Git Snapshots

Never lose your progress — instantly back up your work before taking the next step, whether by you or your AI. During learning, complex problem solving, complex feature development, or just want to look back how you got here.

With a few keystrokes or clicks, you can snapshot your entire project or a file, tag a session, or branch off your experiments — no complex Git commands required.

You don't really require remote (origin) repository. For personal learning/experiments, you can keep all your learning/experiment commit history local. Push only when you are ready to move to remote.

git-snapshots makes Git commits simple, fast, and easy for instant snapshots without commands.

Other related extensions without Git (for non-git environments)

• Backup Folder
• Backup File

⚡ Quick Start

1. Install Git Snapshots from the VS Code Marketplace.
2. Initialize a Git repo (extension will prompt if missing).
3. Make your first commit with Ctrl+Shift+M or the status bar icon.
4. Push to remote with Ctrl+Alt+P once you’ve linked your GitHub repo.

🚀 Installation

• Install from VS Code Marketplace

• Command Line: code --install-extension spajs.git-snapshots

OR

1. Open VS Code
2. Go to Extensions
3. Search for git snapshots and select this extension
4. Click Install

✨ Features:

With Git Snapshots, you’ll never touch the terminal for everyday Git tasks. Your history stays clean, your workflow stays smooth, and your focus stays on building.

• Quick commit ( Ctrl + Shift + C ) | use status bar icon

  Saves all files, stages everything, commits with auto message tag@timestamp.

• Prompt commit ( Ctrl + Shift + M ) | use status bar icon

  Same as Quick commit, but lets you edit the pre-filled message.

• Auto‑commit on save with configurable debounce.

• Create tag ( Alt + Shift + T ) | use status bar icon

  Prompts for a tag name, creates an annotated tag. These tags are automatically attached to the latest commit and pushed silently to the remote origin when you press Push.

• Create branch ( Alt + Shift + B ) | use status bar icon

  Prompts for a branch name, creates and checks out a new branch.

• Push ( Ctrl + Alt + p ) | use status bar icon

  • Pushes commits to the configured remote (origin).
  • If autoCommitOnPush is enabled, uncommitted changes are auto‑committed before pushing.
  • Tags are also pushed automatically.

• Status bar icons for all actions — no shortcuts required.

• Silent mode for distraction‑free workflows.

🛡 Self‑healing:

• Initializes Git repos automatically if missing
• Prompts for identity (name/email) when needed
• Offers to create a sensible .gitignore if it’s missing

⚙️ Configuration

Extension settings [ ctrl + , ] / gitSnapshots

• autoCommitOnPush: On push, automatically commit uncommitted changes using a message autoCommitOnPush@timestamp. [default: false]

• autoCommitOnSave: Automatically commit changes on file save. [default: false]

• autoCommitDebounceMs: Debounce delay (milliseconds) for auto-commit on save. [default: 1000]

• prefix: Commit message prefix. [default: commit]

• silent: Suppress popup info messages (only show status bar updates). [default: false]

Optional git settings (built-in with extension actions)

Initialize a local Git repo

(if not initialized)

# for initial-branch=master
git init

# OR

git init --initial-branch=main

Git identity

(if not configured)

# --global (applies everywhere)

git config --global user.name "Full Name"
git config --global user.email "email.address@xyz"

# applies to current project only

git config user.name "Full Name"
git config user.email "email.address@xyz"

• user.name → shows up in commit history as the author.
• user.email → also stored in commits; can be any valid email (doesn’t have to be real if you’re just local).

Optional settings (advanced users): (if not configured)

# --global (applies everywhere)

git config --global core.autocrlf input
git config --global pull.rebase false

# applies to current project only

git config core.autocrlf input
git config pull.rebase false

• core.autocrlf : normalize line endings

  • Controls how Git handles line endings between Windows (CRLF) and Unix (LF).
  • input means: convert CRLF → LF on commit, but leave files as‑is when checking out.
  • Useful if you want consistent LF endings in history, but not strictly required.

• pull.rebase : use merge instead of rebase on pull

  • Controls whether git pull does a merge or a rebase.
  • false = default merge behavior.

🚀 Usage

1. Make an initial commit using Ctrl+Shift+M | use status bar icon

   • Enter a message like base / initial / level-0 / etc. This creates the baseline for the commit trail.

2. Start a session with Ctrl+Shift+T | use status bar icon

   • Example: session/topic/feature-name/story#/task-name/experiment-name/.... This tag will be used as commit prefix for easy grouping.

3. Work and take snapshots with

   • Quick commit Ctrl+Shift+C | use status bar icon: for quick commit with message: tag@timestamp1, tag@timestamp2...
   • Prompt commit Ctrl+Shift+M | use status bar icon : edit the prefilled message for future reference.

4. Branch off your big milestones with Alt+Shift+B | use status bar icon

   • Example: experiment-objects.

5. Optional small milestone tags with Ctrl+Shift+T | use status bar icon

   • to mark small checkpoints (e.g., milestone-1).

6. Review history with any git visual tools/extensions.

7. Working with remote repository - Git requires authentication before you can push commits or tags to a repo. Refer the Git Authentication Tips section below or your remote repo authentication guide.

🏕️ Quality of Life

git-snapshots isn’t just about quick commits — it’s tuned for a smooth developer experience:

• Debounced auto-commit on save When autoCommitOnSave is enabled, saving multiple files (e.g. with Save All) triggers only one commit. A short debounce ensures the commit happens after the last save, so your history stays clean.

• Silent mode Prefer fewer popups? Enable gitSnapshots.silent to suppress info messages. You’ll still see status bar updates for 5 seconds, but no extra dialogs.

• Status bar icons No need to memorize shortcuts — quick actions are always available in the status bar:

  • → Quick Commit
  • → Commit with Comment
  • → Create Tag
  • → Create/Switch Branch
  • → Push to remote (origin)

• No wasted commits Both quick and prompt commits skip gracefully if there are no changes, so you won’t clutter history with empty commits.

These touches make snapshotting feel natural and unobtrusive, whether you’re experimenting, learning, or building features with or without AI.

🔐 Git Authentication Tips

When working with remote repositories, Git requires authentication before you can push commits or tags. Here are the recommended approaches:

Git caches/stores credentials per remote URL, so multiple projects with different accounts are supported.

Cache/Store your credentials:

git config --global credential.helper cache   # keeps in memory for a few hours
git config --global credential.helper store   # saves in plain text (simple but less secure)

HTTPS with Personal Access Tokens (PATs) - GitHub

• Generate a PAT (GitHub Repo):

  1. Go to GitHub → Settings → Developer settings → Personal access tokens → Tokens (classic).
  2. Click Generate new token.
  3. Select scope: check repo (full control of private repos).
  4. Copy the token (you won’t see it again).

• Use the PAT:

  • When Git prompts for username/password:
  • Username = your GitHub username.
  • Password = the PAT.

SSH Keys (advanced, for multiple accounts)

create .ssh folder in ~ (sytem home folder) if not exist.

In windows ~ = c:\users\YourName

1. Generate an ssh key file in the ~/.ssh folder, using ssh-keygen command

   ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "github-key-1" -f ~/.ssh/id_ed25519-github-key1
   

   This will generate:

   • Private key: ~/.ssh/id_ed25519-github-key1
   • Public key: ~/.ssh/id_ed25519-github-key1.pub

   -t ed25519 → Algorithm: fixed and recommended.

   -C "github-key-1" → Comment: human‑readable label (short text/email) for easy identification inside the key file. Ex: "GitHub-key-1", "work", "email-address", etc.

   -f ~/.ssh/id_ed25519-github-key1 → file path and name for the key pair. Recommended descriptive filenames. Ex: id_ed25519-github, id_ed25519-work, etc.

2. Add to remote repo SSH settings (ex: GitHub):

   Copy the content of public key ~/.ssh/id_ed25519-github-key1.pub into GitHub (/your remote repo) → Settings → SSH and GPG keys.

Optional Configuration for multiple accounts [Personal, Work]:

Edit ~/.ssh/config

Host github.com
  HostName github.com
  User git
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519-github-key1

Host bitbucket.company.com
  HostName bitbucket.company.com
  User git
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519-work

Use SSH repo URLs like

git@github.com:usernameX/repo.git

git@bitbucket.company.com:usernameY/repo.git`

Verify SSH setup

Run the following to confirm your key is working:

ssh -T git@github.com

# If successful, GitHub will reply:
# Hi usernameX! You've successfully authenticated, but GitHub does not provide shell access.

ssh -T git@bitbucket.company.com

# If successful, GitHub will reply:
# Hi usernameY! You've successfully authenticated, but GitHub does not provide shell access.

You may get a first time warning. Continue connecting with yes

The authenticity of host 'github.com (n.n.n.n)' can't be established.
ED25519 key fingerprint is SHA256:+...x...y...z...U.
This key is not known by any other names.
Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no/[fingerprint])? yes
Warning: Permanently added 'github.com' (ED25519) to the list of known hosts.

This will create two files [known_hosts, known_hosts.old] in ~/.ssh folder

If you have multiple accounts in single domain (Ex: GitHub), use aliases.

Host github-userX
  HostName github.com
  User git
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519-github-key1

Host github-userY
  HostName github.com
  User git
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519-github-key2

Define different Host aliases with respective IdentityFiles for each account.

Then use repo URLs like:

• git@github-userX:usernameX/repo.git

• git@github-userY:usernameY/repo.git

Verify SSH setup

ssh -T git@github-userX
# If successful, GitHub will reply:
# Hi usernameX! You've successfully authenticated, but GitHub does not provide shell access.

ssh -T git@github-userY
# If successful, GitHub will reply:
# Hi usernameY! You've successfully authenticated, but GitHub does not provide shell access.

Identity vs Authentication

Identity (user.name, user.email) is already handled per project by Git Snapshots (if not configured).

Authentication (PATs or SSH keys) is managed by Git itself — Git Snapshots extension relies on Git’s secure helpers.

🛠 Push Checklist

• Repo linked: Make sure origin is set (extension will prompt if missing).

• Identity configured: Confirm user.name and user.email are set locally (extension handles this).

• Commits exist: At least one commit in history (with/without gitSnapshots you should have some commits).

• Authentication checklist:

  • If using HTTPS → have your PAT handy.

  • If using SSH → ensure your key is added in your repo account (Ex: GitHub and ssh -T git@github.com works).

• Branch alignment: Local branch matches remote default (main vs master). Extension will prompt if mismatch.

• Tags: If you’ve created tags, accept a prompt (for now and will be silent in the next update) to push them too.

🛠️ Troubleshoot

NOT a git repository

Error:

Commit/Command failed: git status --porcelain fatal: not a git repository (or any of the parent directories): .git

→ Fix: Init Git. See the above Configuration ➡️ Initialize a local Git repo section.

Author identity unknown

Error:

Commit/Command failed: git commit -m "commit: -base" Author identity unknown *** Please tell me who you are. Run git config --global user.email "you@example.com" git config --global user.name "Your Name" to set your account's default identity. Omit --global to set the identity only in this repository. fatal: unable to auto-detect email address (got 'xyz@system.(none)')

→ Fix: Set Git idenity. See the above Configuration ➡️ Git identity section.

Push failed (if gitSnapshots: push fails on the following)

Authentication failed

Error:

fatal: Authentication failed

→ Fix:

• If using HTTPS → ensure your PAT is correct and re‑enter when prompted.
• If using SSH → verify with: ssh -T git@... refer Verify SSH setup section in Authentication Tips for more details.

Push failed: (fetch first)

Push failed: Command failed: git push -u origin main To xyz.git ! [rejected] main -> main (fetch first) error: failed to push some refs to 'xyz.git' hint: Updates were rejected because the remote contains work that you do not hint: have locally. This is usually caused by another repository pushing to hint: the same ref. If you want to integrate the remote changes, use hint: 'git pull' before pushing again. hint: See the 'Note about fast-forwards' in 'git push --help' for details.

Reason: Updates were rejected because the remote contains work that you do not have locally.

→ Fix: Run

# get files from origin
git fetch origin

# merge origin files with local
git merge origin/main
# if fatal: refusing to merge unrelated histories, try
# git merge origin/main --allow-unrelated-histories

# push local to origin branch
git push -u origin main

branch mismatch

Error:

error: src refspec main does not match any

→ Fix:

• Confirm your local branch name:

  git branch --show-current
  

• If remote default is main but you’re on master, rename or push accordingly:

  git push -u origin master
  

no commits yet

Error:

error: src refspec main does not match any

→ Fix:

• Make an initial commit first:

  git commit --allow-empty -m "Initial commit"
  git push -u origin main
  

📘 Quick Recovery Commands

☑️ Requirements

• VS Code v1.100.0 or higher.
• Git

⚖️ License

MIT

🏠 Home

GitHub