Month: September 2016

As a SCM admin I need to browse the Git repository history. There are some tips for a prettier history view such as this, and Git includes gitk in the distribution as well. However I think both do not present the history clearer enough.

Crc8 wrote a very good tool GitVersionTree. I think it shows the git log more clearly, by placing master branch a more important way. It uses Graphviz to render the version tree.

However sometimes the tool fails due to some syntax errors in the dot file, which is used by Graphviz to generate the final picture. I find it is sometimes due to the git directory name. Besides, I prefer CLI to GUI because it simply integrates with other tools better. So inspired by GitVersionTree, I rewrite in Python and provides the tool in CLI. I call it GitViewer.

Use GitViewer is quite simple. Just type:

python GitViewer.py -o [output filenamea] -d [path to dot executable] -g [path to git executable] -r [path to git repository root]

and GitViewer shall generate a pdf of the version tree for you.

GitViewer is currently v0.1, so the feature is just limited to what GitVersionTree implemented. In v0.2, I plan to add comments to the picture which will make the history more clearer.

GitViewer requires Python, Git, and Graphviz to work properly. Both Windows and Linux shall be supported.