How to vibe codeGitKraken

Prerequisites

• Node.jsfree

  Required for running the Electron desktop framework and build tooling.

• GitHubfree

  Source code hosting and testing repositories with real merge conflicts.

• CursorFree / $20/mo

  AI code editor used to scaffold and iterate on the desktop app and extension codebase.

AI coding tools

• Claude Code

  Best-in-class autonomous agent for scaffolding multi-file Electron and TypeScript applications and debugging git subprocess integration.

• Cursor

  Superior AI-native code editor for reviewing complex UI component diffs and tweaking graph rendering code.

Build guide

1. 01Scaffold Electron Desktop Shell & Git Subprocess Wrapper

   Initialize a TypeScript-based Electron desktop application using Vite and React. Build a robust main-process abstraction layer that safely executes local Git commands (status, log, branch, checkout) using Node's `child_process` and parses standard output streams into structured JSON objects.

   Scaffold a new cross-platform Electron application using TypeScript, Vite, and React with IPC bridge communication properly configured between the main process and renderer. Implement a dedicated service in the main process named `GitService` that executes local CLI git commands (`git status`, `git log --all --graph --pretty=format:...`, `git branch -a`) inside user-selected local repository directories. Ensure all output streams are safely buffered, stderr errors are cleanly intercepted and typed, and asynchronous IPC handlers expose clean methods to the frontend renderer. Include comprehensive error handling for missing git binaries and invalid directory paths.

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2. 02Build the Interactive Visual Commit Graph Component

   Develop a high-performance visual commit graph component in the React frontend using HTML5 Canvas or SVG virtualization. Parse git log DAG data to compute node coordinates, branch lane colors, merge curves, and tag badges with smooth panning and zooming capabilities.

   Build an interactive visual commit graph component in React using HTML5 Canvas to ensure buttery-smooth rendering performance over repositories with thousands of commits. Write a layout algorithm that takes structured git DAG nodes with parent hashes and computes lane assignments, column tracks, and Bezier curve coordinates for merge and branch lines. Implement mouse interaction handlers for panning, zooming, node hover inspection showing commit details (hash, author, date, message), and right-click context menus for basic git actions like checkout, reset, and rebase.

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3. 03Implement 3-Panel Merge Conflict Resolution Editor

   Create a dedicated merge conflict resolution view that parses conflicted files into base, local, remote, and output panes, highlighting conflict markers and allowing manual edits or selective hunk acceptance.

   Create a 3-panel merge conflict resolution workspace view in the React frontend. Implement a file scanner that detects conflict marker files (`<<<<<<<`, `=======`, `>>>>>>>`) within the active repository working tree. Build a UI displaying 'Local (Yours)', 'Base', and 'Remote (Theirs)' panels alongside a combined 'Result' panel. Implement interactive buttons on each conflict block allowing the user to accept 'Yours', accept 'Theirs', or manually edit the resulting text output before staging the resolved file back to git.

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4. 04Develop VS Code GitLens-Style Inline Blame Extension

   Build a companion VS Code extension in TypeScript that hooks into the EditorDecoration API to render inline git blame annotations, author badges, and recent commit history heatmaps.

   Develop a companion VS Code extension in TypeScript that implements inline blame annotations. Use the VS Code extension API to listen to active text editor changes and cursor movements. Execute `git blame` asynchronously for the current line and compute color-coded heatmaps based on commit age. Render subtle ghost text decorations at the end of active lines displaying the commit author, relative timestamp, and commit subject, with hover tooltips providing deeper commit details and quick actions to open the file history view.

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5. 05Construct Launchpad Unified PR & Issue Dashboard

   Build a centralized dashboard view within the Electron app that authenticates with GitHub and Jira REST APIs to aggregate open pull requests, assigned issues, and work-in-progress branches into a single unified queue.

   Construct a unified 'Launchpad' dashboard screen in the Electron app that aggregates open pull requests and issues across GitHub and Jira Cloud APIs. Implement OAuth authentication flows for GitHub and Jira, store encrypted access tokens securely using node-keytar, and build background polling workers to fetch assigned pull requests, review requests, and active issues. Design a kanban-style or list-based UI grouping items by actionability (Needs Review, Approved, In Progress) with one-click shortcuts to check out branches or open PR links.

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6. 06Integrate AI Assistant for Commit Messages and Explanations

   Integrate an AI provider API (Anthropic/OpenAI) to generate intelligent commit messages from staged git diffs and provide plain-English explanations of complex branch changes.

   Implement an AI assistant module within the desktop app that connects to user-provided API keys (Anthropic or OpenAI) or custom endpoints. Build a feature that runs `git diff --staged`, passes the diff summary to the LLM with a structured prompt, and populates the commit message input box with a concise, conventional-commit-compliant message. Add an additional 'Explain Branch Changes' modal that compares two branches (`git diff base...feature`) and streams a human-readable bulleted summary of architectural changes made in the PR.

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7. 07Package, Test, and Polish Cross-Platform Desktop Binaries

   Configure electron-builder and CI/CD pipelines to package standalone desktop binaries for macOS, Windows, and Linux, ensuring code signing and auto-update mechanisms function correctly.

   Configure `electron-builder` with appropriate build targets for macOS (DMG / Universal binary), Windows (NSIS installer), and Linux (AppImage / DEB). Set up GitHub Actions CI workflows to automatically build, test, and publish release artifacts upon tagging. Implement auto-updater logic checking a remote JSON manifest hosted on Cloudflare Pages to notify users of updates and apply seamless background downloads.

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Cost vs paying for GitKraken