How to use Claude to build a Git history viewer
Git Lineage was built with Claude Code over six and a half months, with the author reviewing and manually testing every PR and remaining hands-on with performance and UX.
news.ycombinator.com
Prompt to try
Editorial adaptation, not the source author’s exact prompt. Replace bracketed inputs and review tool permissions first.
Help build [Git history viewer] in [native stack]. Implement file history scrubbing, revision search, and blame caching in reviewable pull requests. For each change, provide the diff and a manual test plan covering [repositories], threading, performance, and UX.
Reach people exploring AI agents
See placements →What happened
The author shipped Git Lineage, a native history viewer, after more than 330 reviewed and manually tested PRs, and reported testing it on Linux and Rails repositories.
Reported by kranzky on Hacker NewsHow the agent did it
- Build Git Lineage with Claude Code over six and a half months.
- Review each pull request and test its changes by hand.
- Merge the reviewed and manually tested pull requests.
Where a person stepped in
The author reviewed, tested by hand, and merged every PR, with close involvement in performance and UX.
A person approved each step before the agent continued.
Jason Hutchens built Git Lineage after missing the Perforce Timelapse View he had used at Team Bondi. The result is a native Git history viewer that lets users open a repository file and drag through its history. Changed lines are tinted by recency, while deleted lines remain visible as fading ghosts. The tool also searches across revision history and supports exploring directories, including deleted subdirectories.
Hutchens said he worked with Claude Code over six and a half months, shipping more than 330 pull requests. He reviewed, tested by hand, and merged every one himself. He remained particularly involved in performance, blame caching and prefetching, threading bugs, and the user experience. The stack includes C++17, Dear ImGui, SDL3's GPU API, FreeType, libgit2, and the Git CLI.
The author tested the viewer on the Linux and Rails repositories. Blame results near the playhead are computed in background threads and cached in memory and on disk, with eviction based on distance from the playhead. He also identifies limits: Git must be installed, rename following is optional, and merges can make transitions ambiguous. Who it's for: developers building focused native tools who can review changes and test performance and interactions themselves.
Prompt
Suggested prompt (written by Agents In Use, not the author's)
Source: Hacker News · kranzky
Frequently asked questions
How much human review did Git Lineage receive?
The author says each of more than 330 PRs was reviewed, tested by hand, and merged by him, with hands-on work on performance, threading, caching, and UX.
Which repositories did the author test?
He reports testing Git Lineage on the Linux repository, shown in the video, and on the Rails repository.
More details
Remaining steps
- Test the history viewer on the Linux and Rails repositories.
About this account
Claude Code assisted development across more than 330 PRs; the author remained hands-on throughout.
Platform: Hacker News. Attribution: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49920754. Prompt: Suggested (written by Agents In Use, not the author's). Sourced by the Agents In Use pipeline.
Credit: kranzky on Hacker News
Source published 1 Oct 2026
Source checked 14 Oct 2026
Tools and topics
Claude Code · C++17 · Dear ImGui · SDL3 · FreeType · libgit2 · Git CLI
AI coding
Editorial completeness: 100/100. Measures documented fields, not agent performance or verified outcomes.