faq

Frequently Asked Questions

General

What is Git Recap?

Git Recap is a developer productivity tool that aggregates and summarizes your Git activity across multiple platforms (GitHub, GitLab, Azure DevOps) into a concise, actionable format. It fetches commit messages, pull requests, and issues, then consolidates them into a chronological summary.

Which Git providers are supported?

Currently supported providers:

• GitHub (via PyGitHub)
• GitLab (via python-gitlab)
• Azure DevOps (via azure-devops Python API)

Is there a hosted version available?

Yes! You can use the GitHub App version from the Marketplace, or run your own instance using the open-source code.

Authentication

How do I authenticate with Git Recap?

You have several options:

1. GitHub App: Install from Marketplace (recommended)
2. Personal Access Token (PAT): Generate a token with proper permissions
3. OAuth: Coming soon!

What permissions does the GitHub App require?

The app requires:

• Read access to repositories
• Read access to pull requests
• Read access to issues

How do I generate a PAT for each provider?

1. GitHub:
   • Go to Settings > Developer settings > Personal access tokens
   • Select repo scope
2. GitLab:
   • User Settings > Access Tokens
   • Select read_repository scope
3. Azure DevOps:
   • User settings > Personal access tokens
   • Select "Code (read)" scope

Usage

How do I filter by date?

Use the --start-date and --end-date parameters in ISO format (YYYY-MM-DD or YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS). Dates without timezone info are automatically converted to UTC.

Can I filter by specific authors?

Yes! Use the --authors parameter followed by the usernames you want to include. By default, it uses the authenticated user.

What's the output format?

The tool outputs:

1. JSON format with all raw events
2. A plain text summary grouped by day (ideal for LLM context)

Troubleshooting

"Session not found" error

This typically means:

• Your session expired (sessions last 5 minutes)
• The WebSocket connection was interrupted Solution: Try re-authenticating.

"Too Many Requests" error

The API has rate limiting enabled to prevent abuse. Wait a few seconds and try again.

WebSocket connection issues

1. Check your internet connection
2. Ensure your firewall isn't blocking WebSocket connections (port 443)
3. Try refreshing the page
4. Check browser console for errors

Missing repositories in the list

Possible causes:

• The app hasn't been installed on the target organization
• PAT doesn't have proper repo permissions
• Repository is archived Solutions:
• For GitHub: Check Marketplace installation status
• Regenerate PAT with correct permissions
• Ensure repos are active

Advanced

Can I extend Git Recap with new providers?

Yes! The architecture is modular. Create a new class inheriting from BaseFetcher in the providers directory.

How do I contribute?

See our Contributing Guide for setup instructions and coding standards.

Where can I report bugs?

Please open an issue on our GitHub repository with:

1. Steps to reproduce
2. Expected behavior
3. Actual behavior
4. Screenshots if applicable

Performance

Why is it slow for large repositories?

Fetching history for large repos takes time. Consider:

1. Narrowing the date range
2. Using more specific filters
3. Running during off-peak hours

Does it cache results?

Currently no, but caching is planned for a future release.