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A snapshot is a versioned, redacted copy of one sample saved under .stacknext/snapshots. It is evidence from the save time, not live telemetry. Snapshots are never replayed into the collector and snapshot reads carry no live diagnostics or coverage.

Create

stacknext dev can also save automatically on graceful exit and on the first error, with a 60-second cooldown. Automatic behavior is configured under snapshots in stacknext.config.json:
Manual and imported snapshots are never auto-deleted. Automatic exit/error snapshots rotate beyond autoKeep. Oversized saves fail instead of truncating.

Inspect

The dashboard /snapshots page shows the sample window, counts, traces, errors and queries. If the snapshot was saved before a change, say so when reporting evidence. Snapshots view listing saved samples with source, capture window, request, span, error and query counts Snapshots view listing saved samples with source, capture window, request, span, error and query counts

Export and import

Exports are redacted local JSON with 0600 permissions. Imports are re-normalized and re-redacted, so a modified file cannot introduce unredacted fields. Import is not a live replay.

Delete

Deletion is explicit. The CLI does not delete manual or imported snapshots automatically.

MCP boundary

The three snapshot MCP tools are read-only:
  • stacknext_list_snapshots
  • stacknext_get_snapshot
  • stacknext_get_snapshot_trace
They cannot save, import, rotate or delete a snapshot. An agent should point to the CLI or dashboard instead.