GitLens supercharges the Git capabilities built into Visual Studio Code. It helps you to visualize code authorship at a glance via Git blame annotations and code lens, seamlessly navigate and explore Git repositories, gain valuable insights via powerful comparison commands, and so much more.

What's new in GitLens 8

8.2 — April 2018

• Adds new GitLens History explorer to explore the history of the current file — same as the history view in the GitLens explorer when undocked
• Adds richer tooltips to the GitLens explorer and GitLens Results view, and richer working tree and upstream status to the GitLens explorer
• Adds an indicator to the GitLens explorer's branch history to mark the synchronization point between the local and remote branch (if available)
• Adds ability to easily switch between relative and absolute dates via the gitlens.defaultDateStyle settings — closes #312
  • Adds ${agoOrDate} and ${authorAgoOrDate} tokens to gitlens.blame.format, gitlens.currentLine.format, gitlens.explorers.commitFormat, gitlens.explorers.stashFormat, and gitlens.statusBar.format settings which will honor the gitlens.defaultDateStyle setting
• Adds annotation format settings (gitlens.*.format) to the interactive settings editor
• Adds gitlens.currentLine.scrollable setting to specify whether the current line blame annotation can be scrolled into view when it is outside the viewport — closes #149, #290, #265
• Adds gitlens.statusBar.reduceFlicker setting to the interactive settings editor
• Adds a one-time notification on startup if the alt-based keyboard shortcuts are in use, with options to easily switch to another set
• Adds Copy Commit ID to Clipboard (gitlens.copyShaToClipboard) command to changed file nodes in the GitLens explorer and GitLens Results view
• Adds Copy Commit Message to Clipboard (gitlens.copyMessageToClipboard) command to changed file nodes in the GitLens explorer and GitLens Results view
• Moves Keyboard Settings to the General section of the interactive settings editor
• Renames Compare with Index (HEAD) (gitlens.explorers.compareWithHead) command to Compare with HEAD — closes #309
• Renames Compare Index (HEAD) with Branch or Tag... (gitlens.diffHeadWithBranch) command to Compare HEAD with Branch or Tag... — closes #309
• Removes the unnecessary Show File Blame Annotations (gitlens.showFileBlame) command — Toggle File Blame Annotations (gitlens.toggleFileBlame) provides similar functionality
• Removes the unnecessary Show Line Blame Annotations (gitlens.showLineBlame) command — Toggle Line Blame Annotations (gitlens.toggleLineBlame) provides similar functionality
• Removes Open Working File (gitlens.openWorkingFile) command from the editor toolbar when the built-in Open File command is visible
• Removes Compare with HEAD (gitlens.explorers.compareWithHead), Compare with Working Tree (gitlens.explorers.compareWithWorking), and Compare Compare Ancestry with Working Tree (gitlens.explorers.compareAncestryWithWorking) commands from the current branch since comparing a branch with itself doesn't make sense — closes #309
• Fixes #314 - Toggle line annotation doesn't work properly
• Fixes #310 - "via Terminal" commands need quoting around work directory
• Fixes issues with the active repository in the GitLens explorer failed to update properly
• Fixes issues with Open File, Open Revision, and Show File History commands and images and other binary files
• Fixes issues preventing nodes in the GitLens explorer from expanding properly in certain cases
• Fixes issues when refreshing nodes in the GitLens Results view

See the release notes for the full set of changes

GitLens

GitLens is an open-source extension for Visual Studio Code created by Eric Amodio. While GitLens is generously offered to everyone free of charge, if you find it useful please consider supporting it.

GitLens simply helps you understand code better. Quickly glimpse into whom, why, and when a line or code block was changed. Jump back through history to gain further insights as to how and why the code evolved. Explore the history and evolution of a codebase.

Here are just some of the features that GitLens provides,

• a GitLens explorer to navigate and explore repositories or file histories
• an on-demand GitLens Results view to explore commit searches, visualize comparisons between branches, tags, commits, and more
• authorship code lens showing the most recent commit and # of authors to the top of files and/or on code blocks
• an unobtrusive current line blame annotation at the end of the line
• on-demand gutter blame annotations, including a heatmap, for the whole file
• detailed blame information accessible via hovers
• on-demand recent changes annotations to highlight lines changed by the most recent commit
• a status bar blame annotation showing author and date for the current line
• commit search — by message, author, filename, commit id, or code changes
• many powerful commands for exploring commits and histories, comparing and navigating revisions, stash access, repository status, etc
• and so much more

GitLens is powerful, feature rich, and also highly customizable to meet your specific needs — find code lens intrusive or the current line blame annotation distracting — no problem, it is quick and easy to turn them off or change how they behave via the built-in GitLens Settings editor, an interactive editor covering many of GitLens' powerful settings. While for more advanced customizations, refer to the GitLens settings docs and edit your vscode user settings.

Support GitLens

While GitLens is generously offered to everyone free of charge, if you find it useful please consider supporting it.

I've been building GitLens in my spare time¹ for almost 2 years now. From its very humble beginnings, GitLens has grown wildly beyond my expectations — in both its reach as well as its demands on my time and attention. While I enjoy giving my free time and attention to GitLens' development and growth, I would like to do even more.

Show Your Support ❤

To my incredible backers — thank you so much for your contributions. I am truly humbled by your generosity and support. Please know that your support plays a important role in helping me realize GitLens' potential in making developer's lives easier.

If you'd like to join them in supporting GitLens, please consider the following — feel free to choose more than one. 😉

• Become a Sponsor — join the growing group of generous backers
• One-time Donations
• Write a Review
• Star or Fork me on GitHub
• Follow me on Twitter

Configuration

GitLens has a built-in interactive settings editor which provides an easy-to-use interface to configure many of GitLens' powerful features. It can be accessed via the Open Settings (gitlens.showSettingsPage) command from the Command Palette.

For more advanced customizations, refer to the settings documentation below.

Features

GitLens Explorer

A customizable explorer to navigate and explore repositories or file histories. The GitLens explorer provides two views (modes) — a Repository view and a History view.

• A toolbar provides Search Commits, Switch to Repository View or Switch to History View, and Refresh commands
  • Quickly switch between views using the Switch to Repository View or Switch to History View commands
  • A context menu provides Automatic Layout, List Layout, Tree Layout, Enable Automatic Refresh or Disable Automatic Refresh, and Follow Renames or Don't Follow Renames commands

Repository view

The repository view provides a full Git repository explorer, which has the following features,

• Repository Status

  • Provides the name of the current branch, optionally its working tree status, and its upstream tracking branch and status (if available)
  • Provides indicator dots on the repository icon which denote the following:
    • None — up-to-date with the upstream
    • Green — ahead of the upstream
    • Red — behind the upstream
    • Yellow — both ahead of and behind the upstream
  • Provides additional upstream status nodes, if the current branch is tracking a remote branch and,
    • is behind the upstream — quickly see and explore the specific commits behind the upstream (i.e. commits that haven't been pulled)
    • is ahead of the upstream — quickly see and explore the specific commits ahead of the upstream (i.e. commits that haven't been pushed)
  • A context menu provides Open Repository in Remote, and Refresh commands
  • Changed Files — lists all the "working" changes
    • Expands to a file-based view of all changed files in the working tree (optionally) and/or all files in all commits ahead of the upstream

• Branches — lists the local branches

  • Indicates which branch is the current branch and optionally shows the remote tracking branch
  • A context menu provides Open Branches in Remote, and Refresh commands
  • Branches expand to show its revision (commit) history
    • Provides indicator dots on each branch icon which denote the following:
      • None — no upstream or up-to-date with the upstream
      • Green — ahead of the upstream
      • Red — behind the upstream
      • Yellow — both ahead of and behind the upstream
    • Context menus for each branch provide
      • Open Branch in Remote (if available), Compare with Remote (if available), Compare with HEAD, Compare with Working Tree, Compare with Selected (when available), Compare Ancestry with Working Tree (when available), Select for Compare, Open Directory Compare with Working Tree, Checkout Branch (via Terminal), Merge Branch (via Terminal), Rebase (Interactive) Branch (via Terminal), Rebase (Interactive) Branch to Remote (via Terminal), Squash Branch into Commit (via Terminal), Create Branch (via Terminal)..., Delete Branch (via Terminal), Create Tag (via Terminal)..., and Refresh commands
    • Revisions (commits) expand to show the set of files changed, complete with status indicators for adds, changes, renames, and deletes
      • Context menus for each revision (commit) provide
        • Open Commit in Remote (if available), Open All Changes, Open All Changes with Working Tree, Open Files, Open Revisions, Copy Commit ID to Clipboard, Copy Commit Message to Clipboard, Show Commit Details, Compare with HEAD, Compare with Working Tree, Compare with Selected (when available), Select for Compare, Cherry Pick Commit (via Terminal) (when available), Push to Commit (via Terminal) (when available), Revert Commit (via Terminal) (when available), Rebase to Commit (via Terminal) (when available), Reset to Commit (via Terminal) (when available), Create Branch (via Terminal)..., Create Tag (via Terminal)..., and Refresh commands
      • Context menus for each changed file provide
        • Open Changes, Open Changes with Working File, Open File, Open Revision, Open File in Remote, Open Revision in Remote, Copy Commit ID to Clipboard, Copy Commit Message to Clipboard, Apply Changes, and Show Commit File Details commands
      • Inline toolbars for each changed file provide an Open File command

• Remotes — lists the remotes

  • Indicates the direction of the remote (fetch, push, both), remote service (if applicable), and repository path
  • A context menu provides a Refresh command
  • Remotes expands show its list of branches
    • Context menus for each remote provide
      • Open Branches in Remote, Open Repository in Remote, Remove Remote (via Terminal), and Refresh commands
    • Branches expand to show its revision (commit) history
      • See the Branches expand section under Branches above for more details

• Stashes — lists the stashed changes

  • A context menu provides Stash Changes, and Refresh commands
  • Stashes expand to show the set of files stashed, complete with status indicators for adds, changes, renames, and deletes
    • Context menus for each stash provide
      • Apply Stashed Changes (confirmation required), Delete Stashed Changes (confirmation required), Open All Changes, Open All Changes with Working Tree, Open Files, Open Revisions, Copy Commit Message to Clipboard, Compare with HEAD, Compare with Working Tree, Compare with Selected (when available), Select for Compare, and Refresh commands
    • Context menus for each stashed file provide
      • Apply Changes, Open Changes, Open Changes with Working File, Open File, Open Revision, Open File in Remote (if available), and Show File History commands

• Tags — lists the tags

  • A context menu provides a Refresh command
  • Tags expand to show its revision (commit) history
    • Context menus for each tag provide
      • Compare with HEAD, Compare with Working Tree, Compare with Selected, Select for Compare, Open Directory Compare with Working Tree, Delete Tag (via Terminal), Create Branch (via Terminal), and Refresh commands
    • Revisions (commits) expand to show the set of files changed, complete with status indicators for adds, changes, renames, and deletes
      • See the Revisions (commits) expand section under Branches above for more details

History view

The history view provides the revision history of the current file, which has the following features,

• Automatically updates to track the current editor
• A context menu provides Open File, Open File in Remote (if available), and Refresh commands
• An inline toolbar provides an Open File command
• Context menus for each revision (commit) provides
  • Open Changes, Open Changes with Working File, Open File, Open Revision, Open File in Remote (if available), Open Revision in Remote (if available), Apply Changes, and Show Commit File Details commands

---

GitLens History Explorer

A customizable explorer to explore the history of the current file. This is same as the history view in the GitLens Explorer when undocked

• Automatically updates to track the current editor
• A context menu provides Open File, Open File in Remote (if available), and Refresh commands
• An inline toolbar provides an Open File command
• Context menus for each revision (commit) provides
  • Open Changes, Open Changes with Working File, Open File, Open Revision, Open File in Remote (if available), Open Revision in Remote (if available), Apply Changes, and Show Commit File Details commands

---

GitLens Results View

An on-demand, customizable view to explore commits, histories, and searches, or visualize comparisons between branches, tags, commits, and more

• A toolbar provides Search Commits, Keep Results, and Refresh commands
  • A context menu provides Automatic Layout, List Layout, Tree Layout, and Close commands

Explore

• Provides a semi-persistent results view for exploring histories, commits, and searches
  • Accessible via the following commands
    • Show Commit Search command (gitlens.showCommitSearch)
    • Show File History command (gitlens.showQuickFileHistory)
    • Show Commit Details command (gitlens.showQuickCommitDetails)
  • An inline toolbar provides a Clear Results command
  • A context menu provides Clear Results, and Refresh commands
  • Revisions (commits) expand show the set of files changed, complete with status indicators for adds, changes, renames, and deletes
    • Context menus for each revision (commit) provide
      • Open Commit in Remote (if available), Open All Changes, Open All Changes with Working Tree, Open Files, Open Revisions, Copy Commit ID to Clipboard, Copy Commit Message to Clipboard, Show Commit Details, Compare with HEAD, Compare with Working Tree, Compare with Selected (when available), Select for Compare, Cherry Pick Commit (via Terminal) (when available), Push to Commit (via Terminal) (when available), Revert Commit (via Terminal) (when available), Rebase to Commit (via Terminal) (when available), Reset to Commit (via Terminal) (when available), Create Branch (via Terminal)..., Create Tag (via Terminal)..., and Refresh commands
    • Context menus for each changed file provide
      • Open Changes, Open Changes with Working File, Open File, Open Revision, Open File in Remote, Open Revision in Remote, Copy Commit ID to Clipboard, Copy Commit Message to Clipboard, Apply Changes, and Show Commit File Details commands

Compare

• Provides a semi-persistent results view for comparison operations

  • Accessible via the following commands

    • Compare with Remote command (gitlens.explorers.compareWithRemote)
    • Compare with HEAD command (gitlens.explorers.compareWithHead)
    • Compare with Working Tree command (gitlens.explorers.compareWithWorking)
    • Compare with Selected command (gitlens.explorers.compareWithSelected)
    • Compare Ancestry with Working Tree command (gitlens.explorers.compareAncestryWithWorking)

  • An inline toolbar provides Swap Comparision, and Clear Results commands

  • A context menu provides Clear Results, Swap Comparision, Open Directory Compare, and Refresh commands

  • Commits — lists the commits between the compared revisions (branches or commits)

    • Revisions (commits) expand to show the set of files changed, complete with status indicators for adds, changes, renames, and deletes
      • See the Revisions (commits) expand section under Explore above for more details

  • Changed Files — lists the files changed between the compared revisions (branches or commits)

    • Expands to a file-based view of all changed files
      • Context menus for each changed file provide
        • Open Changes, Open Changes with Working File, Open File, Open Revision, Open File in Remote, Open Revision in Remote, Copy Commit ID to Clipboard, Copy Commit Message to Clipboard, Apply Changes, and Show Commit File Details commands

---

Code Lens

• Adds Git authorship code lens to the top of the file and on code blocks (optional, on by default)

  • Recent Change — author and date of the most recent commit for the file or code block

    • Click the code lens to show a commit file details quick pick menu with commands for comparing, navigating and exploring commits, and more (by default)

  • Authors — number of authors of the file or code block and the most prominent author (if there is more than one)

    • Click the code lens to toggle the file Git blame annotations on and off of the whole file (by default)
    • Will be hidden if the author of the most recent commit is also the only author of the file or block, to avoid duplicate information and reduce visual noise

  • Provides customizable click behavior for each code lens — choose between one of the following

    • Toggle file blame annotations on and off
    • Compare the commit with the previous commit
    • Show a quick pick menu with details and commands for the commit
    • Show a quick pick menu with file details and commands for the commit
    • Show a quick pick menu with the commit history of the file
    • Show a quick pick menu with the commit history of the current branch

• Adds a Toggle Git Code Lens command (gitlens.toggleCodeLens) with a shortcut of shift+alt+b to toggle the code lens on and off

---

Current Line Blame

• Adds an unobtrusive, customizable, and themable, blame annotation at the end of the current line
  • Contains the author, date, and message of the current line's most recent commit (by default)
  • Adds a Toggle Line Blame Annotations command (gitlens.toggleLineBlame) to toggle the blame annotation on and off

---

Gutter Blame

• Adds on-demand, customizable, and themable, gutter blame annotations for the whole file
  • Contains the commit message and date, by default
  • Adds a heatmap (age) indicator on right edge (by default) of the gutter to provide an easy, at-a-glance way to tell the age of a line (optional, on by default)
    • Indicator ranges from bright yellow (newer) to dark brown (older)
  • Adds a Toggle File Blame Annotations command (gitlens.toggleFileBlame) with a shortcut of alt+b to toggle the blame annotations on and off
  • Press Escape to turn off the annotations

---

Gutter Heatmap

• Adds an on-demand heatmap to the edge of the gutter to show the relative age of a line
  • Indicator ranges from bright yellow (newer) to dark brown (older)
  • Adds Toggle File Heatmap Annotations command (gitlens.toggleFileHeatmap) to toggle the heatmap on and off
  • Press Escape to turn off the annotations

---

Hovers

Current Line Hovers

• Adds customizable Git blame hovers accessible over the current line

Details Hover

• Adds a details hover annotation to the current line to show more commit details (optional, on by default)
  • Provides automatic issue linking to Bitbucket, GitHub, GitLab, and Visual Studio Team Services in commit messages
  • Provides a quick-access command bar with Open Changes, Blame Previous Revision, Open in Remote, and Show More Actions command buttons
  • Click the commit id to execute the Show Commit Details command (gitlens.showQuickCommitDetails)

Changes (diff) Hover

• Adds a changes (diff) hover annotation to the current line to show the line's previous version (optional, on by default)
  • Click the Changes to execute the Compare File Revisions command (gitlens.diffWith)
  • Click the current and previous commit ids to execute the Show Commit Details command (gitlens.showQuickCommitDetails)

Annotation Hovers

• Adds customizable Git blame hovers accessible when annotating

Details Hover

• Adds a details hover annotation to each line while annotating to show more commit details (optional, on by default)
  • Provides automatic issue linking to Bitbucket, GitHub, GitLab, and Visual Studio Team Services in commit messages
  • Provides a quick-access command bar with Open Changes, Blame Previous Revision, Open in Remote, and Show More Actions command buttons
  • Click the commit id to execute the Show Commit Details command (gitlens.showQuickCommitDetails)

Changes (diff) Hover

• Adds a changes (diff) hover annotation to each line while annotating to show the line's previous version (optional, on by default)
  • Click the Changes to execute the Compare File Revisions command (gitlens.diffWith)
  • Click the current and previous commit ids to execute the Show Commit Details command (gitlens.showQuickCommitDetails)

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Recent Changes

• Adds an on-demand, customizable and themable, recent changes annotation to highlight lines changed by the most recent commit
  • Adds Toggle Recent File Changes Annotations command (gitlens.toggleFileRecentChanges) to toggle the recent changes annotations on and off
  • Press Escape to turn off the annotations

---

Status Bar Blame

• Adds a customizable Git blame annotation about the current line to the status bar (optional, on by default)

  • Contains the commit author and date (by default)

  • Click the status bar item to show a commit details quick pick menu with commands for comparing, navigating and exploring commits, and more (by default)

  • Provides customizable click behavior — choose between one of the following

    • Toggle file blame annotations on and off
    • Toggle code lens on and off
    • Compare the line commit with the previous commit
    • Compare the line commit with the working tree
    • Show a quick pick menu with details and commands for the commit (default)
    • Show a quick pick menu with file details and commands for the commit
    • Show a quick pick menu with the commit history of the file
    • Show a quick pick menu with the commit history of the current branch

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Commit Search

• Adds a Search Commits command (gitlens.showCommitSearch) with a shortcut of alt+/ to search for commits by message, author, file(s), commit id, or code changes
  • Use <message> to search for commits with messages that match <message> — See Git docs
  • Use @<pattern> to search for commits with authors that match <pattern> — See Git docs
  • Use :<pattern> to search for commits with file names that match <pattern> — See Git docs
  • Use #<sha> to search for a commit with id of <sha> — See Git docs
  • Use ~<pattern> to search for commits with differences whose patch text contains added/removed lines that match <pattern> — See Git docs
  • Use =<string> to search for commits with differences that change the number of occurrences of the specified string (i.e. addition/deletion) in a file — See Git docs
  • Provides a Show in Results option to show the search results in the GitLens Results view

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Navigate and Explore

• Adds a Show Last Opened Quick Pick command (gitlens.showLastQuickPick) with a shortcut of alt+- to quickly get back to where you were when the last GitLens quick pick menu closed

• Adds commands to open files, commits, branches, and the repository in the supported remote services, Bitbucket, GitHub, GitLab, and Visual Studio Team Services or a user-defined remote services — only available if a Git upstream service is configured in the repository

  • Also supports remote services with custom domains, such as Bitbucket, Bitbucket Server (previously called Stash), GitHub, GitHub Enterprise, GitLab
  • Open Branches in Remote command (gitlens.openBranchesInRemote) — opens the branches in the supported remote service
  • Open Branch in Remote command (gitlens.openBranchInRemote) — opens the current branch commits in the supported remote service
  • Open Commit in Remote command (gitlens.openCommitInRemote) — opens the commit revision of the current line in the supported remote service
  • Open File in Remote command (gitlens.openFileInRemote) — opens the current file/revision in the supported remote service
  • Open Repository in Remote command (gitlens.openRepoInRemote) — opens the repository in the supported remote service

Branch History

• Adds a Show Current Branch History command (gitlens.showQuickRepoHistory) with a shortcut of shift+alt+h to show a paged branch history quick pick menu of the current branch for exploring its commit history

  • Provides entries to Show Commit Search and Open Branch in <remote-service> when available
  • Navigate back to the previous quick pick menu via alt+left arrow, if available
  • Navigate pages via alt+, and alt+. to go backward and forward respectively

• Adds a Show Branch History command (gitlens.showQuickBranchHistory) to show a paged branch history quick pick menu of the selected branch for exploring its commit history

  • Provides the same features as Show Current Branch History above

File History

• Adds a Show File History command (gitlens.showQuickFileHistory) to show a paged file history quick pick menu of the current file for exploring its commit history
  • Provides additional entries to Show in Results, Show Branch History, and Open File in <remote-service> when available
  • Navigate back to the previous quick pick menu via alt+left arrow, if available
  • Navigate pages via alt+, and alt+. to go backward and forward respectively

Commit Details

• Adds a Show Commit Details command (gitlens.showQuickCommitDetails) to show a commit details quick pick menu of the most recent commit of the current file
  • Quickly see the set of files changed in the commit, complete with status indicators for adds, changes, renames, and deletes
  • Provides additional entries to Show in Results, Open Commit in <remote-service> when available, Open Files, Open Revisions, Open Directory Compare with Previous Revision, Open Directory Compare with Working Tree, Copy Commit ID to Clipboard, Copy Commit Message to Clipboard
  • Navigate back to the previous quick pick menu via alt+left arrow, if available
  • Use the alt+right arrow shortcut on an entry to execute it without closing the quick pick menu, if possible — commands that open windows outside of VS Code will still close the quick pick menu unless "gitlens.advanced.quickPick.closeOnFocusOut": false is set
  • Use the alt+right arrow shortcut on a file entry in the Changed Files section to preview the comparison of the current revision with the previous one

• Adds a Show Commit File Details command (gitlens.showQuickCommitFileDetails) with a shortcut of alt+c to show a file commit details quick pick menu of the most recent commit of the current file
  • Provides entries to Open Changes, Open Changes with Working File, Open File, Open Revision, Open File in <remote-service> when available, Open Revision in <remote-service> when available, Copy Commit ID to Clipboard, Copy Commit Message to Clipboard, Show Commit Details, Show File History, and Show Previous File History
  • Navigate back to the previous quick pick menu via alt+left arrow, if available
  • Use the alt+right arrow shortcut on an entry to execute it without closing the quick pick menu, if possible — commands that open windows outside of VS Code will still close the quick pick menu unless "gitlens.advanced.quickPick.closeOnFocusOut": false is set

Repository Status

• Adds a Show Repository Status command (gitlens.showQuickRepoStatus) with a shortcut of alt+s to show a repository status quick pick menu for visualizing the current repository status
  • Quickly see upstream status (if an Git upstream is configured) — complete with ahead and behind information
    • If you are ahead of the upstream, an entry will be shown with the number of commits ahead. Choosing it will show a limited branch history quick pick menu containing just the commits ahead of the upstream
    • If you are behind the upstream, an entry will be shown with the number of commits behind. Choosing it will show a limited branch history quick pick menu containing just the commits behind the upstream
  • Quickly see all working changes, both staged and unstaged, complete with status indicators for adds, changes, renames, and deletes
  • Provides entries to Show Stashed Changes, Open Changed Files, and Close Unchanged Files
  • Use the alt+right arrow shortcut on an entry to execute it without closing the quick pick menu, if possible — commands that open windows outside of VS Code will still close the quick pick menu unless "gitlens.advanced.quickPick.closeOnFocusOut": false is set
  • Use the alt+right arrow shortcut on a file entry in the Staged Files or Unstaged Files sections to preview the comparison of the working file with the previous revision

Stashes

• Adds a Show Stashed Changes command (gitlens.showQuickStashList) to show a stashed changes quick pick menu for exploring your repository stash history

  • Provides additional entries to Stash Changes
  • Navigate back to the previous quick pick menu via alt+left arrow, if available

• Adds a Stash Changes command (gitlens.stashSave) to save any working tree changes to the stash — can optionally provide a stash message

  • Also adds the command to the Source Control items context menu to stash an individual or group of files, works with multi-select too!

Stash Details

• Stashed changes show a stash details quick pick menu which is very similar to the commit details quick pick menu above

  • Quickly see the set of files changed in the stash, complete with status indicators for adds, changes, renames, and deletes
  • Provides additional entries to Apply Stashed Changes (requires confirmation), Delete Stashed Changes (requires confirmation), Open Files, Open Revisions, Open Directory Compare with Previous Revision, Open Directory Compare with Working Tree, Copy Commit Message to Clipboard
  • Navigate back to the previous quick pick menu via alt+left arrow, if available
  • Use the alt+right arrow shortcut on an entry to execute it without closing the quick pick menu, if possible — commands that open windows outside of VS Code will still close the quick pick menu unless "gitlens.advanced.quickPick.closeOnFocusOut": false is set
  • Use the alt+right arrow shortcut on a file entry in the Changed Files section to preview the comparison of the current revision with the previous one

• Adds a Apply Stashed Changes command (gitlens.stashApply) to chose a stash entry to apply to the working tree from a quick pick menu

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Powerful Comparison Tools

• Effortlessly navigate between comparisons via the alt+, and alt+. shortcut keys to go back and forth through a file's revisions

• Provides easy access to the following comparison commands via the Command Palette as well as in context via the many provided quick pick menus

• Adds a Directory Compare Working Tree with... command (gitlens.diffDirectory) to open the configured Git difftool to compare the working tree with the selected branch or tag

• Adds a Compare HEAD with Branch or Tag... command (gitlens.diffHeadWithBranch) to compare the index (HEAD) with the selected branch or tag

• Adds a Compare Working Tree with Branch or Tag... command (gitlens.diffWorkingWithBranch) to compare the working tree with the selected branch or tag

• Adds a Compare File with Branch or Tag... command (gitlens.diffWithBranch) to compare the current file with the same file on the selected branch or tag

• Adds a Compare File with Next Revision command (gitlens.diffWithNext) with a shortcut of alt+. to compare the current file/diff with the next commit revision

• Adds a Compare File with Previous Revision command (gitlens.diffWithPrevious) with a shortcut of alt+, to compare the current file/diff with the previous commit revision

• Adds a Compare Line Revision with Previous command (gitlens.diffLineWithPrevious) with a shortcut of shift+alt+, to compare the current file/diff with the previous line commit revision

• Adds a Compare File with Revision... command (gitlens.diffWithRevision) to compare the current file with the selected revision of the same file

• Adds a Compare File with Working Revision command (gitlens.diffWithWorking) with a shortcut of shift+alt+w to compare the most recent commit revision of the current file/diff with the working tree

• Adds a Compare Line Revision with Working File command (gitlens.diffLineWithWorking) with a shortcut of alt+w to compare the commit revision of the current line with the working tree

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And More

• Adds a Copy Commit ID to Clipboard command (gitlens.copyShaToClipboard) to copy the commit id (sha) of the current line to the clipboard or from the most recent commit to the current branch, if there is no current editor

• Adds a Copy Commit Message to Clipboard command (gitlens.copyMessageToClipboard) to copy the commit message of the current line to the clipboard or from the most recent commit to the current branch, if there is no current editor

• Adds a Open Working File" command (gitlens.openWorkingFile) to open the working file for the current file revision

• Adds a Open Revision... command (gitlens.openFileRevision) to open the selected revision for the current file

• Adds a Open Changes (with difftool) command (gitlens.externalDiff) to the source control group and source control resource context menus to open the changes of a file or set of files with the configured git difftool

• Adds a Open All Changes (with difftool) command (gitlens.externalDiffAll) to open all working changes with the configured git difftool

  • Also adds the command to the Source Control group context menu

• Adds a Open Changed Files command (gitlens.openChangedFiles) to open any files with working tree changes

• Adds a Close Unchanged Files command (gitlens.closeUnchangedFiles) to close any files without working tree changes

---

GitLens Settings

GitLens is highly customizable and provides many configuration settings to allow the personalization of almost all features.

General Settings

Name	Description
gitlens.defaultDateFormat	Specifies how absolute dates will be formatted by default See https://momentjs.com/docs/#/displaying/format/ for valid formats
gitlens.defaultDateStyle	Specifies how dates will be displayed by default
gitlens.defaultGravatarsStyle	Specifies the style of the gravatar default (fallback) images identicon - a geometric pattern mm - (mystery-man) a simple, cartoon-style silhouetted outline of a person (does not vary by email hash) monsterid - a monster with different colors, faces, etc retro - 8-bit arcade-style pixelated faces robohash - a robot with different colors, faces, etc wavatar - faces with differing features and backgrounds
gitlens.insiders	Opts into the insiders channel — provides access to upcoming features
gitlens.keymap	Specifies the keymap to use for GitLens shortcut keys alternate - adds an alternate set of shortcut keys that start with Alt (⌥ on macOS) chorded - adds a chorded set of shortcut keys that start with Ctrl+Shift+G (⌥⌘G on macOS) none - no shortcut keys will be added
gitlens.outputLevel	Specifies how much (if any) output will be sent to the GitLens output channel
gitlens.showWhatsNewAfterUpgrades	Specifies whether to show What's New after upgrading to new feature releases

GitLens Explorer Settings

See also Explorer Settings

Name	Description
gitlens.gitExplorer.autoRefresh	Specifies whether to automatically refresh the GitLens explorer when the repository or the file system changes
gitlens.gitExplorer.branches.layout	Specifies how the GitLens explorer will display branches list - displays branches as a list tree - displays branches as a tree when branch names contain slashes /
gitlens.gitExplorer.enabled	Specifies whether to show the GitLens explorer"
gitlens.gitExplorer.files.compact	Specifies whether to compact (flatten) unnecessary file nesting in the GitLens explorer Only applies when displaying files as a tree or auto
gitlens.gitExplorer.files.layout	Specifies how the GitLens explorer will display files auto - automatically switches between displaying files as a tree or list based on the gitlens.gitExplorer.files.threshold setting and the number of files at each nesting level list - displays files as a list tree - displays files as a tree
gitlens.gitExplorer.files.threshold	Specifies when to switch between displaying files as a tree or list based on the number of files in a nesting level in the GitLens explorer Only applies when displaying files as auto
gitlens.gitExplorer.includeWorkingTree	Specifies whether to include working tree files inside the Repository Status node of the GitLens explorer
gitlens.gitExplorer.showTrackingBranch	Specifies whether to show the tracking branch when displaying local branches in the GitLens explorer"
gitlens.gitExplorer.view	Specifies the starting view of the GitLens explorer auto - shows the last selected view, defaults to repository history - shows the commit history of the current file repository - shows a repository explorer"

GitLens History Explorer Settings

See also Explorer Settings

Name	Description
gitlens.historyExplorer.enabled	Specifies whether to show the current file history undocked in a GitLens History explorer

GitLens Results View Settings

See also Explorer Settings

Name	Description
gitlens.resultsExplorer.files.compact	Specifies whether to compact (flatten) unnecessary file nesting in the GitLens Results view Only applies when displaying files as a tree or auto
gitlens.resultsExplorer.files.layout	Specifies how the GitLens Results view will display files auto - automatically switches between displaying files as a tree or list based on the gitlens.resultsExplorer.files.threshold setting and the number of files at each nesting level list - displays files as a list tree - displays files as a tree
gitlens.resultsExplorer.files.threshold	Specifies when to switch between displaying files as a tree or list based on the number of files in a nesting level in the GitLens Results view Only applies when displaying files as auto

Explorer Settings

Name	Description
gitlens.explorers.avatars	Specifies whether to show avatar images instead of commit (or status) icons in the GitLens and GitLens Results views
gitlens.explorers.commitFileFormat	Specifies the format of a committed file in the GitLens and GitLens Results views Available tokens ${directory} - directory name ${file} - file name ${filePath} - formatted file name and path ${path} - full file path
gitlens.explorers.commitFormat	Specifies the format of committed changes in the GitLens and GitLens Results views Available tokens ${id} - commit id ${author} - commit author ${message} - commit message ${ago} - relative commit date (e.g. 1 day ago) ${date} - formatted commit date (format specified by gitlens.statusBar.dateFormat) ${agoOrDate} - commit date specified by gitlens.defaultDateStyle ${authorAgo} - commit author, relative commit date ${authorAgoOrDate} - commit author, commit date specified by gitlens.defaultDateStyle See https://github.com/eamodio/vscode-gitlens/wiki/Advanced-Formatting for advanced formatting
gitlens.explorers.stashFileFormat	Specifies the format of a stashed file in the GitLens and GitLens Results views Available tokens ${directory} - directory name ${file} - file name ${filePath} - formatted file name and path ${path} - full file path
gitlens.explorers.stashFormat	Specifies the format of stashed changes in the GitLens and GitLens Results views Available tokens ${id} - commit id ${author} - commit author ${message} - commit message ${ago} - relative commit date (e.g. 1 day ago) ${date} - formatted commit date (format specified by gitlens.statusBar.dateFormat) ${agoOrDate} - commit date specified by gitlens.defaultDateStyle ${authorAgo} - commit author, relative commit date ${authorAgoOrDate} - commit author, commit date specified by gitlens.defaultDateStyle See https://github.com/eamodio/vscode-gitlens/wiki/Advanced-Formatting for advanced formatting
gitlens.explorers.statusFileFormat	Specifies the format of the status of a working or committed file in the GitLens and GitLens Results views Available tokens ${directory} - directory name ${file} - file name ${filePath} - formatted file name and path ${path} - full file path ${working} - optional indicator if the file is uncommitted

Code Lens Settings

Name	Description
gitlens.codeLens.authors.command	Specifies the command to be executed when the authors code lens is clicked gitlens.toggleFileBlame - toggles file blame annotations gitlens.diffWithPrevious - compares the current committed file with the previous commit gitlens.showQuickCommitDetails - shows a commit details quick pick gitlens.showQuickCommitFileDetails - shows a commit file details quick pick gitlens.showQuickFileHistory - shows a file history quick pick gitlens.showQuickRepoHistory - shows a branch history quick pick
gitlens.codeLens.authors.enabled	Specifies whether to show an authors code lens showing number of authors of the file or code block and the most prominent author (if there is more than one)
gitlens.codeLens.enabled	Specifies whether to provide any Git code lens, by default Use the Toggle Git Code Lens command (gitlens.toggleCodeLens) to toggle the Git code lens on and off for the current window
gitlens.codeLens.recentChange.command	Specifies the command to be executed when the recent change code lens is clicked gitlens.toggleFileBlame - toggles file blame annotations gitlens.diffWithPrevious - compares the current committed file with the previous commit gitlens.showQuickCommitDetails - shows a commit details quick pick gitlens.showQuickCommitFileDetails - shows a commit file details quick pick gitlens.showQuickFileHistory - shows a file history quick pick gitlens.showQuickRepoHistory - shows a branch history quick pick
gitlens.codeLens.recentChange.enabled	Specifies whether to show a recent change code lens showing the author and date of the most recent commit for the file or code block
gitlens.codeLens.scopes	Specifies where Git code lens will be shown in the document document - adds code lens at the top of the document containers - adds code lens at the start of container-like symbols (modules, classes, interfaces, etc) blocks - adds code lens at the start of block-like symbols (functions, methods, etc) lines
gitlens.codeLens.scopesByLanguage	Specifies where Git code lens will be shown in the document for the specified languages
gitlens.codeLens.symbolScopes	Specifies a set of document symbols where Git code lens will or will not be shown in the document Prefix with ! to not show Git code lens for the symbol Must be a member of SymbolKind

Current Line Blame Settings

Name	Description
gitlens.currentLine.dateFormat	Specifies how to format absolute dates (using the ${date} token) for the current line blame annotations See https://momentjs.com/docs/#/displaying/format/ for valid formats
gitlens.currentLine.enabled	Specifies whether to provide a blame annotation for the current line, by default Use the Toggle Line Blame Annotations command (gitlens.toggleLineBlame) to toggle the annotations on and off for the current window
gitlens.currentLine.format	Specifies the format of the current line blame annotation Available tokens ${id} - commit id ${author} - commit author ${message} - commit message ${ago} - relative commit date (e.g. 1 day ago) ${date} - formatted commit date (format specified by gitlens.currentLine.dateFormat) ${agoOrDate} - commit date specified by gitlens.defaultDateStyle ${authorAgo} - commit author, relative commit date ${authorAgoOrDate} - commit author, commit date specified by gitlens.defaultDateStyle See https://github.com/eamodio/vscode-gitlens/wiki/Advanced-Formatting for advanced formatting
gitlens.currentLine.scrollable	Specifies whether the current line blame annotation can be scrolled into view when it is outside the viewport

Gutter Blame Settings

Name	Description
gitlens.blame.avatars	Specifies whether to show avatar images in the gutter blame annotations
gitlens.blame.compact	Specifies whether to compact (deduplicate) matching adjacent gutter blame annotations
gitlens.blame.dateFormat	Specifies how to format absolute dates (using the ${date} token) in gutter blame annotations See https://momentjs.com/docs/#/displaying/format/ for valid formats
gitlens.blame.format	Specifies the format of the gutter blame annotations Available tokens ${id} - commit id ${author} - commit author ${message} - commit message ${ago} - relative commit date (e.g. 1 day ago) ${date} - formatted commit date (format specified by gitlens.blame.dateFormat) ${agoOrDate} - commit date specified by gitlens.defaultDateStyle ${authorAgo} - commit author, relative commit date ${authorAgoOrDate} - commit author, commit date specified by gitlens.defaultDateStyle See https://github.com/eamodio/vscode-gitlens/wiki/Advanced-Formatting for advanced formatting
gitlens.blame.heatmap.enabled	Specifies whether to provide a heatmap indicator in the gutter blame annotations
gitlens.blame.heatmap.location	Specifies where the heatmap indicators will be shown in the gutter blame annotations left - adds a heatmap indicator on the left edge of the gutter blame annotations right - adds a heatmap indicator on the right edge of the gutter blame annotations
gitlens.blame.highlight.enabled	Specifies whether to highlight lines associated with the current line
gitlens.blame.highlight.locations	Specifies where the associated line highlights will be shown gutter - adds a gutter glyph line - adds a full-line highlight background color overview - adds a decoration to the overview ruler (scroll bar)
gitlens.blame.ignoreWhitespace	Specifies whether to ignore whitespace when comparing revisions during blame operations
gitlens.blame.separateLines	Specifies whether gutter blame annotations will have line separators
gitlens.blame.toggleMode	Specifies how the gutter blame annotations will be toggled file - toggle each file individually window - toggle the window, i.e. all files at once

Gutter Heatmap Settings

Name	Description
gitlens.heatmap.toggleMode	Specifies how the gutter heatmap annotations will be toggled file - toggle each file individually window - toggle the window, i.e. all files at once

Hover Settings

Name	Description
gitlens.hovers.annotations.changes	Specifies whether to provide a changes (diff) hover for all lines when showing blame annotations
gitlens.hovers.annotations.details	Specifies whether to provide a commit details hover for all lines when showing blame annotations
gitlens.hovers.annotations.enabled	Specifies whether to provide any hovers when showing blame annotations
gitlens.hovers.annotations.over	Specifies when to trigger hovers when showing blame annotations annotation - only shown when hovering over the line annotation line - shown when hovering anywhere over the line
gitlens.hovers.currentLine.changes	Specifies whether to provide a changes (diff) hover for the current line
gitlens.hovers.currentLine.details	Specifies whether to provide a commit details hover for the current line
gitlens.hovers.currentLine.enabled	Specifies whether to provide any hovers for the current line
gitlens.hovers.currentLine.over	Specifies when to trigger hovers for the current line annotation - only shown when hovering over the line annotation line - shown when hovering anywhere over the line
gitlens.hovers.enabled	Specifies whether to provide any hovers

Recent Changes Settings

Name	Description
gitlens.recentChanges.highlight.locations	Specifies where the highlights of the recently changed lines will be shown gutter - adds a gutter glyph line - adds a full-line highlight background color overview - adds a decoration to the overview ruler (scroll bar)
gitlens.recentChanges.toggleMode	Specifies how the recently changed lines annotations will be toggled file - toggle each file individually window - toggle the window, i.e. all files at once

Status Bar Settings

Name	Description
gitlens.statusBar.alignment	Specifies the blame alignment in the status bar left - align to the left right - align to the right
gitlens.statusBar.command	Specifies the command to be executed when the blame status bar item is clicked gitlens.toggleFileBlame - toggles file blame annotations gitlens.diffWithPrevious - compares the current line commit with the previous gitlens.diffWithWorking - compares the current line commit with the working tree gitlens.toggleCodeLens - toggles Git code lens gitlens.showQuickCommitDetails - shows a commit details quick pick gitlens.showQuickCommitFileDetails - shows a commit file details quick pick gitlens.showQuickFileHistory - shows a file history quick pick gitlens.showQuickRepoHistory - shows a branch history quick pick
gitlens.statusBar.dateFormat	Specifies the date format of absolute dates shown in the blame information on the status bar See https://momentjs.com/docs/#/displaying/format/ for valid formats
gitlens.statusBar.enabled	Specifies whether to provide blame information on the status bar
gitlens.statusBar.format	Specifies the format of the blame information on the status bar Available tokens ${id} - commit id ${author} - commit author ${message} - commit message ${ago} - relative commit date (e.g. 1 day ago) ${date} - formatted commit date (format specified by gitlens.statusBar.dateFormat) ${agoOrDate} - commit date specified by gitlens.defaultDateStyle ${authorAgo} - commit author, relative commit date ${authorAgoOrDate} - commit author, commit date specified by gitlens.defaultDateStyle See https://github.com/eamodio/vscode-gitlens/wiki/Advanced-Formatting for advanced formatting
gitlens.statusBar.reduceFlicker	Specifies whether to avoid clearing the previous blame information when changing lines to reduce status bar "flashing"

Advanced Settings

Name	Description
gitlens.advanced.blame.delayAfterEdit	Specifies the time (in milliseconds) to wait before re-blaming an unsaved document after an edit. Use 0 to specify an infinite wait
gitlens.advanced.blame.sizeThresholdAfterEdit	Specifies the maximum document size (in lines) allowed to be re-blamed after an edit while still unsaved. Use 0 to specify no maximum
gitlens.advanced.caching.enabled	Specifies whether git output will be cached — changing the default is not recommended
gitlens.advanced.git	Specifies the path to the git executable to use. Use as a last resort as GitLens will use the built-in git.path setting first
gitlens.advanced.fileHistoryFollowsRenames	Specifies whether file histories will follow renames -- will affect how merge commits are shown in histories
gitlens.advanced.maxListItems	Specifies the maximum number of items to show in a list. Use 0 to specify no maximum
gitlens.advanced.menus	Specifies which commands will be added to which menus
gitlens.advanced.messages	Specifies which messages should be suppressed
gitlens.advanced.quickPick.closeOnFocusOut	Specifies whether to close QuickPick menus when focus is lost
gitlens.advanced.repositorySearchDepth	Specifies how many folders deep to search for repositories
gitlens.advanced.telemetry.enabled	Specifies whether to enable GitLens telemetry (even if enabled still abides by the overall telemetry.enableTelemetry setting

Custom Remotes Settings

Name

Description

gitlens.remotes

Specifies user-defined remote (code-hosting) services or custom domains for built-in remote services Example: "gitlens.remotes": [{ "domain": "git.corporate-url.com", "type": "GitHub" }] Example: "gitlens.remotes": [{     "domain": "git.corporate-url.com",     "type": "Custom",     "name": "My Company",     "protocol": "https",     "urls": {         "repository": "https://git.corporate-url.com/${repo}",         "branches": "https://git.corporate-url.com/${repo}/branches",         "branch": "https://git.corporate-url.com/${repo}/commits/${branch}",         "commit": "https://git.corporate-url.com/${repo}/commit/${id}",         "file": "https://git.corporate-url.com/${repo}?path=${file}${line}",         "fileInBranch": "https://git.corporate-url.com/${repo}/blob/${branch}/${file}${line}",         "fileInCommit": "https://git.corporate-url.com/${repo}/blob/${id}/${file}${line}",         "fileLine": "#L${line}",         "fileRange": "#L${start}-L${end}"         }     }] Example: "gitlens.remotes": [{     "domain": "git.corporate-url.com",     "type": "Custom",     "name": "My Company",     "protocol": "https",     "urls": {         "repository": "https://git.corporate-url.com/projects/${repoBase}/repos/${repoPath}",         "branches": "https://git.corporate-url.com/projects/${repoBase}/repos/${repoPath}/branches",         "branch": "https://git.corporate-url.com/projects/${repoBase}/repos/${repoPath}/commits/${branch}",         "commit": "https://git.corporate-url.com/projects/${repoBase}/repos/${repoPath}/commit/${id}",         "file": "https://git.corporate-url.com/projects/${repoBase}/repos/${repoPath}?path=${file}${line}",         "fileInBranch": "https://git.corporate-url.com/projects/${repoBase}/repos/${repoPath}/blob/${branch}/${file}${line}",         "fileInCommit": "https://git.corporate-url.com/projects/${repoBase}/repos/${repoPath}/blob/${id}/${file}${line}",         "fileLine": "#L${line}",         "fileRange": "#L${start}-L${end}"         }     }]

Strings Settings

Name	Description
gitlens.strings.codeLens.unsavedChanges.recentChangeAndAuthors	Specifies the string to be shown in place of both the recent change and authors code lens when there are unsaved changes
gitlens.strings.codeLens.unsavedChanges.recentChangeOnly	Specifies the string to be shown in place of the recent change code lens when there are unsaved changes
gitlens.strings.codeLens.unsavedChanges.authorsOnly	Specifies the string to be shown in place of the authors code lens when there are unsaved changes

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Themable Colors

GitLens defines a set of themable colors which can be provided by vscode themes or directly by the user using workbench.colorCustomization.

Name	Description
gitlens.gutterBackgroundColor	Specifies the background color of the gutter blame annotations
gitlens.gutterForegroundColor	Specifies the foreground color of the gutter blame annotations
gitlens.gutterUncommittedForegroundColor	Specifies the foreground color of an uncommitted line in the gutter blame annotations
gitlens.trailingLineBackgroundColor	Specifies the background color of the trailing blame annotation
gitlens.trailingLineForegroundColor	Specifies the foreground color of the trailing blame annotation
gitlens.lineHighlightBackgroundColor	Specifies the background color of the associated line highlights in blame annotations
gitlens.lineHighlightOverviewRulerColor	Specifies the overview ruler color of the associated line highlights in blame annotations

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Insiders

Add "gitlens.insiders": true to your settings to join the insiders channel and get early access to upcoming features. Be aware that because this provides early access expect there to be issues.

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Known Issues

• If the Copy to * clipboard commands don't work on Linux — xclip needs to be installed. You can install it via sudo apt-get install xclip

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Contributors 🙏❤

A big thanks to the people that have contributed to this project:

• Amanda Cameron (@AmandaCameron) — contributions)
• Geoffrey (@g3offrey) — contributions)
• Yukai Huang (@Yukaii) — contributions)
• Helmut Januschka (@hjanuschka) — contributions)
• Chris Kaczor (@ckaczor) — contributions)
• Peng Lyu (@rebornix) — contributions)
• Aurelio Ogliari (@nobitagit) — contributions
• Johannes Rieken (@jrieken) — contributions)
• Zack Schuster (@zackschuster) — contributions
• SpaceEEC (@SpaceEEC) — contributions
• Alexey Vasyukov (@notmedia) — contributions)

Also special thanks to the people that have provided support, testing, brainstorming, etc:

• Brian Canzanella (@bcanzanella)
• Matt King (@KattMingMing)

And of course the awesome vscode team!