Git investigation tools with visual history, graph, named stashes (shelves), and author tracking. Find when bugs were introduced, understand code changes, and manage WIP work efficiently.
Installation
Launch VS Code Quick Open (Ctrl+P), paste the following command, and press enter.
Stop wrestling with Git commands. GitMaster brings powerful Git investigation tools and visual stash management (Shelves) directly into VS Code. Beautiful visualizations, author color-coding, and intuitive controls make understanding your codebase effortless.
Perfect for code investigators, reviewers, and developers who need to track down changes, understand history, and manage work-in-progress efficiently.
✨ Key Features
🔍 Git Investigation Tools
Inline Git Blame - Context Where You Need It
See the history of any line of code directly in your editor.
👤 Who & When: See author and relative time inline as you type.
🖼️ Rich Tooltip: Hover to see the author's avatar, full message, and date.
🖱️ Interactive: Click to open detailed commit view and see the full diff.
🔄 Smart Diff: Works in comparison views to let you step back through history.
🏷️ Rename Aware: Tracks file history even across renames.
✨ Explain with AI - Understand Changes Instantly
Don't just see the code changes—understand why they happened.
🤖 One-Click Analysis: Click the sparkle icon in Commit Details.
📋 Auto-Copy: Copies the commit message and full diff to your clipboard.
🧠 Context-Rich: Prompts your AI assistant (Cursor, Copilot, etc.) to explain the "what" and "why" of the change.
File History - Track Every Change
Open any file and see its complete commit history with syntax-highlighted diffs.
🎨 Color-coded by author - spot patterns instantly
🔍 Click to view exact changes with syntax highlighting
🔎 Filter commits by message
📋 Copy commit IDs and file paths
⚡ Auto-updates when switching files
Git Graph - Visualize Your Repository
See your commit history as an interactive graph with branches, tags, and merge visualization.
🌳 Visual branch flow from top to bottom
🏷️ Branches and tags displayed on commits
🔍 Click any commit to inspect details
🎯 Zoom controls for large histories
📊 Shows merged branches and relationships
Git Log - Search & Investigate
Repository timeline with powerful filtering and operations.
🔎 Filter commits by message across entire history
🎨 Author color-coding
📜 Load more commits on demand (50 at a time)
🍒 Cherry-pick to current branch
🔄 Revert in new branch (safe)
🌿 Create branches from any commit
Git Operations (Reflog) - Time Travel
Every action you've taken, visualized with icons. Jump to any point in history.
gitmaster.views.showGitOperations (default: true)
Toggle the Git Operations (Reflog) view in the sidebar.
🤝 MCP (Cursor integration)
GitMaster can expose a local MCP server (running inside the extension host) so Cursor can call GitMaster tools.
⚠️ MCP is disabled by default. You must enable it first in settings.
How to enable MCP:
Open VS Code Settings (Cmd+, or Ctrl+,)
Search for gitmaster.mcp.enabled
Check the box to enable MCP
Run the VS Code command GitMaster: Install MCP in Cursor to configure Cursor
Settings:
gitmaster.mcp.enabled (default: false) - Enable the MCP server
gitmaster.mcp.port (default: 8765) - Port for the MCP server
Then in Cursor, use GitMaster MCP tools like Commit Explain, Show Git Graph, Shelves, File Experts, and File History.
🎨 Why GitMaster?
🔍 Built for Code Investigation
Find when bugs were introduced, who changed what, and why. Filter, search, and visualize your way to answers.
📦 WebStorm-Style Shelves
Named stashes that actually make sense. Save WIP work with context, not cryptic stash@{0} references.
🌈 Author Color-Coding
Same author = same color everywhere. Spot patterns across File History, Branches, Git Log, and Graph instantly.
🖱️ Visual & Interactive
Click to explore. Right-click for operations. No terminal commands to memorize.
🛡️ Safe by Default
Warns before destructive actions. Detects conflicts. Validates inputs. Shows what will happen.
🚀 Quick Start
Install GitMaster from the Extensions panel
Open any Git repository
Click the Git Master icon in the sidebar (Activity Bar)
Explore! All your Git data is now visual and interactive
💡 Tip: No configuration needed. GitMaster works out of the box with any Git repository.
📖 Investigation Workflows
🔍 "When did this bug get introduced?"
Open the buggy file → File History
Filter commits by keywords (e.g., "auth")
Click commits to see syntax-highlighted diffs
New: Click "✨ Explain with AI" to get an instant summary of complex changes.
Find the culprit commit
🌳 "How did these branches merge?"
Git Log → Click Git Graph icon
See visual branch flow and merge points
Click any commit to inspect details
Zoom in/out for clarity
🕵️ "Who worked on authentication?"
Branches → Filter by author
Or Git Log → Filter by "auth"
See all related commits color-coded
📦 "Save WIP to investigate a bug"
Shelves → Click +
Name it "WIP: feature-x"
Investigate and fix the bug
Pop your shelf to resume work
🍒 "Apply this fix to another branch"
Find commit in Git Log or Graph
Right-click → Cherry-pick
Auto-conflict detection guides you
🏗️ "Work on a hotfix while in the middle of a feature"
Worktrees → Click +
Name folder "hotfix-login" and branch "hotfix/login-bug"
Click the folder icon to open a new window
Fix bug in isolation without touching your current work
Close window and remove worktree when done
💻 System Requirements
Git installed and in your PATH
VS Code 1.85.0 or newer
Any Git repository
That's it! GitMaster works with any Git repo - no additional setup required.
❓ FAQ
Q: How is this different from Git Graph extensions?
A: GitMaster combines investigation tools (file history, filtering, author tracking), visual graph, AND WebStorm-style shelves in one extension. It's designed for investigating code, not just viewing commits.
Q: Does it work with large repositories?
A: Yes! Load-more functionality (50 commits at a time) and filtering keep it fast even with thousands of commits.
Q: Will this work with GitHub/GitLab/Bitbucket/Azure DevOps?
A: Yes! Works with any Git repository, regardless of hosting.
Q: Does it replace VS Code's built-in Git?
A: No, it complements it. Use GitMaster for investigation and history, use built-in Git for staging/committing.
Q: What are "Shelves"?
A: Named stashes, like WebStorm/IntelliJ. Much better than "stash@{0}" - you can name them "WIP: login form" or "trying-new-approach".
Q: I reset my branch and lost my changes. Can GitMaster help me recover them?
A: Yes! If you committed your changes before resetting:
Open Git Operations (reflog) - it shows every commit you've made, even "lost" ones
Scroll through and click commits to see changes in the Commit Details section
Once you find your lost commit, right-click → Create Branch from Commit
Optional: Use Interactive Rebase section to rebase your recovered branch onto master
Git never truly deletes committed changes - reflog keeps them for ~90 days. GitMaster makes finding and recovering them visual and easy.
🆚 GitMaster vs. Command Line
Feature
Command Line
GitMaster
Investigate file history
git log --follow <file> + git show
Click file → see history with syntax diffs
Filter commit history
git log --grep="..."
Type in filter box
Visualize branch graph
git log --graph --all
Interactive graph with zoom & click
Named stashes
git stash push -m "name"
Click + → type name
Filter branches by author
git branch -a \| grep ... + scripting
Click 👤 icon
View reflog
git reflog → parse text
Timeline with icons & operations
Manage worktrees
git worktree list/add/remove
Visual list, one-click open & create
GitMaster makes Git investigation visual, fast, and safe.
🐛 Found a Bug?
Open an issue with: what you tried, what happened, VS Code version, Git version.
