Git Span for VS Code

Git Span makes the implicit relationships in a repository visible. The extension opens tracked .span/ declarations as an interactive anchor-diff view, links anchors back to their source, and exposes the installed git span CLI inside VS Code.

Prerequisite

Install the CLI separately and make sure VS Code can find it on PATH:

npm install -g git-span
git span --version

The extension does not download or manage the binary. If the version command works in a normal shell but not from VS Code, restart VS Code from that shell or update the environment used to launch it.

Open a span

Open any declaration below a repository's .span/ directory. The Git Span Anchor Diff editor shows the span's why, current anchor status, recorded content, current content, and navigation back to each source location.

Use Reopen Editor With… → Text Editor when you need to inspect the underlying declaration. Span files are managed by the CLI; use git span add, replace, remove, why, config, and delete instead of editing their storage format by hand.

Commands

• Git Span: Show CLI Version verifies the binary VS Code resolves.
• Git Span: Open Terminal opens a terminal for the current workspace with git span available.

Agent integrations

The VS Code extension is independent of the Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, and Antigravity plugins. Those plugins provide in-session drift healing, commit advice, and git-span skills; install them separately using the canonical documentation at git-span.com.

Learn more

• Documentation
• Source repository

License

MIT — Copyright © 2026 Goodfoot Media LLC.