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Sapling Smartlog

Smartlog is Sapling's default view of the repository, invoked by running the Sapling client with no arguments (sl). It is the "centerpiece of the entire user experience" per the 2022-11-15 Sapling announcement post.

What it shows

"By simply running the Sapling client with no arguments, sl, you can see all your local commits, where you are, where important remote branches are, what files have changed, and which commits are old and have new versions."

— Sapling announcement post

Equally important, what it hides:

  • Remote branches the user doesn't care about — not shown.
  • Thousands of irrelevant commits in main — collapsed behind a dashed line.

The result is "a clear, concise picture of your repository that's tailored to what matters to you, no matter how large your repo." Post-quote on effect: smartlog "gives [new users] the right mental model from day one" and "makes people more confident in using source control."

Web UI

Sapling ships an interactive web UI for smartlog via sl web. Runs in the browser; supports commit/amend/checkout and other workflow commands — not just visualization.

Interactive undo scroller

On Mac / Linux, sl undo -i opens an interactive scroller through historical smartlog views — used to revert to a prior moment or just find the commit hash of an old commit the user has misplaced. Combines with the rest of the undo subsystem.

Why it matters

Smartlog is the load-bearing UX primitive in Sapling's usability-first VCS CLI strategy. Git has no equivalent default view — git log is unfiltered and git status doesn't show the commit graph — so the Sapling team built one, and then built the rest of the CLI around it being the default.

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