Git - Display blame information in the editor gutter

[jwalkerinterpres]

This was first requested in #2248, way back in 2016. It was closed with a "fix it yourself with an extension" (ie. "we think the functionality you're asking for is great for a VS Code extension") ... however, in the eight years since it was filed, no one has created such an extension.

It's not for lack of desire: multiple authors have tried to do it, and they all opted for a crappier version. For instance, the "Git Blame" extension let's you see only a single line's blame (and it's not in the gutter, it's in the status bar).

But look, the basic git blame UI is perfect already! It's basically exactly like VS Code's UI, but with the git blame meta info shown on the leftside. Back in 2016 42 people desired this simple functionality: by now that number has to be in the hundreds, if not thousands.

This feature:

• would benefit all git-using devs (ie. virtually all VS Code users)
• it requires functionality that (evidently) no one has been able to replicate in an extension
• it belongs as a core part of VS Code

[sanket-bhalerao]

Gitlens is doing way too many things now a days.
now that VSCode has the Git graph, if and when VSCode shows the inline blame and have stash explorer (similar to Gitlens) then its Goodbye Gitlens.

[sanket-bhalerao]

@lszomoru, is there a wireframe of how this feature will look like ?

[lszomoru]

No update on this. This milestone we have worked on adding an editor decoration and status bar item to show git blame information - #205424. In the coming milestone we will also be looking at adding git blame information to the editor gutter.

[thernstig]

No update on this. This milestone we have worked on adding an editor decoration and status bar item to show git blame information - #205424. In the coming milestone we will also be looking at adding git blame information to the editor gutter.

I think the way GitLens already does this is nice, so hopefully it'll look somewhat similar. Pressing alt+b is also a nice keyboard shortcut that can be used for this in GitLens (if using the GitLens alternate keymap, which is a setting one has to configure).