Five Git Commands for Analyzing Codebase Health Before Reading Code

The first thing I usually do when I pick up a new codebase isn't opening the code. It's opening a terminal and running a handful of git commands.

Before I look at a single file, the commit history gives me a diagnostic picture of the project: who built it, where the problems cluster, whether the team is shipping with confidence or tiptoeing around.

Churn hotspots are files that change a lot. They're either being actively developed or they're a source of constant pain.

The bus factor is the number of people who would have to get hit by a bus before the project is in serious trouble.

Bug clusters are areas of the codebase where bug fixes concentrate. They're usually a sign of technical debt or complex logic that's hard to get right.