serie - Rich Git Commit Graph in the Terminal Cheatsheet
serie is a Rust terminal application that draws a rich, scrollable Git commit graph — a far clearer rendering of branch and merge history than git log --graph. It is read-focused: you browse the graph, inspect commit details, and search history interactively, which makes it ideal for understanding how a repository’s branches evolved before a review or merge. (The name is “series,” as in the series of commits.)
Installation
| Platform | Command |
|---|
| Cargo (all platforms) | cargo install serie |
| macOS (Homebrew) | brew install serie |
| Arch Linux (AUR) | yay -S serie |
| Binary | download from the GitHub Releases page |
| Verify | serie --version |
Launching
| Command | Description |
|---|
serie | Open the commit graph for the current repo |
serie --order chrono | Chronological commit ordering |
serie --order topo | Topological ordering (default-style) |
serie --protocol iterm | Use a terminal image protocol for graph cells |
serie --help | Full option list |
Navigation
| Key | Action |
|---|
j / ↓ | Move down the graph |
k / ↑ | Move up the graph |
g / G | Jump to top / bottom |
Ctrl+f / Ctrl+b | Page down / up |
Enter | Open details for the selected commit |
Tab | Switch between graph and detail views |
q | Quit |
? | Help |
Inspecting Commits
| Key/Action | Shows |
|---|
Enter on a commit | Full message, author, date, hash |
| Detail view | The commit’s diff/changes |
| Refs | Branch and tag labels on graph nodes |
| Parents | Merge commits show multiple parents in the graph |
Searching
| Key | Action |
|---|
/ | Start a search |
n | Next match |
N | Previous match |
| Search scope | Match commit messages / metadata |
Display Options
| Option | Description |
|---|
| `—order chrono | topo` |
--protocol | Image protocol (iterm, kitty) for crisp graph cells |
--no-graph | List view without the graph rendering |
| Color/theme | Branch colors distinguish lines of history |
Common Workflows
# Understand how a feature branch diverged before merging
serie # scroll the graph, Enter to inspect merge points
# Chronological view to see what happened in what order
serie --order chrono
# Crisp graph rendering in a supporting terminal
serie --protocol kitty
serie vs Other Git History Views
| Aspect | serie | git log —graph | tig | gitui |
|---|
| Graph clarity | High (rich render) | Basic ASCII | Good | Good |
| Focus | History browsing | Output command | Browsing + actions | Full Git ops |
| Interactivity | Scroll/search/inspect | None | Yes | Yes |
| Best for | Reading branch history | Quick CLI dump | Repo browsing | Staging/commit/rebase |
Resources
