finfo

vb finfo [OPTIONS] FILENAME

Description

Print the complete change history for a single file going backwards in time. The default mode is -l.

For the -l|--log mode: If -b|--brief is specified one line per revision is printed, otherwise the full comment is printed. The -n|--limit N and --offset P options limits the output to the first N changes after skipping P changes.

The -i mode will print various facts about FILENAME, including its hash and the check-in and time when the current version of the file was created. Use -v for additional information. Add the -r VERSION option to see similar information about the same file for the check-in specified by VERSION.

The -s mode prints the status as <status> <revision>. This is a quick status and does not check for up-to-date-ness of the file.

In the -p mode, there’s an optional flag -r|--revision REVISION. The specified version (or the latest checked-out version) is printed to stdout. The -p mode is another form of the cat command.

Options

-b, --brief

Display a brief (one line / revision) summary

--case-sensitive B

Enable or disable case-sensitive filenames. B is a boolean: yes, no, true, false, etc.

-i, --id

Print the artifact ID

-l, --log

Select log mode (the default)

-n, --limit N

Display the first N changes (default unlimited). N less than 0 means no limit.

--offset P

Skip P changes

-p, --print

Select print mode

-r, --revision R

Print the given revision (or ckout, if none is given) to stdout (only in print mode)

-s, --status

Select status mode (print a status indicator for FILE)

-v, --verbose

On the -i option, show all check-ins that use the file, not just the earliest check-in

-W, --width N

Width of lines (default is to auto-detect). Must be more than 22 or else 0 to indicate no limit.

Examples

• Init and open a repository

$ vb init finfo_repo.vbyte
project-id: 8f51c880e813fdb83471505671fcfe0a73da615a
server-id:  c9ac2fff4ee0137c76fa22f135fc02ec3142a63b
admin-user: ubuntu (initial remote-access password is "bVCtJjaih8")
$ vb open -f finfo_repo.vbyte
project-name: <unnamed>
repository:   /tmp/sphinx_tests/3c97662a/finfo_repo/finfo_repo.vbyte
local-root:   /tmp/sphinx_tests/3c97662a/finfo_repo/
config-db:    /tmp/sphinx_tests/3c97662a/.visionbyte
project-code: 8f51c880e813fdb83471505671fcfe0a73da615a
checkout:     2b2d334fced29c42ddc05b4766db5af724a0a71b 2026-03-31 13:00:16 UTC
tags:         trunk
comment:      initial empty check-in (user: ubuntu)
check-ins:    1

• Commit a file then inspect its history

$ vb sys echo "data" > data.txt
$ vb add data.txt
ADDED  data.txt
$ vb ci -m "add"
Committed version: 614388cc67b8b80fc1b88ebbb7cff592aec335221e85d487b72b91c167e1f3aa

$ vb finfo data.txt
History for data.txt
2026-03-31 [614388cc67] add (user: ubuntu, artifact: [c6f05042a0], branch: trunk)

See Also

See also

artifact, cat, descendants, info, leaves