install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install git-recent

local Homebrew formula metadata

Linux

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#git-recent

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/gi/git-recent/package.nix · source: api.github.com

overview

Package summary

Browse your latest git branches, formatted real fancy

Project links

Commands and aliases

git-recent
git-recent-og

history

Project history and usage

git-recent is a Git branch navigation helper by Paul Irish for browsing recently touched branches and checking one out with a short interactive flow.

Project history

The README records the tool's origin in Paul Irish's dotfiles in May 2016, followed by a standalone repository and npm publication in August 2016. The original script became git-recent-og after the 2.0 rewrite.

The 2.0 line, released in 2025 according to the changelog, added an fzf-based interactive UI for browsing branches, viewing branch-specific commits, inspecting a diff against main, and checking out the selected branch.

Adoption history

git-recent spread as a small personal-workflow utility through npm and Homebrew, with Nix also recorded in the input package metadata. Its adoption significance comes less from enterprise deployment and more from shell users copying a tiny Git helper into daily branch-switching habits.

How it is used

Practitioners run git recent inside a repository, navigate the fzf list of branches, press Enter to check out a selection, and use Ctrl-O to inspect a diff. The README notes optional delta integration for formatted diffs and worktree detection that can guide a user to an existing checkout.

Users who do not want the fzf dependency can run git recent-og, the renamed 2016 implementation, with options such as -n to limit the number of branches shown.

Why package nerds care

git-recent is a compact example of the Git subcommand packaging pattern: one executable on PATH becomes a Git verb, distributed through npm, Homebrew, and Nix, and upgraded without changing the underlying Git data model.

Timeline

2016: Script added to paulirish/dotfiles.
2016: Standalone repository released and package published to npm.
2018: Count parameter added.
2019: Final 1.x bugfix recorded in the README changelog.
2025: 2.0 upgrade added fzf integration and renamed the original implementation to git-recent-og.

Related projects

fzf powers the 2.x interactive branch picker.
delta can format diffs shown from the interactive UI.
The README points branch-navigation enthusiasts to git-fuzzy, lazygit, tig, and fzf-git.sh.

Sources

security posture

Risk level: green

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

Risk classifier

green risk · low confidence · appliance

Why

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals

Signals

metadata:no-higher-risk-signals

Install behavior

No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 1 platform targets.
Installs with 1 runtime dependencies.

Recommended review

Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`git-recent`	cli	global executable
`git-recent-og`	cli	global executable

freshness

Version and freshness

These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.

page generated2026-07-08

manager version2.2.0

manager updated2026-04-27

local dataok

upstreamcurrent

latest detectedv2.2.0

https://github.com/paulirish/git-recent

okNo freshness warnings were generated.

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:git-recent
Version	2.2.0
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/git-recent
Homepage	https://github.com/paulirish/git-recent
Repository	https://github.com/paulirish/git-recent
Upstream docs	https://github.com/paulirish/git-recent#readme
License	MIT
Source archive	https://github.com/paulirish/git-recent/archive/refs/tags/v2.2.0.tar.gz
Last updated	2026-04-27T18:52:13Z
Pulse	updated
Dependencies	fzf
Bottle	available (on all)
Homebrew post-install	not defined
Service	none declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source Database	Homebrew formula API
Tap	homebrew/core
Full Name	git-recent
Version Scheme	0
Revision	0
Conflicts With	git-plus
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
URL Keys	stable

source database matches

Other package-manager records

Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.

Nix95%

git-recent

nix profile install nixpkgs#git-recent

normalized package name match
Matched by: Git Recent

nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/gi/git-recent/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

source trail

Generated from repository data

This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.

Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub.

combined/git-recent.yml

Used sources

Geiger risk classifier
Nucleus package database
av.db category and tag curation
cross-ecosystem install command graph
curated package history
external package-manager database matches
package relationship graph
package version freshness
package-page enrichment

Install git-recent with Homebrew, Nix