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Time Travel

Record execution, then scrub through it like a video — step forward, backward, into, out of, and over every expression.

PRO feature. Time Travel is a PRO feature. See Free vs PRO.

Time Travel records your program’s execution step-by-step and lets you scrub through it like a video — forward, backward, into, out of, and over every expression — with a visual timeline color-coded by function.

Starting a Recording

  1. Open the Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P).
  2. Run ParrotJS: Toggle Time Travel (or press Shift+F5).
  3. Your code re-executes and every step is recorded.

The ParrotJS sidebar (Time Travel panel) shows a compressed timeline of recorded steps as colored tiles, one color per function. Drag to navigate, click to jump.

Action macOS Windows/Linux
Step Over F10 F10
Step Into F11 F11
Step Out Shift+F11 Shift+F11
Step Back Alt+← Alt+←
Step Forward Alt+→ Alt+→
Run to Active Line F5 F5
Run Back to Active Line Ctrl+F5 Ctrl+F5
Toggle Pin Cmd+Alt+P Ctrl+Alt+P

As you step, the current line is highlighted in the editor and inline values show only what was captured at that exact step.

Pin & Compare

Pin a snapshot at any step (Cmd+Alt+P / Ctrl+Alt+P), then keep stepping. The editor highlights what changed between the pinned snapshot and the live results — what’s new, what changed, and what was removed.

Call Stack

At any recorded step, run ParrotJS: Time Travel: View Call Stack to inspect the function call stack at that point in the sequence.

Editing After Recording

If you modify the code after recording, the trace is automatically marked as stale — ParrotJS tells you the recorded history may no longer apply to your current code. Re-execute to record a fresh trace.

Keeping It Fast

Time Travel captures every step of execution, which can be heavy on long-running or tight-looping code. The runtime records up to a safe limit and flags when a trace overflows, so you can adjust what you’re recording rather than freeze the editor.