Open Git Scope

A local-first Git toolkit for Visual Studio Code. Explore commit history, inspect changed files, and open the folders you work on most, without an extension account or subscription.

Preview release: Core Git integration is covered by automated tests. Full VS Code GUI testing and Windows/Linux validation are still in progress. Use a test repository before trying operations that modify history.

Commit Graph

Open Open Git Scope in the Activity Bar to browse commits across your local repository references.

• Follow branch and merge connections in a theme-aware commit graph.
• Search commit messages or full/abbreviated commit IDs across local references, not just the visible page.
• Hover a commit to see its author, date, SHA, references, and full message.
• Select a commit to update the native File Changes view.
• Navigate graph rows with the arrow keys, Home, and End. Press Enter to select a commit.
• Watch native VS Code view progress indicators while commits load.

Message search is case-insensitive and literal. Press Enter to search immediately or Escape to clear the search. Results support loading more commits.

File Changes and Diffs

The native File Changes tree groups changed files into collapsible folders and shows their status and line-change statistics.

• Click a file to compare it with the selected commit's first parent.
• Root commits compare against an empty file. Renames compare the old and new paths.
• Merge commits show changes against the first parent.
• In a historical diff, use the editor title action or Open Git Scope: Open Working File to open the corresponding working-tree file for editing.

Opening a working file preserves an approximate line number; it does not map historical lines onto current code. Deleted or subsequently renamed files may no longer exist at that path. Binary diffs are not fully supported by the historical text provider.

Click Commits in the Terminal

Run git log --oneline in VS Code's integrated terminal, then Command-click a commit ID on macOS, or use the terminal's link modifier on Windows/Linux.

Open Git Scope resolves the commit, reveals the graph, and selects it. Terminal shell integration supplies the current directory when available. Otherwise, the extension uses the terminal's initial directory or matches known workspace repositories.

If you change directories and links resolve against the wrong repository, enable terminal.integrated.shellIntegration.enabled and create a new terminal. External terminals such as iTerm are not supported.

Quick Access

Save a folder together with its current local branch:

1. Right-click a local folder in Explorer.
2. Choose Open Git Scope: Save Folder to Quick Access.
3. Click its shortcut in Quick Access to open that folder in a new VS Code window.

Shortcuts are stored in the current VS Code profile's extension state and persist across workspaces. Use the trash action to remove a shortcut; it does not delete files.

Branch-switch safety: If the saved branch differs from the current branch, Open Git Scope asks for confirmation and requires a clean working tree. It never forces a switch or automatically stashes changes. Switching affects every window using the same checkout. Unsaved edits in other windows cannot be detected; save those edits first. For independent branches in multiple windows, use separate Git worktrees instead.

Quick Access requires a local branch and a folder tracked on that branch. Detached HEAD and remote workspaces are not supported.

More Git Tools

Search the Command Palette for Open Git Scope: to access:

• Current-line blame, full-file blame annotations, age heatmaps, and file-level CodeLens.
• File history, selected-line history, and historical file revisions.
• Comparisons with HEAD, previous revisions, staged patches, or another branch/commit.
• Local/remote branches, tags, stashes, and worktrees.
• Fetch, fast-forward-only pull, push, cherry-pick, revert, merge, and rebase.
• Continue or abort an in-progress Git operation.
• GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket-style file permalinks.

Important write operations request confirmation. Resolve conflicts in VS Code Source Control or its Merge Editor, then continue or abort the relevant operation. Stage and commit files using VS Code's built-in Git extension.

Requirements

• Visual Studio Code 1.95 or newer.
• Git installed and available on PATH.
• A trusted local workspace. Virtual and untrusted workspaces are not supported.

Network Git operations use your existing Git credentials or SSH agent. Set up authentication in a terminal first. Interactive Git prompts are disabled in the extension process.

Settings

Privacy and Security

Open Git Scope has no extension account, analytics, or telemetry. It does not upload repository contents to an extension service. Git fetch/pull/push, opening remote links, and the VS Code Marketplace itself may involve network activity.

Git runs as a child process with argument arrays, not shell-interpolated commands. Only use trusted repositories: their Git configuration may invoke hooks, filters, signing programs, or credential helpers. Long-running operations have timeouts and output limits.

Known Limitations

• Automated Git integration tests run on macOS; Windows/Linux and full Extension Host GUI coverage are not complete.
• The sidebar graph loads a bounded history, with up to 2,000 commits per history stream. Search results omit connecting ancestry that does not match the query.
• External Git changes in linked worktrees or external gitdir configurations may require Open Git Scope: Refresh.
• Line history follows Git's -L behavior and does not follow renames.
• Private hosting providers and custom GitLab domains may require additional permalink support.
• This extension does not provide hosted pull-request reviews, cloud collaboration, AI features, or a drag-and-drop interactive rebase editor.

Development

npm install
npm run check
npm test
npm run package

Open this project in VS Code and press F5 to start an Extension Development Host.

License and Affiliation

MIT licensed. Open Git Scope is an independent project and is not affiliated with GitKraken or GitLens. It does not include their proprietary source code or artwork.