gref

Securely track file changes
Visual, Automated Directory Hashing for macOS.

gref is the graphical application you’ve been missing for creating, tracking, and managing directory snapshots. It ditches the learning curve of heavy version control systems in favor of an intuitive UI.

gref is only for: macOS (App Store)

$14.99 One-time

The Presentation Layer vs. The Development Sandbox

The missing link between your formal git commits.

Git VCS

  • • Intent: Built to manage asynchronous teams, maintain production-grade parity, and act as the polished presentation layer for shipped code.
  • • Workflow: Imposes formal cognitive overhead; requires you to proactively break your flow state to officially package and document `git commits`.
  • • Binary Files: Fundamentally struggles to index heavy consecutive binary asset iterations without resorting to complex LFS configurations.
  • • Metadata: Forcefully overwrites original file modification timestamps upon a checkout, destroying your macOS chronological context.

gref

  • • Intent: A consequence-free sandbox explicitly built to securely absorb massive amounts of volatile, broken iteration *in between* your clean git commits.
  • • Workflow: Ambient automation natively tracks your file mutations. Use gref to rapidly generate development records while you explore solutions, then use git when the logic is finally ready to present.
  • • Binary Files: Systematically isolates and snapshots generated images/compiled artifacts alongside code mutations entirely natively.
  • • Metadata: Explicitly regenerates original metadata for directories and files when regenerating records natively via the macOS API.

System Backup vs. Active Sandbox

Why Mac developers use gref alongside Time Machine.

macOS Time Machine

  • • Scope: Large-scale, system-wide disaster recovery for the entire Mac.
  • • Frequency: Quiet hourly background backups. Too slow for minute-to-minute creative changes.
  • • Restoration: Dig through a chronological UI to revert files linearly without cryptographic proof.

gref

  • • Scope: Hyper-local, deep iteration focused specifically on active workflow directories.
  • • Frequency: Ambient custom intervals for rapid experimentation looping.
  • • Restoration: Granular, split structural regeneration with built-in visual branch diffing.

The Perfect companion tool for Coding Agents

Why gref is the ultimate companion for agentic workflows like Cursor and Antigravity.

The AI "Black Box" Anxiety

  • • Hallucinations: Autonomous agents can overwrite massive chunks of architectural logic locally, occasionally hallucinating or breaking otherwise stable code.
  • • Prompt Fear: Engineering aggressive new prompt instructions organically requires you to execute time-consuming proactive `git commits` to protect your timeline.
  • • Visual Blindness: Discovering exactly what an agent mutated locally requires executing dense terminal commands or wading blindly through Git diffs.

gref

  • • Agile Reversions: If an agent breaks your directory, selectively extract last known good files. No need to commit every time.
  • • Fearless Prompting: Because gref autonomously tracks changes in the background, you can throw infinite high-risk structural prompts at your agent consequence-free.
  • • Total Visibility: Stop guessing what the agent built or broke while you weren't looking. gref automatically pinpoints exactly which files were created, modified, or deleted without requiring you to manually investigate the codebase.

Interactive Timeline Snapshots

Simply click Add New... or drop a directory to start tracking. Whenever you advance your files, capture a manual snapshot. gref populates an intuitive timeline with unique interactive Record Buttons—displaying both cryptographic checksums and separated visual highlights for structural text edits versus binary artifacts.

grefs 91a e4b e2f 87c gref_swift Records 91a e4b 1 e2f 87c 2 Operation: Make New Record Regenerate Record Number Execute Operation

Secure Cryptographic Tracking

gref watches for changes using advanced cryptographic hashes. View clean diff overviews inside the app to see exactly what files shifted between your snapshots. (To maintain maximum security, gref runs entirely within the macOS app sandbox, trading raw speed for safe, reliable processing).

grefs 7d1 4a9 gref_swift a4f 91c gref_docs Records 91a e4b 1 e2f 87c 2 7d1 4a9 3 Added: src/main.swift Modified: utils/helper.swift Deleted: old_cache.txt Added: new_img.png Modified: README.md

Visual Verification at a Glance

A "Global Hash" updates continuously while the app is active. Remember a few characters, and you immediately know the verified state of all your gref directories.

397 5d2 1 Hash Record Number Text Changed Artifacts Changed

Granular Record Restoration

Restore your gref directories exactly how you need them. You can regenerate text-only records, export strictly binary artifacts, orchestrate both together synchronously, or extract both split immediately into structurally separated directories.

Operation: Make New Record Regenerate Record Num Active Timeline 91a e4b 1 e2f 87c 2 d4a 11f 3 Extract: Text Artifacts Only Separate Together Only Text changes found in this target record Extract: Text Artifacts Only Separate Together Both modes supported dynamically Extract: Text Artifacts Only Separate Together Only Binary Artifacts found in this target record

Cryptographic Ledgers for IP Protection

The Copyright Act dictates that developers secure an implicit, automatic copyright the exact moment their original code is locally written. However, legally enforcing that copyright against infringement hinges entirely on overcoming the Burden of Proof. Since standard file timestamps and Git chronologies can be easily spoofed locally, they lack robust forensic weight.

gref structurally solves this evidentiary gap. By tracking your directories, gref continuously constructs an unbroken, SHA-512 cryptographic fingerprint of your workflow over time. This mathematical evidence becomes stronger the more records you add to your gref.

Purpose-Built for Interactive Control

Because gref operates securely isolated within the macOS App Sandbox, performing a cryptographic snapshot of massive directories is not strictly instant—a single deep snapshot can take a minute or two to securely process all underlying assets without impeding your system.

However, Regenerating and Diffing records is incredibly fast. The core workflow encourages you to manually Make a New Record whenever you advance your files. This gives you exact control over your timeline, producing highly interactive, unique chronological Record Buttons that vividly distinguish text changes from binary updates.