What are the best CLI based Git clients for Mac?

Question

5

Options
Considered

43

User
Recs.

Nov 13, 2021

Last
Updated

Here’s the Deal

4 Options Considered

Best CLI based Git clients for Mac?	Price	Platforms	Technology
-- Tig	0	Windows, Linux, Mac	C
-- Magit (via Emacs)	-	Any supported by Emacs (Linux, Windows,macOS,*BSD...)	-
49 Git	Free	-	-
-- vim-fugitive	-	-	-

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score 9 · Answer 1

Tig

Top Pro

Available in Homebrew

Can easily be installed with homebrew simply by running brew install tig See More

Top Con

Steeper barrier to entry as compared to a GUI solution

Since you have to get used to working in the terminal (if you are not already used to doing that) and learn the commands, it has a steeper learning curve than GUI clients which are usually more intuitive and easier to grasp. See More

Specs

Platforms:Windows, Linux, Mac

Technology:C

Top Pro

Allows you to stay in the terminal

If you prefer to do most of your development inside the terminal, changing windows to move to a GUI git client can be annoying. Since tig runs inside the terminal, that's avoided. See More

Top Pro

Works on any platform

Top Pro

Available in Linux repos

Available in almost all major Linux repos: apt/yum/whatever install tig. See More

Top Pro

Vim-like bindings

Top Pro

Fast

Opens huge repos without a problem. See More

See All

score 6 · Answer 2

Magit (via Emacs)

Top Pro

Easy to fix diffs

Since it's integrated with Emacs, diffs are very easy to fix. You can jump right to any file you want to fix as soon as it comes up in the logs or in the status view. See More

Top Con

Useful only for people who use Emacs

Magit is only useful if your text editor of choice is Emacs. It wouldn't really make any sense to open up emacs just to run Magit if you use another editor. See More

Specs

Platforms:Any supported by Emacs (Linux, Windows,macOS,*BSD...)

License:GPLv3

Top Pro

Uninterrupted workflow for common tasks

Simple tasks, such as commits, can quickly be made without leaving the editor. See More

Top Pro

Easy to remember mnemonics

You can easily learn the mnemonics for the most common tasks and use them to your advantage to speed up your workflow. See More

Top Pro

Blame information can be viewed inline with the file

Top Pro

Better visualization and interactive workflow

Top Pro

Multiple buffers are used to show contextual information

Top Pro

Powerful rebasing

Top Pro

Available in Homebrew

See All

score 18 · Answer 3

Git

Top Pro

Fast and straightforward

There's no additional layer of abstraction. See More

Top Con

Recalling is more difficult than recognizing

Although there's autocompletion for commands, it still requires recalling at least the beginning of a command while all that's required using a GUI is recognizing the desired outcome. See More

Top Pro

Gives a better understanding of how git functions

By using the git from the command line, it's possible to learn how it functions and how to get the desired result. See More

Top Pro

Best community support

Since most devs invoke git via CLI there's a higher chance of getting an answer to a CLI based git problem than a GUI-based. See More

Top Pro

It's Git.

If you want to perform advanced operations, there may be no alternatives. See More

See All

score 3 · Answer 4

vim-fugitive

Top Pro

Uninterrupted workflow for common tasks

Simple tasks, such as commits, can quickly be made without leaving the editor. See More

Top Con

Poor documentation

The documentation is rather poor and not very helpful. See More

Top Pro

Great visualization and interactive workflow

The visualization and workflow are great in fugitive. You can do side-by-side or even intra-line diffs all without having to leave your text editor. See More

See All

score 3 · Answer 5

What are the best CLI based Git clients for Mac?

4 Options Considered

Tig

My Recommendation for Tig

My Recommendation for Tig

Available in Homebrew

Steeper barrier to entry as compared to a GUI solution

Allows you to stay in the terminal

Works on any platform

Available in Linux repos

Vim-like bindings

Fast

Magit (via Emacs)

My Recommendation for Magit (via Emacs)

My Recommendation for Magit (via Emacs)

Easy to fix diffs

Useful only for people who use Emacs

Uninterrupted workflow for common tasks

Easy to remember mnemonics

Blame information can be viewed inline with the file

Better visualization and interactive workflow

Multiple buffers are used to show contextual information

Powerful rebasing

Available in Homebrew

Git

My Recommendation for Git

My Recommendation for Git

Fast and straightforward

Recalling is more difficult than recognizing

Gives a better understanding of how git functions

Best community support

It's Git.

vim-fugitive

My Recommendation for vim-fugitive

My Recommendation for vim-fugitive

Uninterrupted workflow for common tasks

Poor documentation

Great visualization and interactive workflow

Don't see your favorite option? Add it.

Magit (Emacs plugin)

My Recommendation for Magit (Emacs plugin)

My Recommendation for Magit (Emacs plugin)

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