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Ask HN: Where are the simple Git GUIs?

10 points by gcau ↗ HN
For years I used Atom's git GUI, and now that atom is being sunsetted, it has mysteriously started becoming buggy. I use VSCode as my IDE. I've tried: Sourcetree, GitKraken, VSCodes git gui, github desktop, and more. I really cannot stand them, there's 5000 UI elements and text everywhere, things are not laid out intuitively, things are in random places. I gave them a serious try, especially sourcetree (as it seemed the best of them all) and uninstalled it out of pure frustration.

My work process is this: use atoms ui (its very simple) for 99% of my git needs, and in the 1% I need something else, I use the CLI. I don't want every single git feature fit into ui elements on a single screen. I don't want to use the CLI 100%, because its just simply slower, and takes more effort, for most things.

Atom git gui screenshot: https://i.imgur.com/33EkpTu.png

Git kraken screenshot (for comparison): https://www.gitkraken.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/index-thumbnail.png

34 comments

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hsn915
Have you tried Gitup?
KingMob
Seconding Gitup. It was one of the first Git GUIs to map Cmd-Z to undo anything you did, making it very easy to play around and learn new stuff.
DemocracyFTW2
I can recommend https://www.sublimemerge.com

It's fast and nice to work with. I actually use it in conjunction with the command line (zsh w/ autocomplete so I normally only type the first one or two letters of each recurrent command to get the completion, hit return, done) specifically to pick those portions of each file that I want to go into a given commit. Occasionally I use some more advanced features like file history.

pjmlp
I use mostly TortoiseGit, https://tortoisegit.org.

As easy as it gets, no Electron boilerplate, full Windows native executable.

jamesmunns
I learned git on tortoise git. It's definitely a good and simple option if you're on windows.
captaindiego
It's too bad there's no cross-platform equivalent - although it might be hard as it's context menu based
eimrine
There are a lot of recommendations here. I have never used any version control system but I feel a needness to have one for my config files such as .vimrc . Any recommentations of what should I consider for minimalization of learning process?
worldsavior
>I have never used any version control system

How?

Anway, git is the most standralized one, hence you should try learning it. You can look at git-scm docs, experience with some repositories, use your own repo and things that make you use git.

NikkiA
My recommendation is yadm, which is built on top of git
scanny
I use git graph (VS Code Extension). It is very visual and you can interact with git functionality through the tree visualisation itself.

It shows the git tree and includes a diff mechanism. Used it since 2019 after moving from TortoiseHg.

Demo Gif: https://github.com/mhutchie/vscode-git-graph/raw/master/reso...

Extension Page: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=mhutchie...

Tijdreiziger
I use this + GitLens (which also appears in the demo gif you link, but collapsed).
iExploder
gitk, git_gui, but i used them on linux, not sure how well they would run on other platforms
james-skemp
Haven't used on Linux, but they work great on Windows and Mac.
purerandomness
Jetbrains IDEs (IDEA, PHPStorm, Goland,...) have the best GUI for git that I'm aware of.

I'm a proficient CLI user, but the IDE's GUI really helps with diffs, partial commits, and is all around very convenient to use.

lolive
The best visual diff tool ever !
florianfmmartin
Check out lazygit https://github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit
izoow
Seconding this. After trying out a bunch of git guis and being unsatisfied with all of them, I recently discovered lazygit and I absolutely love it. Simple, lightweight, doesn't get in your way, doesn't hide things from you, just an absolute pleasure to use.
dude187
Probably not an answer to your question, but take a look at gitk. It's more for visualization, but it comes installed with git for most distributions. I've found it's incredibly helpful for teaching people the commit tree model, or even just looking at all the diffs across a branch
ioblomov
If you're a Mac user, try GitX. Pros include:

  1. browsing/searching/sorting commit histories
  2. diffs (what you'd expect from a GUI)
  3. super lightweight
Cons are:

  1. can't resolve conflicts (but it makes easy commits easier)
  2. last release was 2014 (but it's perfectly usable as is)
http://rowanj.github.io/gitx/