Git Index Editor
Edit the Git staging area directly, the way the Eclipse EGit staging view lets you.
The Index is opened as a real editor. Type in it, paste into it, and save: the saved text is what
gets committed, and your working tree stays exactly as it was.
Two diffs, both editable
| Group in Source Control |
Diff that opens |
What you can edit |
| Unstaged Changes |
Working Tree ↔ Index |
Both sides |
| Staged Changes |
HEAD ↔ Index |
The Index (HEAD is read-only) |
The Index is always the right side, so the arrow in the diff gutter means "make the Index like the
left side":
- In the unstaged diff the arrow stages a block.
- In the staged diff the arrow unstages a block.
Press Ctrl+S to write the result to the Index.
Staging part of a file
Put the cursor in a change, or select some lines, and run Stage Hunk or Selected Lines
(Ctrl+K Ctrl+Alt+S, the + button in the editor
title, or the context menu). This writes to the Index immediately. The same key unstages in the
staged diff. The selection can be on either side.
Discard Hunk or Selected Lines from Working Tree works the same way on the other side: it edits
the working tree document and leaves it unsaved, so you can undo it.
Ctrl+K Ctrl+Alt+D switches between the two diffs of a file.
Source Control view
The extension adds a Git Index entry next to the built-in Git one, with Unstaged and Staged
groups, per-file stage, unstage and discard buttons, a commit box, and Commit (Amend). Committing
warns you if an open Index document has unsaved edits.
The built-in Git view stays available. Its file context menu gains both comparison commands.
Side-by-side only
The extension works only in the side-by-side diff view. It sets these two defaults, which also
apply to other diff editors unless you override them:
"diffEditor.renderSideBySide": true,
"diffEditor.useInlineViewWhenSpaceIsLimited": false
While diffEditor.renderSideBySide is off:
- Diffs do not open. A notification offers to switch back to side by side.
- A diff that is already open loses its stage and unstage controls, and its Index becomes read-only.
- Unsaved Index edits are kept, and can be saved after switching back.
The per-file buttons in the Source Control view keep working, because they do not depend on a diff.
Settings
| Setting |
Default |
Description |
indexEditor.unstagedDiffLayout |
indexRight |
indexLeft puts the Index on the left of the unstaged diff. New lines then look green as usual, but the gutter arrow changes the working tree instead of staging. |
Good to know
- Save actions run on Ctrl+S.
files.trimTrailingWhitespace, editor.formatOnSave and similar
settings apply when you save an Index document. The stage and unstage commands write directly and
are not affected.
- Line endings. Existing Index content is stored byte for byte, so with
core.autocrlf the Index
keeps its LF. Content for a path new to the Index goes through Git's clean filters.
- Renames appear as a deletion and an addition.
- Merge conflicts are listed in their own group. Resolve them in the working tree and stage the
file. The Index of a conflicted file cannot be edited.
- If you turn
diffEditor.useInlineViewWhenSpaceIsLimited back on, a narrow editor can switch to
inline on its own. The stage controls hide, but VS Code gives extensions no way to detect this, so
the Index stays editable there.
Requirements
Git 2.25 or later, and VS Code 1.100 or later.
