How can I visualize VCS status in dired?

Question

I'm particularly concerned with git, but I imagine this is a good place to use vc. I want to emulate Atom's git integration with its file explorer:

How can I get something like this in dired? I understand there are other tools for simulating a proper tree structure, but the normal i/RET workflow should work just fine.

Answer 1

You can install diff-hl from GNU ELPA and add the following to your init file:

(add-hook 'dired-mode-hook 'diff-hl-dired-mode)

But it doesn't color the lines. Instead, it shows statuses in the fringe (or the margin, if diff-hl-margin-mode is on). Looks like this:

Answer 2

This is an 'incomplete' set of elisp that will provide the feature set. Implementing a full list is left as an exercise (and/or as a full package to develop dired-vc (time-permitting)) for the reader.

Steps to complete the below with missing information:

1. Obtain a list of all symbols returned by vc-state
2. Define faces (defface) for each missing symbol
3. Adjust the cond block to include all those symbols

(defun dired-fontify-vc ()
  (while (not (eobp))
    (let* ((inhibit-read-only t)
           (file (ignore-errors (file-name-nondirectory
                                 (dired-get-filename))))
           (state (ignore-errors (vc-state file))))
      (when (and file
                 state)
        ; (message "%s>%s" file state)
        (let ((beg (dired-move-to-filename))
              (end (dired-move-to-end-of-filename)))
          (cond
           ((eq state 'edited)
            (add-text-properties beg end '(font-lock-face edited-face)))
           ((eq state 'up-to-date)
            (add-text-properties beg end '(font-lock-face update-face)))))
        ))
    (dired-next-line 1)))

(add-hook 'dired-after-readin-hook 'dired-fontify-vc)

(defface edited-face
  '((t :foreground "orange"))
  "Foreground color for edited files")
(defface update-face
  '((t :foreground "white"))
  "Foreground color for up-to-date files.")

Answer 3

Not actually dired-based, but it is closer to the Atom screenshot provided. As of PR#93, neotree can display VCS status as part of the listing:

Here is the configuration that would effect the screenshot above:

(setq neo-vc-integration '(char face))

The presence of char controls the ? and E that you see. The presence of face controls the highlighting.

Answer 4

Not dired but treemacs does this.

Treemacs is a package that you install via package.el or similar.

e.g.

The colours show git status. For files White up to date, mauve changed, blue not in git. If a file is expanded e.g. README.org then these are the items provided by menu.