Best Git Clients for Linux in 2026: 17 GUI and CLI Tools Compared

Git behaves the same on every operating system. The clients built around it do not. Fork, Tower, and Sourcetree have no Linux version, and GitHub Desktop has no official Linux build either, so many popular Git GUI roundups are only half useful on a Linux desktop.

This guide covers what works on Linux in 2026: twelve graphical clients, four terminal tools, and plain Git itself. Each entry lists the license, price, install method, strengths, and weak spots. If you only want a recommendation, jump to the quick picks or the comparison table.

Jump to:

• Quick picks
• Comparison table
• Git clients that skip Linux
• Graphical Git clients
• Terminal and command-line tools
• Extra tools worth installing
• How to choose
• Linux setup tips
• FAQ

Quick Picks: The Best Git Client for Each Type of User

• Best polished GUI: GitKraken Desktop. A readable commit graph, a built-in conflict editor, and hosting integrations. Private repositories need a paid plan.
• Best fast, native GUI: Sublime Merge. Quick on large repositories, with strong search and merge tools. One-time license.
• Best free GUI: SourceGit for the widest feature set. Gittyup or Git Cola for a lighter Qt app. GitFourchette for KDE Plasma.
• Best for a different workflow: GitButler. Parallel and stacked branches in one working directory.
• Best terminal UI: lazygit. Staging, rebasing, and branch work from the keyboard.
• Best terminal UI for huge repositories: gitui. Written in Rust and built for speed.
• Best history browser: tig. Small, quick, and in most distro repositories.
• Best inside Emacs: Magit.

Git Clients for Linux Compared at a Glance

Prices, licenses, and platform support were checked in October 2026. Vendors change terms often, so confirm on the official site before you buy.

Git Clients That Do Not Run on Linux

These names show up in almost every “best Git client” list, so it helps to rule them out early.

• Fork: macOS and Windows only. For a similar uncluttered feel on Linux, try GitFourchette or SourceGit.
• Tower: macOS and Windows only. SmartGit and GitKraken are the closest commercial matches.
• Sourcetree: macOS and Windows only. SmartGit or GitKraken fill the gap.
• GitHub Desktop: no official Linux build. A community build exists and is covered below.

How These Git Clients Were Chosen

Every tool on this list meets four rules:

• It runs on Linux. Either natively or through a maintained community build.
• It is maintained. Projects that stopped receiving updates, such as GitAhead and Giggle, are out. GitAhead lives on as Gittyup.
• It installs without hacks. A package, a repository, a Flatpak, an AppImage, or a single binary.
• It covers daily Git work. Staging, committing, branching, merging, and reading history.

Best Graphical Git Clients for Linux

The twelve clients below start with the full-featured options and end with the minimal ones. Switching later is cheap, because clients read and write the same repository format.

1. GitKraken Desktop

GitKraken Desktop is the best-known cross-platform Git GUI, and it ships the same interface on Linux as on Windows and macOS. Its draw is a readable commit graph with branches and merges laid out visually, plus conflict resolution and hosting integrations built into the app. The catch is pricing: the free tier covers local repositories and public remotes only.

Key features

• Commit graph with drag-and-drop merging and rebasing
• Built-in merge conflict editor and interactive rebase
• One-click undo and redo for Git operations
• Integrations with GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, and Azure DevOps
• Launchpad view for pull requests and issues on paid plans
• Submodule and Git LFS support

Pros

• Easy to learn, and the graph makes history readable at a glance
• Identical experience on Linux, macOS, and Windows
• Undo and conflict tools take some of the fear out of rebasing

Cons

• Proprietary and built on Electron, so it uses more memory than native clients
• Private repositories need a paid plan, from around $5 per user per month on annual billing
• You sign in with a GitKraken account
• Official support covers Ubuntu 18.04+, Debian 10+, RHEL 8+, and Fedora 39+

Best for: developers who want a polished visual client and work with private repositories on a team budget.

Install on Linux: download the .deb or .rpm from the GitKraken site, or use Snap.

sudo snap install gitkraken --classic

2. Sublime Merge

Sublime Merge comes from the makers of Sublime Text and shares the same obsession with speed. It is a native app, so it opens quickly and stays responsive on large repositories where Electron-based clients start to drag. The three-way merge tool and the commit search are its best features. You can search history by author, message, or file content without leaving the window.

Key features

• Integrated three-way merge tool
• Line-level and hunk-level staging
• Commit search with filters for author, message, and content
• Syntax highlighting in diffs, custom themes, and a command palette
• Blame, file history, submodule support, and Git Flow support

Pros

• Native and fast, even on big repositories
• No account to create, and one license key covers all your computers and operating systems
• Official apt, dnf, pacman, and zypper repositories keep updates simple

Cons

• Closed source, and you need a license after the evaluation: $99 for a personal license with three years of updates, $75 per user per year for business use
• Light on hosting features such as pull request management
• Less hand-holding than GitKraken, so you work with Git concepts directly

Best for: developers with large repositories who want fast diffs, strong merge tools, and a one-time purchase.

Install on Linux: Sublime HQ maintains package repositories for apt, dnf and yum, pacman, and zypper. Follow the steps on the Linux repositories page, then install the package. A community-maintained Snap is also available.

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install sublime-merge

3. GitButler

GitButler does not try to be a prettier version of the same old workflow. Its headline feature is parallel (virtual) branches: you work on several branches in one working directory and assign each change to the branch it belongs to, instead of stashing and switching. It also supports stacked branches, keeps an operations log with unlimited undo, and treats conflicts differently. A rebase never stops halfway. Conflicted commits are marked, and you resolve them when you choose.

Key features

• Parallel branches in a single working directory
• Stacked branches that restack automatically when you amend a commit lower in the stack
• Unlimited undo through an operations log
• GitHub and GitLab sign-in for opening and updating pull requests
• A desktop app plus a command-line tool, but
• Optional AI helpers for commit messages

Pros

• Cuts out most stashing and branch switching
• Moving, splitting, and reordering commits is visual
• A Tauri app, so it uses the system web view instead of bundling a full Chromium

Cons

• A new mental model that takes time to trust
• Mixing GitButler with other Git tools on the same repository needs care, because GitButler keeps its own workspace state
• Source-available under the Functional Source License (FSL-1.1-MIT), which converts to MIT after two years, so it is not open source in the OSI sense today
• The project keeps a Linux notes file for known issues, such as blurry text on some NVIDIA setups

Best for: developers who juggle several in-flight changes or stacked pull requests.

Install on Linux: download the AppImage or the .deb from the GitButler site.

4. SmartGit

SmartGit from Syntevo is a long-running Java client for people who want every Git feature within reach. It includes a conflict solver, tools to split, reorder, and squash commits, and integrations with hosting services and build servers such as Jenkins and TeamCity. It is free for open-source developers, students and staff at public academic institutions, and some charitable organizations. Everyone else needs a license.

Key features

• Conflict solver and commit rewriting (split, reorder, squash)
• Integrations with hosting services, Jenkins, and TeamCity
• Investigate mode (DeepGit) for digging through code history
• Adjustable window layouts

Pros

• Mature, with deep coverage of Git features
• Free for open-source, academic, and charity work
• Same interface on Linux, macOS, and Windows

Cons

• Needs Java, so startup time and memory use are heavier than native tools
• A busy interface that looks dated next to newer clients
• Commercial licenses run around $59 per user per year
• The Flathub package is an unofficial wrapper

Best for: teams and power users who want every option exposed.

Install on Linux: download the .deb or tar.gz from Syntevo, or use the unofficial Flatpak.

flatpak install flathub com.syntevo.SmartGit

5. SourceGit

SourceGit is a free, MIT-licensed client written in C# with the Avalonia UI toolkit, so it is not an Electron app. It covers most of what people expect from a modern client without a price tag: a visual commit graph, interactive rebase, worktrees, Git Flow, Git LFS, blame, and bisect. An optional AI assistant can draft commit messages.

Key features

• Visual commit graph with light and dark themes and custom theme support
• Merge, rebase, cherry-pick, amend, reset, revert, and a basic interactive rebase
• Worktrees, submodules, stashes, patches, and archive export
• Git Flow and Git LFS support
• Image diffs in side-by-side, swipe, and blend modes
• Separate SSH key settings per remote

Pros

• Free and MIT-licensed
• A quick interface without a bundled browser engine
• Releases arrive often

Cons

• The project itself describes its interactive rebase as basic
• Linux testing centers on Debian and Ubuntu, on X11 and Wayland, and HiDPI scaling on X11 may need the AVALONIA_SCREEN_SCALE_FACTORS environment variable
• The README tells Linux users to install Git Credential Manager for HTTPS credentials
• Few distros package it, so installation usually means downloading a build from GitHub

Best for: anyone who wants a free, full-featured GUI without Electron.

Install on Linux: download the Linux build from the GitHub releases page and make sure Git is installed on the system.

6. GitFourchette

GitFourchette calls itself the comfortable Git UI for Linux, and its Qt interface is built to sit well on KDE Plasma. It is written in Python, released under GPL-3.0, and distributed through Flathub and as an AppImage. Version 1.5 switched from libgit2 to the real git command for edits and remote operations, so your OpenSSH setup, hooks, and commit signing behave the way they do in a terminal. It is often suggested as a Fork alternative for Linux.

Key features

• Explore history, stage code, create commits, and manage branches
• Uses the system Git for edits and remotes (the Flatpak bundles a recent Git and Git LFS)
• GPG commit signing

Pros

• A quick, comfortable Qt interface that suits KDE Plasma
• Hooks, OpenSSH, and signing behave as they do in a terminal
• Free software with simple installs

Cons

• Younger and smaller than the commercial clients, so the feature list is shorter. The project documents its known limitations.
• If your session does not run an ssh-agent, you need to enable the built-in fallback in the settings
• Works best with a recent Git, and the project recommends 2.41 or newer

Best for: KDE Plasma users and anyone looking for a Fork-like experience on Linux.

Install on Linux: use Flatpak, or grab the AppImage from the GitHub releases page.

flatpak install flathub org.gitfourchette.gitfourchette

7. Gittyup

Gittyup is a Qt and C++ client under the MIT license. It is the community continuation of GitAhead, which stopped receiving updates. The focus is understanding history. A double tree view separates staged from unstaged changes, a keyboard shortcut (Ctrl+M) gives the history or diff the whole window, and single-line staging is built in.

Key features

• Line-level staging and a double tree view for staged and unstaged files
• Filtering and search across history
• Commit message templates
• A tag viewer that lists existing tags when you create a new one
• Ignore patterns that cover many files at once

Pros

• A native Qt app, lighter than Electron clients
• MIT license, and still shipping releases in 2026
• Flatpak on Flathub plus an AUR package

Cons

• Fewer integrations than the commercial clients
• A plain interface, and development moves at a moderate pace
• Flatpak sandbox permissions may need adjusting for SSH keys

Best for: browsing history and staging single lines in a lightweight, free app.

Install on Linux: use Flatpak, or install the gittyup package from the AUR on Arch.

flatpak install flathub com.github.Murmele.Gittyup

8. Git Cola

Git Cola calls itself the highly caffeinated Git GUI. It is a Python and Qt application that sits in most distribution repositories, so installing it takes one package command. It works with Qt 5 and Qt 6 through QtPy. Besides the main staging and commit window, it ships a DAG viewer for browsing history and its own interactive rebase editor.

Key features

• Stage and unstage files, hunks, or individual lines
• git dag history viewer with inline diffs
• Built-in interactive rebase editor, git-cola-sequence-editor
• Runs as Git subcommands: git cola and git dag
• Commit templates, spell checking through hunspell dictionaries, and configurable themes

Pros

• Lightweight and available from default repositories
• Highly configurable, from hotkeys to themes
• GPL licensed with a long track record

Cons

• A dated look
• No pull request or hosting-service features
• Installing outside distro packages means dealing with Python and Qt dependencies

Best for: people who want a lightweight, no-nonsense staging tool that behaves like a Git subcommand.

Install on Linux:

sudo apt install git-cola
sudo dnf install git-cola

9. Gitnuro

Gitnuro is a free and open-source client built with Kotlin, Jetpack Compose, and JGit. The developer’s stated goal is a multiplatform client without constraints on how you use it and without relying on web technologies, which rules out Electron. It does not track usage data, and its themes are plain JSON files you can edit.

Key features

• Staging by hunk, history browsing, branches, tags, and stashes shown in the graph
• Interactive rebase and Git LFS support
• Custom themes defined in JSON
• Credential helper support through your Git configuration

Pros

• Open source (GPL-3.0) with no tracking
• Available as a Flatpak
• A simple, uncluttered interface

Cons

• Runs on the JVM and uses JGit instead of the system Git, so SSH and credential setups can behave differently than in a terminal
• The README lists self-signed server certificates and multicast DNS remote URLs as known trouble spots
• The portable JAR needs Java 17
• Releases are infrequent, and the feature set is smaller than the big names

Best for: users who want a simple, open-source GUI and do not mind a Java app.

Install on Linux: use Flatpak, or run the portable JAR.

flatpak install flathub com.jetpackduba.Gitnuro

10. GitHub Desktop (Community Linux Build)

GitHub publishes GitHub Desktop for macOS and Windows only. On Linux, people use a community fork maintained by shiftkey, which ships .deb, .rpm, and AppImage builds that follow upstream releases. The releases are labeled as pre-releases on GitHub, and support comes from the community, not from GitHub.

Key features

• A simple commit, push, pull, and branch workflow
• Pull request creation and checkout from inside the app
• Cherry-pick, squash, and reorder commits by dragging
• Image diffs and a split diff view

Pros

• Approachable for beginners, with a short learning curve
• Tight GitHub integration, including “Open in GitHub Desktop” links from github.com
• MIT licensed

Cons

• Unofficial on Linux, so there is no vendor support
• Built on Electron
• Basic conflict handling that leans on an external editor
• Integrations are centered on GitHub

Best for: beginners and GitHub-centered workflows.

Install on Linux: download the .deb, .rpm, or AppImage from the shiftkey/desktop releases page, or add the project’s package repository by following the instructions in its README.

11. gitg

gitg is the GNOME project’s Git viewer, built on GTK. The goal is a small, quick tool for visualizing history, with a few extras for staging, unstaging, reverting, and committing. The developers say outright that it does not aim to expose every Git feature. It is stable, but releases are infrequent. Version 44 has been the current release in distro repositories for some time.

Key features

• Commit history browser with a branch graph
• Stage, unstage, revert, and commit
• A native GTK look that fits GNOME

Pros

• Light and quick to open
• In most distro repositories and on Flathub
• Licensed GPL-2.0 or later

Cons

• Skips advanced operations such as interactive rebase by design
• Slow development pace
• Works better as a viewer than as a daily driver for complex workflows

Best for: GNOME users who mostly read history and make simple commits.

Install on Linux:

sudo apt install gitg
flatpak install flathub org.gnome.gitg

12. git gui and gitk (Bundled With Git)

Git ships with two Tcl/Tk tools: git gui for committing and gitk for browsing history. They look dated, but they need nothing beyond Git and Tk, and they work over SSH with X forwarding, which makes them a handy fallback on a remote server.

Key features

• git gui: stage and unstage by file, hunk, or line, amend commits, and open a blame viewer
• gitk: commit graph, searchable history, and a diff viewer (try gitk --all)

Pros

• Part of the Git project, so there is no extra software to trust
• Work over X forwarding
• Small and fast to start

Cons

• A dated look, and Tk scaling on HiDPI screens can be rough
• No hosting integration and no interactive rebase

Best for: a zero-setup fallback when nothing else is installed.

Install on Linux: on Debian, Ubuntu, and Fedora they ship as separate packages.

sudo apt install git-gui gitk
sudo dnf install git-gui gitk

Best Command-Line and Terminal Git Tools for Linux

You do not have to leave the terminal to get a visual Git workflow. Terminal UIs give you panels, keyboard shortcuts, and live diffs, and they run over SSH where no desktop client can.

13. Git (the Command Line)

Every client on this page sits on top of Git, and the command line remains the most complete and most scriptable way to use it. It is also the only interface guaranteed to exist on every server and container you touch. If you want to learn it properly, the Pro Git book is free to read online.

Commands worth memorizing

git log --oneline --graph --decorate --all   # readable history graph
git add -p                                   # stage hunks interactively
git switch -c feature/login                  # create and switch to a new branch
git restore --staged path/to/file            # unstage a file
git reflog                                   # find commits you thought were lost

Pros

• Complete, and new features land here first
• Scriptable and available on every server
• The reference every other tool is measured against

Cons

• Steep learning curve, and the flags are easy to forget
• Easy to make destructive mistakes
• History is hard to read without graph options

Best for: everyone, as the baseline.

Install on Linux:

sudo apt install git
sudo dnf install git
sudo pacman -S git

14. lazygit

lazygit is a terminal UI written in Go and released under the MIT license. It splits the screen into panels for files, branches, commits, and stashes, and it shows the keys you need at the bottom. Every action runs the matching Git command underneath, so using it teaches you Git instead of hiding it.

Key features

• Stage individual lines and hunks
• Interactive rebase from the commit panel: squash, fixup, reword, move, and drop
• Cherry-pick, bisect, stash, and reflog views
• Custom commands and themes through a YAML config file
• Pager support, so you can plug in a tool like delta

Pros

• On-screen key hints make it easy to learn
• Quick on typical repositories, and it works over SSH and inside tmux
• MIT licensed and packaged widely

Cons

• You still have to learn its keybindings
• Text only, so no image diffs and no rich graph
• Packaging varies by distro, and packaged versions can lag behind upstream

Best for: everyday terminal Git, especially interactive rebase.

Install on Linux: on Arch, use pacman. On other distros, run apt search lazygit or dnf search lazygit first, then fall back to the Linux binary on the GitHub releases page if the packaged version is too old.

sudo pacman -S lazygit

15. gitui

gitui is a terminal UI written in Rust and released under the MIT license. Speed is the whole pitch. Its README includes a benchmark on the Linux kernel repository, which has over 900,000 commits: gitui loaded the history in about 24 seconds with roughly 0.17 GB of memory, against 57 seconds and 2.6 GB for lazygit and 4 minutes 20 seconds for tig. Those numbers come from the author’s meetup talk, so treat them as a rough guide, not a current ranking.

Key features

• Keyboard-only control with context-based help
• Stage, unstage, revert, and reset files, hunks, and lines
• Commit and amend with pre-commit, commit-msg, and post-commit hooks
• Stashing, push and fetch, and a branch list with create, rename, delete, and checkout
• Commit log browser with diffs

Pros

• Fast on huge repositories
• Single static binary available for Linux
• MIT licensed, and packaged for Arch, Fedora, and openSUSE

Cons

• Smaller feature set than lazygit, so check that it covers your rebase workflow
• The project still labels itself beta software
• Text only

Best for: large repositories and anyone who wants the lightest terminal UI.

Install on Linux:

sudo pacman -S gitui
sudo dnf install gitui
sudo zypper install gitui
cargo install gitui --locked

16. tig

tig is an ncurses text-mode interface for Git that predates the newer terminal UIs. It is strongest at reading: browsing commit history, following a file’s blame, and viewing diffs. It can also stage changes from its status view, and it works as a pager, so git log -p | tig opens the output in an interactive viewer.

Key features

• Main view with commit history and a branch graph
• Blame view: tig blame path/to/file
• Status view for staging and unstaging: tig status
• Separate views for refs, stashes, trees, and blobs
• Pager mode for piped Git output

Pros

• Tiny and quick to start, and in most distro repositories
• Good for exploring unfamiliar repositories and tracing a line’s history
• Works over SSH

Cons

• Not a full workflow tool: commits, rebases, and branch management are limited compared with lazygit
• Keybindings take time to learn, though you can change them in ~/.tigrc
• The slowest of the three in the gitui author’s Linux kernel benchmark

Best for: reading history and blame.

Install on Linux:

sudo apt install tig
sudo dnf install tig
sudo pacman -S tig

17. Magit

Magit is a complete Git interface that lives inside Emacs. You open a status buffer, stage hunks or arbitrary regions with a keypress, and run commits, rebases, and branch operations through popup menus that show every available option. Adding the separate Forge package brings GitHub and GitLab pull requests and issues into the same workflow.

Key features

• Fine-grained staging of hunks and selected regions
• Popup menus for commit, rebase, branch, log, and more
• Interactive rebase integration
• Works on remote repositories over TRAMP
• Forge package for pull requests and issues

Pros

• Fast once the key sequences are in muscle memory
• Menus expose Git options instead of hiding them
• Free software, actively developed

Cons

• Needs Emacs
• Not worth the setup unless you already work in Emacs
• Keybindings take a while to learn

Best for: Emacs users.

Install on Linux: from inside Emacs.

M-x package-install RET magit RET
M-x magit-status

Extra Git Tools Worth Installing

A few tools do not replace your client but make it better.

• GitHub CLI (gh): create and review pull requests, manage issues, and check Actions runs from the terminal.
• GitLab CLI (glab): the same idea for merge requests and pipelines on GitLab.
• delta: a syntax-highlighting pager for git diff and git log that also plugs into lazygit.
• Meld: a visual diff and merge tool you can set as your git mergetool.
• Jujutsu (jj): a newer version control tool that can store its data in a Git repository, so you can try it next to regular Git.
• IDE integrations: the Source Control view in VS Code and the Git tool windows in JetBrains IDEs cover most daily tasks if you already live in an editor.
• Kommit and Guitar: two more open-source GUIs, a KDE project and a Qt app, both listed on the git-scm.com GUI page.

How to Choose the Right Git Client for Linux

• You want a polished GUI and can pay: GitKraken for the visual graph and hosting features, Sublime Merge for speed and a one-time price.
• You want free and open source: SourceGit, Gittyup, Git Cola, or GitFourchette.
• You run KDE Plasma: GitFourchette. On GNOME, gitg covers light use, though most people pick a cross-platform client for heavier work.
• You work in huge repositories: Sublime Merge in a GUI, or gitui in a terminal.
• You live in the terminal or connect over SSH: lazygit, with tig for reading history.
• You juggle several features at once: GitButler.
• You are new to Git: GitKraken or the community GitHub Desktop build for visual feedback, and read the first chapters of Pro Git alongside it.
• You work inside Emacs: Magit.

GUI vs TUI vs CLI

A GUI shows history as a graph, previews diffs, and lets you stage lines with a click. A TUI offers the same ideas inside a terminal with keyboard shortcuts, and it works over SSH. The command line is the reference interface: slower to read, fastest to script. All three work on the same repository, so you can mix them. Many developers use a GUI or TUI for staging and history and drop to the command line for everything else.

Linux Setup Tips Before You Install Anything

• Check sandbox permissions. Flatpak and Snap sandboxes can block access to SSH keys, the GPG agent, or repositories outside your home folder. If a Flatpak client cannot push or sign commits, review its permissions in Flatseal before blaming the app.
• Set up credentials once. Use an SSH key with an agent, or a Git credential helper for HTTPS. GUI clients rely on whatever your system Git is configured to use, and some, like SourceGit, ask for Git Credential Manager on Linux.
• Watch Git versions. Some clients want a recent Git. GitFourchette recommends 2.41 or newer, for example.
• Test HiDPI and Wayland. Qt and GTK apps usually scale well. Electron, Avalonia, and Tauri apps can need extra flags or environment variables to look sharp on some setups.
• Check signing support. If you sign commits with GPG or SSH keys, confirm your client supports your method before you switch.

Five Git Settings Worth Setting Once

These live in your Git configuration, so most clients pick them up.

git config --global init.defaultBranch main
git config --global fetch.prune true
git config --global push.autoSetupRemote true
git config --global rerere.enabled true
git config --global merge.conflictStyle zdiff3

• init.defaultBranch sets the name of the first branch in new repositories.
• fetch.prune removes remote-tracking branches that no longer exist on the server.
• push.autoSetupRemote sets the upstream branch on your first push (Git 2.37 or newer).
• rerere.enabled remembers how you resolved a conflict and reuses the answer.
• merge.conflictStyle zdiff3 shows the common ancestor inside conflict markers, which makes conflicts easier to read (Git 2.35 or newer).

Which Git Client Should You Install First?

Pick one GUI and one terminal tool. For most Linux users that means SourceGit or GitKraken for the visual side and lazygit for the terminal, with plain Git underneath for everything else. If speed matters and a license fits your budget, Sublime Merge is worth paying for. If you run KDE Plasma, try GitFourchette first.

You are not locked in. Every client on this list works on the same repositories, so the cost of switching is a download and a few minutes in the settings.

Frequently Asked Questions About Git Clients on Linux

What is the best Git client for Linux?

It depends on how you work. GitKraken Desktop is the most polished GUI, Sublime Merge is the fastest native one, and SourceGit is the strongest free option. In the terminal, lazygit is the best all-round choice. Every client works on the same repositories, so trying several costs nothing.

Is there a free Git GUI for Linux?

Yes. SourceGit, Gittyup, Git Cola, GitFourchette, Gitnuro, and gitg are free and open source. GitButler is free under a source-available license. GitKraken is free for local and public repositories, and SmartGit is free for open-source, academic, and charity use.

Does Fork work on Linux?

No. Fork supports macOS and Windows only. GitFourchette and SourceGit are worth trying if you want a similar uncluttered feel on Linux.

Does GitHub Desktop work on Linux?

GitHub does not publish an official Linux version. A community fork maintained by shiftkey provides .deb, .rpm, and AppImage builds that follow upstream releases. These builds are unofficial, so support comes from the community.

Is Sourcetree available for Linux?

No. Sourcetree is available for macOS and Windows only. SmartGit and GitKraken are the closest commercial alternatives on Linux, and SourceGit and Git Cola are free options.

What is the best Git client for Ubuntu?

Every client in this guide runs on Ubuntu. Git Cola, gitg, tig, and Git itself install from the default repositories. GitKraken and GitButler provide .deb packages, Sublime Merge has an official apt repository, and GitFourchette, Gittyup, and Gitnuro are available as Flatpaks.

Is a Git GUI better than the command line?

Neither is better. A GUI is easier for reading history, staging individual lines, and resolving conflicts. The command line is faster for scripting and exact control. Both work on the same repository, so most developers use a mix of the two.

What is the best terminal Git client?

lazygit is the best choice for most people because it covers staging, rebasing, and branch work with on-screen key hints. gitui is a good option for huge repositories, and tig is best for reading history and blame.

Can I use more than one Git client on the same repository?

Yes. Clients read and write the same repository data on disk, so you can switch between them freely. The exception is GitButler, which keeps its own workspace state, so switch tools on a GitButler-managed repository with care.

Why can my Flatpak Git client not use my SSH keys or GPG key?

Flatpak sandboxes can block access to your SSH keys, SSH agent, and GPG agent. Open Flatseal and check the filesystem and socket permissions for that app. Some clients also have a built-in ssh-agent option in their settings.