views.md

Views

Status view

The default. Lists changed files on the left, syntax-highlighted diff on the right.

Each row begins with a two-character XY status code, following Git's short status notation (nightcrow reads status through git2 internally, not by parsing git status --short). X is the staged (index) state and Y is the unstaged (working-tree) state, so a file can show both at once:

Code	Meaning
M	modified, unstaged
M	modified, staged
MM	modified, staged and further modified in the working tree
A	added (staged)
D / D	deleted (staged / unstaged)
R	renamed (shown as old -> new; searchable by either path)
T	type changed (e.g. file ↔ symlink)
??	untracked
UU	conflicted (placeholder for unmerged paths)

The diff for a selected file shows the combined working-tree-with-index changes.

Commit log view (<prefix> l)

A tig-like commit list on the left, full commit diff on the right. Commits ahead of the upstream are marked with ↑. Press Enter on a commit to drill into its individual files; Esc to go back.

The list auto-refreshes when the workdir HEAD changes (commits made in the terminal pane, amends, force-pushes, branch switches). History loads one page at a time — initial entry fetches commit_log_page_size commits and additional pages stream in on a background thread as the selection approaches the loaded tail, so deep histories stay responsive. Toggling while a terminal or diff pane is zoomed exits the zoom and focuses the list, so the view switch is always visible.

Tree view (<prefix> b)

A read-only directory tree of the whole working tree on the left, with the selected file's raw contents on the right. Unlike the status view (which lists only changed files), the tree lets you browse and read any file next to the diff without leaving nightcrow.

• j/k move the cursor, → expands a directory (read lazily, one level at a time), ← collapses it or steps up to the parent, and selecting a file previews it.
• Enter on a file row opens it in the preview pane and zooms that pane fullscreen (Enter again, or <prefix> f, exits the zoom); on a directory row it does nothing.
• / while the tree is focused runs a recursive filename search across the whole tree — type to filter, Enter reveals the selected match in place (expanding its ancestor directories), Esc cancels.
• Focus the file preview with <prefix> 2, then press / to search within the file contents — n/N jump to the next/previous match, Esc clears the search.

.gitignore-matched paths (e.g. target/, node_modules/) are hidden by default — toggle with [tree] respect_gitignore. Expanded directories are watched for filesystem changes, so files and folders created, moved, or deleted by another process (an editor, git, an LLM CLI) appear without leaving the view; set [tree] live_watch = false to refresh only on entry instead. See Configuration → [tree].

The tree never writes, renames, or deletes anything. Expansion state and the selected path persist across sessions.

Notice row

A one-row strip just above the hint bar shows the repo path (home-relative, e.g. ~/projects/myapp), the current branch, and ahead/behind counts (↑N ↓M) when the branch tracks an upstream.

When something fails — a git snapshot, a diff load, a terminal pane, or a repo path you typed that doesn't exist — the message takes over this row in red until the problem is resolved or you act on the app again. A rejected repo path therefore appears directly above the input you're correcting. The repo dialog's completion candidates share this row (dimmed, and a notice outranks them), so a list too long for one line ends in +N more.

The repo dialog

Path completion

Tab completes the directory you're typing, so you don't have to know the path by heart. One press extends as far as the names allow; when there's nothing left to extend it lists what's there instead. On a trailing / the first press shows that directory's contents, and a unique match gains a trailing / so you can keep pressing Tab to descend.

Only directories are offered (a file can't be a repo), dotted directories stay hidden until you type a leading ., and a name that differs only in case is matched and corrected for you. The dialog is a path field, not a shell — ~, .. and paths relative to your working directory all work, but cd, $VAR, and globs don't, and Enter always means "open this path".

Browsing for a repo

When you don't know the path, press ↓ in the repo dialog to browse instead of typing. (A second Tab, once the candidate list is up, opens the same browser: at that point the flat list has told you all it can.) The browser fills the body of the screen, rooted at whatever directory the field currently names, and the field stays visible below it with the keys spelled out.

Key	Action
↓ / j, ↑ / k	Move the cursor
→	Expand the selected directory (read lazily, one level at a time)
←	Collapse it, or step out — to the parent row, or one level above the root when you're already at the top, so a sibling checkout is one press away
Enter	Take the selected path into the field and return to it — this does not open the repo. Press Enter again in the field for that, or keep refining the path with Tab first
Esc	Leave the browser, keeping the text it started from. A second Esc cancels the dialog

Directories only, hidden ones excluded, and nothing is ever written. Note that Enter means select here but open in the field — the browser's job is to fill the field, so → alone expands — matching the file-tree view, where Enter opens a file rather than expanding. Paths keep your own notation: browsing out of ~/coding gives you back ~/coding/…, not an absolute path. Mouse selection isn't supported; the browser is keyboard-only.