Highlight Version Control Changes
There are several ways to highlight changes in the files working copy against git commits in Spacemacs.
Git fringe indicates the difference between the working copy and the last commit. As you add code or refactor, the lines that you change are marked in the right hand fringe. Added lines are marked green, deleted lines are marked red.
Smeargle highlights change history over time and incrementally fades unchange lines to grey based on the time they last were changed. The concept is that lines changes most recently are the most relevant to the work you are doing. Lines that have not changed in a long time are less likely to be worked on.
Git Fringe
SPC T d toggles git fringe marks to indicate changes between working copy and latest commit. Default is off.
Add the following to your .spacemacs to configure fringe in Git layer to display by default.
dotspacemacs-configuration-layers
'(
(git :variables
git-gutter-use-fringe t)
(version-control :variables
version-control-diff-tool 'diff-hl
version-control-global-margin t)
)
TODO: choose approach Can use either git or version-control layers to add a fringe
Highlighting with Smeargle
SPC g H toggle smeargle overlays showing historic changes based on time, with the oldest unchanged lines greyed out the most. Default is off.
Smeargle is a package that provides highlighting regions by last updated time. Older changes have a opaque white background and newer regions have a darker background. This is supposed to help you just focus on newer changes, as older changes are subtly faded into the background.
Smeargle Transient State
SPC g r enters Smeargle transient state
TODO: describe the benefit of this transient state.