After moving from IntelliJ to Cursor, one thing I really missed was how easy it was to browse and follow Git history.
I usually do most Git operations from the CLI. I wasn't looking for another full Git client inside the editor. I'm already comfortable doing things like commit, push, stash, and rebase from the terminal.
What I wanted was simpler: a better way to look through Git history.
So I built GitAmida, an extension focused on Git history for VS Code and Cursor.
Looking at multiple commits together
One of the main things I wanted was a way to select several commits and look at their changes together.
A change is not always contained in one commit. It may start with the main implementation, followed by fixes or changes after review.
Later, I often want to see what changed as a whole instead of opening each commit one by one.
GitAmida lets you select a continuous range of commits, or pick individual commits, and see the changed files and diffs for that selection together.
Select multiple commits and see their changed files and diffs together.
Moving between repository and file history
The other thing I wanted was an easier way to move through Git history.
When I want to understand a change, I often start with the repository history, find a file I'm interested in, look at that file's history, and then go back to the repository history again.
I also sometimes want to keep the history of several files open at the same time.
I wanted all of this to be easy to move between without switching between different extensions or views.
GitAmida keeps Repository History and File History in the same bottom panel, and you can keep multiple file histories open.
Keep multiple File History views open while moving through the repository history.
Why focus only on history?
I've seen some great extensions inspired by JetBrains' Git tools. Many of them cover a much broader Git workflow, including commit, push, stash, rebase, branch operations, and more.
They look useful, but that wasn't what I needed.
I already use the CLI for Git operations, so I wanted GitAmida to stay focused on reading and exploring history.
It also uses VS Code's native diff editor instead of adding its own diff viewer.
I originally built it for myself
GitAmida started as a tool for my own workflow.
Now I don't need separate extensions for the Git graph and file history anymore, so I decided to publish it in case other developers work in a similar way.
It's available for both VS Code and Cursor:
I'm not planning to turn it into a full Git client, but I'd be interested to hear what other people think about the history workflow — especially if anything feels awkward, missing, or hard to follow.
Top comments (2)
Really like the decision to keep GitAmida focused on history exploration rather than turning it into another full Git client. The ability to move between repository history and file history, while keeping multiple file histories open, sounds particularly useful for understanding how a change evolved across commits and reviews.
Also nice to see the use of VS Code's native diff editor instead of reinventing that part of the workflow. Keeping the scope narrow around a real pain point usually makes a tool much more useful.
Congrats on the release, Hiroshi, and thanks for sharing it! 👏
Thanks! That’s exactly what I was aiming for — keeping it small and focused on history. Glad that came across!