How do I install the Git Mining skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add xiaolai/git-mining in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Git Mining safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Git Mining?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Git Mining free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Git Mining?

xiaolai (@xiaolai) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Git Mining by xiaolai — Agent Skill

Name: Git Mining
Author: xiaolai

Git Mining

This skill should be used when the user asks to "check git history", "trace code changes", "find when something was added", "correlate commits with sessions", "find hotspot files", or needs to mine git repository history for insights. Only applicable when the current project is a git repository.

xiaolai 6be23cd 2 files · 5.4 KB Updated Sep 17, 2026

File contents

Git Mining — Code History Integration

Prerequisite Check

Before using git commands, verify the project is a git repo:

git rev-parse --git-dir 2>/dev/null && echo "IS_GIT_REPO" || echo "NOT_GIT_REPO"

If not a git repo, skip all git-related analysis and rely on JSONL data only.

Scripts

Cluster commits into work sessions

bash ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/git-sessions.sh [repo-path] [--since "14 days ago"] [--gap 3600]

Full structured context dump

bash ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/git-context.sh [repo-path] [--since "7 days ago"] [--limit 30]

Key Git Commands for Agents

Recent commits with file changes

git log --pretty=format:"%h|%ai|%s" --numstat --since="14 days ago" -30

File history (survives renames)

git log --oneline --follow -- path/to/file.ts

Symbol archaeology (when was X introduced?)

git log --oneline -S "FunctionName"        # exact string
git log --oneline -G "pattern.*regex"      # regex in diff

Hotspot files (most frequently changed)

git log --name-only --pretty=format: --since="30 days ago" | grep -v '^$' | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -15

Commit message search

git log --oneline --grep="keyword" -i

What changed in a file recently

git log -p --follow --since="7 days ago" -- path/to/file.ts

Correlating Git Commits with Claude Sessions

Git commits made during Claude Code sessions cluster together in time (typically 60-440 seconds apart). Cross-session gaps are 1+ hours.

Method 1: Timestamp matching

Compare sessions-index.json entries (created/modified fields) with git commit timestamps (git log --pretty=format:"%at") to find which commits were made during which sessions.

Method 2: Conventional commit patterns

Claude Code sessions typically produce commit sequences like:

feat: → fix: → fix: → docs: → release: (complete cycle)
fix: → test: (debugging session)
refactor: → style: (cleanup session)

Method 3: Branch correlation

The gitBranch field in session records and sessions-index.json entries tells you which branch each session was working on. Match with git log --all --oneline <branch>.

What to Extract from Git History

Question	Command
What changed recently?	`git log --oneline --since="7 days ago"`
What files change together?	`git log --name-only` then co-occurrence analysis
Who/what introduced a bug?	`git log -S "buggy_code"` + `git blame`
What's the architectural evolution?	`git log --diff-filter=A --name-status` (new files over time)
What keeps breaking?	`git log --grep="fix" --name-status`
What was the rationale?	`git log --pretty=format:"%s%n%b" -1 <hash>` (commit body)

Combining Git + JSONL

The most powerful analysis combines both sources:

Find the relevant git commits for a time period
Match their timestamps to Claude sessions
Read the session .jsonl to understand the full conversation context behind those commits
This gives you: what was done (git) + why it was done (conversation) + what was tried and failed (tool errors in JSONL)

---name: git-miningdescription: This skill should be used when the user asks to "check git history", "trace code changes", "find when something was added", "correlate commits with sessions", "find hotspot files", or needs to mine git repository history for insights. Only applicable when the current project is a git repository.---# Git Mining — Code History Integration## Prerequisite CheckBefore using git commands, verify the project is a git repo:```bashgit rev-parse --git-dir 2>/dev/null && echo "IS_GIT_REPO" || echo "NOT_GIT_REPO"```If not a git repo, skip all git-related analysis and rely on JSONL data only.## Scripts### Cluster commits into work sessions```bashbash ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/git-sessions.sh [repo-path] [--since "14 days ago"] [--gap 3600]```### Full structured context dump```bashbash ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/git-context.sh [repo-path] [--since "7 days ago"] [--limit 30]```## Key Git Commands for Agents### Recent commits with file changes```bashgit log --pretty=format:"%h|%ai|%s" --numstat --since="14 days ago" -30```### File history (survives renames)```bashgit log --oneline --follow -- path/to/file.ts```### Symbol archaeology (when was X introduced?)```bashgit log --oneline -S "FunctionName" # exact stringgit log --oneline -G "pattern.*regex" # regex in diff```### Hotspot files (most frequently changed)```bashgit log --name-only --pretty=format: --since="30 days ago" | grep -v '^$' | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -15```### Commit message search```bashgit log --oneline --grep="keyword" -i```### What changed in a file recently```bashgit log -p --follow --since="7 days ago" -- path/to/file.ts```## Correlating Git Commits with Claude SessionsGit commits made during Claude Code sessions cluster together in time (typically 60-440 seconds apart). Cross-session gaps are 1+ hours.### Method 1: Timestamp matchingCompare `sessions-index.json` entries (`created`/`modified` fields) with git commit timestamps (`git log --pretty=format:"%at"`) to find which commits were made during which sessions.### Method 2: Conventional commit patternsClaude Code sessions typically produce commit sequences like:- `feat:` → `fix:` → `fix:` → `docs:` → `release:` (complete cycle)- `fix:` → `test:` (debugging session)- `refactor:` → `style:` (cleanup session)### Method 3: Branch correlationThe `gitBranch` field in session records and `sessions-index.json` entries tells you which branch each session was working on. Match with `git log --all --oneline <branch>`.## What to Extract from Git History| Question | Command ||----------|---------|| What changed recently? | `git log --oneline --since="7 days ago"` || What files change together? | `git log --name-only` then co-occurrence analysis || Who/what introduced a bug? | `git log -S "buggy_code"` + `git blame` || What's the architectural evolution? | `git log --diff-filter=A --name-status` (new files over time) || What keeps breaking? | `git log --grep="fix" --name-status` || What was the rationale? | `git log --pretty=format:"%s%n%b" -1 <hash>` (commit body) |## Combining Git + JSONLThe most powerful analysis combines both sources:1. Find the relevant git commits for a time period2. Match their timestamps to Claude sessions3. Read the session `.jsonl` to understand the full conversation context behind those commits4. This gives you: **what was done** (git) + **why it was done** (conversation) + **what was tried and failed** (tool errors in JSONL)

Frequently asked questions