Sort refs by committer date by default (#124)

Co-authored-by: letmaik <530988+letmaik@users.noreply.github.com>

Author: Copilot

README.md

@@ -55,3 +55,5 @@ By default, the tree view is located in its own container accessible from the ac
 `gitTreeCompare.collapsed` When enabled, shows folders collapsed instead of expanded. NOTE: Changing this option requires restarting VS Code.
 
 `gitTreeCompare.compactFolders` When enabled, compacts (flattens) single-child folders into a single tree element. Useful for Java package structures, for example. May have a performance impact for large diff trees.
+
+`gitTreeCompare.refSortOrder` Determines how refs (branches, tags) are sorted when changing the comparison base. Default is `committerdate` which sorts by most recently committed first, making it easy to find recently-used branches. Can be set to `alphabetically` for alphabetical sorting.

package.json

@@ -415,6 +415,15 @@
                     "type": "boolean",
                     "description": "Whether to show checkboxes such that files or folders can be ticked off, for example when reviewing.",
                     "default": false
+                },
+                "gitTreeCompare.refSortOrder": {
+                    "type": "string",
+                    "enum": [
+                        "alphabetically",
+                        "committerdate"
+                    ],
+                    "description": "How to sort refs (branches, tags) when changing the comparison base. 'committerdate' sorts by most recently committed first.",
+                    "default": "committerdate"
                 }
             }
         }

src/treeProvider.ts

@@ -1007,7 +1007,8 @@ export class GitTreeCompareProvider implements TreeDataProvider<Element>, Dispos
             return;
         }
         const commit = new ChangeBaseCommitItem();
-        const refs = (await this.repository.getRefs()).filter(ref => ref.name);
+        const sortOrder = workspace.getConfiguration(NAMESPACE).get<'alphabetically' | 'committerdate'>('refSortOrder', 'committerdate');
+        const refs = (await this.repository.getRefs({ sort: sortOrder })).filter(ref => ref.name);
         const heads = refs.filter(ref => ref.type === RefType.Head).map(ref => new ChangeBaseRefItem(ref));
         const tags = refs.filter(ref => ref.type === RefType.Tag).map(ref => new ChangeBaseTagItem(ref));
         const remoteHeads = refs.filter(ref => ref.type === RefType.RemoteHead).map(ref => new ChangeBaseRemoteHeadItem(ref));