CANOPY

Every branch, one view. CANOPY is a sidebar for people who work across many Git repositories. File repos into your own folders, see at a glance which ones need pulling, pushing or fixing, run any Git operation in one click, follow GitLab and GitHub pipelines, merge requests and pull requests, and share profiles that set up a whole set of repos for a teammate.

Why CANOPY

VS Code's Source Control view works well for one repository. With ten or fifty, you end up scrolling a long flat list, opening terminals, and guessing which repo is behind. CANOPY adds what's missing:

• Folders you choose, independent of where repos sit on disk, saved with your workspace
• Attention-first sorting: conflicts first, then incoming commits, local changes, unpushed work
• Every Git operation from a toolbar or right-click menu, including rebase, stash, worktrees and merge tools
• GitLab and GitHub status next to each repo: pipelines or checks, merge or pull requests
• Profiles that record which repos and branches belong together, so you can switch in one step or onboard someone in minutes

Getting started

1. Install CANOPY and open a folder or workspace that contains Git repositories.
2. Click the CANOPY icon in the activity bar. Repositories in your workspace folders appear automatically.
3. Follow Get Started with CANOPY (it opens on first run; run CANOPY: Get Started to open it again).

Repositories outside your workspace? Add them with Add Repository…, or list extra folders to scan in canopy.scanRoots.

Organize your repositories

• Folders: create folders and subfolders, then drag repositories into them. Repos you haven't filed yet appear under Unsorted.
• Smart folders fill themselves from a query, such as is:conflict OR pipeline:failed.
• Edit Layout (pencil button) adds a checkbox to every repo. Uncheck one to hide it, then click ✓ when you're done.
• The layout is saved in your workspace (.code-workspace or .vscode/settings.json), so it stays with the project.

See what needs attention

Each row shows the repository, its branch, and badges:

The most urgent state also shows as a colored badge at the right edge, and the repository name takes its color: failed pipeline (red ✕), commits to push (blue ↑), commits to pull (green ↓), then uncommitted changes (yellow ●). Change these colors in workbench.colorCustomizations with canopy.pipelineFailedForeground, canopy.aheadForeground, canopy.behindForeground and canopy.changesForeground.

• Submodules appear nested under their parent repository with a teal submodule icon and their own branch and status. Hover any repository or submodule and click the branch icon to switch branches; a yellow ≠ means a submodule is at a different commit than its parent records.
• Sort by attention, name, recent activity or your own order. Group by status to see Conflicts, Incoming, Local changes and Unpushed at a glance.
• Filter by status, or with a query such as is:dirty age<7d.
• Fetch All (and automatic fetching every few minutes) keeps the counts current. The activity bar badge and status bar show totals.

Every Git operation, one click away

Click a repository to open its details:

• Toolbar: Sync, then Pull, Push, Fetch, Branch, Merge, Rebase, Stash and Prune menus, plus More for commit, cherry-pick, revert, reset, tags, remotes, worktrees and submodules.
• Changes: write a commit message (Commit, Commit & Push, Commit & Sync, Amend). Stage, unstage or discard each file, or use Stage all and Discard all. Clicking a file opens its diff in the editor beside. Discards are saved to a safety stash first, so they can be undone.
• Commit graph: branches, merges and tags drawn as lanes. Click a commit (or the uncommitted changes row) to list its changed files beneath it; click a file to open its diff. Right-click a commit to check it out, branch or tag from it, cherry-pick, revert, merge, rebase onto it or reset to it.
• Stats: switch the graph card to Stats for lines of code, commits per week, lines of code over time, authors (commits, lines added and deleted, and lines each author owns today via git blame), languages, an activity heatmap and the most changed files, over 3 months, 1 year or all time. When the repository sits in a CANOPY folder with others, see totals for the whole folder.
• Profiles: the third tab shows the clone & switch profile editor (see below) without leaving the details panel.
• Conflicts: when a merge or rebase stops, a banner offers the 3-way merge editor, your external merge tool, Continue, Skip and Abort.

Select several repositories in the sidebar to fetch, pull, push, sync or stash them all at once.

GitLab and GitHub

CANOPY works out which service hosts each repository from its remote, so one workspace can mix GitLab and GitHub repos.

Create Merge / Pull Request pushes your branch first if needed and takes the title from your commits.

Connect GitLab: run CANOPY: Connect GitLab…, or accept the prompt CANOPY shows when your repositories use a GitLab server.

1. Pick the server. CANOPY suggests the ones it finds in your remotes, and you can enter any URL.
2. Select Open Token Page. GitLab opens with a token named CANOPY and the api scope already filled in. Create it.
3. Paste the token. CANOPY checks it and shows which account it belongs to. A read_api token works if you only want to see status.

Sign in to GitHub: run CANOPY: Sign in to GitHub…. CANOPY uses VS Code's own GitHub account sign-in, so there is no token to copy: approve CANOPY in the browser once. For GitHub Enterprise Server, set VS Code's github-enterprise.uri setting to your server first. Where VS Code's GitHub sign-in isn't available, CANOPY offers a personal access token instead.

Tokens and sign-ins stay in VS Code's encrypted storage and are only ever sent to the server they belong to.

Profiles: switch or share a whole set of repositories

A profile records which repositories, remotes and branches belong together.

• Build one in seconds: the editor starts with every visible repository on its current branch. Uncheck what you don't need and pick branches.
• Switch: CANOPY first shows exactly what will happen to each repo (clone, switch, stash, pull) and runs nothing until you confirm.
• Share: save the profile as a .canopy-profile.json file in your project, or copy a share link. A teammate opens it and CANOPY clones what they're missing and switches the rest to the right branches.
• Track branch tips for day-to-day work, or pin exact commits to reproduce a release.

Query language

Use it for smart folders, filters and Go to Repository….

Example: folder:Platform (is:behind OR pipeline:failed)

Settings

All settings are listed under CANOPY in the Settings editor.

Privacy

• CANOPY runs your own git and talks only to the GitLab and GitHub servers you connect.
• It sends no telemetry.
• GitLab tokens and GitHub sign-ins stay in VS Code's encrypted storage on your computer.
• Your folder layout and saved profiles are stored in your workspace settings, which you control.

Requirements

• VS Code 1.95 or later
• Git 2.30 or later (on your PATH, or set canopy.gitPath)

Screenshots show a demo workspace of fictional repositories.