Powerful gitk/gitg alternative?

Question

I am searching for a graphical git repository viewer. Gitk is nice and distributed alongside git itself, gitg is a (in my opinion) better alternative to gitk but both have a lack of features (searching for commits/tags/..., switiching/configuring the representation of time(zones) and so on).

As I am doing all git stuff directly in the terminal I do not need some overloaded GUI who tries to do all the magic of git, I just want an efficient viewer for graphical representation of my files, commits, branches, tags and so on with more features than gitk/gitg.

Any suggestions?

Edit: Most times I'm working on linux.

After entering `git gui`: `git: 'gui' is not a git command. See 'git --help'.` — daniel451, Jan 22 '15 at 00:37
You need to install it. 'sudo aptitude install git-gui gitk'. — alifirat, Jan 22 '15 at 09:03
git gui is a graphical tool for manipulating the current branch tip (making commits, etc.). gitk is for browsing an existing history. — Mr Fooz, May 23 '16 at 15:07
I've just asked a [somewhat similar question](https://softwarerecs.stackexchange.com/q/80877/15631), but with other requirements, on https://softwarerecs.stackexchange.com . — einpoklum, Oct 11 '21 at 14:38

Kewin Dousse · Accepted Answer · 2021-08-29T11:36:03.057

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I don't think this question really has its place here, but if you want recommendations, I can link you to Fork or SourceTree if you're on Windows or Mac, or GitExtensions if you're on Windows.

Edit : As it seems like people are still looking at that answer, I can now also recommend GitKraken.

edited Aug 29 '21 at 11:36

answered Jan 21 '15 at 23:45

Kewin Dousse

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thank you, but most of the time I'm working on linux...should've mentioned that. – daniel451 Jan 22 '15 at 00:41
GitExtensions is the *only* Git UI I've used that I actually recommend (2018-2020). Many others are too slow/awkward or too cute/limited. That said, I do most all "actions" from the CLI; the UI makes a great branch navigator.. – user2864740 Mar 28 '20 at 06:22
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I just tried GitKraken and it requires setting up an account, so that seems a lot more intrusive than gitk. – John Coker Apr 28 '23 at 21:04

z_inx · Answer 2 · 2016-02-12T17:53:26.180

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SmartGit is an alternative. It works on Windows, Mac OS and Linux:

http://www.syntevo.com/smartgit/

edited Feb 12 '16 at 17:53

answered Jan 19 '16 at 11:51

z_inx

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score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Jun 07 '18 at 12:48

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Alternatives to gitk:

SourceTree (free)
GitKraken (licensed)

lack of features (searching for commits/tags/ ... I am doing all git stuff directly in the terminal

git tag -l <pattern>

git log --all --grep='<commit message>'

answered Jun 07 '18 at 12:48

RJFalconer

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GitKraken is free for non-commercial individuals, as is GitAhead. – drekbour Mar 07 '19 at 14:15

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Jun 29 '22 at 12:40

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In 2022 the best choice is QGIT if you have to handle a huge repository on Linux. With QGIT you can set up a commit range so it won't load all the old commits. Install with: sudo apt install qgit

answered Jun 29 '22 at 12:40

Peter Petrekanics

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score 0 · Answer 5 · answered Nov 17 '22 at 09:35

Late answer.

I have been a big fan of GitAhead which entered maintenance by the end of 2021.

Since then, the main fork of it is Gittyup.

Pros:

blazing fast and low resource usage comparatively to some of the alternatives (GitKraken, MS vScode, …)
(arguably) cuter than gitk and qgit
cross-platform (like most of the others, but worth noting)
ready to use binaries and available on flathub
lots of features
Open-Source!

Powerful gitk/gitg alternative?

5 Answers5