skim

Skim

A keyboard-driven TUI for code reviews built in Zig.

Features

• Vim-style modal interface (hjkl, Ctrl-n/p navigation)
• File-by-file diff navigation
• Unified and side-by-side views
• Hunk view modes: show all lines, only additions, or only deletions
• Tree-sitter syntax highlighting with async processing (JS/TS/Zig full support)
• Command palette: Ctrl-p for files, : for commands (vim-style), or type > to switch modes
• Built-in help with ?
• Search with / across all files
• Visual selection mode for multi-line operations
• Character find commands (f/t/F/T like vim)
• Live refresh (press 'r')
• Full git diff compatibility (working dir, staged, branch comparisons)
• Comment system with export to clipboard ('y' for current, 'Y' for all)
• Editor integration (Ctrl-g opens file at line in $EDITOR)
• Git blame display toggle
• File staging from within the TUI
• Graphite stack integration (navigate stacked PRs)
• AI agent panel with @file fuzzy search for embedding file contents

Installation

Building from Source

Prerequisites

• Zig 0.15.1
• Git

git clone https://github.com/ctdio/skim.git
cd skim

# Debug build (for development)
zig build

# OR release build (optimized)
zig build -Doptimize=ReleaseFast

The binary will be available at ./zig-out/bin/skim.

Development Checks

# Run the test suite
zig build test

# Run repo-configured ziglint checks
zig build lint

zig build lint uses the repo's .ziglint.zon. The wrapper script prefers a locally installed ziglint binary and otherwise falls back to mise x github:rockorager/[email protected] -- ziglint.

Quick Start

# Build and run
zig build
./zig-out/bin/skim

# Review your changes
./zig-out/bin/skim --staged

Navigate with j/k, switch files with h/l. Press Enter to focus a file. Press s to toggle unified/side-by-side views. Press Ctrl-e to open the agent panel.

Usage

Skim follows git diff conventions for specifying what to review:

# Review working directory changes
skim

# Review staged changes
skim --staged

# Working directory vs. specific branch
skim main

# Staged changes vs. specific branch
skim --staged main

# Compare two branches (two ways)
skim main feature
skim main..feature

# Compare commits
skim abc123..def456

# Merge-base comparison (changes on feature since diverging from main)
skim main...feature

# Working directory vs. 5 commits ago
skim HEAD~5

As a Git Pager

Skim can read diffs from stdin, making it usable as a git pager. Add to your ~/.gitconfig:

[pager]
    diff = skim diff
    show = skim diff
    log = skim diff

Or set via command line:

git config --global pager.diff "skim diff"
git config --global pager.show "skim diff"
git config --global pager.log "skim diff"

You can also pipe diffs directly:

git diff | skim diff
git show HEAD | skim diff
cat some.patch | skim diff

Keybindings

NORMAL Mode (Default)

Navigate files and position cursor with vim-style movements:

Navigation

Key	Action
h / l	Previous / Next file
j / k	Cursor down / up
Ctrl-n	Next file (alternative)
Ctrl-d / Ctrl-u	Page down / up
gg	Jump to top of file
G	Jump to bottom of file
Shift-M	Center cursor in viewport
zz	Center viewport on cursor
[h / ]h	Previous / Next code change (supports count prefix)
[c / ]c	Previous / Next comment
{ / }	Previous / Next empty line (supports count prefix)

Character Find (like vim)

Key	Action
f{char}	Find character forward (cursor on character)
F{char}	Find character backward (cursor on character)
t{char}	Find character forward (cursor before character)
T{char}	Find character backward (cursor after character)
;	Repeat last find in same direction

Search & Command Palette

Key	Action
/	Enter search mode
n / N	Next / Previous search match
Ctrl-p	Open file palette (type > to switch to commands)
:	Open command palette (vim-style)
?	Show keybindings help

Comments

Key	Action
Enter	Add/edit comment on cursor line
d	Delete comment under cursor
D	Clear all comments
o	Toggle comment expand/collapse
y	Yank (copy) current comment to clipboard
Y	Yank (copy) all comments to clipboard
gY	Yank all comments to agent input

View Modes

Key	Action
s	Toggle unified/side-by-side view
Tab / Shift-Tab	Cycle hunk view mode (all / additions only / deletions only)
B	Toggle git blame in gutter

Folding