Is there a way to get git blame for a specific line in helix?

[sanket143]

In VS code, I used to have git lens for git blame for a specific line, is there a way to get git blame for a specific line in the current implementation of helix? or a convenient workaround?

[danillos]

Currently, it is not possible.

But a workaround could be possible using this PR #3393 when it includes a variable like %val{linenumber}.

We could build a script with a keybinding to show the result of the script in a popup like:

F7 = [':sh git_blame.sh %val{filename}:%val{linenumber}']

[Septias]

where is git_blame.sh defined?

[jm355]

git log -n 1 --format='format:%h %an %s' --no-patch -L<line #>:<filename>

[Septias]

Ty

[rcorre]

The PR @danillos referenced was closed, and #12527 merged instead. This allows a similar solution but with slightly different syntax. There's a few suggestions starting at #3035 (comment). Combining the ideas of @danillos, @DoctorRyner, and @rockboynton, this is my current binding:

B = ":sh git log -n 5 --format='format:%%h (%%an: %%ar) %%s' --no-patch -L%{cursor_line},+1:%{buffer_name}"

Note that % now needs to be escaped as %%, and the -L flag requires both a start and end line number (I'm using the relative offset +1). Compared to blame, log has the advantage of working even if you use it on a dirty line. Since the sh output can show multiple lines, I'm using -5 to see the last 5 changes.

[thomasaarholt]

I wrote (with claude) a bash script that extracts the author, time, message and commit url (it gets the PR url instead if the PR number is present in the commit message). By default the script produces the information below, but if you pass --url-only, then it only returns the url, so you can pass it to the browser through the CLI. Enjoy, and forks are more than welcome.

Add this blame bash script somewhere on your path (or use the full path in your helix config).

Then pass the following to your helix config:

[keys.normal.space]
B = ":sh blame %{buffer_name} %{cursor_line}" # Show blame information
U = ":sh blame --url-only %{cursor_line} %{buffer_name} | xargs -I{} xdg-open {}" # Open PR or commit url in browser

[a3lem]

This is excellent! Thanks for sharing!

[nik-rev]

There is now an easier way if you build #13133

Use space + B and you will get the blame for the current line