vGit

A powerful VS Code extension (formerly "Git Staging View") that provides an Eclipse EGit-style staging view with advanced commit graph visualization for managing Git changes across multiple repositories.

This extension is inspired by the excellent Git Graph extension, incorporating its graph visualization approach while adding a comprehensive staging interface.

Screenshots

Main View

Main Staging View Dual-panel layout with file staging on the left and interactive commit graph on the right

Staging Panel in Action

Staging Panel Demo Stage, unstage, and stash files with inline buttons, drag-and-drop, and the dedicated Stashes panel

Context Menus

File Operations

Right-click files to compare, stage/unstage, or replace with different revisions

Commit Operations

Right-click commits to cherry-pick, reset, revert, or create branches

Branch Operations

Right-click branch names in the commit history to switch branches

Repository Operations

Right-click repository to switch branches, fetch, pull, reset, or rebase

Quick Diff Panel

Quick Diff View View all files changed on the current branch compared to its closest parent branch

Features

Layout

Main Panel: Interactive commit graph with branch selection sidebar
Bottom Panel: Unstaged/staged changes with tree view, commit message area, and action buttons
Resizable Sidebar: Drag the sidebar edge to resize the branch selection panel
Resizable Graph Column: Drag the resize handle in the graph header or any row to adjust graph width

Advanced Commit Graph

The history lanes display is inspired by the excellent vscode-git-graph extension.

SVG-Based Visualization: Beautiful colored branch lanes with curved merge lines
Compact Layout: Optimized lane assignment with longest branches on the left
Sticky Column Headers: Graph, Message, Author, Date, and Commit headers stay visible when scrolling
EGit-Style Display:
- Commit hash in rightmost column
- Visual graph lanes in leftmost column
- Commit message starting right after the graph
- Author and date columns
- Consistent 13px font size
Infinite Scroll: Automatically loads more commits as you scroll
Search & Filter:
- Search by commit hash, message, branch name, tag, or author
- Clear button (×) for quick search reset
- Press Enter to execute search
Optional Commit Hover Details: Hover a commit for a metadata popup, then move into it to load full details. Disable this behavior with the gitStagingView.showCommitDetailsOnHover setting, and set how long to wait before the popup appears (in milliseconds, default 500) with gitStagingView.commitDetailsHoverDelay.
Branch Selection Panel:
- Interactive sidebar to filter the commit graph by specific branches
- Toggle local branches, individual remote branches, and tags
- Group controls for selecting/deselecting all local or remote branches at once
- Filter input to quickly find branches by name
- Context menu on branches for checkout and delete
- Selected branch HEAD highlighting: commits at the tip of individually selected branches are highlighted with a dark red background
- Resizable sidebar: Drag the right edge to resize (150px–600px), width persists across refreshes
Favorite Branches:
- Mark frequently used branches as favorites for quick access
- Right-click any branch → "Add to Favorites" to pin it to the Favorites section
- Right-click a favorite → "Remove from Favorites" to unpin it
- Favorites appear between Controls and Selected Branches in the sidebar
- Select/deselect favorites with checkboxes, just like regular branches
- Favorites are stored per repository and persist across sessions
- Stale favorites are automatically removed when branches are deleted from the repo
Branch Views:
- Toggle between current branch and all branches
- Hide remote commits option (checked by default)
- Show Tags toggle (unchecked by default) - displays tag names in graph
Tag Tooltip: Hover over displayed tag at top to see all repository tags
Commit Selection: Select multiple commits using checkboxes
- Visual highlighting of selected commits
- Selection state persists during graph updates
- Choose whether to compare the selected commit with its previous commit, current HEAD, or the working-tree version
- Historical and local comparison snapshots open as read-only documents
Revision Information: Annotate each source line with the commit, author, and date that last changed it
- Run vGit: Toggle Revision Information from the editor context menu or Command Palette
- Shown in a fixed-width column left of the code with an age heatmap bar; lines of the commit under the cursor are highlighted
- Click an annotation to open its commit in the History view
Current Line Revision Information (on by default): author, date and hash of the line under the cursor, shown at the end of that line and in the status bar. It follows unsaved edits; lines you changed show as "Uncommitted changes"
- Hover the annotation for the author, the full commit message and the change that introduced the line, with Open Changes, Show in History and Copy Hash actions (gitStagingView.revisionInfo.hover shows it over the whole line or turns it off)
- Turn it on or off with vGit: Toggle Current Line Revision Information; click the status bar entry to open the commit in the History view
Context Menu: Right-click any commit for:
- Squash Selected Commits (when 2+ commits selected)
- Cherry-pick
- Reset (soft/mixed/hard)
- Revert
- Reword Commit Message (HEAD commit only)
- Create branch from commit
- Bookmark this Commit
Commit Bookmarks:
- Bookmark commits to save them for later use (e.g., cherry-picking across branches)
- Bookmarks appear in a dedicated "Bookmarks" sidebar section with a 🔖 icon
- Right-click a bookmark for: Cherry-pick, Reset (Soft/Mixed/Hard), Remove, Remove All
- Bookmarks persist across sessions

Remote Links & Autolinks

Open on Remote: Open or copy links to the repository's hosting site (GitHub, GitLab, Gitea, Bitbucket Cloud, Bitbucket Server / Data Center, Azure DevOps)
- Files: right-click a file → vGit → Open File on Remote, Copy Remote File Link (current branch) or Copy Remote File Permalink (pinned to the commit); the selected lines are included
- Commits: Open Commit on Remote / Copy Commit Link in the History view's commit context menu, and Open on Remote in the revision hover
- Branches: Open Branch on Remote, Copy Branch Link and Compare with Current Branch on Remote in the branch context menu of the History view sidebar
- For self-hosted servers whose domain does not name the product, map the domain with gitStagingView.remoteProviders (see Remote Providers)
Autolinks: Issue keys, #123 references and URLs in commit messages become links in the History view (commit details and hover popup) and in the revision hover
- #123 links to the issue of the remote's provider (GitLab also !123 merge requests; Azure DevOps work items and !123 pull requests; Bitbucket "pull request #123")
- Add your issue tracker with gitStagingView.autolinks (see Autolinks)

Multi-Repository Support

Automatic detection of all Git repositories in workspace
Dropdown selector to switch between repositories
Repository-specific state tracking
Real-time branch, tag, and ahead/behind status
Separate Git Directory Support: Detect repositories initialized with --separate-git-dir
- Configure repositoryScanDepth to scan nested folders
- Use additionalRepositoryPaths to specify folders containing git repositories outside workspace folders

Performance & Architecture

Webpack-bundled extension and webview for fast loading
External CSS files and loading screen to prevent FOUC

File Management

Tree View: Files organized by folder structure
Click to Stage/Unstage: Single-click operation
Batch Operations:
- Stage All / Unstage All (Eclipse-style colored arrow icons)
- Collapse All / Expand All folders
Visual Status Indicators:
- A - Added
- M - Modified
- D - Deleted
- R - Renamed
- U - Unmerged/Conflict
Eclipse-Style File Context Menus: Right-click any file in the vGit file lists (History view's Files tab, Quick Diff panel, staging panel) or in a vGit diff editor to access Eclipse EGit-style actions:
- Open Working Tree Version / Open This Version / Open Previous Version (opens read-only revision content)
- Check Out This Version (overwrites the working tree with the selected revision after a confirmation prompt)
- Compare with Previous Version / Compare with Working Tree
- Show Revision Information (opens the working-tree file and enables revision annotations)
- Focus On This File (filters the History graph to commits touching this file)
- Reveal in Explorer / Select All / Copy File Path / Copy All Paths
- The diff editor exposes these actions via a new vGit Revision submenu in both the right-click and editor-tab menus (visible when the active document is a vGit revision)

Staging Panel (Bottom Panel)

Commit Message Area: Multi-line textarea with AI-generate button (bottom-right)
Actions Row: Commit + Amend + Push + Force buttons with repository dropdown
Push Button: Dynamically shows remote name (e.g., "Push to origin")
Repository Dropdown: Shows remote in parenthesis (e.g., "my-repo (origin)")
Fetch/Pull Buttons: Quick access to fetch and pull operations
Git Flow Animation: Visual workflow indicator (Working Directory → Index → Local → Remote)
Branch Display: Current branch name with ahead/behind status

Git Operations

Commit: Commit staged changes with message validation
Amend Commit: Checkbox to amend the last commit with new changes and/or message
Reword Commit: Edit the message of the most recent commit
- Right-click the HEAD commit in the graph
- Select "Reword Commit Message"
- Edit the message in the modal dialog
- Auto-selects existing text for quick editing
- Only works on HEAD commit for safety
Squash Commits: Combine multiple commits into one
- Select contiguous commits using checkboxes (must include HEAD)
- Right-click and choose "Squash Selected Commits"
- Confirm the selection
- Edit the combined commit message in the modal
- Creates a single commit with all changes
- Must start from HEAD for safety
Push: Push commits to remote with formatted response modal
- Remote selection dropdown when multiple remotes are configured
- Force Push checkbox for explicit git push --force (unchecked by default)
- Smart credential prompting for remotes requiring authentication
- Response displayed in modal with clickable URLs (e.g., pull request links)
- Color-coded messages and hints section
- Automatically refreshes view after successful push
Fetch: Fetch updates from remote with remote selection
- "Git: Fetch" for quick fetch from default remote
- "Git: Fetch (with options)" for remote selection dropdown
- Fetches all branches from selected remote
Pull: Pull with remote and branch selection
- Auto-stash support for uncommitted changes
- Automatically stashes and restores local changes during pull
Refresh View: Manually refresh all repository data
Compare Operations:
- Compare with HEAD
- Compare with previous revision
- Compare with any branch, tag, or reference
- Compare with specific commit
Replace Operations:
- Replace with HEAD revision
- Replace with previous revision
- Replace with any branch, tag, or reference
- Replace with specific commit
Repository Operations:
- Switch to branch/tag/commit
- Create new branch from branch/commit
- Rebase onto branch
- Create tag (lightweight or annotated)
- Fetch
- Pull / Pull (force)
- Reset
- Rebase
- Merge
Rebase Conflict Handling: Automatic conflict detection and resolution workflow
- View automatically refreshes when conflicts are detected
- Conflicted files appear immediately in Unstaged Changes section
- Action buttons (Continue Rebase, Abort Rebase, Skip Commit) for resolving conflicts
Cherry-Pick Conflict Handling: Same conflict resolution workflow for cherry-pick operations
- Detects when a cherry-pick encounters conflicts
- Action buttons (Continue, Skip, Abort) for resolving cherry-pick conflicts
- Consistent user experience across rebase and cherry-pick operations
Stash Management: Complete stash workflow support
- Stash Changes: Save uncommitted changes with optional message
- Pop Stash: Apply and remove the most recent stash
- Apply Stash: Apply stash without removing it
- Drop Stash: Delete a specific stash entry
- View Stash: Preview stash contents in diff view
- Stashes Panel: Dedicated panel to the right of Staged changes, toggled via the ⬒ button in the Staged header
  - Each stash is a card with its message, originating branch, relative age ("2 h ago", exact date in the tooltip), number of changed files and its stash@{n} reference. Stashes created without a message show the commit subject with a WIP tag
  - Hover a stash for the Pop, Apply and Drop buttons. Dropping asks for confirmation (gitStagingView.confirmStashDrop)
  - Click a stash to show its files: file name first, folder after it. Click a file to compare the stashed version with HEAD (added files: with the working tree); the hover buttons compare with the working tree or restore that single file from the stash
  - Right-click a stash for Create Branch from Stash (git stash branch, useful when a pop would conflict) and Rename
  - Keyboard navigation (see Keyboard Shortcuts) and a filter box once there are more than 5 stashes
  - A newly created stash is briefly highlighted
  - Badge on the toggle button shows the stash count when stashes exist
  - Resizable via drag handle between Staged and Stashes panels
- Drag and Drop to Stash: Drag files or folders from the Unstaged view onto the Stashes panel
  - Drop on empty area to create a new stash with the selected files
  - Drop on an existing stash entry to add the files to that stash
- Stash from Context Menu: Right-click unstaged files to stash directly with options
Quick Diff Panel: View all files changed on the current branch compared to its parent branch
- Toggled via the ⇋ button in the Staged section header
- Compares the current branch against its upstream tracking branch (falls back to origin/main, origin/master, or origin/develop)
- Files displayed in a collapsible tree view with status indicators (M, A, D, R)
- Double-click a file to open a diff comparing the merge-base version with the working tree version
- Resizable panel positioned to the right of the Stashes panel
- Badge on the toggle button shows the file count
Remote Management: Full CRUD operations for Git remotes
- View all remotes with their URLs
- Add, rename, change URL, or remove remotes
- Command Palette: "Git: Manage Remotes..."
Refresh Repository Lists: Manually refresh dropdown lists when needed
- Command Palette: "Git: Refresh Repository Lists"
- Updates remote lists, repository lists, and all cached data
File/Folder History: View commit history filtered to a specific file or folder
- Right-click any file or folder in Explorer → Team → "vGit: Show File History"
- Opens staging view with commit graph filtered to the selected path
- Works with both individual files and entire folders
Enhanced Error Display: Push and revert errors shown in formatted modal with hints

Git Configuration Editor

Dedicated Configuration Panel: Full-featured webview for viewing and editing Git configuration
- Open via Command Palette: "vGit: Git Configuration"
- Scope Tabs: Switch between Local, Global, and System configuration scopes
- Inline Editing: Click any value to edit it in place
- Add Entries: Add new configuration keys with the "+ Add Entry" button
- Delete Entries: Remove configuration keys with per-row action buttons
- Filter: Quickly search for settings by key name
- Open Raw File: Open the underlying config file directly in the VS Code editor
- System scope is displayed as read-only for safety (may require elevated privileges)

Branch Switcher Panel

Multi-Repository Branch Switching: Switch branches across multiple repositories in a single action
- Toggle via the ⑂ button in the Staged section header
- Lists all workspace repositories with their current branch, number of uncommitted changes (●) and commits to push/pull (↑/↓)
- Click a row to select it, shift-click to select a range; submodules are listed under their parent repository
- Switch to: Pick from branches common to all selected repositories, with a filter input for quick search
- Create new: Create a new branch with the same name in all selected repositories (press Enter to create)
- Each selected row previews its target (→ branch, or ✓ when already on it); the Switch button says what it will do (e.g. "Switch 3 repos") and stays disabled until a repository and a branch are chosen
- After a switch, pull or push, each row shows ✓ or ✗ with the error message
- Pull / Push: Pull or push all selected repositories
- Select All / Unselect All: One-click buttons to change the repository selection
- Repositories with uncommitted changes can be switched; Git carries non-conflicting changes over and conflicts are reported on the row
- Resizable panel with drag handle, positioned to the right of the Quick Diff panel

Performance

Efficient Graph Rendering: Handles 500+ commits smoothly
Smart Lane Calculation: Optimized algorithm for clean graph layout
Incremental Loading: Loads 100 more commits per scroll
Git-Level Filtering: Efficient remote commit exclusion
Smart Refresh: File watcher distinguishes history vs. staging events — operations like staging, unstaging, and stashing no longer trigger unnecessary git log calls

Usage

Opening the Staging View

Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P):

vGit: Show Staging View

Keyboard Shortcut (when Explorer is focused):

Ctrl+Shift+G S

Context Menu:

Right-click any file in Explorer → vGit submenu

Working with Files

Staging Files:
- Click any file in Unstaged Changes to stage it
- Or use Stage All button
Unstaging Files:
- Click any file in Staged Changes to unstage it
- Or use Unstage All button
Comparing Files:
- Right-click a file → vGit → Compare with...
- Choose HEAD, previous revision, reference, or specific commit
Replacing File Content:
- Right-click a file → vGit → Replace with...
- Reverts file to selected revision

Using the Commit Graph

Navigation:
- Scroll to view commit history
- Automatically loads more commits at bottom
- Use search box to find specific commits
Branch Visibility:
- Click Show All Branches to see all branches
- Check Hide Remote Commits to exclude remote tracking branches (default)
Commit Operations:
- Right-click any commit for context menu
- Squash Selected Commits: Combine multiple commits (requires 2+ selected)
  - Check boxes next to commits you want to squash
  - Must include HEAD (the topmost commit)
  - Commits must be contiguous (adjacent in history)
  - Confirm selection, then edit the combined message in a modal
- Reword Commit Message: Edit the most recent commit's message
  - Only available for HEAD commit
  - Opens modal dialog with existing message auto-selected
  - Edit and save to update the commit
- Compare with...: Compare the commit with a local or remote branch, a tag, or a commit hash you type
  - The changed files open in the compare panel; double-click a file to see its diff
- Cherry-Pick: Apply commit to current branch
- Reset: Move branch pointer (soft/mixed/hard)
- Revert: Create new commit that undoes changes
- Create Branch: Create new branch from commit
Search:
- Type in search box and press Enter
- Searches: hash, short hash, message, refs, author
- Click × to clear search

Committing Changes

Enter commit message in the text area
Amend Checkbox (optional):
- Check to amend the last commit
- Automatically loads the previous commit message
- Combine new staged changes with the previous commit
Commit button: Creates commit locally (or amends if checkbox is checked)

Pushing Changes

Push button: Push commits to remote
- Displays response in a formatted modal window
- Shows remote messages with clickable URLs (pull request links)
- Automatically refreshes view on success
Force Push (use with caution):
- Check the "Force Push" checkbox next to Push button
- Required for git push --force operations
- Prevents accidental force pushes

Repository Management

Repository Header Controls:

Repository dropdown: Switch between detected Git repositories
Refresh View: Manually refresh all data
Fetch: Fetch updates from remote and refresh view

For Files (right-click in Explorer):

vGit submenu with all file operations

For Folders (right-click repository root):

Switch to... (branch/tag/commit)
Fetch, Pull, Pull (force)
Reset, Rebase, Merge
Clean Untracked Files and Folders (-fd) with dry-run preview and confirmation
Run Git Garbage Collection (gc) with confirmation

Resolving Rebase Conflicts

When a rebase encounters conflicts:

Automatic Detection:
- View automatically opens and displays rebase indicator
- Conflicted files appear in Unstaged Changes with conflict markers (U)
- View refreshes automatically to show all conflict files
Resolve Conflicts:
- Click conflicted files to open and edit them
- Resolve conflicts by choosing which changes to keep
- Stage the resolved files (click to move to Staged Changes)
Complete Rebase:
- Continue Rebase: Once all conflicts are resolved and staged, click to continue
- Skip Commit: Skip the current commit that caused conflicts
- Abort Rebase: Cancel the rebase and return to original state

The view monitors Git's rebase state files and updates automatically throughout the process.

Resolving Cherry-Pick Conflicts

When a cherry-pick encounters conflicts, the same workflow applies:

Automatic Detection:
- View displays a cherry-pick indicator (🍒 CHERRY-PICK IN PROGRESS)
- Conflicted files appear in Unstaged Changes with conflict markers (U)
Resolve Conflicts:
- Edit conflicted files to resolve the conflicts
- Stage the resolved files
Complete Cherry-Pick:
- Continue: Once all conflicts are resolved and staged, click to continue
- Skip: Skip the current commit
- Abort: Cancel the cherry-pick and return to original state

Resolving Stash Conflicts

When applying or popping a stash conflicts with your working tree, the conflicted files appear in Unstaged Changes (U). Right-click a conflicted file to resolve it:

Mark as Resolved: stage the file as it is in the working tree after you edited it (asks for confirmation if conflict markers remain)
Replace with Ours: keep the version from HEAD
Replace with Theirs: keep the stashed version

A stash that fails to pop because of conflicts stays in the stash list. Drop it once the conflicts are resolved.

Viewing File/Folder History

Right-click any file or folder in the Explorer
Select Team → vGit: Show File History
The staging view opens with the commit graph filtered to only show commits that affected the selected file or folder
All standard graph features remain available (search, branch views, context menus)

Viewing Revision Information

Open a tracked file in the editor.
Run vGit: Toggle Revision Information from the editor context menu or Command Palette.
Review the revision column beside the code: each commit block shows short hash, author, and date, and the colored bar shows its age (warm = recent, cool = old). Lines of the commit under the cursor are highlighted. Hover an entry to open the commit in the History view.

Use vGit: Show Revision Information and vGit: Hide Revision Information when an explicit action is more convenient than toggling.

Without the column, the revision of the current line is shown at its end and in the status bar. Hover it to see the full commit message and the change that introduced the line; Open Changes opens that commit's diff of the file at this line. Use vGit: Toggle Current Line Revision Information (or gitStagingView.revisionInfo.inlineEnabled) to turn the end-of-line annotation on or off, and gitStagingView.revisionInfo.statusBarEnabled for the status bar entry.

Graph Visualization Details

Color Scheme

Blue (#3b82f6) - Primary branch
Green (#10b981) - Feature branches
Orange (#f59e0b) - Warning/HEAD commits
Red (#ef4444) - Hotfix branches
Purple (#8b5cf6) - Release branches
Pink (#ec4899) - Experimental branches

Layout

Row Height: 24px per commit
Column Width: 16px per lane
Commit Hash: 65px fixed width
Author Column: 110px fixed width
Date Column: 85px right-aligned

Features

Curved lines for merge commits
Continuous lanes through commit list
Branch lanes sorted by usage (longest left)
Visual distinction for HEAD commits (orange dot)

Ref Badges

HEAD: Green badge for current HEAD pointer
Local Branches: Blue badges for local branch names
Remote Branches: Cyan badges for remote tracking branches (hidden when "Hide Remote Commits" is checked)
Tags: Yellow badges (shown only when "Show Tags" is enabled)

Configuration

Settings

Setting	Type	Default	Description
`gitStagingView.showSubmodules`	boolean	`true`	Show git submodules in repository dropdown lists
`gitStagingView.submoduleDisplayStyle`	string	`"hierarchical"`	How to display submodules: `"hierarchical"` or `"grouped"`
`gitStagingView.repositoryScanDepth`	integer	`1`	Maximum depth to scan for git repositories (1-5)
`gitStagingView.additionalRepositoryPaths`	array	`[]`	Additional folders to scan for git repositories
`gitStagingView.favoriteBranches`	object	`{}`	Favorite branches per repository (managed via context menu)
`gitStagingView.confirmStashDrop`	boolean	`true`	Ask for confirmation before dropping a stash from the Stashes panel
`gitStagingView.enableCommandLogging`	boolean	`false`	Log Git commands started by vGit to the vGit Output channel for diagnostics
`gitStagingView.revisionInfo.format`	string	`"hashAuthorDate"`	Inline message format: `"hashAuthorDate"`, `"authorDate"`, `"authorMessage"`, or `"hashAuthor"`
`gitStagingView.revisionInfo.dateFormat`	string	`"relative"`	Annotation date format: `"relative"`, `"short"`, or `"iso"`
`gitStagingView.revisionInfo.inlineEnabled`	boolean	`true`	Show revision information at the end of the current line
`gitStagingView.revisionInfo.hover`	string	`"annotation"`	Where the revision details hover appears: `"annotation"` (over the end-of-line annotation), `"line"` (anywhere on a line) or `"off"`
`gitStagingView.revisionInfo.statusBarEnabled`	boolean	`true`	Show the current line's author and date in the status bar
`gitStagingView.remoteProviders`	array	`[]`	Map self-hosted domains to a hosting provider for remote links, see Remote Providers
`gitStagingView.autolinks`	array	`[]`	Turn issue keys in commit messages into links, see Autolinks

Autolinks

Autolinks turn references in commit messages, such as issue keys of your issue tracker, into clickable links. They appear in:

the History view sidebar, when you select a commit (the first line, and the full message when expanded with ▼);
the History view hover popup, in the commit details that load when you move the mouse into the popup;
the revision hover in the editor (the full commit message of the current line's commit).

Without any configuration, vGit already links:

plain http:// and https:// URLs;
#123 references of the repository's remote: GitHub and Gitea issues and pull requests, GitLab issues (and !123 merge requests), Azure DevOps work items (and !123 pull requests), and "pull request #123" on Bitbucket.

Add your own references with gitStagingView.autolinks, a list with one object per reference type:

Property	Required	Description
`prefix`	yes	Text right before the id, e.g. `PROJ-` or `#`
`url`	yes	Link target (`http://` or `https://`); `<num>` is replaced by the id that follows the prefix
`ignoreCase`	no	Also match the prefix in other letter cases, e.g. `proj-12` (default `false`)
`alphanumeric`	no	Allow letters in the id, not only digits, e.g. `TICKET-a1b2` (default `false`)

Example: two Jira projects and a ticket system with alphanumeric ids:

"gitStagingView.autolinks": [
    { "prefix": "PROJ-", "url": "https://jira.example.com/browse/PROJ-<num>" },
    { "prefix": "OPS-", "url": "https://jira.example.com/browse/OPS-<num>" },
    { "prefix": "TICKET-", "url": "https://tickets.example.com/view/<num>", "ignoreCase": true, "alphanumeric": true }
]

With this, PROJ-42 Fix login (OPS-7) links PROJ-42 to https://jira.example.com/browse/PROJ-42 and OPS-7 to https://jira.example.com/browse/OPS-7.

Good to know:

Put each reference type in its own { … }. Several prefix/url pairs inside one object are not an error in JSON, but only the last pair is kept.
A reference must stand on its own: XPROJ-1 (prefix inside a longer word) and PROJ-12a (id followed by a letter, unless alphanumeric is set) are not linked.
Your rules take precedence over the built-in #123 links, so { "prefix": "#", "url": "https://tracker.example.com/issue/<num>" } sends #123 to your own tracker.
Rules whose url does not start with http:// or https:// are ignored.
Changes apply without reloading: select the commit again or open a new hover.
To share the rules with your team, put them in the repository's .vscode/settings.json instead of your user settings.

Remote Providers

The remote link commands (Open File on Remote, Open Commit on Remote, Open Branch on Remote, …) and the built-in #123 autolinks need to know which hosting software serves the repository. vGit reads the URL of the remote and detects:

github.com, gitlab.com, bitbucket.org, codeberg.org / gitea.com, dev.azure.com and *.visualstudio.com;
self-hosted servers whose domain contains github, gitlab, gitea/forgejo or bitbucket;
Bitbucket Server / Data Center remotes with /scm/ in the URL or on SSH port 7999.

For any other self-hosted server, map its domain with gitStagingView.remoteProviders:

"gitStagingView.remoteProviders": [
    { "domain": "git.example.com", "type": "bitbucketServer" },
    { "domain": "code.example.org", "type": "gitlab" }
]

`type`	Hosting software
`github`	GitHub, GitHub Enterprise Server
`gitlab`	GitLab (gitlab.com or self-managed)
`gitea`	Gitea, Forgejo
`bitbucket`	Bitbucket Cloud
`bitbucketServer`	Bitbucket Server / Data Center
`azureDevOps`	Azure DevOps Services / Server

The domain also matches its subdomains (example.com matches git.example.com). Both HTTPS and SSH remote URLs work; links always open the web interface over HTTPS (or HTTP when the remote uses HTTP).

Which remote and which branch are used:

Remote: the default remote selected in vGit, otherwise the current branch's remote, otherwise origin, otherwise the first remote on a known provider.
Local branches are matched by name: feature/x links to feature/x on the remote it was pushed to, even when it tracks another branch (e.g. a feature branch created from origin/develop). A branch that is not on the remote yet shows a message instead of a broken link; fetch first if it was pushed from elsewhere.
Compare with Current Branch on Remote: compares the selected branch (what a pull request would bring) with the current branch; both must be on the remote. On the current branch itself, it compares the branch with the branch it tracks, e.g. feature/x created from origin/develop with develop, like the preview of a pull request.
Open File on Remote / Copy Remote File Link: the current branch on the remote, so the link follows the branch. If the branch is not published yet, the current commit is used.
Copy Remote File Permalink: always the current commit, so the link keeps pointing to the same content.
Commit links do not check whether the commit has been pushed; an unpushed commit opens a "not found" page.

Diagnostics: Git Command Output Log

When the extension feels unresponsive, you can see exactly which Git command it is waiting on:

Enable gitStagingView.enableCommandLogging in Settings.
Open View → Output (or run vGit: Show Output Log) and select vGit from the dropdown.
Trigger the operation. Each command is logged with its lifecycle status (START / DONE / FAIL), the repository, the elapsed duration, and — on failure — the exit code and a short error summary.

The channel also records extension lifecycle events (activation, deactivation, repository and submodule discovery), which helps diagnose slow or stuck startups. Every Git process the extension starts is logged — including the commands run during repository, remote, and submodule discovery. Commit message bodies and temporary message-file paths are redacted from the log.

Separate Git Directory Support

For repositories created with git init --separate-git-dir, the .git folders are stored in a separate location from the working directories. This is common in enterprise environments where git repositories are organized in a dedicated folder structure.

Example workspace structure:

workspaceroot/
├── myproject.code-workspace
├── git/                          ← Contains .git directories
│   ├── framework/.git
│   ├── common/.git
│   └── application/.git
├── framework/                    ← Working directory (in .code-workspace)
├── common/                       ← Working directory (in .code-workspace)
└── application/                  ← Working directory (in .code-workspace)

Configuration for this setup:

{
    "gitStagingView.repositoryScanDepth": 1,
    "gitStagingView.additionalRepositoryPaths": ["git"]
}

How it works:

The extension scans only the workspace folders defined in your .code-workspace file
Additional paths are resolved relative to the workspace root (where the .code-workspace file is located)
Each additional path is scanned up to the configured repositoryScanDepth
Repositories discovered in additional paths appear in the repository dropdown

Session State

The following settings are maintained per session:

Panel resize ratio
Branch visibility preference
Remote commits visibility
Tag visibility preference
Commit message (persists when navigating away)
Current repository selection
Sidebar width
Force push preference (always defaults to unchecked for safety)

Requirements

Git: Must be installed and available in system PATH
VS Code: Version 1.74.0 or higher
Workspace: At least one Git repository

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Command	Context
`Ctrl+Shift+G S`	vGit: Show Staging View	Explorer focused
`↑` / `↓`, `Home` / `End`	Move between stashes	Stashes panel
`Enter` / `Space`, `→` / `←`	Show / hide the files of a stash	Stashes panel
`P` / `A`	Pop / apply the focused stash	Stashes panel
`Del`	Drop the focused stash	Stashes panel
`F2`	Rename the focused stash	Stashes panel

Known Limitations

Graph rendering optimized for up to ~1000 commits
Context menu requires right-click (no keyboard access yet)

Tips & Tricks

Quick Staging: Click files in tree view for fastest staging
Batch Operations: Use collapse/expand for better tree navigation
Search Efficiency: Search by short hash (7 chars) for quick commit lookup
Panel Layout: Resize panels to focus on graph or file list as needed
Remote Filtering: Keep "Hide Remote Commits" checked for cleaner local view
Branch Selection: Use the branch panel sidebar to filter the graph to specific branches of interest
Favorite Branches: Right-click branches you use often and add them to Favorites for quick access
Branch Head Highlight: Select individual branches (not via group toggles) to see their HEAD commits highlighted in the graph
Branch Navigation: Use commit graph context menu to create branches from any commit
Safe Push: Always review the push response modal before closing it
Force Push Safety: Force Push checkbox prevents accidental force pushes - only check when absolutely necessary
Fetch Before Push: Use the Fetch button to update remote tracking before pushing
Squash Commits: Clean up your commit history by squashing multiple related commits:
- Select consecutive commits starting from HEAD using checkboxes
- Right-click and choose "Squash Selected Commits"
- Edit the combined message to create a clean, descriptive commit
- Useful for combining "WIP" commits or cleanup commits before pushing
Reword Commits: Quick fix for commit message typos:
- Only works on the most recent commit (HEAD)
- Right-click HEAD and select "Reword Commit Message"
- The existing message is auto-selected for easy replacement
Rebase Conflict Resolution: Handle rebase conflicts efficiently:
- View automatically refreshes when conflicts are detected
- Resolve conflicts in each file, then stage them
- Use Continue/Skip/Abort buttons to proceed
- The view monitors rebase state and updates in real-time
Cherry-Pick Conflict Resolution: Same workflow as rebase - resolve, stage, then Continue/Skip/Abort
File/Folder History: Right-click any file or folder → Team → vGit: Show File History to see filtered commit graph
Safe Repository Clean: Right-click any file/folder → Team → vGit: Clean Untracked Files and Folders (-fd) to preview and remove untracked files/directories
Repository Maintenance: Right-click any file/folder → Team → vGit: Run Git Garbage Collection (gc) to compact repository data
Eclipse-Style Revision Actions: Right-click any file in the History Files tab, the Quick Diff panel, the staging panel, or a vGit diff editor to open/checkout/compare specific revisions, jump the graph focus to that file, or copy its path — all without leaving the current view

Other Extensions by diabolo-68

Check out my other VS Code extensions:

Extension	Description
Apache Ant Manager	Manage and run Apache Ant build tasks directly from VS Code
OE Manager GUI	GUI for managing OpenEdge AppServer agents and connections
OpenEdge ABL Properties	Enhanced property file support for OpenEdge ABL development
Bitbucket Manager	Manage Bitbucket pull requests, branches, and repositories from VS Code

Enjoy a more powerful Git workflow in VS Code with vGit!

vGit

Samuel Etterlen

vGit

Screenshots

Main View

Staging Panel in Action

Context Menus

File Operations

Commit Operations

Branch Operations

Repository Operations

Quick Diff Panel

Features

Layout

Advanced Commit Graph

Remote Links & Autolinks

Multi-Repository Support

Performance & Architecture

File Management

Staging Panel (Bottom Panel)

Git Operations

Git Configuration Editor

Branch Switcher Panel

Performance

Usage

Opening the Staging View

Working with Files

Using the Commit Graph

Committing Changes

Pushing Changes

Repository Management

Resolving Rebase Conflicts

Resolving Cherry-Pick Conflicts

Resolving Stash Conflicts

Viewing File/Folder History

Viewing Revision Information

Graph Visualization Details

Color Scheme

Layout

Features

Ref Badges

Configuration

Settings

Autolinks

Remote Providers

Diagnostics: Git Command Output Log

Separate Git Directory Support

Session State

Requirements

Keyboard Shortcuts

Known Limitations

Tips & Tricks

Other Extensions by diabolo-68