Git Keep Fresh

Ever checked out master only to realize it's 47 commits behind? Yeah, us too.

Git Keep Fresh quietly pulls your branches in the background so they stay up to date without you lifting a finger. It's especially handy for branches you don't actively work on (like master or main) but want to keep current.

Features

• Background sync - fetches and fast-forwards configured branches every N minutes
• Non-disruptive - updates branches without checking them out (no surprise file changes while you're coding)
• Safe - only does fast-forwards. If branches have diverged, it backs off and lets you know
• Current branch support - can optionally pull the active branch too (ff-only, and only if your tree is clean)
• Status bar - shows sync status and when it last pulled
• Output panel - detailed logs in the "Git Keep Fresh" output channel

Settings

Commands

How It Works

1. Every interval, the extension runs git fetch origin --prune
2. For each configured branch:
   • If the branch is not checked out: updates the local ref via fast-forward (no checkout needed)
   • If the branch is checked out and pullCurrentBranch is enabled: runs git pull --ff-only (only when the working tree is clean)
   • If branches have diverged: skips and gives you a heads-up
3. Scheduled pulls are silent on success. You'll only hear from it if something goes wrong
4. Manual "Pull Now" shows you a summary of what happened

Safety

• Never force-pushes or rewrites history
• Skips pulls during merge, rebase, or cherry-pick operations
• Validates branch names to prevent command injection
• Sets GIT_TERMINAL_PROMPT=0 so it won't hang waiting for auth
• Operations are serialized so git commands don't trip over each other