Krita VCSThe Krita VCS plugin (aka Krita VC)
A small Version Control panel that lives right inside Krita, so you can save a version, set work aside, or switch branches without ever leaving your canvas. It runs on the exact same engine and the exact same history as the desktop app. Save from either one, and the other sees it.
Download the plugin← Krita plugin
Why your canvas refreshes on its own
Discarding, setting aside, bringing work back, and switching branches all rewrite files on disk, so the panel closes and reopens any open document it changed, keeping your canvas in sync with your history.
The one tradeoff: a reopened document starts with an empty undo history.