MiniGit — A Minimal Git-Like Version Control System (in JavaScript)

MiniGit is a lightweight, educational version control system built entirely in Node.js. It mimics core Git functionalities such as init, add, commit, log, and diff — all implemented from scratch to explore how Git works under the hood.

Features

• Initialize a new .minigit repository
• Add files to the staging area
• Commit changes with messages
• View commit history
• Compare commits and view diffs (color-coded output)

Commands

Initialize a repository

./minigit.mjs init

Creates a .minigit folder containing:

.minigit/
├── HEAD
├── index
└── objects/

Add a file to staging

./minigit.mjs add <filename>

Example:

./minigit.mjs add file.txt

This command:

• Reads the file
• Hashes its contents (SHA-1)
• Stores it under .minigit/objects
• Updates the staging area (index)

Commit changes

./minigit.mjs commit "<message>"

Example:

./minigit.mjs commit "Initial commit"

Creates a commit object containing:

• Timestamp
• Commit message
• Files from the staging area
• Parent commit reference (if any)

View commit history

./minigit.mjs log

Displays all commits in reverse chronological order:

-------------------------------------
Commit: 1a2b3c4d...
Date: 2025-11-02T14:05:10Z

Initial commit

Show commit diff

./minigit.jsx show <commitHash>

Example:

./minigit.jsx show cb5b6c35fd31ad8862d1740e268a122d3db08f09

Already initialized the .minigit folder
Changes in the last commit are:
File: file.txt
This is some text content from a file. This will be added in the minigit vcs. Adding this text.
She sells seashells by the seashore.

This is the previous line. Hurray!
This is another line!

Diff:
This is some text content from a file. This will be added in the minigit vcs. Adding this text.
She sells seashells by the seashore.

-- This is a new line!
++ This is the previous line. Hurray!
This is another line!

Displays:

• Files modified in that commit
• Differences from the parent commit
• Color-coded diff using chalk

Example Images