made in your branch are now visible to the rest of your project team. The commit history displays a record of your commits.
What’s the difference between saving and committing?
Saving makes a local copy of your changes on your computer. Committing saves your changes to Abstract.
If you save without committing, your Sketch files are not backed up in Abstract. You must commit changes before your team can see them.
Discard changes without committing
To trash changes you’ve made on a branch without committing:
- Save your changes by clicking File > Save.
- Click Commit Changes at the bottom of your Sketch window.
- Click More Options.
- In the pop-up window, click DISCARD next to any changes you’d like to delete.
- Click Discard.
You cannot recover discarded changes.