I built RepoTrek, a terminal-first GitHub source browser written in Rust.
GitHub:
https://github.com/yuna-r/repotrek
crates.io:
https://crates.io/crates/repotrek
The basic idea is simple:
I wanted a comfortable way to deeply explore GitHub repositories without constantly switching between the browser, terminal, and editor.
RepoTrek is not intended to replace Git clients such as git, lazygit, tig, or gitui.
Its focus is different:
Git client
↓
operate on a repository
RepoTrek
↓
explore and read a repository
Why I built it
When reading open-source projects on GitHub, I often move through a sequence like this:
Code
↓
Blame
↓
Commit
↓
Diff
↓
File history
↓
Another file
GitHub's web interface is excellent, but when I spend a long time reading source code, I prefer staying in the terminal and using the keyboard.
So I started building a TUI specifically around source code exploration.
No clone required
You can open a repository directly from GitHub.
For example:
rust-lang/rust
or:
torvalds/linux
RepoTrek retrieves the repository information through GitHub APIs, so you don't need to clone the entire repository just to inspect it.
This is especially convenient for quickly looking through large projects.
Features
RepoTrek currently includes:
- Repository tree browsing
- Source code viewer with line numbers
- Syntax highlighting
- Dark / Light themes
- Commit history
- Commit diffs
- File history
- Git blame
- Branch switching
- File search
- Repository-wide code search
- Symbol navigation
- Definition search
- Pull Requests
- Issues
- GitHub Actions
- Releases
- Keyboard-based text selection and copy
- Source/diff wrapping
- HTML export for printing
The interface is designed to make moving between these views fast without leaving the terminal.
Source code browsing
The main view works like a terminal-native repository browser.
src/
├── app.rs
├── auth.rs
├── export.rs
├── highlight.rs
├── provider/
└── ui/
Open a file and RepoTrek displays it with line numbers and syntax highlighting.
Common languages such as Rust, Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, C/C++, Go, Java, YAML, TOML, JSON, Shell, HTML, CSS, and Markdown are recognized.
Unknown formats simply fall back to plain text.
Blame and file history
One feature I especially wanted was the ability to move naturally between:
source line
↓
blame
↓
commit
↓
diff
↓
history
The current source code often tells you what the program does.
History often tells you why it became that way.
That makes blame and file history important parts of RepoTrek rather than secondary features.
Commit diffs
Commit diffs include both old and new line numbers.
For example:
81 81 fn example() {
82 - old_code();
82 + new_code();
83 83 }
Added and removed lines also have separate highlighting.
Long source lines and diffs can be wrapped directly inside the TUI.
Search and navigation
RepoTrek provides several ways to move around a repository.
File search
Search files by name and quickly jump to a result.
Code search
Search repository contents and open matching files directly.
Symbol navigation
Inside a source file, @ opens a symbol picker.
For Rust, for example, RepoTrek can identify things such as:
struct
enum
trait
impl
fn
Definition search
Pressing d searches for likely definitions of the identifier around the current cursor position.
This is currently heuristic-based rather than a full LSP implementation.
GitHub information inside the TUI
RepoTrek is gradually bringing more of the GitHub repository experience into the terminal.
It can display information for:
Code
Commits
Pull Requests
Issues
Actions
Releases
When the web interface is still useful, pressing o opens the corresponding GitHub page.
The goal isn't to eliminate the browser completely.
The goal is to make it optional during normal source exploration.
Keyboard-first
I wanted the application to remain usable almost entirely from the keyboard.
For example:
Shift+J extend selection downward
Shift+K extend selection upward
Shift+A select all
Shift+C copy
v Vim-style selection
y copy selection
Esc clear selection / go back
There are also shortcuts for searching, switching branches, toggling themes, wrapping lines, and opening external GitHub pages.
Dark and Light themes
RepoTrek supports both Dark and Light themes.
The Light theme is not just an inverted Dark theme.
Syntax colors, selected lines, active lines, and diff colors are defined separately so source code remains readable in both modes.
The selected theme is persisted between sessions.
Printing source code from a TUI
One slightly unusual feature is HTML export.
RepoTrek can generate printable HTML for source files and diffs.
Exports include:
- Syntax highlighting
- Line numbers
- Old/new diff line numbers
- Added/removed line backgrounds
- Print-oriented layout
- A4 landscape CSS
Files are automatically written to:
exports/
with timestamped filenames.
I sometimes like reading larger pieces of source code away from the editor, so I wanted RepoTrek to treat printing as a real output format rather than an afterthought.
Built with Rust and Ratatui
RepoTrek is written in Rust and uses Ratatui for the terminal UI.
At a high level, the architecture looks roughly like this:
GitHub API
↓
Provider
↓
RepoTrek models
↓
Application state
↓
Ratatui UI
I intentionally keep GitHub-specific API structures away from most of the UI.
The idea is to make support for other Git forges possible later.
Potential future providers could include:
GitLab
Gitea
Forgejo
Cross-platform releases
RepoTrek is built for:
Linux
x86_64
ARM64
macOS
Apple Silicon
Intel
Windows
x86_64
ARM64
Release builds are automated with GitHub Actions.
The project is also available through crates.io:
cargo install repotrek
What's next?
RepoTrek is still a v0.x project, so there are many things I want to improve.
Some ideas include:
- Better symbol analysis
- LSP integration
- Improved commit graphs
- Better PR review navigation
- More GitHub Actions information
- Smarter caching
- Performance improvements for very large repositories
- GitLab / Gitea / Forgejo support
- Better terminal capability detection
- Mouse support where useful
But the main goal will stay the same:
Make exploring source code from the terminal enjoyable.
Try it
GitHub:
https://github.com/yuna-r/repotrek
crates.io:
https://crates.io/crates/repotrek
Install with Cargo:
cargo install repotrek
If you enjoy Rust, TUIs, open source, or simply reading other people's code, I'd love for you to try it.
Feedback, issues, and pull requests are welcome 🐻🦀
