Git Editor Utility

This repository provides a utility to rewrite Git history in bulk, allowing you to:

Change the remote origin URL
Redistribute commit dates into a specified interval
Change author name and email for all commits
Optionally force-push the rewritten history to the remote

There are two implementations:

git-editor.go (Go)
git-editor.py (Python 3)

Both scripts perform the same core operations and have similar command-line interfaces.

Features

Bulk rewrite of commit dates: Squeeze all commit timestamps into a user-specified interval.
Change author info: Set a new author name and email for all commits.
Change remote URL: Update the origin remote to a new URL.
Force-push option: Optionally force-push the rewritten history to the new remote.
Safety checks: Prompts for missing arguments and validates repository state.

Usage

Prerequisites

For git-editor.go: Go 1.18+ (or compatible)
For git-editor.py: Python 3.7+
A clean working directory (no uncommitted changes)
A backup of your repository (rewriting history is destructive!)

1. Build or use the script

Go version

# Build
$ go build -o git-editor git-editor.go
# Run
$ ./git-editor [flags]

Python version

$ python3 git-editor.py [flags]

2. Command-line Flags

Flag	Description
--repo-path	Path to the git repo (default: ".")
--remote-url	New origin URL
--start-time	ISO start timestamp (e.g. 2025-01-01T00:00:00)
--end-time	ISO end timestamp (e.g. 2025-06-30T23:59:59)
--author-name	New author name
--author-email	New author email

If any flag is omitted, you will be prompted interactively.

3. Example

# Example: Rewrite history for a repo, set new author, and push
$ ./git-editor \
    --repo-path ~/my-repo \
    --remote-url git@github.com:me/new-repo.git \
    --start-time 2025-01-01T00:00:00 \
    --end-time 2025-06-30T23:59:59 \
    --author-name "Alice Example" \
    --author-email "alice@example.com"

You will be prompted to confirm the force-push at the end.

How it Works

Update origin URL: Sets the origin remote to the new URL.
List all commits: Gets all commit hashes in chronological order.
Redistribute dates: Evenly spaces commit dates between the start and end times.
Rewrite history: Uses git filter-branch to update commit dates and author info.
Cleanup: Removes temporary files and runs git gc.
Force-push: Optionally pushes the rewritten history to the remote.

Safety Notes

This operation rewrites history and is destructive.
Always make a backup of your repository before running this tool.
All branches and tags will be rewritten.
You will need to force-push (--force --all) to update the remote.
Collaborators will need to re-clone or reset their local copies.

License

See LICENSE.