gitcrumbs 0.1.8

A CLI tool that captures intermediate working states of your Git repo in-between commits.

gitcrumbs

A CLI tool that captures intermediate working states of your Git repo.

It watches your files as you make changes, and when you step away to grab a coffee or test the changes, it creates a snapshot automatically. This way, you can browse through older versions of your repo.

Think of it as temporary but reliable breadcrumbs between commits.

• Zero friction: works with your existing Git workflow.
• Lightweight: uses Git’s object store and a small SQLite DB under .git/gitcrumbs/.
• Safe: won’t change commits or refs.

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Install

This tool is published as gitcrumbs on PyPI. You can install it system-wide and use it in any repo.

Recommended:

First, install pipx. Then install gitcrumbs:

pipx install gitcrumbs

Alternative (using pip in a virtual environment):

python -m pip install gitcrumbs

Requires Python 3.9+ and git on your PATH.

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Quick Start (2 minutes)

cd /path/to/your/repo

# 1) Prepares an SQLite DB and config file in .git/gitcrumbs/ to track file changes
gitcrumbs init

# 2) Start the tracker: it watches your files for new changes, but snapshots only when the changes have stayed for some time (snapshot-after). Ctrl-C to stop
gitcrumbs track
# or
gitcrumbs track --snapshot-after 90

# 3) See what has been captured. Shows you snapshot IDs and when they were taken
gitcrumbs timeline

# 4) Jump to an earlier/later state
gitcrumbs previous  # or gitcrumbs p
gitcrumbs next  # or gitcrumbs n

# 5) Restore a particular snapshot
gitcrumbs restore 2

# 6) Compare two snapshots of the same file
gitcrumbs diff 3 5 -f path/to/file.py

# 7) See all files that have changed between two snapshots
gitcrumbs diff 1 4 --all

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Everyday workflows

1) “I had it working 10 minutes ago…”

gitcrumbs timeline
gitcrumbs previous        # step back one snapshot
# run tests...
# If it works, you can diff or continue from here

2) Continuous capture while you work

gitcrumbs track --snapshot-after 60
# Let this run in a separate terminal tab

3) Compare two snapshots

gitcrumbs diff 12 15
# Shows added/deleted/modified files between snapshots #12 and #15

4) Restore an older snapshot

gitcrumbs restore 2

5) Remove gitcrumbs from a repo

gitcrumbs remove --dry-run   # see what would be deleted under .git/gitcrumbs
gitcrumbs remove --yes       # removes gitcrumbs from the current repo

6) Renaming snapshots

gitcrumbs timeline
# Label=1
# Label=2
# Label=3

gitcrumbs rename 2 'last working snapshot'

gitcrumbs timeline
# Label=1
# Label='last working snapshot'
# Label=3

gitcrumbs restore 'last working snapshot'
gitcrumbs show-file 'last working snapshot' path/to/file.py

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Commands (cheat sheet)

gitcrumbs init
  Initialise .git/gitcrumbs/ (SQLite DB + config).

gitcrumbs track [--snapshot-after N]
  Continuous tracker: snapshot only when a file(s) change and stay changed for N seconds.

gitcrumbs timeline
  Show all snapshots with timestamps, branch, and a short summary.

gitcrumbs diff A B [--all] [--file-path PATH]
  Show differences between snapshots A and B (added/deleted/modified paths).
  - --all: list all files (by default, only shows the first 5 files for easy visibility)
  - -f, --file-path PATH: show a unified patch for that single file between A and B. When --file-path is used, --all is ignored.

gitcrumbs restore ID [--purge/--no-purge]
  Restore working files to snapshot ID. Default: --no-purge (remove extra files).

gitcrumbs next [--purge/--no-purge]      # alias: n
  Restore to the next snapshot after the current cursor (defaults to --no-purge).

gitcrumbs previous [--purge/--no-purge]  # alias: p
  Restore to the previous snapshot before the current cursor (defaults to --no-purge).

gitcrumbs snapshot
  Create a snapshot right now.

gitcrumbs status
  Show tracker status and the current cursor (baseline snapshot id).

gitcrumbs remove [--dry-run] [--yes|-y]
  Delete .git/gitcrumbs (DB and metadata). Safe: does not affect Git commits/branches.

gitcrumbs show-file ID PATH
  Print the file at the specified path as captured in the specified snapshot ID to stdout.
  - PATH may be repo-relative or absolute (must be inside the repo).
  - Prints nothing if PATH didn’t exist / was deleted / was UNHASHED in that snapshot.

gitcrumbs --version  # or: gitcrumbs -V
  Show the installed gitcrumbs version.

gitcrumbs rename EXISTING_ID NEW_ID
  Rename a snapshot with a new ID or label.

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How it works (a bit deeper)

• Uses Git plumbing commands (ls-files, diff-files, hash-object, cat-file) to compare the real working tree to the index/HEAD.
• For tracked files, gitcrumbs fingerprints by content hash, not mtime/size (so restores don’t cause false deltas).
• For untracked files, it records metadata + hashed content.
• Snapshots live in SQLite; file bytes live in Git’s object store (efficient, deduplicated).
• The tracker writes a tiny tracker_state.json so it knows when to anchor after restore and when to create the next snapshot.
• Keeps track of your branches and commits so when you restore a snapshot, things are in the same state as they were when it was created.
• Ignores any files in .gitignore.

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Safety & edge cases

• Works before first commit (unborn HEAD) and in detached HEAD.
• Pauses during merge/rebase or when .git/index.lock exists.
• On restore, if the saved branch no longer exists, it falls back to detached at the recorded commit.

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Troubleshooting

• “gitcrumbs not found after installation” → If you used pip install --user, ensure ~/.local/bin is on your PATH; or prefer pipx.
• “No snapshots yet” → Start the tracker or run gitcrumbs snapshot manually.
• “Not inside a Git working tree.” → cd into a Git repo or initialise one with git init.

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Contributing

Issues and PRs are welcome! If you hit an edge case, share a minimal repro.

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License

MIT License — © 2025 Értelek