Haunted Repo 💀 — Exploring the Graveyard of Forgotten Code with AI

Hacktoberfest Open-Source AI Challenge: Ghost in the Machine Submission 👻🌼

This is a submission for the Hacktoberfest Open-Source AI Challenge Week 4: Ghost in the Machine

What happens to code after it's deleted?

In Git, deleted files don't necessarily disappear forever. Their history can still exist in earlier commits.

While exploring ideas with ChatGPT for the Hacktoberfest 2026 Week 4: Ghost in the Machine challenge, I came across the idea of bringing forgotten code back to life.

That became the starting point for Haunted Repo — a developer-focused application that explores the forgotten history of a local Git repository and turns deleted files into a spooky, interactive experience.

It scans Git history to discover deleted files and brings them together in a Graveyard, where you can:

For the Halloween theme, I wanted to take this concept further by combining real Git history with storytelling, technical analysis, and a ghost voice to make the experience more interactive.

At its core, Haunted Repo is powered by Gemma 3 running locally through Ollama.

Here's a walkthrough of Haunted Repo, from scanning a local Git repository and discovering deleted files to hearing their ghost stories and revealing the Reaper's Verdict.

The demo shows the application running locally, with Gemma 3 through Ollama powering its AI features.

The source code for Haunted Repo is available on GitHub.

The application runs locally, allowing developers to explore their Git repositories without sending their source code to a hosted AI service.

I built Haunted Repo using React, Vite, and Tailwind CSS for the frontend, with Node.js and Express handling the backend.

The application combines three main parts:

The backend uses Git commands to identify files deleted from a local repository. Users can select a file from the Graveyard and investigate its previous source code and commit history.

2. Bringing forgotten code to life with local AI

I integrated Gemma 3 through Ollama to run AI inference locally.

Using information retrieved from Git history, the application generates spooky stories about forgotten files and produces the Reaper's Verdict, combining technical observations with a Halloween-inspired narrative.

I also added a ghost voice feature to make the experience more interactive.

I designed the interface around a spooky terminal and graveyard theme, with repository scanning, file selection, code exploration, and AI-generated results forming a connected experience.

The goal was not just to create a Halloween-themed interface, but to build a working application that connects real Git history with locally running open-weight AI.

Haunted Repo follows a client-server architecture with local AI integration.

The React frontend communicates with the Node.js and Express backend through API requests.

The backend uses Git CLI commands to retrieve deleted files, previous source code, and commit history from the local repository.

For AI-powered features, the backend sends relevant file information to Gemma 3 through Ollama, which generates ghost stories and the Reaper's Verdict locally. The results are then returned to the frontend.

This architecture keeps repository analysis and AI inference on the developer's machine without relying on a hosted AI API.

One of the main reasons I chose Gemma 3 with Ollama was the ability to run AI locally.

Haunted Repo explores source code and Git history, so keeping repository data on the developer's machine was an important consideration.

Using an open-weight model offered several advantages:

Running Gemma 3 locally also came with trade-offs. AI response times depend on the available hardware, and local models have memory and processing requirements.

For Haunted Repo, I felt those trade-offs were worthwhile because the project is designed around exploring local repositories.

What I appreciated most about this challenge was the opportunity to build something where open-weight AI wasn't just an added feature — it was central to how the application works.

I didn't record a DevRelay agent session, but I used ChatGPT as a development assistant throughout the project.

It helped me explore implementation approaches, understand Git commands, troubleshoot errors, and refine parts of the frontend and backend.

I worked through the features with AI assistance, testing the application, making adjustments, and adding my own ideas along the way.

For me, the fun part of Haunted Repo was imagining what would happen if forgotten code could tell its own story.

Every deleted file once had a purpose. Maybe it was replaced, refactored, or simply no longer needed. But somewhere in Git history, traces of it still remain.

One of the more fun decisions was whether to add a ghost voice. At first, I wasn't sure it was necessary — after all, the deleted files already had plenty of history to uncover! 💀

But I eventually decided to give those forgotten files a voice, and I think it added a fun touch to the whole experience.

I wanted Haunted Repo to feel like more than a Git history viewer. The Graveyard Terminal, ghost stories, and Reaper's Verdict turn something technical into a slightly spooky experience.

Because in Git, nothing truly stays buried.

Haunted Repo uses Gemma 3, running locally through Ollama, to generate spooky stories and the Reaper's Verdict based on deleted files and their Git history.