THE RECORDING
One question, asked of a real repository.
This is the recorded run the homepage links to as its example on real code: the whole answer, the command that produced it, and the build it came from. Back to the homepage
RECORDED 2026-09-07 v0.7.3
kin refs getToStringValue --kind callsReferences to 'getToStringValue' -> getToStringValue (Function) @ packages/react-dom-bindings/src/client/ToStringValue.js
referenced by 8 entities:
hydrateInput @ packages/react-dom-bindings/src/client/ReactDOMInput.js:363 [Calls] (type_resolved) sites 373,375
initInput @ packages/react-dom-bindings/src/client/ReactDOMInput.js:222 [Calls] (type_resolved) sites 258,260,277,278
updateInput @ packages/react-dom-bindings/src/client/ReactDOMInput.js:88 [Calls] (type_resolved) sites 133,135,136,149,170,172,175,216
hydrateSelect @ packages/react-dom-bindings/src/client/ReactDOMSelect.js:161 [Calls] (type_resolved) sites 194
updateOptions @ packages/react-dom-bindings/src/client/ReactDOMSelect.js:63 [Calls] (type_resolved) sites 90
hydrateTextarea @ packages/react-dom-bindings/src/client/ReactDOMTextarea.js:152 [Calls] (type_resolved) sites 168
initTextarea @ packages/react-dom-bindings/src/client/ReactDOMTextarea.js:93 [Calls] (type_resolved) sites 130
updateTextarea @ packages/react-dom-bindings/src/client/ReactDOMTextarea.js:64 [Calls] (type_resolved) sites 73,87Every row names the calling function, its file, and the line the call sits on. Open getToStringValue on GitHub at the same revision and check them.
- Kin release
- v0.7.3 / macOS arm64
- Kin commit
72f1cfba717b5fde8a7d6de261526a6c99a422e9- Repository revision
9b7a0d4029ee31f84446383b6530075f423e9904
AN EARLIER CAPTURE
Recording a change with no Git underneath.
A different lesson from a different run, kept because this is the only page on the site that carries it: Kin can record a change in a repository that has no Git in it.
HISTORICAL TERMINAL EXCERPT / v0.6.7
kin commit -m "Record the invoice calculation"Created semantic change 324ea310ae3c236dbe5384e573536f3e325d056d6df51e754baad00e3b26a8ea on branch 'refs/heads/main' (3 entities, 1 relations, 1 artifacts)kin trace total_with_tax --file billing.py --compacttotal_with_tax (Function) @ billing.py
// total_with_tax ("billing.py", python)
def total_with_tax(subtotal, rate):
return round(subtotal * (1 + rate), 2)
--- Deps ---Read the first attempt and recorded history
The first attempt came before an author was set. Kin refused it.
kin commit -m "Record the invoice calculation"Error: config error: kin has no author identity to record for this change.
Authorship is provenance. A change attributed to nobody cannot support review attribution, blame, or audit, and it cannot be corrected later without rewriting history, so kin refuses to invent one.
Set your Git identity:
git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "you@example.com"
Or set a Kin-specific author in .kin/config.toml:
default_author = "Your Name <you@example.com>"After setting a local author, the same commit command succeeded. The recorded history follows.
kin logchange 324ea310ae3c236dbe5384e573536f3e325d056d6df51e754baad00e3b26a8ea
Author: Kin Example <example@localhost>
Date: 2026-09-05T00:08:25.061847+00:00
Origin: native
Deltas: entities=3 relations=1 tree=1 policy=true
Record the invoice calculation