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Autosave + dirty indicator + crash recovery
Last updated June 6, 2026 · 3 min read
You won't see a Save button — Slima saves continuously in the background. This article explains the indicators and how to recover from incidents.
Why there's no Save button
In traditional tools, "forgot to save → lost work" is a classic disaster.
Slima removes that risk:
- Local IndexedDB: continuous background writes (millisecond, invisible to you)
- Version history: Slima auto-creates versions at smart moments — after a period of inactivity, before AI edits, before syncing, and before you leave — not on every paragraph
- Cloud sync: pushed once locally saved (see Sync status indicator)
Cmd/Ctrl S forces an immediate save (its action is literally "Save file"). Since the background is already saving continuously, it's mostly a reassurance key. Creating a named version checkpoint is separate — do that from the version control panel (see Manual named versions).
Save / sync indicator
There is no per-tab unsaved dot. The save/sync feedback is the connection indicator next to the book title, which has three states — connected (green), offline (hollow gray), and local mode (gray) — see Sync status indicator.
When something crashes
Case 1: Browser crash / tab closed
Reopen Slima → enter the book → content is exactly as it was.
Nothing lost. Layer 1 (IndexedDB) restores everything.
Case 2: Machine died / moved to another device
New device or browser → sign in → enter the book → content is the last successfully synced cloud state.
If you were offline and hadn't pushed yet, a tiny tail may be missing — but chapter-level work is intact.
Case 3: Accidentally deleted a paragraph, want it back
Open version control → find a recent auto-version → restore that section / file.
See: Restore a version or single file
Can I turn auto-save off?
No (and not recommended). Auto-save is one of Slima's core contracts — your work is never lost.