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See What Changed

Start every review with the full list of what your agent touched. Coalesce Desktop reads it straight from Git, so it shows every new or changed file that Git tracks. Files Git ignores, such as workspace.yml, don't appear.

The graph shows what a change does. The diff shows exactly what the agent wrote. Use both.

Open Source Control​

In Coalesce Desktop, select Git in the left rail. The Source Control sidebar opens with three tabs: Changes, Branches, and History.

Changes opens first. It lists every file that differs from the last commit, with a count at the top, such as 3 changed files. When nothing has changed, it shows No changes.

If the sidebar shows a Not Set up tab instead, the Workspace folder isn't a Git repository. Clone your repository, or run git init in the folder, then open it again.

Read the File List​

Each Node is one file in nodes/, named <LOCATION>-<NODE_NAME>.sql for SQL Nodes or .yml for YAML Nodes. Each file in the list carries a status:

StatusWhat it means for a Node
addedThe agent created a new Node. New files show as added even before they're staged.
modifiedThe agent edited an existing Node.
deletedThe agent removed a Node.
renamedA rename that has been staged. Before it is staged, a renamed Node usually shows as one file deleted and one added.

Compare the list with what you asked for. A Node you didn't expect to change is the first thing to question.

Files outside nodes/ matter too. A change in nodeTypes/, packages/, macros/, or locations.yml can affect many Nodes at once. See What Gets Committed for what each file holds.

Read the Diff​

Select a file to open its diff below the list, under Diff: and the file path.

  • Edited files show a unified diff against the last commit. Removed lines start with - and added lines with +.
  • New files show their full content as added lines.

The diff refreshes every second while a file is selected, so you can watch the agent's next edit land.

For a SQL Node, read the diff for:

  • Annotations above the SELECT and after each column, such as @materializationType or @isBusinessKey. One added or removed annotation can change how a Node loads.
  • The FROM and JOIN clauses, and every {{ ref() }}. A new ref is a new upstream dependency.
  • WHERE clauses. A changed filter changes the row count.
  • The header lines. The agent should never change @id. See The SQL Node Editor.

The diff shows the file as text. To see what the change does to columns and lineage, open the Node. See Check the SQL That Will Run and Check Lineage and Impact.

Changes Only Show Until the Next Commit​

The Changes list compares your files with the last commit. When the agent commits, its changes leave the list.

  • Ask your agent not to commit until you've reviewed.
  • If it already committed, open History. It lists a branch's commits with author, time, message, and a short commit ID, but no diff. Copy the ID of the last commit you reviewed and ask the agent to show you git diff <ID>. If the agent pushed, you can also review the commits on your Git host.

Discard a Change​

To reject a change, the safest path is to ask your agent to undo it, then review the result.

To revert from Desktop, open History, choose the current branch, and select the restore button next to it. Its tooltip reads Discard local changes and restore followed by the branch name. Confirm with Restore.

  • Edited and deleted files go back to the last commit. You can't undo this.
  • New files the agent created stay in the folder. Delete them yourself, or ask the agent to.

Commit From Desktop​

When the change is ready, commit it yourself or ask your agent to.

To commit from Desktop, type a message in the Commit message box and select Commit. Commit includes every changed file in the Workspace, not only the one you selected. When the Workspace belongs to a Coalesce Project, Coalesce also adds or renames Environment files to match it before committing. Review the whole list first.

Select Push to send the commit to your remote. Push is turned off when the Workspace has no origin remote.

What's Next?​