GitReader is an open-source library for C# that allows us to access and analyze Git repositories efficiently without needing to rely on having git.exe installed on the system.
This library is very useful if we need to interact with a Git repository, providing a simple and straightforward API to access repository information.
For example, we can use it to extract team information, check for errors, associate it with our management system, or create dashboards, among many other possible ideas.
Features of GitReader,
- No external dependencies: Does not require git.exe to operate.
- Direct access to Git repositories: Provides an API to read and analyze the structure and content of repositories.
- Cross-platform: Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
- Efficient and fast: Designed for fast and efficient access to repository data.
GitReader is Open Source and all its code and documentation are available in the project repository on GitHub - kekyo/GitReader.
Installing GitReader
To start using GitReader in your .NET project, you first need to install the library via NuGet. You can do this through the NuGet Package Manager in Visual Studio or by using the NuGet console.
Install-Package GitReader
How to Use GitReader
Once you have installed GitReader, you can start using it to access and analyze Git repositories. Below are several examples illustrating how to interact with Git repositories using GitReader.
These are just two simple examples of two operations. It’s possible to perform many (many) more functions with the repo. Consult the project documentation, which includes many examples.
Open a Repository
This example shows how to open a Git repository and get basic information about it.
using GitReader;
using GitReader.Structures;
using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
class Program
{
static async Task Main(string[] args)
{
// Path to the Git repository
string repoPath = "path/to/repository/.git";
// Open the repository
using var repository = await Repository.Factory.OpenStructureAsync(repoPath);
if (repository.Head is Branch head)
{
Console.WriteLine($"Name: {head.Name}");
// Get the commit that this HEAD points to:
Commit commit = await head.GetHeadCommitAsync();
Console.WriteLine($"Hash: {commit.Hash}");
Console.WriteLine($"Author: {commit.Author}");
Console.WriteLine($"Committer: {commit.Committer}");
Console.WriteLine($"Subject: {commit.Subject}");
Console.WriteLine($"Body: {commit.Body}");
}
}
}
Get a Specific Commit
In this example, we get a specific commit.
using GitReader;
using GitReader.Structures;
using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
class Program
{
static async Task Main(string[] args)
{
// Path to the Git repository
string repoPath = "path/to/repository/.git";
// Open the repository
using var repository = await Repository.Factory.OpenAsync(repoPath);
if (await repository.GetCommitAsync(
"1205dc34ce48bda28fc543daaf9525a9bb6e6d10") is Commit commit)
{
Console.WriteLine($"Hash: {commit.Hash}");
Console.WriteLine($"Author: {commit.Author}");
Console.WriteLine($"Committer: {commit.Committer}");
Console.WriteLine($"Subject: {commit.Subject}");
Console.WriteLine($"Body: {commit.Body}");
}
}
}
