Project Commit Timeline

Helm ADE provides a comprehensive commit timeline that shows all code changes for your projects. This helps teams track engineering progress, understand what changed, and link commits to work items.

Overview

The commit timeline gives you visibility into:

• Recent commits with SHA, author, branch, and message
• Code change statistics including files changed, additions, and deletions
• Contributor activity across your project
• Artifact linkage connecting commits to PRDs, Tasks, and Components

Accessing the Commit Timeline

From the Project Workspace

Navigate to your project workspace

Click the Commits tab in the project navigation

The commit timeline loads showing recent commits

Required Permissions

Action	Required Role
View commit timeline	viewer or higher
Link commits to artifacts	member or higher
Manage sync settings	admin or higher

Understanding the Timeline

Commit Entries

Each commit entry displays:

• SHA - The unique commit identifier (first 7 characters)
• Branch - The branch where the commit was made
• Date - When the commit was created
• Message - The commit message describing the change
• Author - Who authored the commit
• Stats - Lines added (+) and deleted (-)

Commit Colors and Indicators

• Green stats - Lines added to the codebase
• Red stats - Lines removed from the codebase
• Branch badge - Shows which branch the commit is on

Filtering the Timeline

Search

Use the search bar to find commits by:

• Commit message content
• Author name
• SHA prefix
• Branch name

Date Range

Filter commits by date range:

Click the start date field

Select your start date

Click the end date field

Select your end date

The timeline will show only commits within that range.

Branch Filter

Filter by specific branch:

Click the branch dropdown

Select the branch you want to view

The timeline updates to show only commits from that branch

Contributor Filter

While not directly in the UI, you can filter by author email using the API or URL parameters.

Viewing Commit Details

Click any commit in the timeline to see:

• Full SHA - Complete commit hash
• Full message - Complete commit message (including body)
• Author details - Name and email
• Exact timestamp - Full date and time
• Change statistics - Files changed, additions, deletions
• Linked artifacts - PRDs, Tasks, and Components linked to this commit

External Links

If your project is connected to GitHub, you'll see a "View on GitHub" link that takes you directly to the commit in your repository.

Linking Commits to Artifacts

Commits can be linked to work items to track what code implements which requirements.

Manual Linking

Click on a commit in the timeline

In the commit detail view, click Add Link

Select the artifact type (Component, PRD, or Task)

Enter the artifact ID

Optionally add notes

Click Link to create the association

Auto-Linking

Helm ADE can automatically suggest links based on commit message patterns:

Pattern	Detected As
PRD-001	PRD reference
HELM-123	Task reference
[component:auth]	Component reference

Auto-linked commits show an indicator badge.

Unlinking

Click on a commit with existing links

Find the link in the "Linked Artifacts" section

Click the remove button

Confirm the unlink

Commit Sync

Helm ADE can sync commits from your GitHub repository automatically.

Enabling Sync

Navigate to the Settings tab on the Commits page

Enter your Repository Owner (e.g., acme-corp)

Enter your Repository Name (e.g., my-project)

Set the Default Branch (typically main)

Enable Automatic Sync

Click Save Settings

Sync Status

The settings page shows:

• Last sync timestamp
• Any sync errors
• Current sync configuration

Manual Sync

Admins can trigger a manual sync via the API if automatic sync is disabled.

Triaging Unlinked Commits

The Triage tab shows commits that haven't been linked to any artifacts.

Triage Workflow

Navigate to the Triage tab

Review the list of unlinked commits

Click on a commit to select it

Use the link form to associate it with an artifact

The commit is removed from the triage list once linked

Best Practices

• Review unlinked commits weekly
• Use consistent commit message patterns to enable auto-linking
• Link commits during code review to ensure traceability

Pagination

The timeline loads 50 commits at a time. Click Load More at the bottom to fetch additional commits.

Troubleshooting

"No commits found"

This can occur when:

• The project is new and has no synced commits
• GitHub sync is not enabled
• Filter criteria are too restrictive

Try clearing filters or enabling GitHub sync.

"Failed to fetch commits"

Check your network connection and try again. If the problem persists, verify that:

• You have project access
• The project still exists
• GitHub credentials are valid (for sync issues)

Commits not appearing after push

Sync may not be instant. Check the settings page for:

• Sync status and last sync time
• Any sync errors
• Whether automatic sync is enabled

Related Topics

• Commit Delivery Reporting - View aggregate commit statistics
• Organization and Project Switching - Navigate between projects