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It has been noted that Tcl/Tk, and in turn gitk now require X11 under Cygwin.

Having run it before and after this change it seems like extreme overkill. I use gitk very lightly, mostly sticking to simply command line git. How could I go about using gitk without X11, perhaps manually installing old version of Tcl/Tk?

Community
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Zombo
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2 Answers2

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You could use gitk from a non-Cygwin installation of git, which doesn't depend on Cygwin nor on X11.

user4815162342
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try tig. You'll get the same thing in text form. I often use the form tig --all.

I also rely on git log --all --oneline --graph --decorate. I have a config setting that defaults --decorate to be implied so I don't need it when calling that command. With CTRL-R typing "all" usually gets me that from history so I don't have to type all that.

Or if you want to rely on a windowing system, gitk will be just fine from MSysGit. You can still use the keyboard to navigate it but may need to resort to the mouse as the focus in gitk is hard to see sometimes.

Adam Dymitruk
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  • Good suggestion. I have a global alias `git overview` on my machines which runs `git log --all --oneline --graph --decorate` – kostix Nov 01 '12 at 07:14
  • `tig` is a lovely program, but it's not a good replacement for someone really used to a GUI. – user4815162342 Nov 01 '12 at 08:12
  • using GUIs is not the best for productivity. I encourage command line as it brings in searchable history, tab completion, piping and scriptability. There is only one positive for GUI and that's it's pleasant on the eye and easy to use. Those advantages will only get you so far. – Adam Dymitruk Nov 01 '12 at 16:24
  • Note that `tig` is not a command-line program, but a curses program, which by nature immitates a GUI within the confines of a terminal (emulator). – user4815162342 Nov 01 '12 at 16:37
  • picky, picky.. it is able to run in a terminal, requiring nothing of a windowing system. But yes, git log would be a purist's terminal approach. – Adam Dymitruk Nov 01 '12 at 17:01
  • Point taken, but seriously, it's not just about pickiness. The point of command-line programs is that they can be combined into pipelines, can be scripted, invoked from `cron`, that their startup options are stored in the shell history for later use, and so on. – user4815162342 Nov 01 '12 at 17:35
  • yes of course. My point was that at least you remain in the terminal and don't have to reach for the mouse. – Adam Dymitruk Nov 01 '12 at 17:53