Auto-follow latest changed file in Files panel ("follow mode")

[shaikhspeare]

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.

I've been using AI agents and have been experimenting with a split-terminal setup in which I run my agent eg. Claude Code in one pane and observe changes in another pane. I'd like to use Lazygit to observe the diff of the last file that was changed in realtime ie. the Unstaged changes diff view will show what's last changed.

Basically similar to the follow-along mode in Antigravity.

Describe the solution you'd like

An option to auto-focus the most recently modified file in the Files panel, so the Unstaged Changes panel automatically shows the diff of the latest changed file. This could be:

• A config option like gui.autoSelectLatestChange: true
• Or a keybinding to toggle "follow mode" (similar to tail -f for diffs)

When enabled, whenever the file list refreshes and detects a new or updated file, it would automatically move the cursor to that file and display its diff.

Describe alternatives you've considered

• Manually navigating with j/k — works but defeats the purpose of real-time monitoring, especially when an agent is rapidly changing multiple files.
• Using watch git diff in a separate terminal — gives raw real-time output but lacks lazygit's structured UI and navigation.
• Diffview.nvim — offers a diff browser but doesn't auto-follow latest changes either and is tied to Neovim.
• A custom command using lazygit's custom command system — explored this but there's no hook for "on file list change" to trigger a cursor move.

[stefanhaller]

This is a great idea; thinking about it, I realize how often I wanted something like this without even knowing. I'm not using AI agents much yet, but the behavior would be useful in "normal" usage too. For example, suppose you have a working copy full of modified files, then you make a change in your editor and save, and switch to lazygit to check the diff of the file you just touched. Would be really nice if it got auto-selected.

Thing is, I'm not sure a mode that's constantly enabled is what we want here. I could imagine it can be annoying if the selection jumps always when refreshing. (We probably want to remember the last modification date and only do it when it is newer; maybe that already helps enough.)

I'll definitely play with this and see how it feels.