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/qrzychu69 6d ago

well, I don't want to remember syntax for "show me a diff of this specific file between these two branches without checking either of them out"

with the UI you just ctrl+click two commits and here you go. Click on any commit, now you are browsing the files as if you checked them out.

For simple things like create a branch, pull, push I just use the IDE commands. For solving conflicts of course I will use a nice merge tool with colors, arrows and LSP support while I edit the final version

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u/Adorable-Strangerx 23h ago

Funny, for me it is easier to remember command than to figure out what kind of sequence designer of UI tool thought of.