grv

grv [-repoFilePath path] [-workTreeFilePath path] [-logFile path] [-logLevel level] [-readOnly] [-version]

GRV (Git Repository Viewer) is a terminal-based interface for viewing Git repositories. It allows refs, commits, and diffs to be viewed, searched, and filtered using Vi/Vim-like key bindings. The interface provides multiple views including a ref view for branches and tags, a commit view for browsing history, and a diff view for inspecting changes.GRV reads the repository directly using libgit2 rather than shelling out to git commands, resulting in fast navigation even in large repositories. The behaviour and style can be customised through a .grvrc configuration file.

-repoFilePath path

Repository file path (default: ".")

Work tree file path

Log file path (default: "grv.log")

Logging level: NONE, PANIC, FATAL, ERROR, WARN, INFO, DEBUG, TRACE (default: "NONE")

Run grv in read-only mode

Print version information

j/k — Move down/upEnter — Select item / open viewq — Close view / quit/ — Searchn/N — Next/previous search matchTab — Switch between views1-5 — Jump to specific view

GRV is no longer actively maintained (last release 2019). It reads git repository data directly using libgit2, so very large repositories may use significant memory. Read-only; does not support write operations like committing or pushing. Consider lazygit or gitui as actively maintained alternatives.

GRV was created by Robert Burke and written in Go. It was designed as a lightweight alternative to graphical Git clients, providing a fast terminal-based workflow for inspecting repository history and diffs.

git(1), tig(1), gitui(1), lazygit(1)