Inline Blame Mini

A minimal VS Code extension that shows git blame information inline for the current cursor line.

Screenshots

Inline Blame Display

Status Bar Information

Commit Details Panel

View detailed commit information including author, time, hash, and full commit message.

Features

• Lightweight: Only shows blame for the line where your cursor is positioned
• Clean: Displays author, time, and commit message inline with subtle styling
• Flexible: Choose inline position: end-of-line (default), above-line, or below-line
• Smart: Shows "You" for your own commits
• Fast: Optimized with debouncing and caching for better performance
• Interactive: Click on blame info to view detailed commit information

How it works

When you place your cursor on any line in a git-tracked file, the extension automatically shows:

• Inline blame text: Author name (or "You" for your commits), relative time, and commit message
• Status bar information: Simplified format with author and time
• Automatic updates when moving between lines

Configuration

{
  "inline-blame-mini.enabled": true,
  "inline-blame-mini.format": "{author}, {timeAgo} • {summary}",
  "inline-blame-mini.summaryMaxLength": 60,
  "inline-blame-mini.showOnlyWhenChanged": true,
  "inline-blame-mini.style.color": "rgba(136, 136, 136, 0.7)",
  "inline-blame-mini.style.fontStyle": "italic",
  "inline-blame-mini.style.fontSize": "0.9em",
  "inline-blame-mini.style.margin": "0 0 0 1rem",
  "inline-blame-mini.style.position": "end-of-line",
  "inline-blame-mini.statusBar.enabled": true,
  "inline-blame-mini.excludeFiles": [],
  "inline-blame-mini.includeFiles": ["**/*"]
}

Commands

• Inline Blame Mini: Show Troubleshooting Guide - Opens help panel with common issues and solutions
• Inline Blame Mini: Toggle Inline Blame - Enable/disable the extension
• Inline Blame Mini: Refresh Blame Information - Manually refresh blame data
• Inline Blame Mini: Show Commit Details - Open detailed commit information panel
• Inline Blame Mini: Open Settings - Open extension settings in VS Code settings panel

Requirements

• Git must be installed and available in your PATH
• File must be saved and part of a git repository

Error Handling & Troubleshooting

The extension provides comprehensive error handling with helpful feedback:

Status Bar Messages

• Git not available: Git is not installed or not in PATH
• Not a git repository: File is not in a git repository
• File not tracked: File exists but is not tracked by git
• Operation timed out: Git operation took too long (large repos)
• Unsaved changes: File has modifications affecting blame accuracy

Interactive Help

When errors occur, you can:

• Click on error/warning status bar items to get help
• Use Command Palette → Inline Blame Mini: Show Troubleshooting Guide
• Get step-by-step solutions for common issues

Common Solutions

• Git not found: Install Git from git-scm.com
• Not a git repo: Run git init in your project folder
• File not tracked: Run git add filename.ext to track the file
• Timeout issues: Check repository size and network connection

Performance

This extension is designed to be extremely fast and efficient:

Intelligent Caching

• Blame Cache: Results cached per file/line/document version
• Repository Cache: Git repository detection cached per file
• Commit Cache: Git commit messages cached to avoid repeated lookups
• User Cache: Git user information cached per workspace

Smart Processing

• Single Line Blame: Only queries git blame for current line (not entire files)
• Timeout Protection: All git operations have timeouts to prevent hanging
• Process Management: Proper cleanup of git processes
• Minimal Parsing: Efficient parsing of git blame output

Memory Management

• Cache Limits: Automatic cleanup when caches exceed size limits
• Workspace Cleanup: Caches cleared on workspace/configuration changes
• Resource Disposal: Proper cleanup of event listeners and decorations

Timing Optimizations

• Fast Debouncing: 100ms for cursor movement
• Quick Saves: 50ms debounce for file saves
• Smart Document Changes: 300ms debounce only for relevant changes
• Reduced Timeouts: Faster git operation timeouts for responsiveness

Styling

The extension uses these default styles (configurable via settings):

• Color: rgba(136, 136, 136, 0.7) (gray with opacity)
• Font: Italic, 0.9em size
• Margin: 1rem left padding
• Position: end-of-line (also supports above-line and below-line)