Git history import¶

Inspect a repository¶

codestrand inspect /path/to/repository --revision HEAD

Inspection reads a complete local working or bare repository without modifying history. The experimental JSON includes parent-before-child commits, raw author identities and paths, and first-parent file changes. Merge changes compare against the first parent. Avoid treating the experimental schema as a stable contract.

Choose history for playback¶

codestrand preview --repository /path/to/repository --revision HEAD

Preview and export use the selected revision's first-parent timeline. Revision defaults to HEAD. Codestrand does not clone or fetch a remote repository: obtain a complete local repository first. Inspection includes reachable commits, while playback follows the first-parent sequence.

Cache¶

Repository playback saves the latest imported timeline and diff counts under the platform user cache directory, inside codestrand/. Linked worktrees share a cache namespace based on the canonical common Git directory. A different resolved tip replaces the saved timeline after a full import. Changing range or pacing reuses the imported timeline. Contributor mapping edits take effect on cache hits.

Cache errors regenerate data without blocking playback. To bypass history and avatar cache reads and writes:

codestrand preview --repository /path/to/repository --no-cache

Inspection and repositories with Git replacement objects always import directly. Messages, signatures, blob IDs and hunks are not cached. See contributors for separately cached portraits.