git-dates

Interactively edit the dates of your last git commits using your favorite editor.

Usage

git-dates [n]

Opens your editor with the last n commits (default: 5), one per line, oldest first:

2024-01-03 10:00:00 +0100 # Add user authentication
2024-01-04 10:00:00 +0100 # Fix login redirect bug
2024-01-05 10:00:00 +0100 # Update dependencies

Edit the dates, save and close. Only modified dates will be rewritten. Everything after # is a read-only comment showing the commit message.

Since the binary is named git-dates, it also works as a git subcommand:

git dates 5

Install

npm install -g git-dates

Or from source:

git clone <repo-url> && cd git-dates
npm install && npm run build && npm link

How it works

1. Reads the last N commits via git log
2. Writes a temporary file and opens $VISUAL / $EDITOR / vi
3. Compares dates after the editor closes
4. Runs git rebase -i with a custom GIT_SEQUENCE_EDITOR to amend changed commits

Both the author date and committer date are updated together.

Safety

The tool refuses to run when:

• You're not inside a git repository
• The working tree has uncommitted changes
• A rebase is already in progress

If nothing was changed in the editor, no rebase is performed.

Date format

YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS ±HHMM

Example: 2024-01-15 10:30:00 +0100

Requirements

• Node.js ≥ 18
• Git

License

ISC