nvim-tinygit

A lightweight bundle of commands focused on swift and streamlined git operations.

Note

The upcoming version 1.0 will include several breaking changes. If you want to keep using the current version, pin the tag v0.9.

-- lazy.nvim
{
	"chrisgrieser/nvim-tinygit",
	tag = "v0.9"
	dependencies = "stevearc/dressing.nvim",
},

Feature overview

• Interactive staging of hunks (parts of a file). Displays hunk diffs with proper syntax highlighting, and allows resetting or navigating to the hunk.
• Smart-commit: Open a popup to enter a commit message with syntax highlighting, commit preview, automatic issue number insertion, and overlength indicators. If there are no staged changes, stages all changes before doing so (git add -A). Optionally trigger a git push afterward.
• Quick commands for amend, stash, fixup, or undoing commits.
• Search issues & PRs. Open the selected issue or PR in the browser.
• Open the GitHub URL of the current file, repo, or selection. Also supports opening the blame view.
• Explore the git history: Search the file for a string ("git pickaxe"), or examine the history of a function or line range. Displays the results in a diff view with syntax highlighting, correctly following file renamings.
• Status line components: git blame of a file and branch state.
• Streamlined workflow: operations are smartly combined to minimize friction. For instance, the smart-commit command combines staging, committing, and pushing, and searching the file history combines un-shallowing, searching, and navigating diffs.

• Installation
• Commands
  • Interactive staging
  • Smart-commit
  • Amend and fixup commits
  • Undo last commit/amend
  • GitHub interaction
  • Push & PRs
  • Search file history
  • Stash
• Status line components
  • git blame
  • Branch state
• Configuration
• Credits

Installation

Hard requirements

• nvim 0.10+
• dressing.nvim

Optional/recommended requirements

• Treesitter parser for syntax highlighting: TSInstall gitcommit
• nvim-notify OR snacks.nvim for the commit preview, issue number insertion, and various notifications.
• telescope.nvim OR fzf-lua for nicer UI when selecting commits, issues, or PRs.
• telescope.nvim is required for interactive staging.
• GitHub-related features require curl.

-- lazy.nvim
{
	"chrisgrieser/nvim-tinygit",
	dependencies = "stevearc/dressing.nvim",
},

-- packer
use {
	"chrisgrieser/nvim-tinygit",
	requires = "stevearc/dressing.nvim",
}

Commands

All commands are available via lua function or sub-command of :Tinygit, for example require("tinygit").interactiveStaging() and :Tinygit interactiveStaging. However, do note that the lua function is preferable, since the :Tinygit does not accept command-specific options and also does not trigger visual-mode specific changes to the commands.

Interactive staging

• This feature requires telescope.nvim.
• This command stages hunks, that is, parts of a file instead of the full file. It is roughly comparable to git add -p.
• Use <Space> to (un)stage the hunk, <CR> to go to the hunk, or <C-r to reset the hunk (mappings customizable). Your regular telescope mappings also apply.
• The size of the hunks is determined by the setting staging.contextSize. Larger context size is going to "merge" changes that are close to one another into one hunk. (As such, the hunks displayed are not 1:1 the same as the hunks from gitsigns.nvim.) A context size between 1 and 4 is recommended.
• Limitations: contextSize=0 (= no merging at all) is not supported.

require("tinygit").interactiveStaging()

Smart-commit

• Open a commit popup, alongside a preview of what is going to be committed. If there are no staged changes, stage all changes (git add --all) before the commit.
• Input field contents of aborted commits are briefly kept, if you just want to fix a detail.
• Optionally run git push if the repo is clean after committing.
• The title of the input field displays what actions are going to be performed. You can see at glance whether all changes are going to be committed, or whether there a git push is triggered afterward, so there are no surprises.
• Typing # inserts the most recent issue number, <Tab> cycles through the issues (opt-in, see plugin configuration).
• Only supports the commit subject line (no commit body).

-- values shown are the defaults
require("tinygit").smartCommit { pushIfClean = false, pullBeforePush = true }

Example workflow Assuming these keybindings:

vim.keymap.set("n", "<leader>ga", function() require("tinygit").interactiveStaging() end, { desc = "git add" })
vim.keymap.set("n", "<leader>gc", function() require("tinygit").smartCommit() end, { desc = "git commit" })
vim.keymap.set("n", "<leader>gp", function() require("tinygit").push() end, { desc = "git push" })

1. Stage some changes via ga.
2. Use gc to enter a commit message.
3. Repeat 1 and 2.
4. When done, gp to push the commits.

Using pushIfClean = true allows you to combine staging, committing, and pushing into a single step, when it is the last commit you intend to make.

Amend and fixup commits

Amending

• amendOnlyMsg just opens the commit popup to change the last commit message, and does not stage any changes.
• amendNoEdit keeps the last commit message; if there are no staged changes, stages all changes (git add --all), like smartCommit.
• Optionally runs git push --force-with-lease afterward, if the branch has diverged (that is, the amended commit was already pushed).

-- options default to `false`
require("tinygit").amendOnlyMsg { forcePushIfDiverged = false }
require("tinygit").amendNoEdit { forcePushIfDiverged = false, stageAllIfNothingStaged = true }

Fixup commits

• fixupCommit lets you select a commit from the last X commits and runs git commit --fixup on the selected commit.
• If there are no staged changes, stages all changes (git add --all), like smartCommit.
• autoRebase = true automatically runs rebase with --autosquash and --autostash afterward, confirming all fixups and squashes without opening a rebase to do editor. Note that this can potentially result in conflicts.

-- options show default values
require("tinygit").fixupCommit {
	selectFromLastXCommits = 15,
	autoRebase = false,
}

Undo last commit/amend

require("tinygit").undoLastCommitOrAmend()

• Changes in the working directory are kept, but unstaged. (In the background, this uses git reset --mixed.)
• If there was a push operation done as a followup (such as .smartCommit { pushIfClean = false }), the last commit is not undone.

GitHub interaction

Search issues & PRs

• Requires curl.

-- state: all|closed|open (default: all)
-- type: all|issue|pr (default: all)
require("tinygit").issuesAndPrs { type = "all", state = "all" }

-- alternative: if the word under the cursor is of the form `#123`,
-- open that issue/PR
require("tinygit").openIssueUnderCursor()

GitHub URL Creates a permalink to the current file/lines at GitHub. The link is opened in the browser and copied to the system clipboard. In normal mode, uses the current file, in visual mode, uses the selected lines. (Note that visual mode detection requires you to use the lua function below instead of the :Tinygit ex-command.)

• "file": code view
• "blame": blame view
• "repo": repo root

-- file|repo|blame (default: file)
require("tinygit").githubUrl()

Push & PRs

• push can be combined with other actions, depending on the options.
• createGitHubPr opens a PR from the current branch browser. (This requires the repo to be a fork with sufficient information on the remote.)

-- options default to `false`
require("tinygit").push {
	pullBefore = false,
	forceWithLease = false,
	createGitHubPr = false,
}
require("tinygit").createGitHubPr()

Search file history

Search the git history of the current file. Select from the matching commits to open a popup with a diffview of the changes.

If the config history.autoUnshallowIfNeeded is set to true, will also automatically un-shallow the repo if needed.

require("tinygit").fileHistory()

The type of history search depends on the mode .searchHistory is called from:

• Normal mode: search history for a string (git log -G)
  • Correctly follows file renamings, and displays past file names in the commit selection.
  • The search input is case-insensitive and supports regex.
  • Leave the input field empty to display all commits that changed the current file.
• Visual mode: function history (git log -L).
  • The selected text is assumed to be the name of the function whose history you want to explore.
  • Note that git uses heuristics to determine the enclosing function of a change, so this is not 100% perfect and has varying reliability across languages.
  • Caveat: for function history, git does not support to follow renamings of the file or function name.
• Visual line mode: line range history (git log -L).
  • Uses the selected lines as the line range.
  • Caveat: for line history, git does not support to follow file renamings.

Note that visual mode detection requires you to use the lua function above instead of the :Tinygit ex-command.

Keymaps in the diff popup

• <Tab>: show older commit
• <S-Tab>: show newer commit
• yh: yank the commit hash to the system clipboard
• R: restore file to state at commit
• n/N: go to the next/previous occurrence of the query (only file history)

Stash

Simple wrappers around git stash push and git stash pop.

require("tinygit").stashPush()
require("tinygit").stashPop()

Status line components

git blame

Shows the message and date (git blame) of the last commit that changed the current file (not line).

require("tinygit.statusline").blame()

Tip

Some status line plugins also allow you to put components into the tab line or win bar. If your status line is too crowded, you can add the blame-component to one of those bars instead.

The component can be configured with the statusline.blame options in the plugin configuration.

Branch state

Shows whether the local branch is ahead or behind of its remote counterpart. (Note that this component does not run git fetch for performance reasons, so the information may not be up-to-date with remote changes.)

require("tinygit.statusline").branchState()

Configuration

The setup call is optional.

Note

Recently (2024-11-23), the config structure has been overhauled:

• staging → stage
• commitMsg → commit
  • commitMsg.commitPreview → commit.preview
  • commitMsg.insertIssuesOnHash → commit.insertIssuesOnHashSign
• historySearch → history
• issueIcons → github.icons
• backdrop → appearance.backdrop
• mainIcon → appearance.mainIcon

-- default config
require("tinygit").setup {
	stage = { -- requires `telescope.nvim`
		contextSize = 1, -- larger values "merge" hunks. 0 is not supported.
		stagedIndicator = "󰐖",
		keymaps = { -- insert & normal mode
			stagingToggle = "<Space>", -- stage/unstage hunk
			gotoHunk = "<CR>",
			resetHunk = "<C-r>",
		},
		moveToNextHunkOnStagingToggle = false,

		-- accepts the common telescope picker config
		telescopeOpts = { 
			layout_strategy = "horizontal",
			layout_config = {
				horizontal = {
					preview_width = 0.65,
					height = { 0.7, min = 20 },
				},
			},
		},
	},
	commit = {
		preview = true, -- requires `nvim-notify` or `snacks.nvim`
		spellcheck = false,
		keepAbortedMsgSecs = 300,
		inputFieldWidth = 72,
		conventionalCommits = {
			enforce = false,
			-- stylua: ignore
			keywords = {
				"fix", "feat", "chore", "docs", "refactor", "build", "test",
				"perf", "style", "revert", "ci", "break", "improv",
			},
		},
		insertIssuesOnHashSign = {
			-- Typing `#` will insert the most recent open issue.
			-- Requires `nvim-notify` or `snacks.nvim`.
			enabled = false,
			next = "<Tab>", -- insert & normal mode
			prev = "<S-Tab>",
			issuesToFetch = 20,
		},
	},
	push = {
		preventPushingFixupOrSquashCommits = true,
		confirmationSound = true, -- currently macOS only, PRs welcome

		-- Pushed commits contain references to issues, open those issues.
		-- Not used when using force-push.
		openReferencedIssues = false,
	},
	github = {
		icons = {
			openIssue = "🟢",
			closedIssue = "🟣",
			notPlannedIssue = "⚪",
			openPR = "🟩",
			mergedPR = "🟪",
			draftPR = "⬜",
			closedPR = "🟥",
		},
	},
	history = {
		diffPopup = {
			width = 0.8, -- between 0-1
			height = 0.8,
			border = "single",
		},
		autoUnshallowIfNeeded = false,
	},
	appearance = {
		mainIcon = "󰊢",
		backdrop = {
			enabled = true,
			blend = 50, -- 0-100
		},
	},
	statusline = {
		blame = {
			ignoreAuthors = {}, -- hide component if these authors (useful for bots)
			hideAuthorNames = {}, -- show component, but hide names (useful for your own name)
			maxMsgLen = 40,
			icon = "ﰖ",
		},
		branchState = {
			icons = {
				ahead = "󰶣",
				behind = "󰶡",
				diverge = "󰃻",
			},
		},
	},
}

The appearance of the commit preview and notifications is determined by nvim-notify or snacks.nvim respectively.

Credits

In my day job, I am a sociologist studying the social mechanisms underlying the digital economy. For my PhD project, I investigate the governance of the app economy and how software ecosystems manage the tension between innovation and compatibility. If you are interested in this subject, feel free to get in touch.

I also occasionally blog about vim: Nano Tips for Vim

• Website
• Mastodon
• ResearchGate
• LinkedIn