How do I visualize and navigate Vim's undo tree?

Explanation

The undotree plugin provides a visual tree representation of Vim's undo history. This makes it easy to navigate branches that normal u/<C-r> might miss.

How it works

• :UndotreeToggle opens/closes the undo tree panel
• Navigate the tree to see different undo states
• Select a state to restore the buffer to that point

Example

After editing a file with multiple undo/redo paths, :UndotreeToggle shows:

  3 --- 4
  |     |
  2     5
  |     |
  1     6 (current)

Click on node 4 to restore that state.

Tips

• Install: Plug 'mbbill/undotree'
• Map it: nnoremap <leader>u :UndotreeToggle<CR>
• Works with persistent undo (:set undofile)
• Shows timestamps for each undo state
• Press ? in the tree for help on navigation