Gource: Git History Visualization

TUIkit
7 February 2026
PAP-001

Gource visualizes Git history as an animated tree. Files are nodes, committers fly through the repo as avatars. A classic for project timelapses.

Installation
Configuration
Video Export
Useful CLI Flags
Links

Installation

brew install gource

Configuration

Config file: .gource.conf in the project root.

gource --load-config .gource.conf

Current Config Settings

Setting	Value	Purpose
`viewport`	1920×1080	Full HD
`background-colour`	`0D1117`	GitHub Dark Theme
`seconds-per-day`	1.5	Speed per day
`time-scale`	1.5	Additional acceleration
`highlight-colour`	`58A6FF`	GitHub Blue for active user
`dir-name-depth`	2	Shows `Sources/TUIkit`, `Tests/TUIkitTests`
`file-idle-time`	0	Files don't disappear
`camera-mode`	overview	Shows entire tree

Filtered Paths

.DS_Store
.build/
Packages/

Video Export

gource --load-config .gource.conf -o - | \
  ffmpeg -y -r 60 -f image2pipe -vcodec ppm -i - \
  -vcodec libx264 -preset medium -pix_fmt yuv420p -crf 18 \
  tui-kit-history.mp4

ffmpeg Parameters

Flag	Meaning
`-r 60`	60 fps Input
`-vcodec libx264`	H.264 Codec
`-preset medium`	Balance speed/quality
`-pix_fmt yuv420p`	Compatible with all players
`-crf 18`	High quality (0=lossless, 23=default, 51=worst)

Useful CLI Flags

# Only specific time range
gource --load-config .gource.conf --start-date "2026-02-01"

# Screenshot instead of animation
gource --load-config .gource.conf --stop-at-end -o screenshot.ppm

# Highlight specific user
gource --load-config .gource.conf --highlight-user "Frank Gregor"

# Play slower (e.g. for longer repos)
gource --load-config .gource.conf --seconds-per-day 3

# With user avatars (images in avatars/ folder, name = filename)
gource --load-config .gource.conf --user-image-dir avatars/