This playbook provides guidance on using Gource to visualize the history of a Git repository. It covers installing Gource, generating visualizations, customizing visual output, and sharing the visualization.
- Ensure Gource is installed on your machine by following the official installation guide: https://github.com/acaudwell/Gource#install
- Have a Git repository cloned locally on your machine.
1a. Installation: Install Gource on your machine according to the official installation instructions.
2a. User Prompt: Before running Gource, prompt the user to specify the path to the Git repository they want to visualize.
2b. Navigate to Repository: Open a terminal and navigate to the root directory of the Git repository you want to visualize.
2c. Run Gource: Execute the following command to generate a visualization of the repository's history:
gource
This command generates a default visualization of the repository's history.
3a. Customize Output: Explore various options to customize the visual output according to your preferences. You can customize parameters such as colors, scaling, speed, and file types.
3b. Example Customization: For example, to set the background color to black and display file names, you can use the following command:
gource --background-colour 000000 --file-idle-time 0
Explore the documentation for more customization options: https://github.com/acaudwell/Gource/wiki/Config-File
4a. Export Video: Export the visualization as a video file using Gource's built-in video export functionality. You can specify parameters such as frame rate and output resolution (use 60 fps and 1080p if not specified).
4b. Example Export Command: To export the visualization as a video with 60 frames per second and 480p resolution, use the following command:
gource -640×480 -o - | ffmpeg -y -r 60 -f image2pipe -vcodec ppm -i - -vcodec libx264 -preset medium -pix_fmt yuv420p -crf 1 -threads 0 -bf 0 gource.mp4
5a. Share Video: Share the exported video file or upload it to a video sharing platform to showcase the visualization of the repository's history.
5b. Share Live Visualization: - Host the visualization via ngrock. - Ensure users can access them without encountering errors or unavailability. - Check if the hosted files are accessible by attempting to download or open each file.
- Optimize Export Settings: Adjust export settings such as frame rate and resolution to balance video quality and file size.