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This guide will get you from installation to viewing your first Git graph and performing basic Git operations.

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Opening Git Graph

There are three ways to open the Git Graph view:

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Using the Status Bar

The quickest way to open Git Graph:
1

Locate the Icon

Look for the Git Graph icon in the status bar at the bottom of VS Code
2

Click to Open

Click the icon to open the Git Graph view
The status bar icon is enabled by default. If you don’t see it, check that neo-git-graph.showStatusBarItem is set to true in your settings.

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Understanding the Interface

Once opened, the Git Graph view displays several key components:

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Control Panel

At the top of the view:
  • Repo Selector: Switch between repositories in a multi-root workspace
  • Branch Selector: Filter commits by branch (or view all branches)
  • Show Remote Branches: Toggle visibility of remote branches
  • Refresh Button: Reload the graph to see latest changes

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Graph View

The main visualization shows:
  • Colored Lines: Each branch has a unique color
  • Commit Dots: Individual commits along the timeline
  • Branch Labels: Current branch names and tags
  • Uncommitted Changes: Special node showing working directory changes (if enabled)

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Commit Table

Next to the graph, see:
  • Commit Message: First line of the commit message
  • Author: Person who authored the commit
  • Date: When the commit was created
  • Commit Hash: Abbreviated SHA-1 hash

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Your First Actions

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View Commit Details

1

Click a Commit

Click any commit in the graph or table
2

Explore Details Panel

The commit details panel shows:
  • Full commit message
  • Author and committer information
  • List of changed files
  • Available actions (checkout, cherry-pick, etc.)
3

View File Diff

Click any file in the changed files list to see a side-by-side diff

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Switch Branches

1

Open Branch Selector

Click the Branch dropdown in the control panel
2

Choose a Branch

Select the branch you want to view or checkout
3

View Branch History

The graph updates to show commits for the selected branch
Enable Show Remote Branches to see remote tracking branches in the branch selector.

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Create a New Branch

1

Right-Click a Commit

Right-click the commit where you want to create a branch
2

Select Create Branch

Choose Create Branch… from the context menu
3

Name Your Branch

Enter a branch name in the dialog and press Enter
4

Confirm Creation

The new branch appears in the graph with a label at the selected commit

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Common Operations

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Context Menu Actions

Right-click any commit to access: 
Create Branch...
Checkout Branch
Rename Branch...
Delete Branch...
Merge into Current Branch...

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View Uncommitted Changes

By default, uncommitted changes appear as a special node:
1

Locate Uncommitted Node

Look for the “Uncommitted Changes” entry at the top of the graph
2

Click to View

Click it to see all modified, added, and deleted files
3

Inspect Changes

Click individual files to see diffs against HEAD
You can disable uncommitted changes by setting neo-git-graph.showUncommittedChanges to false. This can improve performance on large repositories.

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Load More Commits

For repositories with long histories:
1

Scroll to Bottom

Scroll to the bottom of the commit table
2

Click Load More

If more commits are available, click the Load More Commits button
3

View Extended History

Additional commits are loaded and added to the graph

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Configuration Tips

Customize your experience with these popular settings:
settings.json
{
  // Initial commits to load (default: 300)
  "neo-git-graph.initialLoadCommits": 500,
  
  // Show only current branch when opening
  "neo-git-graph.showCurrentBranchByDefault": true,
  
  // Date display format
  "neo-git-graph.dateFormat": "Relative",
  
  // Graph style preference
  "neo-git-graph.graphStyle": "rounded",
  
  // Auto-center commit details panel
  "neo-git-graph.autoCenterCommitDetailsView": true,
  
  // Enable avatar fetching (sends emails to external services)
  "neo-git-graph.fetchAvatars": true
}
Enabling fetchAvatars will send commit author and committer email addresses to GitHub, GitLab, or Gravatar depending on your repository’s remote origin.

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Customize Graph Colors

Change the branch line colors:
settings.json
{
  "neo-git-graph.graphColours": [
    "#0085d9",
    "#d9008f",
    "#00d90a",
    "#d98500",
    "#a300d9",
    "#ff0000",
    "#00d9cc",
    "#e138e8",
    "#85d900",
    "#dc5b23",
    "#6f24d6",
    "#ffcc00"
  ]
}
Colors can be specified as HEX codes (#RRGGBB or #RRGGBBAA) or RGB values (rgb(r, g, b)).

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Working with Multiple Repositories

If your workspace contains multiple Git repositories:
1

Open Repo Selector

Click the Repo dropdown in the control panel
2

Choose Repository

Select the repository you want to view
3

Switch Seamlessly

The graph updates to show the selected repository’s history
Use neo-git-graph.maxDepthOfRepoSearch to control how deep VS Code searches for Git repositories in your workspace. Default is 0 (only top-level folders).

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Troubleshooting

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Graph Won’t Load

If you see “Unable to load Git Graph”:
  1. Verify Git Installation: Run git --version in the terminal
  2. Check Repository: Ensure you’re in a valid Git repository (git status)
  3. Configure Git Path: For portable Git, set git.path in VS Code settings:
settings.json
{
  "git.path": "C:\\Program Files\\Git\\bin\\git.exe"
}

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Performance Issues

For large repositories:
settings.json
{
  // Reduce initial commit load
  "neo-git-graph.initialLoadCommits": 100,
  
  // Disable uncommitted changes
  "neo-git-graph.showUncommittedChanges": false,
  
  // Disable avatar fetching
  "neo-git-graph.fetchAvatars": false
}

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Clear Avatar Cache

If avatars appear corrupted:
1

Open Command Palette

Press Ctrl+Shift+P or Cmd+Shift+P
2

Run Clear Command

Type and select Git Graph: Clear Avatar Cache
3

Refresh Graph

Click the Refresh button to reload avatars

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Next Steps

Now that you’re familiar with the basics:

Configuration Guide

Explore all available settings and customization options

Features Overview

Learn about advanced features and Git operations

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