TimeLad 🕰️

✨ Features

🎯 Core Functionality

• 🕰️ Interactive Git History - Beautiful timeline view with visual diffs and version navigation
• ⏮️ Safe Version Restoration - Travel back to any previous version without losing history
• 💾 One-Click Saves - Save changes with intelligent auto-generated commit messages
• 🔍 Uncommitted Changes Detection - See all your pending changes at a glance

🛡️ Safety First

• 📚 No Data Loss - Always creates new commits instead of rewriting history
• 🔄 Change Awareness - Shows exactly what will be committed before saving
• 💼 Automatic Backups - Smart handling of uncommitted changes with user confirmation

👥 Beginner Friendly

• 🚀 Easy Setup - Guided Git repository initialization with helpful explanations
• 🎨 Visual Indicators - Color-coded file status and clear version numbering
• 📝 Smart Commit Messages - Conventional commit pattern suggestions based on your changes

🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

• VS Code 1.63.0 or higher
• Git installed and accessible from command line

Installation

1. Install from the VS Code Marketplace
2. Open any folder in VS Code
3. Look for the TimeLad icon in the Activity Bar

📖 How to Use

🔧 Setting Up Version Tracking

If your project doesn't have Git yet:

1. Click "Set up version tracking" in the TimeLad sidebar
2. Follow the guided setup process
3. Your first commit is created automatically!

⏮️ Restoring to Previous Versions

1. Browse your commit history in the TimeLad sidebar
2. Find the version you want to restore
3. Click "⏮️ Restore Version"
4. TimeLad safely creates a new commit with the old content

💾 Saving Your Work

1. Make changes to your files
2. View uncommitted changes in the sidebar
3. Click "💾 Save Changes" for instant commit with smart message
4. Or use the detailed commit flow for custom messages

⚙️ Configuration

Extension Settings

🔧 Technical Architecture

Built with Modern Standards

• 💪 TypeScript - Full type safety and better developer experience
• 🏗️ Dependency Injection - Clean, testable architecture
• 🧪 Comprehensive Testing - Unit and integration tests with 70%+ coverage
• 📦 VS Code APIs - Native integration with VS Code's Git extension

Git Integration Philosophy

TimeLad is built on safety-first principles:

✅ What TimeLad Does

# Safe version restoration using standard Git commands
git read-tree <commit-hash>     # Load commit tree into staging
git checkout-index -a           # Update working directory  
git add .                       # Stage all changes
git commit -F <message-file>    # Create new commit
git clean -fd                   # Clean up untracked files

❌ What TimeLad Never Does

• No git rebase - Would rewrite history
• No git push --force - Would overwrite remote history
• No git filter-branch - Would alter commit history
• No destructive operations - Your Git history stays intact

Performance & Reliability

• ⚡ Progressive Loading - Handles repositories with thousands of commits
• 🔄 Smart Caching - Optimized performance with intelligent cache management
• 🛡️ Error Recovery - Robust error handling with automatic fallback mechanisms
• 📊 Minimal Resource Usage - Efficient Git command execution (3-5 commands vs 8+ in complex operations)

📈 What's New in v0.3.0

🚀 Major Performance Improvements

• ⚡ 69% Code Reduction - Simplified restore method (25 lines vs 80+ lines)
• 🔧 Enhanced Reliability - Streamlined Git command sequence
• 🏗️ Better Architecture - Removed complex dependencies and temporary file handling

💻 Complete TypeScript Migration

• 🎯 Full Type Safety - All core services migrated to TypeScript
• 🔍 Better IntelliSense - Enhanced developer experience with autocomplete
• 🛡️ Compile-time Safety - Catch errors before runtime
• 📚 Self-documenting Code - Inline type annotations and interfaces

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please see our Contributing Guide for details.

Development Setup

git clone https://github.com/tristanbob/timelad.git
cd timelad
npm install
npm run compile
# Press F5 in VS Code to launch Extension Development Host

📋 Requirements & Compatibility

System Requirements

• Operating System: Windows, macOS, or Linux
• VS Code: Version 1.63.0 or higher
• Git: Version 2.0 or higher
• Node.js: Version 14.0 or higher (for development)

Git Workflow Compatibility

TimeLad works seamlessly with:

• ✅ GitHub/GitLab workflows
• ✅ Git Flow and GitHub Flow
• ✅ Existing Git repositories
• ✅ Team collaboration
• ✅ CI/CD pipelines

🐛 Known Issues & Support

Found a bug or need help? We're here to help!

• 🐛 Report Issues: GitHub Issues
• 💬 Discussions: GitHub Discussions
• 📧 Contact: Open an issue for fastest response

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🎉 Acknowledgments

Built with ❤️ for the VS Code community. Special thanks to all contributors and users who make TimeLad better every day!