feat: Add options for large repository handling including commit sampling, max commit limits, and date filtering.

Author: southpawriter02

README.md

@@ -105,6 +105,10 @@ You can customize the output by using the following command-line options:
 | `--workers` | Number of parallel workers for frame rendering. | CPU count |
 | `--compare` | Compare with another branch side-by-side. | None |
 | `--show-diff` | Highlight code changes between commits. | `False` |
+| `--sample-rate` | Process every Nth commit for large repos. | `1` |
+| `--max-commits` | Limit to N most recent commits. | All |
+| `--since` | Only include commits after date (YYYY-MM-DD). | None |
+| `--until` | Only include commits before date (YYYY-MM-DD). | None |
 
 ### Path Filtering Examples
 
@@ -144,6 +148,7 @@ python -m src.main /path/to/repo output.mp4 --author-colors
 
 ## What's New in This Version 🎉
 
+- **Large Repository Handling**: Commit sampling with `--sample-rate` and date filtering
 - **Semantic Diffing**: Highlight code changes with `--show-diff`
 - **Branch Comparison**: Side-by-side visualization with `--compare BRANCH`
 - **Parallel Processing**: Multi-core frame rendering with `--workers`

src/main.py

@@ -206,6 +206,32 @@ def main():
         action="store_true",
         help="Highlight code changes between commits (green=added, yellow=modified)."
     )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--sample-rate",
+        type=int,
+        default=1,
+        metavar="N",
+        help="Process every Nth commit (default: 1 = all commits)."
+    )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--max-commits",
+        type=int,
+        default=None,
+        metavar="N",
+        help="Limit to N most recent commits."
+    )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--since",
+        default=None,
+        metavar="DATE",
+        help="Only include commits after this date (YYYY-MM-DD)."
+    )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--until",
+        default=None,
+        metavar="DATE",
+        help="Only include commits before this date (YYYY-MM-DD)."
+    )
 
     args = parser.parse_args()
 
@@ -261,6 +287,43 @@ def main():
                 print(f"Skipped {skipped} commits that don't affect filtered paths.")
             history = filtered_history
 
+        # --- Large repository handling ---
+        original_count = len(history)
+        
+        # Date filtering
+        if args.since or args.until:
+            from datetime import datetime
+            filtered = []
+            for commit in history:
+                commit_date = commit.get('date')
+                if commit_date:
+                    if args.since:
+                        since_date = datetime.strptime(args.since, '%Y-%m-%d')
+                        if commit_date.replace(tzinfo=None) < since_date:
+                            continue
+                    if args.until:
+                        until_date = datetime.strptime(args.until, '%Y-%m-%d')
+                        if commit_date.replace(tzinfo=None) > until_date:
+                            continue
+                filtered.append(commit)
+            print(f"Date filter ({args.since or 'start'} to {args.until or 'now'}): {len(history)} → {len(filtered)} commits")
+            history = filtered
+        
+        # Max commits limit
+        if args.max_commits and len(history) > args.max_commits:
+            print(f"Limiting to {args.max_commits} most recent commits (from {len(history)})")
+            history = history[:args.max_commits]
+        
+        # Commit sampling
+        if args.sample_rate > 1:
+            sampled = history[::args.sample_rate]
+            print(f"Sampling every {args.sample_rate} commits: {len(history)} → {len(sampled)} commits")
+            history = sampled
+        
+        # Large repo warning
+        if len(history) > 1000:
+            print(f"⚠️  Warning: Processing {len(history)} commits. Consider using --sample-rate or --max-commits for faster generation.")
+
         # --- Initialize secret redactor ---
         redactor = SecretRedactor(enabled=args.redact_secrets or args.redact_pattern)
         if args.redact_pattern: