Show HN: Shōmei – Mirror your work commits to personal GitHub (timestamps only)

3 weeks ago 1

your work deserves to be seen

shōmei (証明, pronounced "shoh-may") means "proof" in Japanese. because sometimes you just need proof that you weren't on vacation for the past year.

this CLI tool mirrors your corporate commits to your personal GitHub. no code, no secrets, just timestamps. your contribution graph gets the credit it deserves, and your company's IP stays safe.

you've probably seen posts like this:

look, we all know GitHub's green squares don't define you as a developer. but when you're job hunting and your profile looks dead because you've been shipping code from a work account? that's annoying.

lots of developers use separate emails for work, and when they leave a company, their personal profile makes it look like they took a year off. recruiters don't always get it. this tool is for those times when you just want your graph to reflect reality.

shōmei fixes this. safely.

zero IP leakage - creates empty commits with just dates, no code
dead simple - one command, that's it
contribution proof - updates your GitHub graph to show you were actually working
your commits only - filters by your email, won't touch anyone else's work
dry-run mode - preview before you commit (pun intended)
private repos - option to mirror to a private repo if you want

# go to any repo where you've been committing with your work email cd ~/work/cool-project # run shomei shomei # follow the prompts, it'll ask for: # - your personal GitHub username # - what to call the mirror repo # - your GitHub personal access token # that's it! check your contribution graph in a few minutes

# check your shomei version shomei --version # preview what would happen (no changes made) shomei --dry-run # create a private mirror repo shomei --private

scans your git log for commits with your email
extracts just the commit dates (nothing else!)
creates a new repo on your personal GitHub
uses GitHub's API to create empty commits with those dates
generates a beautiful README for your mirrored repo
boom, your contribution graph now shows your real activity

important: no code ever leaves your machine. we only send timestamps to GitHub's API. your company's IP stays exactly where it is.

you'll need a GitHub personal access token with repo permissions:

go to GitHub Settings → Developer settings → Personal access tokens
click "Generate new token (classic)"
give it a name like "shomei"
check the repo checkbox (this lets shomei create repos and commits)
generate and copy the token
use it when shomei asks for it

pro tip: save the token somewhere safe (like a password manager). GitHub only shows it once.

got ideas? found a bug? want to add a feature? hell yeah, we'd love your help!

check out CONTRIBUTING.md for how to get started.

quick version:

fork it
make your changes
test it
send a PR

we're super chill about contributions. if you're not sure about something, just open an issue and ask!

# clone git clone https://github.com/petarran/shomei.git cd shomei # install in dev mode pip install -e . # run it shomei --help

Q: Is this safe? A: yes. shomei only sends commit dates to GitHub's API. no code, no commit messages (beyond "ci(shōmei): sync work contribution"), no file names. your company's IP never touches the internet.

Q: Will this get me in trouble? A: we're not lawyers, but: you're not exposing any proprietary code or information. just timestamps. that said, check your company's policies if you're worried.

Q: Does this work with private repos? A: yep! use the --private flag to create a private mirror repo.

Q: What if I want to delete everything later? A: just delete the mirror repo from GitHub. your original work repo is never touched.

Q: Can I customize the commit messages? A: not yet, but that's a great idea! open an issue or PR if you want to add this.

Q: Why not just change the git config on my work repos? A: because then you'd be committing to company repos with your personal email, which might break things or violate policies. shomei keeps everything separate.

MIT - do whatever you want with it.

shōmei is a tool to help developers showcase their work. use it responsibly:

no company code or secrets are exposed (we only send dates)
always check your employment agreement if you're paranoid
the authors aren't responsible if you use this in weird ways

⚠️ Important: According to GitHub's Terms of Service, "One person or legal entity may maintain no more than one free Account." shōmei is designed to work with your personal GitHub account and paid/work accounts. Using this tool to sync commits across multiple free accounts would violate GitHub's ToS.

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