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LayertrailLayertrail

Your first project

This walkthrough follows the situation Layertrail was built for: a lab changes something, a test fails, and you need to find out what changed and get back to a working setup.

1. Create a project

Section titled “1. Create a project”

Launch Layertrail and create a new project. Give it a name and choose where it should live. Layertrail creates a folder for it containing Layertrail.layertrail plus two hidden folders: .git, which stores snapshot contents, and .layertrail, which holds the history timeline (snapshot descriptions, reverts, recovery points) along with a search index and logs. Everything about the project lives in that one folder, so keep it together and don’t delete the hidden folders.

2. Build the structure

Section titled “2. Build the structure”

Add nodes to describe what you have, for example:

Lab B
├── Rack 2
│   └── Switch SW-14
└── Rack 4
    └── Controller C-2      firmware: 4.1.7

Select a node to edit its name and properties in the detail pane. Properties are simple key/value pairs; keys use letters, numbers, and underscores, such as serial_number. If you already have this information in a spreadsheet or in NetBox, import it instead of typing it.

Layertrail saves your edits automatically. File → Save Now (Cmd/Ctrl+S) writes immediately if you want to be sure.

3. Save a snapshot

Section titled “3. Save a snapshot”

When the setup is in a known state, save a snapshot. Give it a short name such as initial-lab-config. Optionally, add a description: why this moment matters, a test or ticket number, the outcome you observed.

A snapshot captures the whole project as it is right now, and it cannot be edited later. That is what makes it trustworthy as a record.

4. Make changes, snapshot again

Section titled “4. Make changes, snapshot again”

Move Switch SW-14 into Rack 4, add a power monitor, and change the controller’s firmware to 5.0.2. Your test now fails. Save another snapshot: software-upgrade-test-fails.

5. Compare

Section titled “5. Compare”

Open Compare and pick the two snapshots. Layertrail shows the project tree with each change marked: the firmware edit as a property change with before and after values, the power monitor as added, the switch as moved (with where it came from). A summary counts each kind of change.

To focus on one area, select a node such as Rack 4 and compare just that subtree. See Comparing states.

6. Revert

Section titled “6. Revert”

Revert the current project to initial-lab-config. Because you’re going back past a later snapshot, Layertrail asks for a short note explaining why, such as “rolling back to retry with different firmware”. The current project now matches that snapshot, and the timeline records the revert with your note. software-upgrade-test-fails stays in the timeline, so the record of the failed attempt is not lost. If you had unsnapshotted edits, Layertrail keeps a recovery point before replacing them.

From here, try a different change and save it as alternate-software-test-passes. The timeline now tells the whole story in order.

Where to go next

Section titled “Where to go next”