GitPilot

GitHub · npm profile

GitPilot automates Git inside VS Code with smart commit messages, auto-commit on save, auto-push, a sidebar workflow, and a CLI for terminal use.

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Features

Feature	Description
Smart commit messages	Analyzes your diff and generates conventional, emoji, or plain messages automatically
Auto-commit on save	Watches for file changes and commits after a configurable period of inactivity
Auto-push	Optionally push to remote after every commit
Sidebar panel	Real-time view of changes, branch, recent commits, and ahead/behind status
Diff preview	See exactly which files changed and how many lines before committing
CLI tool	Full gitpilot CLI for terminal power users
Undo last commit	One-click soft reset
Keyboard shortcuts	Ctrl+Alt+C to commit, Ctrl+Alt+P to commit and push

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Install

From VS Code

1. Open VS Code
2. Go to Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X)
3. Search for GitPilot
4. Click Install

From a VSIX file

If you build the extension locally, install the generated .vsix file with:

code --install-extension gitpilot-1.0.0.vsix

From source

git clone <this-repo>
cd gitpilot
npm install
npm run package
# Press F5 in VS Code to launch the Extension Development Host

CLI

cd gitpilot
npm link

npm package

npm install -g @praisetechzw/gitpilot

To publish a new version after bumping version in package.json:

npm run publish

GitHub Packages

This repository can also publish to GitHub Packages using the workflow in .github/workflows/github-packages.yml.

Trigger it with a tag:

git tag pkg-v1.0.0
git push origin pkg-v1.0.0

If publish fails with permission errors, add a repository secret named GH_PACKAGES_TOKEN (classic PAT) with write:packages and read:packages scopes, then push a new pkg-v* tag.

Install from GitHub Packages:

npm install -g @praisetechzw/gitpilot --registry=https://npm.pkg.github.com

What you need

• VS Code 1.74 or newer
• Git installed and available on your PATH
• A folder opened in VS Code that is already a git repository

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Usage

VS Code panel

Click the GitPilot icon in the Activity Bar (left sidebar) to open the panel.

The panel shows:

• Branch and sync status (ahead/behind remote)
• Auto-commit / auto-push toggles — flip them on without leaving the editor
• Countdown timer — shows how long until the next auto-commit
• Changed files — colour-coded (A = added, M = modified, D = deleted, R = renamed)
• Commit message — pre-filled from your diff, fully editable
• Recent commits — click any to copy the hash

CLI commands

Supported commands:

gitpilot commit [-y] [-m "message"] [-s conventional|simple|emoji]
gitpilot push [-s conventional|simple|emoji]
gitpilot status
gitpilot log [n]
gitpilot undo

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Settings

Open Settings > Extensions > GitPilot or add to your settings.json:

{
  "gitpilot.autoCommit": false,
  "gitpilot.autoPush": false,
  "gitpilot.debounceSeconds": 30,
  "gitpilot.commitStyle": "conventional",
  "gitpilot.excludePatterns": ["*.log", "node_modules/**", ".env"]
}

Setting	Default	Description
autoCommit	false	Commit automatically after inactivity
autoPush	false	Push after every commit
debounceSeconds	30	Seconds of inactivity before auto-commit
commitStyle	conventional	conventional, simple, or emoji
excludePatterns	[...]	Files to ignore

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Commit Message Styles

GitPilot generates commit messages by analyzing your diff:

Style	Example
conventional	feat(auth): add login form
emoji	✨ [auth] add login form
simple	Add login form

It detects the commit type automatically:

Type	Triggered by
feat	New files, large additions
fix	Keywords like "fix", "bug", "error" in diff
docs	.md, .rst, /docs/ paths
style	.css, .scss, .sass files
test	.spec.js, .test.ts, /__tests__/
refactor	Renames, restructures, more deletions than additions
chore	Config files, lockfiles, .env
build	Dockerfile, /scripts/, /build/
ci	.github/, .gitlab/, ci/ paths

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Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+Alt+C / Cmd+Alt+C	Smart commit
Ctrl+Alt+P / Cmd+Alt+P	Commit and push

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Project Structure

gitpilot/
├── package.json           # Extension manifest + dependencies
├── LICENSE
├── README.md
├── src/
│   ├── extension.js       # Main VS Code extension entry point
│   ├── git/
│   │   ├── gitOps.js      # Git operations (status, diff, commit, push...)
│   │   └── commitMessage.js # Smart commit message generation
│   └── ui/
│       └── panel.html     # Sidebar UI (self-contained HTML/CSS/JS)
├── cli/
│   └── gitpilot.js        # Standalone CLI tool
├── gitpilot_architecture.svg
└── package-lock.json

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Contributing

PRs are welcome. Good next steps include AI-assisted commit messages, per-branch configuration, commit templates, and GitHub or GitLab PR creation.

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CI/CD

GitHub Actions are set up for two paths:

1. CI runs on push and pull requests to validate the code with install, lint, and package checks.
2. Release workflow runs when you push a tag like v1.0.1 and produces a VSIX artifact and GitHub Release.

Release commands:

git tag v1.0.1
git push origin v1.0.1

If you add a VSCE_PAT secret in GitHub Actions, the release workflow can also publish to the Visual Studio Marketplace.

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License

MIT