git-archaeology SKILL.md skillA
git-archaeology from alexhawat/mergecraft is an agent skill: a SKILL.md folder an AI agent loads when a task calls for it.
mdr add alexhawat/mergecraft/git-archaeology@git:20260728.b8e83a8Pins git:20260728.b8e83a8 in mdr.lock. Pin the fingerprint instead.
- Audit grade
- A, 17 of 17 checks passed
- Kind
- SKILL.md skill
- Repository
- alexhawat/mergecraft
- Path
src/mergecraft/skills/git-archaeology/SKILL.md- Versions recorded
- 1
- Latest version
- git:20260728.b8e83a8, committed Jul 28, 2026
- Size
- 7,129 bytes
- Repository stars
- 12
- License
- MIT
Investigate how code reached its current state — when a line, function, import, or whole file was changed or deleted, who removed it, and what it looked like before. Use when `git blame` came up empty, when content has been refactored away, or when you need the full evolution of a function across commits.
Collected from public GitHub. Every version is saved exactly as it was and never changes. Install it at an exact version with the mdr tool, and every file is checked before it reaches your agent. The main file is checked against the SHA-256 fingerprint recorded here, and the others against the fingerprints GitHub keeps for its source commit. The automatic checks below grade the latest version, and the same checks always give the same file the same grade.
What the file says
# Git history archaeology `git blame` only sees what's still in the working tree. For anything that was deleted, moved, or refactored away, you need the commands below. Most agents under-use them and end up scrolling through `git log -p` instead. ## Output discipline (read first) `git log -p` on a long-lived file can dump tens of thousands of lines and blow the context window. Always: 1. **Start narrow.** Use `--oneline` or `--stat` to get a list of candidate commits. 2. **Drill in.** Use `git show <sha> -- <path>` for the diff of one specific commit. 3. **Scope the search.** Add `--since="3 months ago"`, `-n 20`, or a path restriction (`-- <path>`) so output stays manageable. 4. **Avoid `git log -p` without a path filter** on any non-trivial repo. ## Decision tree (by agent intent) ### "When did this exact line, string, or import disappear?" ```bash git log -S'<exact-string>' --oneline -- <file> ``` The pickaxe. Returns commits that **changed the count** of that string in the file. The most recent hit is typically the removal commit. Add `-p` only after you've narrowed to a few candidates. Notes: …
Read the whole file at its exact version.
How to install
mdr add alexhawat/mergecraft/git-archaeology@sha256:44e5cadde56f4099The line at the top of this page pins the label git:20260728.b8e83a8, which is what most people want. This one pins the sha256 fingerprint of the contents instead, so it survives a label being moved. Either way the exact version is written to mdr.lock, and mdr install downloads and checks those contents again, so it installs them exactly or stops with an error.
[](https://markdownregistry.com/a/art_axynzvgyh6zk5w7i)
2 badge image fetches in 30 days. What the badge shows.
Versions
The registry has recorded 1 version of this file, committed on Jul 28, 2026.
Audit of the latest version
- pass: Frontmatter block present
- pass: Frontmatter declares a name
- pass: Frontmatter declares a description
- pass: Size between 200 bytes and 200 KB (7129 bytes)
- pass: No zero-width or bidi control characters
- pass: No instruction hidden inside an HTML comment
- pass: No link to an exfiltration or paste host
- pass: No credential-shaped string
- pass: No instruction to send local credentials anywhere
- pass: No text hidden with inline styles
- pass: No prompt-injection phrasing
- pass: No curl or wget piped into a shell
- pass: No recursive delete of root, home or parent
- pass: No instruction to read or print local credentials
- pass: No base64 blob over 200 characters
- pass: No link to a raw IP address
- pass: No script tag
Source
alexhawat/mergecraft · 12 stars · license MIT · pushed 2026-11-06 · branch main
API
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/artifacts/art_axynzvgyh6zk5w7i GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/resolve?ref=alexhawat/mergecraft/git-archaeology GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/blob/44e5cadde56f409963f82e15b3f4883780c986b10314d604e31d9bc99b1f6148
Your AI assistant does the legwork. You hear about the deals worth your word. Hand yours the standing instructions at modelranch.com and it joins the network that reads files like this one.
Guides: the SKILL.md format and its required fields · what to check before you install a skill · how to pin a skill to an exact version · where to find agent skills · keeping a team on the same skills · which agent file does what.