Git Extensions is a Windows program that gives you a visual window for managing code projects tracked with git, a common tool for saving and sharing version history. It is for people who prefer clicking over typing commands, and it also plugs into Windows Explorer and Visual Studio.
Has 1 of 7 · Windows, Mac and Linux app ✗
How many people bookmarked its code on GitHub. It shows how popular it is, not how good it is or how well it replaces the app.
How hard it is to start using it. Easy: install it like a normal app, or use it in your browser. Advanced: you run it on your own server, use the command line, or it is a tool for developers.
Its code changed within the last year, so someone is still looking after it.
Does the whole job.
Ordered by how fully it replaces the app, Verified, setup and, when there are enough, people's votes.
Lazygit is a free program that makes git, a tool for tracking changes to code, easier to use through a simple text-based screen instead of typed commands. It is for programmers and anyone who works with git and finds its commands hard to remember.
Has 2 of 7
How many people bookmarked its code on GitHub. It shows how popular it is, not how good it is or how well it replaces the app.
How hard it is to start using it. Easy: install it like a normal app, or use it in your browser. Advanced: you run it on your own server, use the command line, or it is a tool for developers.
Its code changed within the last year, so someone is still looking after it.
Does the whole job.
Ordered by how fully it replaces the app, Verified, setup and, when there are enough, people's votes.
GitUI is a free tool that gives you a git visual interface inside your terminal, controlled entirely by the keyboard. It is aimed at programmers who do their git work in a terminal but want the convenience of a graphical git program.
Has 2 of 7
How many people bookmarked its code on GitHub. It shows how popular it is, not how good it is or how well it replaces the app.
How hard it is to start using it. Easy: install it like a normal app, or use it in your browser. Advanced: you run it on your own server, use the command line, or it is a tool for developers.
Its code changed within the last year, so someone is still looking after it.
Does the whole job.
Ordered by how fully it replaces the app, Verified, setup and, when there are enough, people's votes.
GitHub Desktop is a free program for Windows and Mac that lets people manage their code projects on GitHub without typing commands. It is aimed at software developers and anyone who keeps code in git repositories.
Has 1 of 7
How many people bookmarked its code on GitHub. It shows how popular it is, not how good it is or how well it replaces the app.
How hard it is to start using it. Easy: install it like a normal app, or use it in your browser. Advanced: you run it on your own server, use the command line, or it is a tool for developers.
Its code changed within the last year, so someone is still looking after it.
Does part of the job.
Ordered by how fully it replaces the app, Verified, setup and, when there are enough, people's votes.
None of these match. Try another device.
Help me choose
I want to pick an open-source replacement for Fork. Below is a list from Open Source Everything (CC BY-SA 4.0), in the order its website shows it. The order is a starting point, not a verdict.
- Git Extensions: Git Extensions is a Windows program that gives you a visual window for managing code projects tracked with git, a common tool for saving and sharing version history. It is for people who prefer clicking over typing commands, and it also plugs into Windows Explorer and Visual Studio. [Easy setup; Windows; replaces fully; GPL-3.0-or-later; https://github.com/gitextensions/gitextensions]
- lazygit: Lazygit is a free program that makes git, a tool for tracking changes to code, easier to use through a simple text-based screen instead of typed commands. It is for programmers and anyone who works with git and finds its commands hard to remember. [Advanced setup; Windows · Mac · Linux; replaces fully; MIT; https://github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit]
- gitui: GitUI is a free tool that gives you a git visual interface inside your terminal, controlled entirely by the keyboard. It is aimed at programmers who do their git work in a terminal but want the convenience of a graphical git program. [Advanced setup; Windows · Mac · Linux; replaces fully; MIT; https://github.com/gitui-org/gitui]
- GitHub Desktop: GitHub Desktop is a free program for Windows and Mac that lets people manage their code projects on GitHub without typing commands. It is aimed at software developers and anyone who keeps code in git repositories. [Easy setup; Windows · Mac; replaces partly; MIT; https://github.com/desktop/desktop]
Setup rating: "Easy setup" means you can install it like a normal app, use it in a browser. "Advanced setup" means you must run it on your own server or use the command line, or it is a tool for developers.
Full details: https://opensourceeverything.org/data/groups/git-tools.json
Before recommending anything, ask me these three questions (one at a time, in plain words): 1) Which device or devices will I use it on (Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iPhone)? 2) How comfortable am I with technical setup: only installing apps from a store, happy to follow a step-by-step guide, or comfortable with servers and the command line? 3) What is my budget: free only, or willing to pay for hosting or support? Then recommend one to three projects from this list only, and for each say why, using how fully it replaces the app, its setup rating, and the devices it runs on. If nothing on the list fits me, say so plainly instead of stretching.
Before you build
Read the list of open-source projects at https://opensourceeverything.org/data/groups/git-tools.json. Compare it with my project or idea below. Tell me which projects overlap, what I could reuse instead of rewriting, and what mine does that none of them do.
My project or idea:
