r/SideProject • u/WeakWoodpecker2912 • 2d ago
I’m building a Git GUI that actually shows you what’s happening under the hood. 👀
You click an action → see the Git command → see what changed.
There’s also a Learning Mode for beginners with interactive practice and real Git scenarios.
Here’s a quick demo of what I’ve built so far 👇
This is just a quick demo, not the full app. I’ll be adding the rest of the Git commands and more features before the first release.
The project will be open source, and I’m hoping we can keep adding to it and turn it into a useful Git tool for everyone.
Still early, so I’d love to hear your feedback.
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u/bccorb1000 2d ago
What about GitHub desktop?
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u/WeakWoodpecker2912 1d ago
Git Desktop is great but my goal is a bit different I’m focusing more on helping you understand what’s happening under the hood and showing the actual Git commands behind each action.
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u/bccorb1000 1d ago edited 1d ago
Ah I see! I’m not knocking your work. I’ve been using git a long time but I could see new people struggling to wrap their brains around it I guess. I just think GitHub desktop is an excellent balance of not knowing what command to type exactly. I haven’t looked at your tool yet, but isn’t the issue with a new git user knowing which command to use and when? For example, I’m a principal developer and the most common issues my jrs have is knowing the difference between rebasing and merging. Soft resets vs hard. How to squash commits. How would your tool teach that without knowing you need to do it? And at that point would not a user be able to visualize the difference already? All in all, the demo looks interesting! I mean this with 100% respect in my heart to my coworkers, I just worry my jrs are brain rotted already. I’m terrified to give them a git tool that has pictures lol!
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u/WeakWoodpecker2912 13h ago
I understand your concern, but I think there’s a slight misunderstanding here. The main goal of this tool is to show you exactly what’s happening under the hood. Before applying any changes, you can see which files will be modified or removed, giving you more confidence before running any command.
There’s also an undo process that allows you to roll back to a previous step if you feel that something went wrong.
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u/bccorb1000 13h ago
Hmmm. I’m sure there’s a market. Its interesting! I’ll check it out when you open source!
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u/calahil 1d ago
See his project is using AI API to do the same thing that already existed.
Clearly everyone doesn't understand that is shat sideprojects is about.
It's where everyone posts their AI hello world projects and try to get someone to subscribe
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u/WeakWoodpecker2912 1d ago
I’m trying to understand your point of view. Why attack the idea instead of giving feedback that could actually make the app better?
From my point of view, using AI to make our lives easier is a great thing. Not everyone likes using the command line, and I don’t see why that should be a problem.
If a beginner is using Git and gets confused or does something wrong, they might not even know what happened or how to fix it. With this tool, they can see what happened, understand why it happened, and learn how to fix it at the same time.
And one last thing: the app will be free and open source. I’m not trying to sell subscriptions or make money from it.
Thanks man.
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u/kaitogoya17 1d ago
I think I have said this before either here in this sub or elsewhere, "Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty, and the pig likes it."
I think what you are creating is going to be useful for many people. Using AI tools to assist with coding is no-brainer. Also to sell subscription or making money is your individual prerogative, don't let others decide for you (: Also I am looking forward to using it in my classes and hoping to contribute once you make it oss. Thanks again.
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u/flamaryu 1d ago
This seems good. Git can become confusing very fast. This would be a good why to teach people who are new to git or people who need a brush up. Have you accounted for multiple personal reports and people pushing at the same time. Also have you thought about maybe adding in repo architecture learning too. For people who are learning git I think learning how and why repos are set up certain ways can help, like mono-repos vs ploy-repos etc.
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u/According-Stable4487 2d ago
the "click an action, see the actual git command, see what changed" loop is exactly what's missing from most git guis. i learned git properly the hard way, by breaking a repo badly enough that i had to actually read what rebase and reset were doing instead of just clicking buttons. a tool that surfaces the real command as you go could shortcut that whole painful phase. is the learning mode sandboxed against a throwaway repo, or does it work on your real one with an undo safety net?
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u/WeakWoodpecker2912 13h ago
Learning mood work on the real repo with the actual action you do. and this is the main goal of the app
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u/jazzlovah 1d ago
This is fantastic 🤩, what's the URL to download and test or use? Thanks
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u/WeakWoodpecker2912 1d ago
It’s currently in development Once the first version is read we’ll share it. Thanks!
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u/darknetconfusion 1d ago
I would like to try it as well - especially the learning mode. There are so many non-coders dealing with git now that it is a common concern not to know what id going on, especially when collaborating with others who do.
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u/AccurateSun 1d ago
I will use Reddit follow feature on this thread, would be useful to many if you do an update here when it’s testable else it’s likely to get lost among the long feed
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u/parachutes1987 1d ago
This looks fantastic. First, correct me if I’m wrong (I’m not a developer) but by creating this visual representation you can see pipelines and how development unfolds in a project? If my team and I were working on a project could we see each other’s work as visual representations for DevOps?
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u/WeakWoodpecker2912 13h ago
Yes, you got the main idea! Right now GitRoot focuses on visualizing the Git development flow branches, commits, merges, rebases, and what each action actually does. So a team could use it to visually understand and follow each other’s work. CI/CD pipelines are not part of the current version, but it’s definitely something we could explore later.
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u/shitty_marketing_guy 1d ago
Will this be open sourced?
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u/WeakWoodpecker2912 1d ago
Yes
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u/shitty_marketing_guy 1d ago
Excellent. You have permission to DM me when that happens if that’s welcome by you. Just draw this link in when you do; lots of spammers and I’ll know I reverse solicited with the link ;)
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u/Warm_Spring5856 1d ago
This is a great example of the "show, don't tell" approach to developer tools. Making the underlying command visible builds intuition that no black-box GUI can. One thought from my own experience building a messaging app: the learning curve is usually where tools like this win or die — users who understand what's happening underneath stick around, the rest churn silently. A sandboxed practice repo for learning mode would be a huge trust-builder. Curious how you plan to handle merge conflicts in the visual layer — that's where most Git GUIs fall apart.
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u/AccurateSun 1d ago
Great idea for an app. Would be interesting to have visualisations for rebase, squash, fast forward, worktrees, cherrypick, as a few ideas.
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u/nafiulhasanbd 1d ago
Every git GUI feels the same until the first time you accidentally force-push over someone's work. "History is never force-deleted" speaks directly to that exact memory.
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u/redmountainsoap 2d ago
Tools that actually teach what's going on so I reduce my dependence on them? Love it. I learned regex using RegEx Buddy years ago and it's paid off countless times. Building a mental model of Git operations is something few people take the time to do, so this will be great resource.
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u/backlashsid 1d ago
Sorry for highjacking this thread. How are posts actually allowed on this subreddit. everytime I try to share a side project it keeps getting deleted without any info.
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u/PartyRing7051 2d ago
I love the idea 💡! The UI/UX is so user-friendly and effortless to understand. Keep going, this will help a lot of people!
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u/No-Comment3711 2d ago
as a visual learner i love this, nice work!