Git GUI clients for open source maintainers in 2026

Compare RepoYeti, GitHub Desktop, Fork, Tower and lazygit for open source maintainers, with questions to ask before you choose.

By SayDeploy · 2026-10-26

SayDeploy is published by LunarWerx, which makes some of the tools compared here.

Pick by the chores that take most of your week. RepoYeti shows every repo under the folders you add, with its branch and changed-file count, and it previews incoming commits before you pull ^[1] ^[1]. GitHub Desktop lets users stash changes without committing them to a branch, and drag and drop to reorder commits ^[2] ^[2]. Fork's Diff Viewer gives a clear view for spotting source-code changes ^[3]. Tower offers a free way to get started and a 30-day Pro trial without limitations ^[4] ^[4]. lazygit can be installed with Homebrew, which works on Linux as well ^[5], and its binary releases are offered for Windows, Mac OS or Linux ^[5]. The facts gathered for this page do not state its price, so check its page before you decide.

Option	What its source says it does	Where it runs or what it needs	Price or licence
RepoYeti	Shows every repo under the folders you add, with the branch, changed-file count and ahead or behind count ^[1]	Windows x64, Linux x64 and macOS on Apple Silicon, opened in any browser ^[1]	Free for noncommercial use; US$79 per installation for commercial use ^[1]
GitHub Desktop	Stash changes without committing them to a branch ^[2]; drag and drop to cherry-pick, squash or reorder commits ^[2]	not published	not published
Fork	Diffs for common image formats ^[3]; a clear view for spotting source-code changes ^[3]	Mac OS X 10.11 or later; Windows 7 or later ^[3] ^[3]	$59.99 for Mac and for Windows, each with a free evaluation ^[3] ^[3]
Tower	Pull requests, single-line staging, submodules and file history ^[4]	macOS and Windows, including x64 and ARM downloads ^[4]	A free way to get started, and a 30-day Pro trial without limitations ^[4] ^[4]
lazygit	Stages changes by hunk with space, and can remove a hunk from a commit ^[5] ^[5]	Windows, Mac OS or Linux; also installable with Homebrew ^[5] ^[5]	not published

What open source maintainers need from Git GUI clients

A maintainer usually looks after several projects at once, each with its own history, and often works from more than one computer. The daily jobs are keeping track of which repos have unfinished changes, reading contributions from people you may not know, and checking what an incoming update will change before it reaches your files.

Clean history is the next job. Many maintainers want each commit to do one thing, so a reviewer can follow the work and a bad change can be taken back without touching the rest. Some also need a different commit name and email on each project, especially when work for one employer or client sits alongside a personal project.

The limits are practical. Some tools run only on certain operating systems. Some are built around a terminal and assume you are comfortable there. Some charge per seat or per machine, and a tool that suits one busy repo may not suit many small ones. Check the platform, the way you like to work, and the cost before you pick one. The sections below say what each source states and nothing more.

RepoYeti for open source maintainers

RepoYeti is made by the team that publishes this site. It shows every repo under the folders you add, with the branch, the changed-file count and the ahead or behind count, and it updates when files change on disk ^[1]. Before you pull, it lists the incoming commits, the files they touch and any conflicts they would cause ^[1].

You can select many repos and pin, star, hide, remove, pull or push them all at once ^[1]. It applies a different commit name and email to each repo using path rules, and it can pin a GitHub account to each repo for pushes ^[1]. It draws a graph of commits, merges and tags, and loads it in pages so large repos open quickly ^[1].

It shows the changes between the last commit and your current files, side by side or inline, in the Monaco editor, the editor used in VS Code, and lets you edit and save files there ^[1]. Its undo command undoes or redoes the last git action, such as a commit, a pull or a branch switch ^[1].

The dashboard can be installed to a phone's home screen, and it reconnects after the phone wakes from sleep ^[1]. The command that opens a tunnel and prints a QR code needs cloudflared, which you install separately ^[1].

RepoYeti is free for noncommercial use, and commercial use costs US$79 per installation, meaning each machine that runs it, as a perpetual licence with 12 months of updates ^[1]. No features are locked or time-limited under either licence ^[1]. The licence is the PolyForm Noncommercial License 1.0.0, a source-available license with a noncommercial restriction ^[1].

GitHub Desktop for open source maintainers

GitHub Desktop lets users stash changes without committing them to a branch ^[2]. It lets users drag and drop to cherry-pick, squash or reorder commits ^[2]. It also lets users compare versions to review code changes ^[2]. For platforms and price, the facts gathered for this page give no details, so check its download page before you decide.

Fork for open source maintainers

Fork for Mac requires Mac OS X 10.11 or later and costs $59.99, with a free evaluation ^[3]. Fork for Windows requires Windows 7 or later and costs $59.99, with a free evaluation ^[3]. Fork can display diffs for common image formats ^[3]. Confirm that your machine matches one of those two versions before you choose it.

Tower for open source maintainers

Tower supports macOS and Windows, including x64 and ARM downloads ^[4]. It offers a free way to get started ^[4], and a 30-day Pro trial without limitations ^[4]. Check which of those two options matches your machine, and how long you need to test before you pay.

lazygit for open source maintainers

lazygit lets you stage individual hunks from a diff by pressing space ^[5]. It supports Gitflow, or git-flow-next, when you have it installed ^[5]. It can also rewrite a commit to remove one hunk, which you select in the commit's diff and remove by pressing d on it ^[5].

SmartGit for open source maintainers

SmartGit is a visual Git client ^[6]. It supports Windows, macOS and Linux ^[6]. It supports Git Flow and Git LFS ^[6].

Matching the tool to the job

Tracking many projects at once: RepoYeti shows every repo under the folders you add, and bulk actions let you pin, hide, pull or push many repos together ^[1] ^[1].

Reviewing an incoming update: RepoYeti lists the incoming commits, the files they touch and any conflicts before you pull ^[1]. GitHub Desktop lets users compare versions to review code changes ^[2].

Keeping history readable: GitHub Desktop lets users drag and drop to reorder or squash commits ^[2], and lazygit can remove one hunk from an earlier commit by pressing d on it ^[5].

Staging only part of a file: lazygit lets you stage individual hunks or lines from a diff ^[5].

Undoing a slip: RepoYeti's undo command undoes or redoes the last git action, such as a commit or a pull ^[1].

Separate identities per project: RepoYeti applies a different commit name and email to each repo using path rules ^[1].

Working from a phone: RepoYeti's dashboard can be installed to a phone's home screen, and a tunnel can open it on your phone with a QR code, once cloudflared is installed ^[1] ^[1].

Trying a tool first: Tower offers a free way to get started and a 30-day Pro trial without limitations ^[4] ^[4]. Fork's evaluation is free on both its Mac and Windows versions ^[3] ^[3].

Questions to ask before you choose

Which operating systems do the machines you work from run? Do you need to review incoming changes inside the tool, or is a terminal view enough? Do your projects need different commit names or accounts? How many repos do you switch between in a typical week? Does your work count as noncommercial under the terms of the tool you are considering? Do you need to reach your repos from a phone, and is installing a separate helper tool acceptable for that?

Write down the answers before you compare prices, since the cheapest option may not cover the job that takes most of your time.

Frequently asked questions

Is RepoYeti free for open source maintainers?

Which of these Git GUI tools works on Windows, macOS and Linux?

lazygit's page says binary releases are available for Windows, Mac OS or Linux ^[5]. Fork's pages say its Mac version requires Mac OS X 10.11 or later and its Windows version requires Windows 7 or later ^[3] ^[3]. RepoYeti has prebuilt binaries for Windows x64, Linux x64 and macOS on Apple Silicon ^[1]. The facts gathered for this page do not say which systems GitHub Desktop runs on, so check its download page directly.

Can Tower be tried before paying for it?

Tower offers a free way to get started, and a 30-day Pro trial without limitations ^[4] ^[4]. It supports macOS and Windows, including x64 and ARM downloads ^[4]. Fork offers a free evaluation, and each of its Mac and Windows versions costs $59.99 ^[3] ^[3]. Compare the trial length and the platforms against your own machines before you start.

Can lazygit stage single lines for a clean commit?

lazygit lets you stage individual hunks from a diff by pressing space ^[5]. It can rewrite a commit to remove one hunk, which you select in the commit's diff and remove by pressing d on it ^[5]. GitHub Desktop lets users drag and drop to reorder or squash commits ^[2], so check whether a terminal view suits how you work.

Does RepoYeti show which files a pull would change?

RepoYeti does. Before you pull, it shows the incoming commits, the files they touch and any conflicts they would cause ^[1]. It also lists the branch, changed-file count and ahead or behind count for each repo under the folders you add ^[1]. If a pull still goes wrong, its undo command can reverse the last git action, such as a pull ^[1]. For the other tools on this page, check each page for a pull preview, since the facts gathered here do not describe one.

Free for noncommercial use; commercial use costs US$79 per installation (per machine running the daemon), a perpetual licence with 12 months of updates. ^[1]

Try RepoYeti