VS Code 'git mv' to preserve file history?

Question

Is there any way in VS Code to change a file's name so that the file history is preserved in git, and it doesn't think the tracked file's been deleted?

I'm hoping for a GUI implementation of the command:

git mv oldName.abc newName.xyz

Thanks

Answer 1

There is no need for it. Just rename the file. Git will detect renames regardless of whether git mv was used or not.

Try it: rename it in the normal way and then do git status. You will see two unstaged changes, one delete (D) and one add (M) - but that's only temporary. Stage both changes (using git add old_name new_name or just git add .), run git status again and notice it now shows up as rename (R) and not as creation and deletion, so history is always preserved.

You may think there is a difference if you run git status after manually renaming a file, but that only appears so because git mv auto-stages the change (only after which it appears as rename). If you manually rename a file and then manually stage those changes, you get the same result!