TUICR `commit_order` and `initial_commit_selection` Options: Configuring the Commit Selector UI

The commit_order option controls how commits are sorted in TUICR's commit selector UI (chronological or topological), while initial_commit_selection sets whether the selector opens with a single commit pre-selected or a full range selected.

TUICR is a terminal-based UI for code review that provides flexible commit navigation. The commit_order and initial_commit_selection configuration options let you customize how the commit selector presents and pre-selects commits when reviewing pull requests or branches. These options are defined in the configuration system and consumed by the UI rendering logic in src/ui/inline_commit_selector.rs and state initialization in src/app/commits.rs.

What commit_order Controls

The commit_order option determines the sorting strategy applied to commits before they appear in the selector list.

Available Values

Value	Behavior	Use Case
chronological	Newest commit appears first, sorted by timestamp	Default; useful for time-based review workflows
topological	Maintains parent-child relationships using Git's topological sort	Preserves branch structure; better for understanding merge history

Where It's Implemented

In src/ui/inline_commit_selector.rs, the CommitSelector::new function reads this configuration value and applies it when building the commit list:

// Simplified excerpt showing commit order application
fn build_commit_list(commits: Vec<Commit>, order: CommitOrder) -> Vec<CommitRow> {
    let mut sorted = commits;
    match order {
        CommitOrder::Chronological => sorted.sort_by_key(|c| c.timestamp),
        CommitOrder::Topological => sorted = git_topo_sort(sorted),
    }
    sorted.iter().map(|c| CommitRow::from(c)).collect()
}

The order affects navigation key behavior (j/k movement through the list) and how commits are visually grouped in the UI.

What initial_commit_selection Controls

The initial_commit_selection option determines which commits are pre-selected when the commit selector UI first opens.

Available Values

Value	Behavior	Use Case
single	Only the most recent commit is selected	Default; focused, single-commit review
range	All commits in the branch are selected	Reviewing an entire feature branch at once

Where It's Implemented

In src/app/commits.rs, the initial_commit_selection function (as implemented in agavra/tuicr) creates the starting state:

// Internal: Determining the initial selection mode
fn initial_commit_selection(cfg: &Config) -> CommitSelectorState {
    match cfg.initialcommitselect

This function returns either CommitSelectorState::Single with the latest commit SHA, or CommitSelectorState::Range with all commit SHAs, depending on the configuration value.

Configuration in Practice

Config File Setup

Add these options to your TUICR configuration file (typically ~/.config/tuicr/config.toml or specified via command line):

# ~/.config/tuicr/config.toml

commit_order = "topological"
initial_commit_selection = "range"

Runtime Changes

Both options can be modified during a session using TUICR's command interface:

• :commit_order topological — switch to topological sorting
• :initial_commit_selection range — enable range selection mode

Changes take effect immediately for the current session and are stored in the in-memory Config instance.

Programmatic Access

// Example: Programmatic configuration (e.g., for custom plugins)
let mut cfg = tuicr::config::Config::load().unwrap();
cfg.commit_order = tuicr::config::CommitOrder::Topological;
cfg.initial_commit_selection = tuicr::config::InitialCommitSelection::Range;
cfg.save().unwrap();

Key Source Files

File	Purpose
src/config/mod.rs	Defines CommitOrder and InitialCommitSelection enums; parses config.toml
src/ui/inline_commit_selector.rs	Renders commit list; applies commit_order during list construction
src/app/commits.rs	Initializes selector state based on initial_commit_selection

The Config struct in src/config/mod.rs exposes these as typed fields with default values (commit_order defaults to chronological, initial_commit_selection defaults to single).

Summary

• commit_order — controls commit sort order: chronological (timestamp-based) or topological (Git history structure)
• initial_commit_selection — sets opening selection mode: single (latest commit only) or range (all commits)
• Both options are defined in src/config/mod.rs, consumed by src/ui/inline_commit_selector.rs and src/app/commits.rs
• Configure via config.toml, runtime commands, or the Rust API
• Defaults favor focused review: chronological order with single-commit selection

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I make TUICR show commits in Git's natural history order instead of by date?

Set commit_order = "topological" in your configuration. This uses Git's --topo-order logic, which preserves parent-child relationships and shows commits in the order they were applied to branches, rather than by timestamp. This is particularly useful when reviewing complex merge histories where chronological order would interleave commits from different branches.

Can I start TUICR with all commits selected for a range review by default?

Yes. Set initial_commit_selection = "range" in your config.toml. When the commit selector opens, all commits in the current branch will be pre-selected, enabling immediate range-review mode without manual selection. The default single value is designed for focused, commit-by-commit review workflows.

Do these settings persist between TUICR sessions?

Configuration file changes persist permanently. Runtime changes made via commands like :commit_order or :initial_commit_selection are stored in the in-memory Config instance for the current session only. To make runtime changes permanent, modify your config.toml directly or call cfg.save() if using the programmatic API in src/config/mod.rs.

Where are the default values defined in the TUICR source code?

Default values are specified in src/config/mod.rs where the Config struct is defined. The implementation uses standard Rust defaults: commit_order defaults to the Chronological variant, and initial_commit_selection defaults to Single. These defaults are applied when parsing configuration files that omit these keys.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instagit": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "instagit@latest"]
    }
  }
}