Git Redate

git-redate

Rewrite author and committer timestamps for one or more commits using git rebase -i with an injected GIT_SEQUENCE_EDITOR. No external plugins required.

⚠️ This rewrites commit history. Safe for unpushed commits. For already-pushed commits a git push --force-with-lease will be needed afterward.

Script

./scripts/redate.py

Resolve against the skill directory: ~/.pi/agent/skills/git-redate/scripts/redate.py

Modes

Auto mode — move all weekend commits in a range

Scans a commit range, finds Saturday/Sunday commits, moves them to Monday or Friday.

python3 ~/.pi/agent/skills/git-redate/scripts/redate.py [--range RANGE] [--move-to monday|friday] [--dry-run]

Manual mode — set specific commits to specific dates

Explicitly name which commits to rewrite and to what date/time. Repeatable.

python3 ~/.pi/agent/skills/git-redate/scripts/redate.py --set HASH DATE [--set HASH2 DATE2 ...] [--dry-run]

DATE formats:

Agent workflow

For "move weekend commits" requests

1. Run auto dry-run to show what will change:

   python3 ~/.pi/agent/skills/git-redate/scripts/redate.py --dry-run
   

2. Present the output to the user.
3. If the user explicitly requested this rewrite and the dry-run matches the requested scope, apply without asking again. Otherwise ask for authorization before applying:

   python3 ~/.pi/agent/skills/git-redate/scripts/redate.py
   

For "change specific commits" requests

1. Show the user recent commits so they can identify which ones to change:

   git log --format="%h  %ad  %s" --date=format:"%a %Y-%m-%d %H:%M" -n 20
   

2. Understand the user's intent — e.g.:
   • "change a1b2c3d to last Wednesday"
   • "move these two commits to Monday morning"
   • "set commit deadbeef to 2025-01-15 at 10:00"
3. Resolve natural-language dates to concrete YYYY-MM-DD or YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM values using the current date as reference.
4. Run dry-run and present the planned changes:

   python3 ~/.pi/agent/skills/git-redate/scripts/redate.py \
     --set a1b2c3d 2025-01-15 \
     --set deadbeef 2025-01-15T10:00 \
     --dry-run
   

5. If the request already specified the commits and target dates and the dry-run matches it, apply without another confirmation. Otherwise ask the user to authorize the concrete dry-run plan before applying without --dry-run.

After applying

Always verify the result:

git log --format="%h  %ad  %s" --date=format:"%a %Y-%m-%d %H:%M" -n 20

Example invocations

# Auto: preview all unpushed weekend commits
python3 ~/.pi/agent/skills/git-redate/scripts/redate.py --dry-run

# Auto: move unpushed weekend commits to Monday
python3 ~/.pi/agent/skills/git-redate/scripts/redate.py

# Auto: move to Friday, custom range
python3 ~/.pi/agent/skills/git-redate/scripts/redate.py --range main..HEAD --move-to friday

# Manual: move one commit to a specific date (preserves original time)
python3 ~/.pi/agent/skills/git-redate/scripts/redate.py --set a1b2c3d 2025-01-20

# Manual: move one commit to a specific date and time
python3 ~/.pi/agent/skills/git-redate/scripts/redate.py --set a1b2c3d 2025-01-20T10:30

# Manual: rewrite multiple commits at once
python3 ~/.pi/agent/skills/git-redate/scripts/redate.py \
  --set a1b2c3d 2025-01-20 \
  --set b2c3d4e 2025-01-21T09:00 \
  --set c3d4e5f 2025-01-22

# Manual: dry-run first
python3 ~/.pi/agent/skills/git-redate/scripts/redate.py \
  --set a1b2c3d 2025-01-20 \
  --dry-run

How it works

1. Auto mode: git log collects commits in the range. Weekend commits get their timestamps shifted ±1–2 days (time of day preserved).
2. Manual mode: each --set HASH DATE pair is resolved via git rev-parse. If only a date is given, the commit's original time is preserved. The rebase base is computed automatically from the oldest targeted commit.
3. A temporary GIT_SEQUENCE_EDITOR script is generated that injects exec env GIT_COMMITTER_DATE='...' git commit --amend --no-edit --date='...' after the relevant pick lines in the rebase todo. (--date sets author date; GIT_COMMITTER_DATE sets committer date.)
4. git rebase -i <base> runs with that editor. The script has its own confirmation prompt; answer it affirmatively only when the rewrite is authorized under the global policy.
5. Temp files are cleaned up automatically.

Troubleshooting