gicoto - git commit tool with interactive staging and custom date

Description

gicoto is a Bash script that streamlines Git commits by allowing you to

• interactively select files to stage,
• set a custom commit date, and
• push changes in one step.

It uses fzf for interactive file selection and provides a clean workflow for crafting precise commits.

Key features

• Interactive file staging using fzf (multi-select).
• Custom commit date support (defaults to today's date if none is provided).
• Single-step commit and push workflow.
• Simple prompts for message and date input.

Requirements

• Git installed and configured.
• fzf (command-line fuzzy finder) installed:
  sudo apt install fzf

Installation

1. Save the script as gicoto.
2. Make it executable:
   chmod +x gicoto
3. (Optional) Move it to a folder in your $PATH:
   sudo mv gicoto /usr/local/bin/

Usage

Basic usage

Run the script in your Git repository: gicoto

Step-by-step workflow

1. The script lists unstaged files using git status --short.
2. You select files to stage interactively via fzf (press Space/Tab to mark, Enter to confirm).
3. Enter a custom commit date or press Enter to use today.
4. Enter a commit message.
5. The script commits with --date and pushes automatically.

Example

1. Run gicoto.
2. Select files:
   M script.sh
?? new_file.txt
   (Space/Tab to mark, Enter to confirm.)
3. Enter commit date:
   Enter commit date (default: today): 2025-08-27
4. Enter commit message:
   Enter commit message: Fix script and add new file
5. The script will execute:
   git add script.sh new_file.txt
git commit --date="2025-08-27" -m "Fix script and add new file"
git push

How it works

1. Lists modified/unstaged files using git status --short.
2. Uses fzf --multi to let you pick files interactively.
3. Uses awk to extract only the file names from Git's output.
4. Stages the selected files with git add.
5. Prompts for a commit date and message.
6. Creates a commit with git commit --date to preserve custom timestamps.
7. Pushes changes automatically with git push.

Input validation

• If no files are selected, the script exits gracefully.
• If no date is entered, the current date is automatically used.
• A commit message is required; Git will refuse empty messages.

License

Free to use, modify, and share.