CLI + VS Code / Cursor · Local-first · Open source
Never lose the why behind your code
Git records what changed. Gigai Chronicle records what was asked — the
prompts, the AI's responses, the tools it ran, the code it produced — as an
append-only, plain-text history that lives inside your git repository. It runs
entirely on your machine. It never calls a model. Nothing ever leaves your device.
git blame says who.chronicle why says what was asked.
chronicle
$ chronicle why src/auth.ts
why src/auth.ts looks like this — 2 prompt(s):
2026-07-18 09:41+65−1"add refresh-token rotation to login"⏪ chronicle restore evt_01KXR2…2026-07-18 09:47+3−2"revoke the token family on reuse"⏪ chronicle restore evt_01KXR4…
Records what was asked Runs on your device Lives in your git repo Never calls a model
chronicle why
The question git blame can't answer
git blame tells you you changed the line. Chronicle tells you
what you asked for — the prompt behind each change to a file — and offers
to put the code back to that exact moment.
See the prompt that shaped any file, newest first
Jump back to the code at any prompt, always safety-checkpointed
Derived from git on demand — never stored, never goes stale
Right-click any file in VS Code: "Why is this file like this?"
editor
# git blamea1f2b3c you const t = rotate(token)
# chronicle why▸ "add refresh-token rotation to login"
▸ "revoke the token family on reuse"
Everything you get
One journey, many lenses
Passive capture, plain-text storage, and tools that answer the questions you actually ask.
chronicle why
The prompt behind each change to a file. The forensic tool git blame should have been.
One-click restore
Put your code back to how it was at any prompt. Always safety-checkpointed — nothing is ever lost.
Replay a session
Step through prompts, responses, tool runs and commits, interleaved. Code review with the intent attached.
Prompt library
Keep the prompt that worked — versioned, diffable, synced by git. Save the one you just typed, no retyping.
Trust anchor
chronicle doctor proves it: log integrity, secret audit, and a zero-egress report — nothing leaves your machine.
Editor extension
History in the sidebar, prompt versions as a git-graph, and "Why is this file like this?" — in VS Code, Cursor and Windsurf.
How it works
The store is a directory in your repo
Files are the API; git is the transport. That single choice is why there's no infrastructure to run.
1 · CapturePassive, at every prompt
Editor hooks feed each moment through the Event Engine — validate, redact, enrich, normalize. Secrets are stripped before the first byte reaches disk.
2 · StorePlain-text, in .chronicle/
An append-only JSONL log inside your git repository. It travels by git clone like everything else. The index is a disposable cache you can delete anytime.
3 · Askwhy · restore · replay
Every prompt snapshots your tree into a hidden git ref — so you can attribute lines and travel back, without ever touching HEAD or your history.
chronicle doctor
$ chronicle doctor
store 3 stream file(s), 0 problem(s)
index v3 — 1336/1336 events
egress zero-network(no endpoints, telemetry: none)✓ healthy
Privacy-first
Built for people who can't send prompts to a vendor
Zero network by default — and doctor proves it on demand
Never calls a model. Never phones home. Never stores your file contents
Secrets redacted at capture, irreversibly — including your own patterns
Metadata-only mode for repos where the words themselves are sensitive
Never scores developers. No leaderboards, no per-author metrics. Ever
Install
Two minutes, then work normally
The CLI records your journey; the editor extension shows it. Free and open source.
