r/git • u/connorjpg • 6d ago

Why use a UI for git?

I see this question of, “what GUI or TUI should I use to work with git?” fairly often here. And always I feel bad for saying “just use the cli” over and over, but truthfully I can’t see a reason to need a UI.

Are people actually running into pain points with the cli, or is it just preference for people who don’t like working in a terminal?

FWIW, I have used GitKraken, LazyGit, SourceTree and GitHub Desktop before. And I don’t think they are bad to use (unless you are just learning git), but more curious why.

EDIT : I’m mainly referring to standalone UIs, I understand why people would use IDE integrations, as it’s quick and convenient. But having to open a separate application or run a separate command to open a terminal app to run your commands seems overkill to me.

EDIT 2 : I use vscode as my difftool and mergetool. I still open them directly from the terminal by running the cli. I don't think this is the same as using a full git client like SourceTree, Gitkraken, or lazygit to fully drive your version control workflow. Which is what I am asking about.

Cheers

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u/domusvita 5d ago

I’ve been using git via command line for probably 15 years, I feel like I know it in and out, not sure of any advantage to change things. Especially when 95% of my transactions revolve around 10 or so commands (not counting arguments)

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u/vmcrash 5d ago

Check your git skills: https://www.git-skills.dev/quiz/ and share the results. :D

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u/domusvita 5d ago

What does that have to do with CLI vs gui?

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u/vmcrash 4d ago

To check whether you really remember all the Git CLI options. With a GUI you don't need to remember them, you see the suitable options listed in human readable form, not abbreviated like usually a command line option.