gitcommit - Git Commit Date Setter

A command-line tool that enables developers to create Git commits with specific historical dates while maintaining chronological integrity.

Features

✨ Create commits with custom dates in format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS
🔒 Validates dates maintain chronological order (no backdating before last commit)
🌍 Automatic local timezone detection
🚀 Fast and lightweight (Go stdlib only, no external dependencies)
📝 Clear, actionable error messages
✅ POSIX-compliant CLI interface (--help, --version)

Installation

From Source

git clone https://github.com/sgaunet/gitcommit.git
cd gitcommit
make install

Verify Installation

gitcommit --version

Quick Start

# Stage your changes
git add .

# Create commit with custom date
gitcommit "2025-02-05 20:19:19" "Historical commit message"

Usage

gitcommit <date> <message>

Arguments:

<date>: Date and time in format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS
<message>: Commit message text

Flags:

--help, -h: Show usage information
--version, -v: Show version number

Examples

# Basic usage
gitcommit "2025-02-05 20:19:19" "Add feature X"

# Backdating offline work
gitcommit "2025-01-15 10:00:00" "Work done offline"

# First commit in new repository
git init
git add README.md
gitcommit "2025-01-01 00:00:00" "Initial commit"

Requirements

Go: 1.21 or later (for building)
Git: 2.20 or later
Platforms: Linux, macOS, Windows

Date Format Rules

✅ Format: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS (24-hour time)
✅ Date must be after the last commit in the repository
✅ Future dates are allowed
✅ Empty repositories accept any date
❌ Dates equal to or before the last commit are rejected

Development

# Build
make build

# Run tests
make test

# Run linter
make lint

# Format code
make fmt

# View all commands
make help

Testing

# Run all tests with coverage
make coverage

# Run specific test
go test -v ./internal/datetime/...

Architecture

cmd/gitcommit/          # CLI entry point
internal/
  ├── cli/              # CLI logic and orchestration
  ├── datetime/         # Date parsing, validation, formatting
  └── git/              # Git repository operations
tests/
  ├── integration/      # Integration tests
  └── testdata/         # Test fixtures

Contributing

Fork the repository
Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
Commit your changes
Push to the branch
Open a Pull Request

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

Use Cases

📅 Organizing repository history chronologically
💼 Backdating work done offline
🔄 Migrating commits from other version control systems
📊 Maintaining accurate project timelines

Troubleshooting

Error: "Invalid date format"

Use exact format: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS
Example: 2025-02-05 20:19:19

Error: "Chronology violation"

Ensure date is after your last commit
Check: git log -1 --format="%aI"

Error: "Not a Git repository"

Run from inside a Git repository
Or initialize: git init

Performance

Date parsing & validation: <10ms
Git operations: <100ms
Total operation: <200ms (p95)

Credits

Built with ❤️ using Go standard library only.

Version: 1.0.0
Status: Production Ready

sgaunet/gitcommit