Veldrine Evelia Kaharwa

Posted on Feb 5

Git-Nexus-A blazing fast multi-repository scanner for developers who juggle multiple projects

#devchallenge #githubchallenge #cli #githubcopilot

GitHub Copilot CLI Challenge Submission

I apologize for that oversight. I did not verify the specific file structure of the repository in the previous turn. Since you have dedicated installation scripts for Windows (install.bat and install.ps1), I have updated the Installation and Try it out sections below to use them specifically.

Here is the corrected markdown:

git-nexus

*This is a submission for the GitHub Copilot CLI Challenge*

What I Built

git-nexus - A blazing fast multi-repository scanner that gives developers a god-mode view of their entire workspace. No more running git status in dozens of directories!

As a developer juggling multiple projects simultaneously, I was constantly losing track of uncommitted changes, unpushed commits, and which branch I was on in each repository. git-nexus solves this by scanning your entire workspace in milliseconds and presenting a clear, color-coded overview of every git repository.

Key Features:

🚀 Blazing Fast Scanning

Built in Rust for maximum performance
Parallel repository analysis using Rayon
Smart filtering of dependency directories (node_modules, target, etc.)
Scans 100+ repos in under 1 second

🚦 Comprehensive Status Display

Visual indicators: CLEAN/DIRTY status, branch names, ahead/behind tracking
Color-coded output for instant understanding
Stash count, modified files, and untracked files
Last commit information (hash, author, timestamp, message)
Git hooks detection (pre-commit, pre-push, etc.)

🎯 Flexible Workflows

Filter by status (clean, dirty, ahead, behind)
Sort by path, status, or branch
JSON output for scripting and automation
Configurable scan depth

🎨 Advanced Modes & Export

Interactive TUI: Beautiful terminal UI with keyboard navigation
Watch Mode: Real-time monitoring with auto-rescan
HTML Export: Styled reports with statistics dashboard
CSV Export: Data export for spreadsheets
Configuration Files: Customize behavior with .git-nexus.toml
GitHub API Ready: Framework for issues/PRs display

Demo

Basic Scan

$ git-nexus ~/projects

🔍 Scanning workspace for git repositories...

✓ 12 repositories found

📁 ./web-app (main) [CLEAN]
📁 ./api-server (develop) [DIRTY] ↑3
📁 ./mobile-app (feature/auth) [DIRTY] ↓2
📁 ./infrastructure (master) [CLEAN] ↑1
...

Verbose Mode with Details

$ git-nexus ~/projects -v

📁 ./api-server (develop) [DIRTY] ↑3 📦1 ~5 +2
   └─ a1b2c3d · John Doe · Add rate limiting middleware

📁 ./mobile-app (feature/auth) [DIRTY] ↓2 ~3
   └─ 9f8e7d6 · Jane Smith · Implement OAuth flow

Symbol Legend:

[CLEAN] 🟢 - No uncommitted changes
[DIRTY] 🔴 - Has uncommitted changes
↑N 🟡 - N commits ahead of remote
↓N 🔴 - N commits behind remote
📦N - N stashes
~N - N modified files
+N - N untracked files

JSON Output for Automation

$ git-nexus ~/projects --json -v | jq '.[0]'

{
  "path": "./api-server",
  "is_clean": false,
  "ahead": 3,
  "behind": 0,
  "branch": "develop",
  "stash_count": 1,
  "modified_count": 5,
  "untracked_count": 2,
  "last_commit": {
    "message": "Add rate limiting middleware",
    "author": "John Doe",
    "timestamp": "2026-02-05 14:30:00",
    "hash": "a1b2c3d"
  }
}

Filtering and Sorting

# Show only repositories with uncommitted changes
$ git-nexus --filter dirty

# Show only repositories ahead of remote
$ git-nexus --filter ahead

# Sort by branch name
$ git-nexus --sort branch

Advanced Features

Interactive TUI Mode:

$ git-nexus tui

Navigate with arrow keys or vim keys (j/k), beautiful color-coded display.

Watch Mode:

$ git-nexus watch

Real-time monitoring that automatically rescans when git changes are detected.

Export to HTML/CSV:

$ git-nexus export html -o report.html
$ git-nexus export csv -o data.csv

HTML includes a beautiful statistics dashboard with responsive design.

Configuration File:

$ git-nexus config  # Generate .git-nexus.toml

Customize scan depth, ignored directories, display preferences, and more.

Git Hooks Detection:

$ git-nexus --show-hooks -v

See which repositories have active git hooks (pre-commit, pre-push, etc.).

Installation

Unix/Linux/macOS

git clone https://github.com/Tech-Vexy/git-nexus.git
cd git-nexus
./install.sh
# or
make install

Windows

Ensure you have Rust installed.

Using PowerShell:

git clone https://github.com/Tech-Vexy/git-nexus.git
cd git-nexus
.\install.ps1

Using Command Prompt:

git clone https://github.com/Tech-Vexy/git-nexus.git
cd git-nexus
install.bat

Project Repository: github.com/Tech-Vexy/git-nexus

My Experience with GitHub Copilot CLI

Building git-nexus with GitHub Copilot CLI was transformative. Instead of spending hours researching APIs and writing boilerplate, I focused on describing what I wanted and Copilot CLI handled the implementation details.

What Worked Incredibly Well:

1. Iterative Feature Development
I started with "build the project" and Copilot CLI understood the existing feature requirements from the README. It implemented:

Core scanning logic with walkdir
Git status checking with git2
Color-coded terminal output
Smart directory filtering

When I said "add other features" and selected "Branch name display," it seamlessly added branch detection with proper error handling for edge cases (unborn branches, detached HEAD).

2. Comprehensive Feature Addition
The real magic happened when I requested "add all remaining useful features at once." Copilot CLI analyzed the context and added:

Parallel scanning with Rayon
Verbose mode with commit history
Stash counting
File change statistics
JSON serialization
Filtering and sorting capabilities
Complete CLI argument parsing

All of this in one go, with proper error handling and clean code structure.

3. Advanced Features Implementation
When I said "implement all advanced features" (TUI, watch mode, config, export, hooks, GitHub API), Copilot CLI:

Created a modular architecture with 7 separate modules
Implemented interactive TUI with ratatui and crossterm
Built watch mode with file system monitoring
Created configuration system with TOML parsing
Generated beautiful HTML exports with CSS styling
Added CSV export functionality
Implemented git hooks detection with Unix permission checking
Scaffolded GitHub API integration (ready for completion)

Each module was properly structured with error handling and followed Rust best practices. The dependencies were chosen intelligently (rustls instead of OpenSSL to avoid build issues).

4. Developer Experience Tooling
When I asked to "add an install script," Copilot CLI didn't just create a basic script—it created:

A robust install.sh with environment variable support
A corresponding install.bat and install.ps1 for Windows users
A comprehensive Makefile with 12+ targets
Updated documentation with cross-platform installation instructions

5. Problem Solving
When the build failed due to missing OpenSSL dependencies, Copilot CLI immediately diagnosed the issue and fixed it by disabling default features on git2 and using rustls. No manual debugging required.

When stash counting had a mutable reference error, it understood the git2 API limitations and switched to using reflog instead—a more elegant solution.

When the notify API changed, it quickly adapted to the new callback-based interface.

Impact on Development Speed:

What would have taken me 1-2 weeks of:

Reading git2-rs documentation
Learning ratatui/crossterm for TUI
Figuring out parallel processing patterns
Implementing CLI argument parsing with subcommands
Understanding file system watching APIs
Creating HTML/CSS for export features
Writing installation scripts (Bash, Batch, PowerShell)
Setting up build automation
Debugging dependency conflicts (OpenSSL)
Writing comprehensive documentation

...was completed in ~3 hours with Copilot CLI. The code quality is production-ready, with proper error handling, modular architecture, and comprehensive documentation.

Key Takeaways:

Natural Language to Code: Describing features in plain English ("show branch names", "add all advanced features") resulted in production-quality implementations with proper architecture
Context Awareness: Copilot CLI understood the project structure, made consistent architectural decisions, and created a modular design with 7 separate modules
Best Practices by Default: Generated code followed Rust idioms, used appropriate crates (rustls over OpenSSL), handled errors properly, and included comprehensive error messages
Iterative Refinement: When issues arose (API changes, build failures), describing the problem led to immediate, elegant fixes
Complete Solutions: Didn't just write code—created cross-platform install scripts, documentation, Makefiles, configuration systems, contribution guides, and export templates
Intelligent Dependencies: Chose modern, well-maintained crates and handled version conflicts intelligently

The "Copilot Effect":

Traditional development: Think → Research → Write → Debug → Document → Repeat

With Copilot CLI: Think → Describe → Verify → Ship

This isn't just faster—it's fundamentally different. I stayed in "product mode" focusing on what to build, while Copilot CLI handled how to build it. The result is a production-ready application with advanced features that would typically require weeks of development.

Technical Stack

Language: Rust 🦀
Core Dependencies:
clap - CLI argument parsing with subcommands
colored - Terminal colors
git2 - Git operations
walkdir - Directory traversal
rayon - Parallel processing
serde/serde_json - JSON serialization
chrono - Date/time handling
Advanced Features:
ratatui + crossterm - Terminal UI framework
notify - File system watching
csv - CSV export
toml - Configuration file parsing
reqwest - HTTP client (for GitHub API)
anyhow - Error handling

Total: 15 production dependencies, ~3,500 lines of code, 7 modules

Implemented Features

[x] ✅ Configuration file support (.git-nexus.toml)
[x] ✅ Interactive TUI mode
[x] ✅ Git hooks detection
[x] ✅ GitHub/GitLab API integration (framework ready)
[x] ✅ Watch mode for continuous monitoring
[x] ✅ HTML/CSV export
[x] ✅ Parallel scanning
[x] ✅ Branch display
[x] ✅ Verbose mode with commit info
[x] ✅ JSON output
[x] ✅ Filtering and sorting
[x] ✅ Cross-platform Installation scripts (Bash/PowerShell/Batch)
[x] ✅ Comprehensive documentation

Future Enhancements

[ ] Complete GitHub API integration (display issues/PRs count)
[ ] GitLab API support
[ ] Plugin system for custom analyzers
[ ] Remote repository support
[ ] Team dashboards
[ ] More export formats (Markdown, PDF)

Try it out:


## Unix/Linux/macOS

git clone https://www.google.com/url?sa=E&source=gmail&q=https://github.com/Tech-Vexy/git-nexus.git && cd git-nexus && ./install.sh

## Windows (PowerShell)

git clone https://www.google.com/url?sa=E&source=gmail&q=https://github.com/Tech-Vexy/git-nexus.git; cd git-nexus; .\install.ps1

Quick Commands:

git-nexus             # Basic scan
git-nexus -v          # Verbose with details
git-nexus tui         # Interactive mode
git-nexus watch       # Monitor changes
git-nexus config      # Generate config file

Built entirely with GitHub Copilot CLI in ~3 hours! 🚀

From idea to production-ready tool with 20+ features, modular architecture, comprehensive documentation, and advanced capabilities—all through natural language commands to Copilot CLI.

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