NAME
gitlogue — A cinematic Git commit replay tool for the terminal, turning your Git history into a living, animated story.
SYNOPSIS
brew install gitlogueINFO
DESCRIPTION
A cinematic Git commit replay tool for the terminal, turning your Git history into a living, animated story.
README
gitlogue
A cinematic Git commit replay tool for the terminal, turning your Git history into a living, animated story.
Watch commits unfold with realistic typing animations, syntax highlighting, and file tree transitions, transforming code changes into a visual experience.
Installation
Using Install Script (Recommended)
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/unhappychoice/gitlogue/main/install.sh | bash
Using Homebrew
brew install gitlogue
Using Cargo
cargo install gitlogue
On Arch Linux
pacman -S gitlogue
Using Nix
# Run directly without installation nix run github:unhappychoice/gitlogueOr install to your profile
nix profile install github:unhappychoice/gitlogue
For flake-based configurations, add to your inputs:
inputs.gitlogue.url = "github:unhappychoice/gitlogue";
Then use: inputs.gitlogue.packages.${system}.default
From Source
git clone https://github.com/unhappychoice/gitlogue.git
cd gitlogue
cargo install --path .
See the Installation Guide for more options and troubleshooting.
Features
🎬 Commit Replay as Animation — Realistic typing, cursor movement, deletions, and file operations 🔍 Working Tree Diff View — Visualize staged/unstaged changes before committing 🎨 Tree-sitter Syntax Highlighting — 29 languages supported 🌳 Project File Tree — Directory structure with change statistics 🖥️ Screensaver Mode — Endless random commit playback 🎭 Themes — 9 built-in themes + full customization support ⚡ Fast & Lightweight — Built with Rust for performance
Usage
Popular Use Cases
🖥️ Screensaver — Ambient coding display for your workspace
🎓 Education — Visualize how code evolved over time
📺 Presentations — Replay real commit histories live
🎬 Content Creation — Record demos with VHS or asciinema
🎨 Desktop Ricing — A living decoration for your terminal
💼 Look Busy Mode — Appear productive during meetings
[!WARNING] Not a True Screensaver — gitlogue does not include traditional screensaver functions like power management or screen blanking. It's purely a visual display tool.
OLED Burn-in Risk — Static elements (like the editor background and border lines) may cause burn-in on OLED displays over extended periods. LCD displays are generally safe from this issue.
Quick Start
# Start the cinematic screensaver gitlogueView a specific commit
gitlogue --commit abc123
Replay a range of commits
gitlogue --commit HEAD~5..HEAD
Replay commits in chronological order (oldest first)
gitlogue --order asc
Loop a specific commit continuously
gitlogue --commit abc123 --loop
Loop through a commit range
gitlogue --commit HEAD~10..HEAD --loop
View staged changes (default)
gitlogue diff
View unstaged changes instead
gitlogue diff --unstaged
Filter commits by author or email (case-insensitive partial match)
gitlogue --author "john"
Filter commits by date
gitlogue --after "2024-01-01" gitlogue --before "1 week ago" gitlogue --after "2024-06-01" --before "2024-07-01"
Use a different theme
gitlogue --theme dracula
Adjust typing speed (ms per character)
gitlogue --speed 20
Set different speeds for different file types
gitlogue --speed-rule ".java:50" --speed-rule ".xml:5"
Ignore specific file patterns (e.g., notebooks, lock files)
gitlogue --ignore "*.ipynb" --ignore "poetry.lock"
Use an ignore file
gitlogue --ignore-file .gitlogue-ignore
List available themes
gitlogue theme list
Set default theme
gitlogue theme set dracula
Combine options
gitlogue --commit HEAD~5 --author "john" --theme nord --speed 15 --ignore "*.ipynb"
Key Bindings
Playback
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
Space | Toggle play / pause |
h | Step one line backward |
l | Step one line forward |
H (Shift+h) | Step one change backward |
L (Shift+l) | Step one change forward |
p | Previous commit |
n | Next commit |
Esc | Open menu |
q / Ctrl+c | Quit |
Menu
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
j / ↓ | Move selection down |
k / ↑ | Move selection up |
Enter | Select item |
Esc | Close menu |
Configuration
gitlogue can be configured via ~/.config/gitlogue/config.toml.
You can set the default theme, typing speed, and background preferences.
See the Configuration Guide for full options and examples.
Supported Languages
Bash, C, C#, C++, Clojure, CSS, Dart, Elixir, Erlang, Go, Haskell, HTML, Java, JavaScript, JSON, Kotlin, Lua, Markdown, PHP, Python, Ruby, Rust, Scala, Svelte, Swift, TypeScript, XML, YAML, Zig
Documentation
Installation Guide
Usage Guide
Configuration Guide
Theme Customization
Contributing Guidelines
Architecture Overview
Related Projects
Git Visualization & Coding
- GitType - A CLI code-typing game that turns your source code into typing challenges
Terminal Screensavers
- tarts - Collection of terminal screensavers in Rust (Matrix, Game of Life, Boids, 3D effects, and more)
- cbonsai - Grow beautiful bonsai trees in your terminal
- asciiquarium - Enjoy the mysteries of the sea from your terminal
- cmatrix - The Matrix screensaver effect for your terminal
- pipes.sh - Animated pipes flowing through your terminal
Contributing
Contributions are welcome.
See the Contributing Guidelines for details.
License
ISC License. See LICENSE for details.