diff -r d73537b925af -r 12b898531d1a src/main/kotlin/de/uapcore/lightpit/vcs/HgConnector.kt
--- a/src/main/kotlin/de/uapcore/lightpit/vcs/HgConnector.kt	Mon Jul 17 14:45:42 2023 +0200
+++ b/src/main/kotlin/de/uapcore/lightpit/vcs/HgConnector.kt	Tue Jul 18 18:05:49 2023 +0200
@@ -26,29 +26,56 @@
 
 package de.uapcore.lightpit.vcs
 
-import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit
+import java.nio.file.Files
+import java.nio.file.Path
+import kotlin.io.path.ExperimentalPathApi
+import kotlin.io.path.deleteRecursively
 
 /**
  * A connector for Mercurial repositories.
  *
  * @param path the path to the Mercurial binary
  */
-class HgConnector(private val path: String) {
+class HgConnector(path: String) : VcsConnector(path) {
 
     /**
      * Checks, if the specified binary is available and executable.
      */
     fun checkAvailability(): Boolean {
-        return try {
-            val process = ProcessBuilder(path, "--version").start()
-            val versionInfo = String(process.inputStream.readAllBytes(), Charsets.UTF_8)
-            if (process.waitFor(10, TimeUnit.SECONDS)) {
-                versionInfo.contains("Mercurial")
-            } else {
-                false
-            }
-        } catch (_: Throwable) {
-            false
+        return when (val versionInfo = invokeCommand(Path.of("."), "--version")) {
+            is VcsConnectorResult.Success -> versionInfo.content.contains("Mercurial")
+            else -> false
         }
     }
+
+    /**
+     * Reads the commit log and parses every reference to an issue.
+     *
+     * The [pathOrUrl] must be a valid path or URL recognized by the VCS binary.
+     * Currently, no authentication is supported and the repository must therefore be publicly readable.
+     */
+    @OptIn(ExperimentalPathApi::class)
+    fun readCommitLog(pathOrUrl: String): VcsConnectorResult<List<CommitRef>> {
+        val tmpDir = try {
+            Files.createTempDirectory("lightpit-vcs-")
+        } catch (e: Throwable) {
+            return VcsConnectorResult.Error("Creating temporary directory for VCS connection failed: " + e.message)
+        }
+        val init = invokeCommand(tmpDir, "init")
+        if (init is VcsConnectorResult.Error) {
+            return init
+        }
+
+        val commitLogContent = when (val result = invokeCommand(
+            tmpDir, "incoming", pathOrUrl, "-n", "--template", "::lpitref::{node}:{desc}\\n"
+        )) {
+            is VcsConnectorResult.Error -> return result
+            is VcsConnectorResult.Success -> result.content
+        }
+
+        val commitRefs = parseCommitRefs(commitLogContent)
+
+        tmpDir.deleteRecursively()
+        return VcsConnectorResult.Success(commitRefs)
+    }
 }
\ No newline at end of file