feat(history): show author avatar in commit list

[arnestrickmann]

Summary

• Add GitHub avatar thumbnails next to commit author names in the commit history list
• Extract authorEmail from git log output (%ae format) and pass it through the IPC layer
• Resolve GitHub usernames from noreply email addresses to load correct avatars
• Gracefully hide the avatar if the image fails to load

Changes

• GitService.ts: Add authorEmail field to getLog() return type and include %ae in the git log format string
• CommitList.tsx: Add AuthorAvatar component that loads GitHub profile images, with githubLoginFromEmail() helper to extract usernames from GitHub noreply addresses
• electron-api.d.ts: Add authorEmail to the gitGetLog response type

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Project	Deployment	Actions	Updated (UTC)
docs	Ready	Preview, Comment	Mar 6, 2026 9:20pm

[greptile-apps]

Greptile Summary

This PR adds GitHub avatar thumbnails to the commit history list by extracting authorEmail from git log output (%ae) and threading it through the IPC layer to the renderer, where a new AuthorAvatar component loads profile images from GitHub. The backend changes in GitService.ts and the type declaration update in electron-api.d.ts are clean and correct.

Key issue:

• The getAvatarUrl function falls back to using the git author display name (e.g., "Jane Smith") as a GitHub username when the email is not a noreply address. This creates invalid URLs like https://github.com/Jane%20Smith.png?size=40 that always return 404, firing one spurious HTTP request per non-GitHub-authored commit every render. The fallback should return null to omit the avatar gracefully instead.

Confidence Score: 3/5

• The fallback generates wasted HTTP requests for non-GitHub-authored commits, but application functionality is not compromised.
• The spurious HTTP fallback is a real performance issue that should be fixed before shipping to avoid noisy network traffic, but it's not critical. Backend changes are clean and low-risk. The frontend issue is straightforward to fix with the suggested change.
• src/renderer/components/diff-viewer/CommitList.tsx — specifically the getAvatarUrl fallback logic

Sequence Diagram

sequenceDiagram
    participant R as CommitList (Renderer)
    participant IPC as Electron IPC
    participant G as GitService (Main)
    participant GH as github.com

    R->>IPC: gitGetLog({ taskPath, maxCount })
    IPC->>G: getLog(taskPath, maxCount)
    G->>G: git log --pretty=format:%H%s%an%aI%D%ae%b
    G-->>IPC: { commits: [{ hash, author, authorEmail, ... }] }
    IPC-->>R: { success, commits, aheadCount }

    loop For each commit in list
        R->>R: githubLoginFromEmail(authorEmail)
        alt noreply email → login extracted
            R->>GH: GET /login.png?size=40
            GH-->>R: 200 avatar image
        else regular email → falls back to author name
            R->>GH: GET /DisplayName.png?size=40
            GH-->>R: 404 (always fails)
            R->>R: onError → setFailed(true) → hide avatar
        end
    end

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_{Last reviewed commit: f86fedb}

[greptile-apps]

Fallback constructs URLs from author display names, causing spurious HTTP 404 requests

When githubLoginFromEmail() returns null (the common case for non-GitHub email addresses), this function falls back to using the git author display name (e.g., "Jane Smith") as a GitHub username. This creates URLs like https://github.com/Jane%20Smith.png?size=40, which GitHub will always reject with a 404 response.

The result is one wasted HTTP request per non-noreply commit, every time the list renders. The fallback should return null to signal "no avatar available" instead of blindly constructing a URL:

Suggested change

	function getAvatarUrl(author: string, authorEmail: string): string {
	const login = githubLoginFromEmail(authorEmail);
	if (login) return `https://github.com/${login}.png?size=40`;
	// Fall back to trying the author name as a GitHub username
	return `https://github.com/${author}.png?size=40`;
	}
	function getAvatarUrl(author: string, authorEmail: string): string | null {
	const login = githubLoginFromEmail(authorEmail);
	if (login) return `https://github.com/${login}.png?size=40`;
	return null;
	}
	function AuthorAvatar({ author, authorEmail }: { author: string; authorEmail: string }) {
	const [failed, setFailed] = useState(false);
	const url = getAvatarUrl(author, authorEmail);
	if (!url || failed) return null;
	return (
	<img
	src={url}
	alt=""
	className="h-4 w-4 shrink-0 rounded-sm"
	onError={(e: SyntheticEvent<HTMLImageElement>) => {
	e.currentTarget.style.display = 'none';
	setFailed(true);
	}}
	/>
	);
	}