navcom - Navigate Git Commits

A simple bash script to navigate through git repository commits chronologically, perfect for studying a codebase's evolution.

What It Does

• Lets you step through commits in chronological order (oldest to newest)
• Jump to first commit with first, navigate forward with next, or backward with prev
• Automatically tracks your progress
• Shows commit details at each step

Installation

MacOS/Linux

make install

This installs the script as navcom in /usr/local/bin.

Manual Installation

sudo cp bin /usr/local/bin/navcom
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/navcom

Usage

Navigate to any git repository and run:

# Jump to first commit
navcom first

# Move to next commit (chronologically)
navcom next

# Move to previous commit
navcom prev

On first run, it will initialize by scanning the repository's commit history.

How It Works

1. First Run: Creates a chronological list of all commits in the default branch
2. Navigation: Checks out commits in order and tracks your position
3. Progress: Stores tracking data in .git/nc-progress and .git/nc-commits

Reset Progress

To start over from the beginning:

rm .git/nc-progress .git/nc-commits

Uninstall

make uninstall