Using Gitsprout

Getting started

Gitsprout takes about two minutes from sign-in to finished report. Here's what to expect and how to create the token you'll need.

How it works

Connect

Choose GitHub, GitLab, or Azure DevOps and paste a personal access token. Gitsprout validates it and shows your username.

Configure

Pick the repositories you want analysed, set a date range, and confirm whose commits to include. You can also paste in your review objectives to get a goals alignment summary.

Generate

Gitsprout fetches your commits, runs them through Claude, and streams a structured report ready to copy, download, or export as PDF.

You get 1 free credit when you sign up. Each report costs 1 credit, whether appraisal or CV. How credits work →

Reports are generated by Claude, Anthropic's AI model.

Creating a personal access token

A personal access token lets Gitsprout read your commit history without your password. Use the minimum scopes below. Gitsprout will warn you if the token has broader access than it needs.

GitHub

1

Go to github.com → Settings → Developer settings → Personal access tokens → Fine-grained tokens

2

Click Generate new token. Give it a name like gitsprout and set an expiry (90 days is a good default).

3

Under Repository access, choose the repos you want to analyse, or select all repositories.

4

Under Permissions → Repository permissions, set: Contents: Read, Pull requests: Read, Issues: Read, Metadata: Read (auto-selected).

5

Click Generate token and copy it immediately. GitHub only shows it once.

GitLab

1

Go to gitlab.com → User Settings (top-right avatar) → Access Tokens.

2

Click Add new token. Give it a name and set an expiry date.

3

Under Select scopes, tick: read_api and read_user. No other scopes are needed.

4

Click Create personal access token and copy it. GitLab only shows it once.

Azure DevOps

1

Go to dev.azure.com → your organisation → User Settings (top-right) → Personal Access Tokens.

2

Click New Token. Give it a name and set an expiry.

3

Under Scopes, select Custom defined, then tick: Code: Read and Project and Team: Read.

4

Click Create and copy the token. Azure only shows it once. You'll also need your organisation name (the slug from dev.azure.com/your-org).

Tips

Author filter

In the configuration step there's a Git author field. If your commits were made with a different email address than your account (e.g. a work email vs. a personal GitHub account), update this to match the email on your commits.

Date range

Use the shortcut buttons (6M, 1Y, 2Y) to set a range quickly. For appraisals, a full year gives the best results. For CV bullets, try 2 years to capture a broader body of work.

Multiple repos

You can add as many repos as you like. Gitsprout fetches them in parallel and combines the results into a single report.

Pasting objectives

In the Tailor step you can paste your company's review criteria or personal objectives. When present, the report includes a goals alignment section showing which goals your commits support and which ones need supplementary evidence.