Git Tools
- To fully utilize Git's robust functionality, various tools are available, including Git Bash and Git GUI, which provide user-friendly interfaces. Git supports both inbuilt and third-party tools.
- Git includes built-in GUI tools like Git Bash, git-gui, and gitk for committing and browsing, while also supporting various third-party tools for users seeking a platform-specific experience.
Git Package Tools
To explore Git's powerful functionality, we require various tools, including commands, the command line, and Git GUI. Let's delve into some essential package tools.
GitBash
- Git Bash is a Windows application that serves as the Git command line for the platform, offering an emulation layer for a Git command-line experience. "Bash" stands for Bourne Again Shell. The Git package installer includes Bash, its utilities, and Git for the Windows operating system.
- Bash is the default shell on Linux and macOS. It is a terminal application that provides an interface to interact with the operating system using commands.
- The Git Windows package includes the Git Bash tool by default, which can be accessed by right-clicking on a folder in Windows Explorer.
Git Bash Commands
- Git Bash features additional commands stored in the /usr/bin directory of its emulation, offering a robust shell experience on Windows. It also includes essential shell commands such as ssh, scp, cat, and find.
- Git Bash also includes the complete set of Git core commands, such as git clone, git commit, git checkout, git push, and more.
Git GUI
Git GUI is a robust alternative to Git Bash, providing a graphical interface for Git command-line functions along with comprehensive visual diff tools. It can be accessed by right-clicking on a folder or location in Windows Explorer, or through the command line by entering the command below.
$ git gui
A pop-up window will appear with the Git GUI tool. The interface of Git GUI looks like this:
Git provides built-in GUI tools for committing (git-gui) and browsing (gitk), but there are also many third-party tools available for users seeking a platform-specific experience.
Gitk
gitk is a graphical history viewer that serves as a robust GUI interface for git log and git grep. It is used to search for past events or visualize the history of your project.
You can invoke gitk from the command line by changing directory into a Git repository and typing:
$ gitk [git log options]
This command launches the gitk graphical interface, which displays the project's history. The Gitk interface appears as follows:
Gitk supports various command-line options, most of which are passed directly to the underlying git log action.
Git Third-Party Tools
Numerous third-party tools are available to enhance Git's functionality and offer an improved user interface, with options tailored for various platforms such as Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, and iOS.
Here is a list of popular third-party Git tools:
