GitHits CLI

Version-aware open-source context for agentic software development.

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GitHits connects AI coding agents to public open-source evidence across the full software development lifecycle: discovery, planning, research, implementation, debugging, and maintenance.

The CLI runs a local MCP server that your coding tool starts on demand. Agents can then search indexed package and repository source, read exact files and documentation pages, inspect package health, compare dependency upgrades, and find source-cited examples from real open-source projects when model knowledge and local repository context are not enough.

Quick Start

npx githits@latest init

init signs you in, detects supported coding tools, and configures the local GitHits MCP server for the tools you select.

Automatic setup currently supports Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code / Copilot, Cline, Claude Desktop, Codex CLI, Pi, Gemini CLI, Google Antigravity, OpenCode, Hermes Agent, Zed, Junie, Qwen Code, Kiro, Kilo Code, Factory Droid, and Amazon Q CLI.

After setup, open your coding agent and work normally. Many agents call GitHits when they need source-backed context. If your agent starts guessing, prompt it directly:

Use GitHits Code Navigation to inspect npm:express. Find how middleware
errors are handled, read the relevant source, and explain the fix before
editing code.

What GitHits Adds

GitHits is designed for the point where an agent needs evidence from the broader open-source ecosystem, not just model memory or local repo context:

Capability	MCP tools	CLI commands
Code examples	get_example, search_language	githits example, githits languages
Code navigation	search, search_status, code_files, code_read, code_grep	githits search, githits search-status, githits code ...
Documentation access	docs_list, docs_read	githits docs ...
Package inspection	pkg_info, pkg_vulns, pkg_deps, pkg_changelog, pkg_upgrade_review	githits pkg ...
Feedback	feedback	githits feedback

Use GitHits when your agent needs to:

• discover, plan, or research how OSS projects solve a vague issue or unfamiliar error
• find broad prior art or rare needle-in-the-haystack examples across repositories
• inspect source, tests, symbols, or docs for a known package or repository
• verify how a dependency actually behaves before changing code
• debug stack traces that point into third-party code
• review package health, licenses, vulnerabilities, dependencies, and changelogs
• compare dependency upgrades using factual evidence

Examples

Find prior art across open source:

npx githits@latest example "HTTP retries with exponential backoff in Python"

Search indexed code, docs, and symbols for a dependency:

npx githits@latest search "router middleware" --in npm:express
npx githits@latest search '"body parser" OR multer' --in npm:express --source docs
npx githits@latest search "debounce" --in npm:lodash --source symbol

Read and grep dependency source without cloning:

npx githits@latest code files npm:express lib
npx githits@latest code read npm:express lib/router/index.js --lines 120-200
npx githits@latest code grep npm:express "router.use" lib --regex

Inspect package health and upgrade evidence:

npx githits@latest pkg info npm:express
npx githits@latest pkg vulns npm:lodash@4.17.20 --severity high
npx githits@latest pkg deps npm:express@4.18.2 --depth 2
npx githits@latest pkg changelog npm:express --from 4.18.2 --to 5.2.1
npx githits@latest pkg upgrade-review npm:zod@4.3.6 --to 4.4.3

Browse and read package documentation:

npx githits@latest docs list npm:express
npx githits@latest docs read <page-id> --lines 20-80

Supported Sources

GitHits works with package and repository targets such as:

• package specs: npm:react, npm:react@18.2.0, pypi:requests, crates:serde
• GitHub repos: https://github.com/expressjs/express, github:expressjs/express#main

Package inspection supports npm, PyPI, Hex, Crates, NuGet, Maven, Packagist, RubyGems, Go, Swift, vcpkg, and Zig. Advisory data is unavailable for vcpkg and Zig; dependency graph support varies by registry.

License Filtering

Code example search supports license filtering:

• strict is the default and filters repositories with copyleft or undeclared licenses
• custom uses your account blocklist configured at githits.com
• yolo disables license filtering

npx githits@latest example "async file reading" --lang python --license strict

Authentication

Normal local setup is handled by:

npx githits@latest init

For manual login:

npx githits@latest login

Browser OAuth is recommended for local development. Credentials are stored in the system keychain by default and refreshed automatically. Useful flags:

• init --no-browser or login --no-browser prints a login URL for SSH, containers, or headless sessions
• login --force re-authenticates even if you are already logged in
• login --port <port> uses a specific local callback port

For CI or non-interactive environments, use an API token:

export GITHITS_API_TOKEN=ghi-your-token-here

Inspect auth and runtime state with:

npx githits@latest auth status
npx githits@latest doctor

See the authentication docs for keychain behavior, file storage mode, CI setup, and troubleshooting.

Manual MCP Setup

If your coding tool is not auto-configured by init, add GitHits to its MCP configuration manually:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "githits": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "githits@latest", "mcp", "start"]
    }
  }
}

Your tool runs this command over stdio. No background daemon or global install is required.

To remove configuration written by init:

npx githits@latest init uninstall

This removes GitHits MCP configuration and preserves stored credentials. Run npx githits@latest logout separately to remove credentials.

Project Setup

For project-local MCP config, run:

npx githits@latest init --project

Project setup is available only for tools with verified project-local MCP support. Project config contains no secrets, but it may be committed like other tooling configuration, so review generated files before adding them to source control.

Agent-safe non-interactive setup uses staged discovery and explicit install:

npx githits@latest init --detect-agents --json
npx githits@latest init --install-agents cursor,codex

Plugin and Extension Packaging

The npm package also includes the existing plugin and extension assets used by compatible hosts:

• .plugin/plugin.json
• .claude-plugin/plugin.json
• .claude-plugin/marketplace.json
• .mcp.json
• gemini-extension.json
• GEMINI.md
• plugins/claude/
• skills/
• commands/

For Claude Code marketplace installs:

claude plugin marketplace add githits-com/githits-cli
claude plugin install githits@githits-plugins

For Gemini CLI extension installs:

gemini extensions install https://github.com/githits-com/githits-cli

Command Reference

githits init             Connect GitHits to your coding agents
githits init uninstall   Remove GitHits MCP configuration
githits login            Sign in to your GitHits account
githits logout           Remove stored credentials
githits mcp              Show setup instructions or start the local MCP server
githits mcp start        Always start the local MCP server over stdio
githits example          Find real-world implementations from open source
githits languages        List or filter supported programming languages
githits feedback         Submit feedback about GitHits results
githits doctor           Diagnose configuration and auth state
githits search           Explore repository code, dependencies, docs, and symbols
githits search-status    Check the status of a previous indexed search
githits code             List, read, and grep indexed dependency source
githits pkg              Inspect package metadata, vulnerabilities, deps, and changelogs
githits docs             Browse and read package documentation
githits auth             Manage authentication
githits auth status      Show authentication status

Full CLI reference: https://docs.githits.com/cli/commands

Environment Variables

Most users do not need environment variables. These are the common overrides for CI, auth storage, and local diagnostics:

Variable	Purpose	Default
GITHITS_API_TOKEN	API token for authentication	unset
GITHITS_AUTH_STORAGE	Override OAuth storage mode: keychain or file	keychain
GITHITS_DISABLE_UPDATE_CHECK	Disable npm latest-version update notices	unset
GITHITS_TELEMETRY	Emit local timing diagnostics to stderr	unset

Full reference: https://docs.githits.com/cli/environment-variables

Source Layout

This repository contains the GitHits CLI and reusable MCP package:

• src/ - CLI commands, local auth, setup flows, and local MCP stdio startup
• packages/mcp/ - public @githits/mcp package for transport-neutral MCP server APIs, tool registration, instructions, and smoke-test helpers
• packages/core-internal/ - shared workspace implementation used by the CLI and MCP package
• docs/ - implementation notes and contributor guidelines
• scripts/ - package validation, smoke tests, and development utilities

Development

Requirements:

• Node.js ^20.12.0 || >=22.13.0
• Bun

Common commands:

bun install
bun run dev --help
bun test
bun run typecheck
bun run build

When changing MCP tools, CLI commands, shared formatters, auth/error envelopes, or MCP/CLI parity behavior, also run the relevant smoke suites:

bun run smoke:mcp
bun run smoke:cli

When changing MCP instructions, tool descriptions, or agent-facing behavior, use the targeted agent evals described in eval/agentic/README.md:

bun run agent:e2e

License

Apache-2.0