Git Lean

A minimalist Git extension for Visual Studio Code.

Built out of frustration with the existing options: bloated UIs, cluttered panels, and features I never use. Git Lean does less, on purpose.

Features

Branch Panel

A clean sidebar panel listing all local and remote branches.

• The currently checked-out branch is highlighted with a distinct icon and a ✓ marker
• Click a branch to filter the commit tree to its history
• Right-click a branch to access branch actions:
  • Checkout
  • Delete
  • Create new branch from here
  • Rebase current branch onto this
  • Merge into current branch

Commit Tree

A canvas-rendered git graph that visualises the commit history of your repository.

• Multi-lane graph with colour-coded branch lines
• Ref badges inline with each commit (HEAD, local branches, remotes, tags)
• The HEAD commit is rendered with a distinct ring marker
• Selecting a branch in the panel filters the tree to that branch's history
• Click a commit to select it; Shift-click to select a range
• Right-click a single commit to:
  • Show full commit details (diff, author, dates)
  • Copy hash
  • Cherry-pick
  • Revert
  • Reset to commit
  • Edit commit message inline
• Right-click a range of commits to:
  • Squash (when consecutive)
  • Cherry-pick range

Running locally

Requirements: Node.js, pnpm, and VS Code.

pnpm install
pnpm run compile

Then open the project in VS Code and press F5. This launches an Extension Development Host: a second VS Code window with the extension loaded. Open any git repository in that window and the Git Lean panel will appear in the sidebar.

To watch for changes during development:

pnpm run watch        # TypeScript
pnpm run watch:webview  # React webview

Why

Most Git GUIs for VS Code are either too heavy or too opinionated. I wanted something that stays out of the way — no tabs, no toolbars, no settings pages. Just the branch list and the graph, side by side.

The final straw was multi-commit operations. Squashing a range of commits directly from the graph (without dropping to the terminal) isn't available in Git Graph, isn't in the VS Code built-in, and appears to be locked behind GitLens Pro. That felt like a gap worth filling.

Tech

Built with the VS Code Extension API, TypeScript, React 19, and the Canvas API for graph rendering. No external runtime dependencies.