A lightweight, local-first Git explorer for the VS Code Source Control sidebar.
Browse commits, branches, remotes, stashes, tags, and worktrees — without accounts, subscriptions, or telemetry.
Features
Git Explorer sidebar
Opens in the Source Control panel (⌃⇧G). Six collapsible sections, all populated from your local repository:
Section
What it shows
Commits
Last 50 commits — hash, subject, author, relative date
Branches
Local and remote branches; current branch marked
Remotes
Configured remotes with fetch/push URLs
Stashes
Full stash list with branch and message
Tags
Latest 50 tags sorted by creation date
Worktrees
All worktrees with branch and HEAD info
Actions
Action
How
Open commit diff
Click any commit
Checkout branch
Click any local branch
Copy remote URL
Click any remote URL
Show stash diff
Click any stash
Apply stash
Right-click stash → Apply Stash
Copy tag name
Click any tag
Open worktree
Click any worktree (opens in new window)
Refresh
Click the ↻ button in the view title bar
Checkout and stash apply ask for confirmation when the working tree has uncommitted changes. Git errors are summarized in a notification and logged to the Minimal Git Explorer output channel.
Requirements
Git must be installed and available on PATH.
VS Code 1.74.0 or newer.
A workspace folder containing a Git repository.
No configuration required
This extension works out of the box. There are no settings to configure.
Design principles
Local-first — all data comes from local git commands. No network calls, no accounts, no cloud APIs.
Read-first — safe exploration over mutation. Destructive actions are deferred to future versions.
Small surface — every feature maps to a common git command.
No telemetry — nothing is ever sent anywhere.
Known limitations (v0.1.0)
Single-repository focus. Multi-root workspaces use the first folder that resolves to a Git repository.
No auto-refresh. Use the toolbar refresh button after git operations.
Stash mutations limited to apply. Pop/drop deferred to v0.2.x.
No worktree creation/removal. Use the CLI for those.
