GitHub - utensils/Envisaged: Nix-first Git history visualizations with Gource + FFmpeg (CLI + mobile web UI)

Envisaged

Nix-first Git history visualizations powered by Gource + FFmpeg.

This project is now a proper Python application with:

src/envisaged package layout
Rich + Typer CLI
template system for core/compare/split/relation families
uv project management (pyproject.toml + uv.lock)
uv2nix packaging in flake.nix
linting/type-checking via Ruff + Pyright
repo-wide formatting via treefmt

Quick start

Nix

# CLI (default app)
nix run . -- --help

# Explicit app targets
nix run .#cli -- --help
nix run .#web

# Render current repo
nix run . -- -o output.mp4 -t "Repo History" .

# Render multi-repo compare
nix run . -- --multi-dir ~/Projects/utensils --template compare-panel --sync-timing auto -o compare.mp4

# Render system logs (journalctl -> timeline)
nix run . -- --system-log journal --system-log-since "24 hours ago" --template tokyo-night --legend all -o system-journal.mp4

# Service-focused system timeline (recommended preset)
nix run . -- --system-log journal --system-log-since "24 hours ago" --system-log-limit 5000 --template tokyo-night --legend services --title "System Services" -o system-services.mp4

# Same preset via helper script
./scripts/example-system-services ./out/examples/system-services-example.mp4

Nix build targets

# Native package builds
nix build .#cli
nix build .#web

# Docker image builds
nix build .#docker-cli
nix build .#docker-web

GitHub Actions container publishing

On every push to main, GitHub Actions builds and publishes both Nix Docker images to GHCR:

ghcr.io/<owner>/envisaged-cli:latest
ghcr.io/<owner>/envisaged-web:latest
immutable SHA tags are also published: :sha-<12-char-commit>

uv (local dev)

uv sync
uv run envisaged --help

Web UI (Tailwind 4.1)

# stable runtime
./scripts/web-prod
# open http://127.0.0.1:8787

# hot reload runtime
./scripts/web-dev

Direct commands (if preferred):

nix run .#web
nix develop -c bash -lc 'unset UV_NO_SYNC; uv run uvicorn envisaged.web:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8787 --reload'

Network access:

local: http://127.0.0.1:8787
LAN/Tailscale: http://<host-ip>:8787

The web interface uses the same urandom-style visual language (zinc dark base, JetBrains Mono, gradient accents, subtle noise overlay) and is mobile-first.

Web UI extras:

defaults to single-repo mode for fast one-off renders
includes System Log mode (journal, kernel, auth) for machine activity timelines
System Log mode auto-applies a useful preset (tokyo-night + legend=services + title System Services)
GitHub-like repo search (owner/repo picker)
selected GitHub repos are cloned/updated locally under /tmp/envisaged-web-repos
POST/redirect/GET flow avoids browser “submit form again” prompts

Systemd user services (recommended)

Service units are provided in systemd/user/:

envisaged-web.service (stable)
envisaged-web-dev.service (hot reload)

Install and manage:

mkdir -p ~/.config/systemd/user
cp systemd/user/envisaged-web*.service ~/.config/systemd/user/
systemctl --user daemon-reload

# stable mode
systemctl --user enable --now envisaged-web.service

# OR dev/hot-reload mode
systemctl --user disable --now envisaged-web.service || true
systemctl --user enable --now envisaged-web-dev.service

# logs/status
systemctl --user status envisaged-web.service
journalctl --user -u envisaged-web.service -f

CLI usage

envisaged [OPTIONS] [REPO]

REPO: local git repo path or remote git URL
--multi-dir <path>: render all git repos under a directory
--system-log <journal|kernel|auth>: render system logs as a timeline
--system-log-since "<time expr>": journalctl since selector (default 24 hours ago)
--system-log-limit <n>: max journal entries to ingest (default 5000)

Template families

Core: none, urandom (default), border, neon, sunset, matrix, blueprint, noir
Omarchy core palettes:
- catppuccin, catppuccin-latte, ethereal, everforest
- flexoki-light, gruvbox, hackerman, kanagawa
- matte-black, miasma, nord, osaka-jade
- ristretto, rose-pine, tokyo-night, vantablack, white
Compare: compare-panel, compare-neon, compare-blueprint, compare-matrix, compare-noir
Split: split-quad, split-vertical, split-triple, split-focus, split-matrix
Relationship: relation-panel, relation-neon, relation-blueprint, relation-noir, relation-sunset

Sync modes

--sync-timing false: original log timing
--sync-timing true: normalized unified timeline
--sync-timing smart: normalized timeline + blank-log pulse anchors
--sync-timing auto: smart mode for compare/split/relation templates in multi-repo mode

Legend modes

--legend auto: repo legend for compare/split/relation templates, service legend for system-log mode, none otherwise
--legend none: disable overlays
--legend repos: show repo legend (best for multi-repo renders)
--legend files: show top file types (--legend-limit controls count)
--legend actions: show add/modify/delete totals (repo mode)
--legend services: show top services/users by event count
--legend all: show repos + file types + actions + services

Example videos

Legacy showcase renders from the original Envisaged project:

Repo	Video
Elixir School
Kubernetes
Elixir Lang

Project structure

src/envisaged/
  cli.py        # Rich/Typer CLI and render orchestration
  templates.py  # template family definitions
scripts/envisaged  # compatibility shim -> Python CLI
pyproject.toml
uv.lock
flake.nix       # uv2nix packaging + dev shell
treefmt.nix

Linting & formatting

uv run ruff check .
uv run ruff format .
uv run pyright
nix fmt

Notes

Supported FPS values are constrained by Gource: 25, 30, 60.
Multi-repo overlays (legend/relationship) are rendered line-by-line via drawtext for broad font compatibility.
split-quad in --multi-dir mode uses the first 4 repos as distinct panes.
Web repo search clones/updates GitHub repos in /tmp/envisaged-web-repos for local rendering.
Render outputs from web mode are written to ~/.openclaw/workspace/out/web/.
Docker images are built via Nix (docker-cli / docker-web) and stamped with the flake commit timestamp as image creation time.

License

MIT