Re: [GSoC Patch 0/2] add unicode support to git repo structure

From: Oswald Buddenhagen <oswald.buddenhagen@gmx.de>
Date: Aug 23, 2026, 13:19 UTC
Message-ID: <aorzcZVdCK27pdjG@ugly.lan>
In-Reply-To: <xmqqse47pfyy.fsf@gitster.g>

On Fri, Aug 21, 2026 at 09:59:17AM -0700, Junio C Hamano wrote:

Show 13 quoted lines

>K Jayatheerth <jayatheerthkulkarni2005@gmail.com> writes:
>
>> Currently, `git repo structure` always renders its table output using plain
>> ASCII characters (`|`, `-`, `*`), regardless of the user's locale. This
>> series introduces Unicode box-drawing characters (`│`, `├`, `─`, `┼`, `┤`)
>> and bullet points (`•`) when a UTF-8 locale is detected, providing a cleaner
>> and more visually distinct hierarchical output on modern terminals while
>> gracefully falling back to the existing ASCII formatting otherwise.
>
>Generally speaking, Unicode box-drawing characters do not work as
>ASCII art components as well as they should, because terminals often
>do not agree on how wide they should be rendered.
>

i can instantly think of two popular applications i'm using every day which use box drawing chars: mutt (thread and attachment tree displays) and midnight commander (panel/dialog frames). if "often" above were accurate, these projects would be getting a lot of complaints about that, which they don't.

if compatibility with broken terminals/fonts is considered important, an option can be introduced to opt out from the modern experience.

(any takers for giving `git log --graph` the same treatment?)