IntelliJ Git — Free GitLens Alternative with Visual Commit Graph

A free, lightweight alternative to GitLens that brings IntelliJ IDEA's Git integration to Visual Studio Code, Cursor, Windsurf, Antigravity, and other VS Code-based editors.

If you've ever missed IntelliJ's visual commit graph, inline blame, or changelists after switching to VS Code — this extension is for you. No paid tiers, no feature gating — everything is free and open source.

Features

Visual Commit Graph

A full commit history with colored branch lines (DAG), just like IntelliJ's Git Log. Lives in the bottom panel for quick access.

• Colored branch lines showing merges, forks, and parallel development
• Branch and tag labels on commits
• Filter by branch, author, date range, or file path
• Click a commit to see all changed files
• Click a file to open a side-by-side diff view
• Right-click a commit to start an interactive rebase
• Infinite scroll — loads more commits as you scroll down
• Keyboard shortcut: Cmd+9 (macOS) / Ctrl+Shift+9 (Windows/Linux)

Inline Blame Annotations

Toggle per-line blame annotations in the editor gutter, showing who last changed each line and when.

• Age-based coloring: recent changes are highlighted, older ones fade out
• Compact format: date + author name in the left gutter
• Hover for full commit details (message, hash, email)
• Click an annotation to jump to that commit in the Git Log
• Silently skips untracked files (no annoying popups)
• Keyboard shortcut: Option+B (macOS) / Alt+B (Windows/Linux)

Branch Manager

A tree view in the Source Control sidebar showing all your branches organized by category.

• HEAD — current branch with star icon
• Local — all local branches
• Remote — remote branches grouped by remote name (origin, upstream, etc.)
• Tags — all tags
• Right-click context menu: Checkout, Create Branch, Merge, Rebase, Compare, Delete

Changelists

Group your uncommitted changes into named lists — just like IntelliJ's changelists.

• Create multiple changelists to organize work-in-progress
• Set an active changelist (new changes go here)
• Commit individual changelists separately
• Stored per-workspace in .vscode/changelists.json
• Keyboard shortcut: Cmd+K (macOS) / Ctrl+K (Windows/Linux) to commit active changelist

Interactive Rebase

A visual dialog for interactive rebase — reorder, squash, fixup, reword, edit, or drop commits.

• Drag-and-drop commit reordering
• Dropdown per commit: Pick, Squash, Fixup, Reword, Edit, Drop
• Trigger from the Git Log context menu: "Interactively Rebase from Here..."

Merge Conflict Detection

Automatic detection of merge conflicts with quick resolution options.

• Status bar indicator showing conflict count
• "Resolve Conflicts" command opens VS Code's built-in merge editor
• "Accept All Non-Conflicting" for bulk resolution of trivial conflicts

Keyboard Shortcuts

Commands

Open the Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P) and type "IntelliJ Git" to see all available commands:

• Open Git Log — Focus the commit graph panel
• Toggle Blame Annotations — Show/hide inline blame
• Interactive Rebase... — Start an interactive rebase
• New Changelist... — Create a new changelist
• Resolve Merge Conflicts — Open conflict resolution
• Refresh Branches — Refresh the branch tree
• And more...

Requirements

• VS Code 1.85+ (or any compatible editor: Cursor, Windsurf, Antigravity, Void, etc.)
• Git 2.0+ installed and available in PATH

Why This Extension?

VS Code has good basic Git support, but lacks the cohesive, visual Git experience that JetBrains IDEs provide. GitLens is powerful but many features are locked behind a paid tier. IntelliJ Git is a completely free alternative that focuses on what IntelliJ/WebStorm/PyCharm users actually miss:

• A proper visual git graph with colored branch lines (not just a flat list)
• Git blame annotations that stay out of your way until you need them
• Changelists for organizing uncommitted work (just like JetBrains)
• Side-by-side diff viewer for any commit
• Git history and git timeline visualization
• Everything integrated into the existing VS Code UI — no extra sidebars or clutter

Switching from GitLens? IntelliJ Git covers the core features — commit graph, blame, diff, branch management — without the complexity. It's fast, free, and designed for developers who prefer the JetBrains workflow.

Support the Developer

This extension is free and open source. If you find it useful, you can support the developer by checking out adlibrary.com — a competitive ad intelligence platform for performance marketers. If you or your team run paid ads, give it a try!

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Feedback & Issues

Found a bug or have a feature request? Open an issue on GitHub.

License

MIT