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submarine/README.md
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simonfrankenandClaude Sonnet 5.5 4c1be3f9ab Show the pin, tip and checkout as a spine in the detail pane
Replace the Pinned/Checkout/Tip rows and the list of commits between pin
and tip with one line of history, newest on top: a node per commit with
its roles (pin, tip, you, staged, HEAD) and the number of commits between
two nodes. A staged pin shows the committed pin as its own node and notes
when it moves back. All three on one commit read "in sync".

Add Status.Drift, Committed and CommittedDrift and Status.Spine(); drop
Status.Between and Repo.FetchedAt. The fetch age moves from the header to
the detail pane (right-aligned in the name's line). The header summary is
right-aligned, ordered by importance and cut with an ellipsis if too narrow.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-10-23 16:34:14 +02:00

182 lines
7.2 KiB
Markdown

# submarine
**A terminal UI for git repositories with many submodules.**
See what needs your attention. Ignore the rest.
`git submodule status` gives you a wall of commit hashes. submarine answers
the questions you actually have:
- Which branch is this submodule on, and is the pin current?
- Which submodules need me, and which are fine?
- Is anything dangerous, like a pin nobody else can fetch?
![submarine showing a tree with nested submodules and the detail pane of an off-pin submodule that is one commit behind its branch](docs/images/overview.png)
## Why you might like it
- **Only submodules, as a tree.** Nested submodules at any depth, grouped by
directory, collapsed until you open them.
- **Branch plus distance, not hashes.** `origin/main ↓2` says more than
`b7c8d9e`. A pin on a feature branch shows that branch.
- **Problems are loud, healthy is quiet.** Submodules without issues are
muted `in sync`; a staged pin shows as blue `staged` (or a `●` after an
issue word). A collapsed parent counts the problems hidden below it
(`·1`) and shows `●` if a staged pin is hidden.
- **Words, not symbols.** Every state is a short word (`unpushed`, `conflict`,
`missing`, `off pin`, `changed`), so nothing depends on color alone.
- **Live.** Follows changes you make in other shells within about two
seconds. It never fetches on its own: the header shows when you last did,
`f` fetches everything.
- **Fix it from the same screen.** Restore a repository to exactly what git
records (`x`), or switch it to another branch (`b`). Both ask first if work
would be lost.
- **Built for dozens to hundreds of submodules.** Each status loads
asynchronously, so the UI never freezes.
## Install
```sh
curl -fsSL https://git.simon-franken.de/simonfranken/submarine/raw/branch/main/install.sh | sh
```
Installs `sub` and `submarine` (linux/macOS, amd64/arm64) to `~/.local/bin`.
Both names start the same program; the examples below use the shorter `sub`.
Update later with `sub update`.
## Try it
```sh
sub # the repository in the current directory
sub ~/code/project # any directory inside a repository
sub --mock # built-in sample data, no repository needed
```
`submarine` works everywhere `sub` does, e.g. `submarine --mock`.
## Examples
### Find what needs attention
Problems stand out: `unpushed` in red, `off pin` and `changed` in yellow,
everything else muted. Select a submodule to see the details on the right:
every issue in words, the resolved ref and why, where the pin, the tip and
your checkout are in the history, and a preview of uncommitted changes.
```
src/ │ src/
core off pin origin/main │ net
▸ net [2] unpushed origin/main ↑1│
ui in sync origin/main │ unpushed pin not pushed to any remote
│
│ Ref origin/main · via checked out branch
│ pin · you ● b7c8d9e Hotfix null pointer
│ ┊ 1 commit
│ tip ● 6f5e4d3 Release 2.1.0
```
### Jump to a submodule with `/`
Press `/` and type. Only matching submodules (and the parents that lead to
them) stay. Your selection moves to the next match if it was filtered out.
```
libs/
▾ log in sync origin/main
modules/
nested changed origin/main
/ nest enter navigate • esc close
```
`enter` keeps the filter and gives you the normal keys back, `esc` removes
it and leaves your selection where it is.
### Copy a path
Select a submodule and press `c`. Its absolute directory lands in your
clipboard, ready for `cd <paste>`. It works over SSH too (OSC 52; in tmux,
`set -g set-clipboard on`).
### Restore with `x`
Select a submodule (or the header for the whole superproject) and press `x`.
Its worktree becomes exactly what git records, and so do all submodules
below it: changes are reset, untracked files removed, merges and rebases
ended, missing submodules cloned. Staged pins are kept. If something would be
lost, you are asked first:
```
Restore src/app? Discards 7 changed files in 3 repositories. y restore · n cancel
```
`y` restores, any other key cancels. Without a loss it runs at once. For a
submodule with a staged pin, `x` first asks whether to restore to the staged
pin (`s`) or the committed one (`c`, which unstages it).
### Switch a branch with `b`
Press `b` on a submodule (or the header for the superproject). A popup lists
the local and remote branches, newest first; type to filter.
```
╭──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ Switch libs/feature │
│ / sea │
│ ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ origin/feat/search 58a2bf1 2h ago │
│ ↑↓ select · enter switch · esc cancel │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯
```
`↑` `↓` select, `enter` switches, `esc` cancels. The tip of the branch
becomes the submodule's staged pin and it is restored to it, with HEAD on the
branch. Picking `origin/feat` creates a local `feat` that tracks it; an
existing local branch of that name is never moved. Like restore, it asks
first if work would be lost. The list is read from disk, so press `f` first
to see new remote branches.
### Fetch and reload
`f` fetches all repositories again, `r` reloads everything after you edited
files.
## Keys
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| `↑` `↓` / `j` `k` | Move |
| `←` `→` / `h` `l` | Fold / unfold, parent / first child |
| `H` `L` / `⇧←` `⇧→` | Collapse / expand all |
| `space` | Toggle the selected submodule |
| `home` `end` / `g` `G`, `pgup` `pgdn` | Jump, page |
| `/` | Filter |
| `!` | Problems only |
| `c` | Copy path |
| `b` | Switch branch: pick a local or remote branch; its tip is staged and the repository restored to it |
| `x` | Restore: make the worktree exactly what git records (asks if work would be lost) |
| `f` / `r` | Fetch / reload |
| `?` | Full help |
| `q` | Quit |
The mouse works too: click to select, click `▸` to toggle, wheel to move. In
the branch popup, click a branch to switch to it, use the wheel to move, and
click outside to close it.
## Status
A prototype. Browsing is complete. Two write actions exist: restore (`x`)
and switch branch (`b`). More (stage pin) are being specified in
[docs/actions.md](docs/actions.md).
## Documentation
Requirements, state rules, UX guide, architecture and the decision log are in
[docs/](docs/README.md).
## Development
```sh
go run ./cmd/submarine --mock # run on mock data
scripts/make-fixture.sh DIR # build a test superproject with every state
go vet ./... && go test ./...
```