Git Time Machine ⏰

Safely edit commit messages and timestamps for unpushed commits

📖 What is Git Time Machine?

Git Time Machine is a powerful VS Code extension that allows you to safely edit commit messages and timestamps for commits that haven't been pushed to a remote repository. Whether you need to fix a typo, update commit dates, or clean up your commit history before pushing, Git Time Machine makes it easy and safe.

🎯 Why Git Time Machine?

✅ Safety First: Only allows editing unpushed commits
✅ Automatic Detection: Scans and identifies unpushed commits automatically
✅ Beautiful UI: Modern webview interface with Tailwind CSS and smooth animations
✅ Bulk Editing: Edit multiple commits at once
✅ Visual Date Picker: Flatpickr integration for easy timestamp selection
✅ Backup Branch: Automatically creates backup before making changes
✅ Undo Support: Easily restore from backup if needed
✅ Dark & Light Themes: Matches your VS Code theme

🎬 Demo

Note: Demo GIF coming soon! The extension is fully functional.

Screenshot Placeholders:

Main View - Unpushed Commits

Date/Time Picker Webview

Bulk Edit Summary

✨ Features

🔍 Automatic Unpushed Commit Detection

Automatically detects commits that haven't been pushed to remote
Displays them in a dedicated tree view in the Source Control panel
Shows commit hash, author, message, and relative time
Works with branches that have remote tracking or standalone branches

✏️ Edit Commit Messages

Edit commit messages with a simple input box
Validation to prevent empty messages
Works for HEAD and older commits

📅 Edit Commit Timestamps

Visual date/time picker with calendar interface
Separate controls for Author Date and Commit Date
Sync button to match dates easily
Supports multiple date formats

📦 Bulk Edit Multiple Commits

Select multiple commits using multi-select QuickPick
Edit each commit's message and timestamp in sequence
Beautiful summary table before applying changes
Progress indicators during processing

🛡️ Safety Features

Remote Check: Automatically verifies commits aren't on remote
Backup Branch: Creates backup branch before any changes
Undo Command: Restore from backup with one command
Working Tree Check: Warns about uncommitted changes
Confirmation Dialogs: Always confirms before making changes

🎨 Beautiful UI

Modern Tailwind CSS styling
Smooth fade and slide animations
Responsive design
Dark and light theme support
Heroicons integration
Progress animations

📊 Tree View Integration

Integrated into VS Code's Source Control panel
Shows all unpushed commits at a glance
Inline edit buttons for quick access
Auto-refresh on git changes
Tooltips with full commit details

📦 Installation

From VS Code Marketplace

Open VS Code
Press Ctrl+Shift+X (or Cmd+Shift+X on Mac) to open Extensions
Search for "Git Time Machine"
Click Install
Reload VS Code if prompted

From VSIX File

Download the .vsix file from releases
Open VS Code
Press Ctrl+Shift+P (or Cmd+Shift+P on Mac)
Type "Extensions: Install from VSIX"
Select the downloaded .vsix file

From Source

git clone https://github.com/DilZhaan/git-time-machine.git
cd git-time-machine
npm install
npm run compile
# Press F5 to launch Extension Development Host

🚀 Usage

Method 1: Quick Edit from Tree View

Open a git repository in VS Code
Open the Source Control panel (Ctrl+Shift+G / Cmd+Shift+G)
Look for the Git Time Machine section
Click the ✏️ edit icon next to any commit
Choose what to edit (message, timestamp, or both)
Follow the prompts

Method 2: Single Commit Edit (Full Flow)

Press Ctrl+Shift+P (or Cmd+Shift+P on Mac)
Type: "Git Time Machine: Edit Commit (Full Flow with Webview)"
Select a commit from the QuickPick
Choose to edit message and/or timestamp
Use the visual date/time picker if editing timestamp
Confirm your changes

Method 3: Bulk Edit Multiple Commits

Press Ctrl+Shift+P (or Cmd+Shift+P on Mac)
Type: "Git Time Machine: Bulk Edit Multiple Commits"
Multi-select commits using the space bar
For each commit:
- Choose whether to edit message
- Choose whether to edit timestamp
- Use the visual picker for dates
Review the summary table with all changes
Confirm to apply all changes at once

Undo Changes

If you need to undo your changes:

Press Ctrl+Shift+P (or Cmd+Shift+P on Mac)
Type: "Git Time Machine: Undo Changes (Restore Backup)"
Select the backup branch to restore
Confirm the restoration

🎹 Commands

Command	Description	Keyboard Shortcut
`Git Time Machine: Show Unpushed Commits`	Display all unpushed commits from current branch	-
`Git Time Machine: Edit Commit`	Quick edit from tree view (simple)	-
`Git Time Machine: Edit Commit (Full Flow with Webview)`	Complete guided flow with visual date/time picker	-
`Git Time Machine: Bulk Edit Multiple Commits`	Edit multiple commits at once	-
`Git Time Machine: Undo Changes (Restore Backup)`	Restore from backup branch	-
`Refresh`	Reload the unpushed commits list	-

Custom Keyboard Shortcuts

You can add custom keyboard shortcuts in VS Code:

Press Ctrl+K Ctrl+S (or Cmd+K Cmd+S on Mac)
Search for "Git Time Machine"
Click the + icon to add a keybinding

Suggested shortcuts:

{
  "key": "ctrl+alt+t",
  "command": "git-time-machine.showUnpushedCommits"
},
{
  "key": "ctrl+alt+e",
  "command": "git-time-machine.bulkEdit"
}

📋 Requirements

VS Code: 1.85.0 or higher
Git: Installed and available in PATH
Internet: Required for Tailwind CSS and flatpickr CDN (webview only)
Repository: A git repository with commits

🛡️ Safety & Security

What Git Time Machine Does

✅ Scans unpushed commits safely
✅ Creates automatic backups before any changes
✅ Validates that commits haven't been pushed
✅ Warns about uncommitted changes
✅ Confirms before making any modifications

What Git Time Machine CANNOT Do

❌ Edit pushed commits (blocked by safety checks)
❌ Delete commits (not supported)
❌ Modify commit content (only metadata)
❌ Force push (you control that)

How It Works

1. Scan → git log <remote>..HEAD
2. Safety Check → git branch -r --contains <commit>
3. Backup → git branch <branch>-gittimemachine-<timestamp>
4. Edit → git commit --amend (for HEAD) or rebase (for older)
5. Undo → git reset --hard <backup-branch>

Best Practices

✅ Always work on unpushed commits only
✅ Review the summary before confirming changes
✅ Keep backup branches until you're satisfied
✅ Commit or stash your working changes first
✅ Use meaningful commit messages

❓ FAQ

Q: Can I edit commits that have already been pushed?

A: No. Git Time Machine blocks this for safety. Editing pushed commits would rewrite shared history and cause issues for collaborators.

Q: What happens if I make a mistake?

A: Every edit creates a backup branch (e.g., main-gittimemachine-1699376400000). Use the Undo command to restore from any backup.

Q: Does this work with branches that don't have a remote?

A: Yes! If a branch has no remote, all commits are considered "unpushed" and can be edited.

Q: Can I edit multiple commits at once?

A: Yes! Use the Bulk Edit command to select and edit multiple commits in one flow.

Q: Will this affect my collaborators?

A: Only if you force push after editing. As long as you edit unpushed commits, there's no impact.

Q: What's the difference between Author Date and Commit Date?

Author Date: When the commit was originally created
Commit Date: When the commit was last modified (e.g., via amend)

In most cases, they're the same. The Sync button keeps them matched.

Q: Does this require internet access?

A: Only for the webview UI (Tailwind CSS and flatpickr are loaded from CDN). The core functionality works offline.

Q: Can I use this in a CI/CD pipeline?

A: Git Time Machine is designed for interactive use in VS Code. For automation, use git commands directly.

Q: How do I delete a backup branch?

A: Use git commands: git branch -D <backup-branch-name> or the VS Code source control UI.

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Here's how you can help:

Reporting Bugs

Check if the issue already exists in Issues
Create a new issue with:
- Clear description
- Steps to reproduce
- Expected vs actual behavior
- VS Code version, Git version, OS
- Screenshots if applicable

Suggesting Features

Open an issue with the enhancement label
Describe the feature and use case
Explain why it would be valuable

Submitting Pull Requests

Fork the repository
Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature
Make your changes
Write or update tests if applicable
Follow the existing code style
Commit with clear messages: git commit -m "Add amazing feature"
Push to your fork: git push origin feature/amazing-feature
Open a Pull Request with:
- Clear description of changes
- Reference to related issues
- Screenshots/GIFs if UI changes

Development Setup

# Clone the repo
git clone https://github.com/DilZhaan/git-time-machine.git
cd git-time-machine

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Compile TypeScript
npm run compile

# Watch mode (auto-compile on changes)
npm run watch

# Launch Extension Development Host
# Press F5 in VS Code

# Run tests
npm test

# Lint code
npm run lint

# Package extension
npm run package

Code Style

Use TypeScript with strict mode
Follow ESLint rules
Add JSDoc comments for public methods
Use meaningful variable names
Keep functions focused and small

📝 Changelog

See CHANGELOG.md for a detailed history of changes.

[0.0.1] - 2025-11-07

Added

Initial release
Unpushed commit detection
Single commit editing (message and timestamp)
Bulk edit multiple commits
Visual date/time picker with flatpickr
Backup branch creation
Undo functionality
Tree view integration in Source Control panel
Beautiful webview UI with Tailwind CSS
Smooth animations and transitions
Dark and light theme support
Safety checks for remote commits
Progress indicators
Summary table for bulk edits

📄 License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

🙏 Acknowledgments

Built with VS Code Extension API
UI powered by Tailwind CSS
Date picker by flatpickr
Icons from Heroicons
Inspired by the need for safer git history management

📞 Support

Issues: GitHub Issues
Discussions: GitHub Discussions
Email: your.email@example.com

🌟 Star the Project

If you find Git Time Machine useful, please consider giving it a star on GitHub! It helps others discover the project.

Made with ❤️ by DilZhan YaPa

_{⏰ Time travel through your git history, safely.}

Git Time Machine Plus

DilZhan Yapa