Git Blame (On hover)
🚀 Instant git blame information on hover - lightweight, zero-config, with smart tooltips
🎯 What Makes This Different?
Unlike other git blame extensions that clutter your status bar or add inline annotations, Git Blame Hover provides blame information exactly when and where you need it - on hover.
| Git Blame Hover ✨ |
Other Extensions 😑 |
| 🎯 Hover-based - Info appears only when needed |
📊 Status bar clutter - Always visible |
| 🚫 Zero UI clutter - No persistent visual elements |
📝 Inline annotations - Text everywhere |
| ⚡ Performance optimized - Smart caching & debouncing |
🐌 Continuous processing - CPU intensive |
| 🎨 Smart tooltips - Rich formatting with emojis |
📋 Plain text - Basic information |
| ⚙️ Fully configurable - Show exactly what you want |
🔒 Fixed format - Limited customization |
✨ Key Features
🎯 Hover-First Design
- Non-intrusive: Information appears only when you hover over a line
- Context-aware: Shows relevant details exactly where your cursor is
- Clean workspace: No permanent UI elements cluttering your editor
- Smart debouncing: Prevents excessive git calls during rapid mouse movement
- Intelligent caching: Reuses blame data for better performance
- Cancellation support: Respects VS Code's cancellation tokens
- Visual formatting: Uses emojis and markdown for better readability
- Relative time: Shows "2 hours ago" instead of cryptic timestamps
- Platform detection: Identifies GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure Repos
- Error handling: Clear, user-friendly error messages
⚙️ Highly Configurable
- Selective display: Choose exactly what information to show
- Custom formatting: Control tooltip appearance and content
- Performance tuning: Adjust hover delays and message lengths
- Quick toggle: Enable/disable with status bar button
🚀 Getting Started
Installation
- Open VS Code
- Go to Extensions (
Ctrl+Shift+X)
- Search for "Git Blame Hover"
- Click Install
Usage
- Open any file in a git repository
- Hover over any line of code
- See instant blame info in a beautiful tooltip!
That's it! No configuration required. 🎉
📸 Screenshots
When you hover over line 42:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 👤 Author: John Doe │
│ 📅 Date: 2 hours ago │
│ 📝 Message: Fix authentication bug │
│ #️⃣ Commit: a1b2c3d │
│ 🌐 Platform: GitHub │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘
Error Handling
For non-git files:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ⚠️ Error: Not a git repository │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘
Status Bar Toggle
Bottom right corner: [$(git-commit) Blame: On]
Click to toggle On/Off
⚙️ Configuration
Quick Settings
| Setting |
Default |
Description |
gitBlameHover.enable |
true |
Enable/disable the extension |
gitBlameHover.showRelativeTime |
true |
Show "2 hours ago" vs "1/8/2026" |
gitBlameHover.hoverDelay |
200 |
Delay before tooltip appears (ms) |
| Setting |
Default |
Description |
gitBlameHover.showAuthor |
true |
Show 👤 author name |
gitBlameHover.showDate |
true |
Show 📅 commit date |
gitBlameHover.showMessage |
true |
Show 📝 commit message |
gitBlameHover.showCommitId |
true |
Show #️⃣ commit hash |
gitBlameHover.showPlatform |
true |
Show 🌐 platform info |
gitBlameHover.maxCommitMessageLength |
100 |
Max message length (0 = no limit) |
Example Configuration
{
"gitBlameHover.enable": true,
"gitBlameHover.showRelativeTime": true,
"gitBlameHover.hoverDelay": 150,
"gitBlameHover.showAuthor": true,
"gitBlameHover.showDate": true,
"gitBlameHover.showMessage": true,
"gitBlameHover.showCommitId": false,
"gitBlameHover.showPlatform": false,
"gitBlameHover.maxCommitMessageLength": 80
}
🎨 Customization Examples
Minimal Setup (Author + Time only)
{
"gitBlameHover.showMessage": false,
"gitBlameHover.showCommitId": false,
"gitBlameHover.showPlatform": false
}
Detailed Setup (Everything visible)
{
"gitBlameHover.showRelativeTime": false,
"gitBlameHover.maxCommitMessageLength": 0,
"gitBlameHover.hoverDelay": 100
}
{
"gitBlameHover.hoverDelay": 500,
"gitBlameHover.maxCommitMessageLength": 50
}
🛠️ Commands
| Command |
Keybinding |
Description |
Git Blame Hover: Toggle Enable/Disable |
None |
Toggle extension on/off |
Access via:
- Command Palette (
Ctrl+Shift+P)
- Status bar button click
🔧 Troubleshooting
Common Issues
"Git not found in PATH" Error
Cause: Git is not installed or not in system PATH
Solution:
- Install Git from git-scm.com
- Restart VS Code
- Verify with
git --version in terminal
"Not a git repository" Error
Cause: File is not in a git repository
Solution: Initialize git in your folder: git init
Possible causes:
- Extension is disabled - Check status bar or settings
- File is not git-tracked - Add file to git:
git add filename
- Hover delay is too high - Reduce
hoverDelay setting
Solutions:
- Increase
hoverDelay to 300-500ms
- Reduce
maxCommitMessageLength to 50-80
- Disable less important info (platform, commit ID)
Debug Steps
- Check extension is enabled in status bar
- Open Developer Tools (
Help > Toggle Developer Tools)
- Look for error messages in Console tab
- Try toggling extension off/on
Optimize for Large Repositories
{
"gitBlameHover.hoverDelay": 300,
"gitBlameHover.maxCommitMessageLength": 60,
"gitBlameHover.showPlatform": false
}
Optimize for Remote Work (Slow Git)
{
"gitBlameHover.hoverDelay": 500,
"gitBlameHover.showMessage": false,
"gitBlameHover.showPlatform": false
}
🤔 FAQ
Q: How is this different from the popular Git Blame extension?
A: The popular extension shows blame info in the status bar and inline. Git Blame Hover shows info only when you hover, keeping your workspace clean.
A: Yes! Detects GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure Repos, and shows "Local/Other" for custom setups.
Q: Will it slow down my editor?
A: No! It uses smart debouncing and caching. Git commands only run when you actually hover over lines.
Q: Can I use both this and other git blame extensions?
A: Yes! This extension doesn't conflict with others since it only uses hover events.
Q: What about uncommitted changes?
A: Shows "You" as author, "just now" as time, and "Uncommitted changes" as message.
| Platform |
Status |
URL Format |
| 🐙 GitHub |
✅ Full support |
github.com |
| 🦊 GitLab |
✅ Full support |
gitlab.com |
| 🪣 Bitbucket |
✅ Full support |
bitbucket.org |
| 🔵 Azure Repos |
✅ Full support |
dev.azure.com, visualstudio.com |
| 🏠 Self-hosted |
✅ Basic support |
Shows as "Local/Other" |
📋 Requirements
- VS Code: Version 1.90.0 or higher
- Git: Must be installed and available in PATH
- Repository: Must be a valid git repository
🐛 Known Limitations
- Large files: Very large files (>10MB) may have slower git blame performance
- Binary files: No blame information for binary files
- Merge conflicts: Limited info during active merge conflicts
- Shallow clones: May show incomplete history information
🔄 Changelog
v0.0.12 - Latest
- ✨ Added relative time display ("2 hours ago")
- ⚡ Implemented hover debouncing for better performance
- 🛠️ Improved error messages and handling
- ⚙️ Added configurable tooltip format options
- 🎨 Enhanced tooltip formatting with emojis
v0.0.11
- 🐛 Fixed platform detection issues
- 📝 Updated documentation
v0.0.10
- 🚀 Initial release
- ✨ Basic hover functionality
- 🎯 Status bar toggle
🤝 Contributing
We welcome contributions! Here's how you can help:
Report Issues
Found a bug? Create an issue with:
- Steps to reproduce
- Expected vs actual behavior
- VS Code version & OS
Suggest Features
Have an idea? Open a feature request with:
- Detailed description
- Use case examples
- Mockups if applicable
Development Setup
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/canarysautomationspvtltd/git-blame-hover
# Install dependencies
npm install
# Open in VS Code
code .
# Start development
npm run watch
# Test the extension
Press F5 to launch Extension Development Host
📄 License
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.
🙏 Acknowledgments
- Thanks to the VS Code team for the excellent extension API
- Inspired by the need for cleaner git blame UX
- Community feedback and feature requests
📞 Support
Made with ❤️ by Canarys Automations
If you find this extension helpful, please ⭐ star the repository and leave a review on the marketplace!
