gitscan

README

gitscan

A CLI tool to scan multiple Git repositories and identify repos that need attention. Helps prioritize which repos to update, commit, and push.

Installation

Homebrew (macOS/Linux)

brew tap grokify/tap
brew install gitscan

Go Install

go install github.com/grokify/gitscan@latest

Build from Source

git clone https://github.com/grokify/gitscan.git
cd gitscan
go build -o gitscan .

Usage

gitscan <directory>              # Scan for issues
gitscan since <duration> [dir]   # Filter by modification time
gitscan dep <module> [dir]       # Filter by dependency
gitscan order [dir]              # Show repos in dependency order

Root Command (Issue Scanning)

Scan repos for uncommitted changes, replace directives, and module mismatches:

gitscan ~/go/src/github.com/grokify

Flag	Short	Default	Description
--dir	-d	(required)	Directory containing repos to scan
--format	-f	list	Output format: list or table
--show-clean		false	Show repos with no issues
--summary		true	Show summary at the end
--go-git		false	Use go-git library instead of git CLI

Examples

# Scan all repos in a directory
gitscan ~/go/src/github.com/grokify

# Output as markdown table (compact view)
gitscan -f table ~/go/src/github.com/grokify

# Show all repos including clean ones
gitscan --show-clean ~/projects

Since Subcommand

Filter repos by modification time, with optional dependency filtering:

gitscan since <duration> [directory]

Flag	Short	Default	Description
--dep		(none)	Also filter by dependency (AND logic)
--recurse	-r	false	Check nested go.mod files
--go-git		false	Use go-git library instead of git CLI

Duration formats: 7d (days), 2w (weeks), 1m (months), 24h (hours)

Since Examples

# Repos modified in last 7 days
gitscan since 7d ~/go/src/github.com/grokify

# Repos modified in last 7 days AND depending on a module
gitscan since 7d --dep github.com/grokify/mogo ~/go/src/github.com/grokify

Dep Subcommand

Filter repos by dependency on a specific module:

gitscan dep <module> [directory]

Flag	Short	Default	Description
--recurse	-r	false	Check nested go.mod files
--go-git		false	Use go-git library instead of git CLI

Dep Examples

# Find repos depending on a module
gitscan dep github.com/grokify/mogo ~/go/src/github.com/grokify

# Include nested go.mod files (monorepos)
gitscan dep github.com/grokify/mogo -r ~/go/src/github.com/grokify

Order Subcommand

Show repos in topological dependency order - dependencies first, then dependents. Helps determine the correct order to update and release Go modules.

gitscan order [directory]

Flag	Short	Default	Description
--dir	-d	(required)	Directory containing repos to scan
--since	-s	(none)	Filter repos modified within duration
--transitive	-t	false	Include repos that transitively depend on modified repos
--unpushed	-u	false	Only show repos with uncommitted changes or unpushed commits
--go-git		false	Use go-git library instead of git CLI

Order Examples

# Show all repos in dependency order
gitscan order ~/go/src/github.com/grokify

# Repos modified in last 7 days, in dependency order
gitscan order -s 7d ~/go/src/github.com/grokify

# Include transitive dependents (repos depending on modified repos)
gitscan order -s 7d -t ~/go/src/github.com/grokify

# Only show repos that need to be pushed
gitscan order -s 7d -t -u ~/go/src/github.com/grokify

Order Output

Update order (dependencies first):
----------------------------------
  1. mogo                  2026-02-08 12:28
  2. gogithub              2026-02-07 08:09 (depends on: mogo)
  3. goauth                2026-02-09 19:38 (depends on: mogo)
  4. gogoogle              2026-02-09 17:31 (depends on: goauth, mogo)
  5. go-aha                2026-02-09 02:15 (depends on: goauth, gogoogle, mogo)

Total: 5 repos in dependency order

Checks Performed

For each direct subdirectory, gitscan checks:

1. Uncommitted Changes - Detects modified, added, or deleted files using git status --porcelain

2. Replace Directives - Parses go.mod for replace directives (both single-line and block format), which may indicate local development dependencies that shouldn't be committed

3. Module Name Mismatch - Compares the module name in go.mod with the directory name to identify renamed or copied repos

4. Unpushed Commits - Detects commits that haven't been pushed to remote (with -u flag)

Output Format

During scanning, a progress bar shows real-time status:

Scanning: /Users/you/go/src/github.com/grokify
Found 584 directories to scan

[████████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░]  42% (245/584) my-current-repo

List Format (default)

Repos are shown in a numbered list with issues and internal dependencies:

  1. mogo                  2026-02-08 12:28
  2. gogithub              2026-02-07 08:09 (depends on: mogo)
  3. my-service            2026-02-10 15:30 [uncommitted, replace:2]

Summary: 100 repos scanned, 25 modified within 7d

Table Format (-f table)

Compact markdown table with one repo per row:

| # | Repository | Uncommitted | Replace | Mismatch | Git | go.mod |
|---|------------|-------------|---------|----------|-----|--------|
| 1 | omnistorage |  |  | X | Y | Y |
| 2 | omnistorage-github | X |  |  | Y | - |
| 3 | structured-changelog | X |  |  | Y | Y |
| 5 | structured-roadmap |  | 5 |  | - | Y |

Column legend:

• Uncommitted: X = has uncommitted changes
• Replace: number of replace directives in go.mod
• Mismatch: X = module name doesn't match directory
• Git: Y = is a git repo, - = not a git repo
• go.mod: Y = has go.mod, - = no go.mod

Finding Dependents

When making breaking changes to a library, find all local repos that depend on it:

# Find repos depending on a module
gitscan dep github.com/grokify/gogithub ~/go/src/github.com/grokify

# Include nested go.mod files (monorepos, nested modules)
gitscan dep github.com/grokify/gogithub -r ~/go/src/github.com/grokify

# Find recently modified repos that depend on a module
gitscan since 7d --dep github.com/grokify/mogo ~/go/src/github.com/grokify

Performance

gitscan uses parallel scanning with a goroutine worker pool (defaults to GOMAXPROCS workers) for fast scanning of large directory trees. Expensive operations like modification time calculation and unpushed commit detection are performed lazily only when needed.

Git Backend Options

By default, gitscan uses the git CLI for repository status checks, which is fast and compatible with all git configurations. An optional --go-git flag enables the go-git library backend (pure Go, no process spawning):

Backend	Speed	Compatibility
git CLI (default)	Fast (~2.5s for 600 repos)	Full compatibility
go-git (--go-git)	Slower (~10s for 600 repos)	Pure Go, no external deps

The git CLI backend is recommended for most use cases. Use --go-git in environments where the git binary is unavailable.

Use Cases

• Pre-push audit: Identify repos with uncommitted work before leaving for vacation
• Dependency cleanup: Find repos with local replace directives that need resolution
• Repo hygiene: Detect copied/renamed repos with mismatched module names
• Breaking changes: Find all repos to update before releasing library changes
• Security patches: Locate repos using vulnerable dependencies
• Release ordering: Determine correct order to update and release interdependent modules
• Prioritization: Focus on repos that need immediate attention

License

MIT