See at a glance how many files differ between your current branch and a base branch (for example main)—right in the status bar. Handy for keeping pull requests and branch scope easy to spot while you work and make it smaller.
Features
Live count of files changed versus the base branch using Git’s three-dot diff (base...HEAD), so it reflects what would be unique to your branch.
Color-style indicator in the bar: green when the count is within your “comfort” range, yellow is the warning zone, red is the danger zone. Thresholds are configurable, but choose wisely.
Click the status item to open Source Control.
Updates when Git state changes, using the built-in Git extension’s repository events.
Workspace-aware: uses the first workspace folder as the Git working directory.
Screenshots
Green indicator
Yellow indicator
Red indicator
Getting started
Open a folder that contains a Git repository (not only loose files).
Ensure your base branch exists locally (for example main or develop), or fetch it—otherwise the status text shows that the base was not found.
Optional: open Settings and search for BranchLite to change the base branch and thresholds.
Requirements
A Git repository in the opened workspace.
The built-in Git extension (vscode.git) enabled, for timely refresh when the repository changes.
Development
Go to the repository and clone it to your local machine.
Install dependencies: pnpm install
Run → Start Debugging (or Run Extension): Go to Run and Start Debugging, and run the extension in watch mode. The extension will be built and launched in a new VS Code window to be used for testing.
