ChangeTrace

ChangeTrace turns Git repositories into timeline files and lets you inspect them later.

It reads repository history, branch activity, merges, and other Git events, then turns them into a timeline you can export, inspect, and replay locally. Instead of digging through raw logs or switching between tools, you get one app that combines analysis with an OpenGL visualization layer.

Important

ChangeTrace keeps repository history, timeline data, and local auth in one place.

Warning

This is an early experimental version. The core workflow exists, but the codebase is still being stabilized.

Use it when you want a repeatable way to save repository history, check important moments, or use the same timeline in different views. It is made for local use, so the exported data, auth sessions, workspace state, and visual state stay on your machine.

The usual flow is simple:

• export a repository into a portable .gittrace file
• open that file later to inspect the timeline
• keep auth and workspace data local instead of depending on a remote service

Project State

ChangeTrace is currently in State 1.

This phase is about making the core code stable, keeping export and inspection smooth, and making sure the current behavior stays predictable.

See Project State for the full breakdown of the current phase and the next step. For artifact provenance and verification, see Publish Attested.

What it does

ChangeTrace analyzes repository history and produces a structured timeline that can be used for:

• commit and branch analysis
• timeline inspection
• debug and playback views
• workspace and organization management around traced repositories

Commands

ChangeTrace exposes a small set of entry points that cover export, inspection, authentication, and workspace management.

The main entry points are export, show, auth, org, and workspace.

Typical usage:

./changetrace export https://github.com/user/repo -o timeline.gittrace
./changetrace show timeline.gittrace
./changetrace auth login github
./changetrace auth list
./changetrace auth logout github
./changetrace org list --provider github
./changetrace workspace list --org acme

For local development, replace ./changetrace with dotnet run --.

Project Structure

The repository is split into a few clear layers:

• src/Core contains the event model, rules, and shared processing
• src/Configuration contains app settings, converters, and service discovery helpers
• src/GIt reads repositories, builds timelines, and enriches data
• src/CredentialTrace handles auth, sessions, and local storage
• src/Rendering builds the timeline scene and state
• src/Graphics owns the rendering runtime, shaders, and GPU helpers
• src/Player handles timeline playback flow and speed control
• src/Cli wires commands to handlers
• Tools contains repository utilities and asset maintenance scripts

Local Data

ChangeTrace stores local auth data under the user profile:

• On Unix like systems the data lives under ~/.changetrace/.
• On Windows it uses the equivalent user profile directory.
• auth.json contains session metadata and encrypted tokens.
• auth.key contains the local key used by the token store.

This protects against accidental plaintext exposure in auth.json, but it is not a full operating-system keychain. A process running as the same user can still read both files.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE.

Code of Conduct

Please read and follow the Code of Conduct.

Security

For vulnerability reporting, see Security Policy.

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ChangeTrace is built for local repository analysis and repeatable timeline workflows.

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