committree

Beautiful, readable git commit-graph trees in your terminal — and exportable as SVG.

A focused, zero-dependency alternative to git log --graph. Cleaner glyphs, stable per-lane colors, and a layout that stays narrow on busy histories.

●  a1b2c3d Release v2.0.0
│
◆  b2c3d4e Merge branch 'feat/tree-graph'
│╲
●│  c3d4e5f Fix lane overflow on wide repos
││
│●  f6e5d4c Add Unicode node glyphs
││
│●  9a8b7c6 Color palette per lane
╱
●  d4e5f6a Tidy lane state machine
│
●  e5d4c3b Initial graph layout engine
│
◉  1a2b3c4 Initial commit

Every commit is connected: continuous vertical lanes, a ╲ where a branch forks off a merge, and a ╱ where a feature branch joins back. Run it yourself with committree --demo.

Install

npm install -g committree

Or run it once without installing:

npx committree

Usage

committree                 # graph for current branch
committree -n 20           # last 20 commits
committree --all           # all branches
committree --format short  # hash + author + date + subject
committree --no-color      # pipe-friendly, no ANSI
committree --svg > g.svg   # export the graph as an SVG image
committree --demo          # sample graph, no repo needed

Glyphs

| Glyph | Meaning | |-------|---------| | ◉ | root commit (no parents) | | ● | normal commit | | ◆ | merge commit (2+ parents) | | │ | branch line (continuous lane) | | ╲ | branch forking off to the right | | ╱ | branch joining back to the left |

Each lane gets a stable color so you can follow a branch visually.

Export to SVG

Use --svg to render the graph as a standalone SVG document — great for embedding in READMEs, docs, slides, or blog posts:

committree --svg > graph.svg
committree --svg --format short > graph.svg   # include author + date

The SVG uses a dark theme (#0d1117 background), per-lane colors matching the terminal output, and is fully self-contained (no external fonts or assets).

Why?

git log --graph works, but its output is noisy and the layout sprawls on long-lived feature branches. committree keeps the graph compact and the connectors unambiguous. It's the view you want when reading history, not the view git gives you by default.

License

MIT