@builtbyecho/git-digest

Concise, structured git repository summaries for AI agents and developers.

Get branch status, recent commits, change hotspots, and open PRs in a single command — formatted for humans, agents, or pipelines.

Why?

Every time an AI agent starts working on a repository, it needs context: what branch am I on? Is the tree clean? What changed recently? Which files are hotspots? Are there open PRs? Parsing raw git log and git status output wastes tokens and is error-prone. git-digest gives you all of that in one structured, agent-friendly output.

Install

npm install -g @builtbyecho/git-digest

Or use directly:

npx @builtbyecho/git-digest

Usage

CLI

# Markdown summary (default)
git-digest

# JSON for programmatic use
git-digest --format json

# Compact single-line summary
git-digest --format compact

# Digest a different repo
git-digest /path/to/repo

# Customize output
git-digest --commits 5 --hotspot-days 30 --base develop --format json

Options

| Option | Default | Description | |---|---|---| | --format | markdown | Output format: json, markdown, or compact | | --commits | 10 | Number of recent commits to include | | --hotspot-days | 14 | Days to analyze for change hotspots | | --hotspot-limit | 10 | Max hotspot files to show | | --base | main | Base branch for ahead/behind comparison | | --no-prs | — | Skip GitHub PR lookup (via gh CLI) |

Programmatic API

import { digest, toMarkdown, toCompact } from "@builtbyecho/git-digest";

// Get structured digest
const d = digest("/path/to/repo", {
  commits: 10,
  hotspotDays: 14,
  hotspotLimit: 10,
  baseBranch: "main",
  includePRs: true,
});

// Format output
console.log(toMarkdown(d));  // Human/agent-readable markdown
console.log(toCompact(d));   // Single-line compact summary
console.log(JSON.stringify(d, null, 2)); // Raw JSON

Digest Object

{
  "branch": "main",
  "headHash": "a1b2c3d",
  "status": { "state": "clean" },
  "aheadBehind": { "base": "main", "ahead": 0, "behind": 0 },
  "recentCommits": [
    { "hash": "a1b2c3d", "subject": "Add feature X", "author": "dev", "relativeDate": "2 hours ago", "files": ["src/x.js"] }
  ],
  "hotspots": [
    { "file": "src/index.js", "changes": 12 }
  ],
  "stashCount": 0,
  "remote": { "name": "origin", "url": "https://github.com/org/repo.git" },
  "lastTag": { "tag": "v1.0.0", "commitsAhead": 5 },
  "contributors": { "count": 3, "top": [{ "name": "dev", "commits": 42 }] },
  "openPRs": [],
  "generatedAt": "2026-05-11T05:00:00.000Z"
}

Output Examples

Markdown:

# Git Digest: main

**Head:** `a1b2c3d` · **Status:** ✅ clean · **Stashes:** 0
**vs main:** ahead 0 · behind 0
**Last tag:** v1.0.0 (5 commits behind HEAD)
**Remote:** origin → https://github.com/org/repo.git

## Recent Commits

- `a1b2c3d` Add feature X — _dev_ 2 hours ago (3 files)
- `e4f5g6h` Fix bug Y — _dev_ 1 day ago (1 file)

## Change Hotspots (last 14 days)

- `src/index.js` — 12 changes
- `src/api.js` — 8 changes

Compact:

branch=main head=a1b2c3d status=clean | vs-main=ahead0/behind0 | tag=v1.0.0+5 | stashes=0 | commits=10 | hotspots=src/index.js,src/api.js

Agent Integration Tips

• Use --format json for reliable programmatic parsing
• Use --format compact for context-constrained agents (single line, ~200 chars)
• Use --no-prs when gh CLI is unavailable or to avoid API rate limits
• Pipe output directly into agent context windows for instant repo awareness
• Run as a pre-task hook: agents can check if the tree is dirty before starting work

Requirements

• Node.js 18+
• Git (in PATH)
• GitHub CLI (gh) — optional, for open PR data

License

MIT © BuiltByEcho