hexapode

hexapode / git-why

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Know why code is here

17
2
100% credibility
Found Apr 17, 2026 at 17 stars -- GitGems finds repos before they trend. Get early access to the next one.
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AI Analysis
Shell
AI Summary

git-why is a tool that automatically records the reasoning and decisions from AI-assisted code changes and stores them as readable notes alongside the code in a project.

How It Works

1
🕵️ Discover git-why

You learn about a helpful tool that saves the reasons behind every code tweak, making it easy to remember why changes happened.

2
📥 Add it to your computer

You quickly install the tool using a simple download or package manager, so it's ready to use anywhere.

3
🏗️ Turn it on in your project

In your coding folder, you activate it once, and from then on it works quietly in the background.

4
✨ Code smarter with AI help

While using your favorite AI coding buddy to make improvements and save your work, it automatically captures the thinking and decisions behind each change.

5
👀 Peek at the full story

For any file, you check its history to read the plain explanations of what was changed and why.

6
🔍 Find notes easily

You search for ideas or topics to pull up all the reasoning notes from across your project.

🎉 Code history comes alive

Now every change tells its own story, helping you, your team, or future you understand the big picture effortlessly.

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Star Growth

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AI-Generated Review

What is git-why?

git-why is a lightweight Shell CLI tool that automatically captures the AI reasoning behind your code changes—prompts, decisions, and explanations—and stores them as Markdown traces next to your source files in a .why/ directory. It extends git blame by answering the "why" for every commit, pulling traces from tools like Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, or manual notes via pre-commit hooks. Run `git why init` in any repo, and it works cross-platform with just bash, jq, and git—no heavy dependencies.

Why is it gaining traction?

Unlike basic git logs or blame, git-why delivers searchable, per-file histories with prompts and rationales, plus commands like `git why show `, `git why blame`, and `git why search` to quickly get to know github commits or debug issues like why rebase instead of merge or why main instead of master. Its plugin system supports mixed teams using different AI tools, with git-native diffs, .whyignore patterns, and union merges that keep traces clean. Zero-setup install via Homebrew or curl hooks developers tired of losing context in git github repo histories.

Who should use this?

AI-heavy teams on GitHub or GitLab debugging git github authentication flows, permission denied publickey windows errors, or git why sign commits. Solo devs using Cursor or Aider who want git why is file ignored explanations without manual docs. Open-source maintainers explaining git why squash commits or git why rename master to main in shared repos.

Verdict

Try it for AI-assisted workflows—solid docs and Homebrew formula make setup easy—but with 17 stars and 1.0% credibility score, it's early-stage; test in a side project first as providers like Cursor are still coming.

(198 words)

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