How to check status across many project repos for open source maintainers in 2026

How open source maintainers can check status across many project repos, with steps, common mistakes and tool options.

By SayDeploy · 2026-10-26

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

To check status across many project repos, list every repo folder, fetch remote changes, read the branch and change state for each one, and use a tool or script that gathers those details in one view.

Option	What it does	Cost
RepoYeti	Shows branch, changed file count and ahead or behind count for many repo folders in one dashboard. ^[1]	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]
Terminal scripts	Saved shell commands that run a git status check in each repo folder in turn and print a summary.	not published
Source control panels in code editors	Show the status of the one project open in the editor.	not published

What you need before you start

Before checking status across many repos, make sure you have a complete list of every repo folder you maintain, with the path to each one on disk. Confirm that git is installed and that each folder is a working clone with a remote, not an archive copy. Know which remote each repo pushes to and which branch is your main working branch, because status only means something against a known baseline. Have your hosting account access ready so that pulls and pushes do not stall partway through a check. Decide what counts as a problem for you, such as uncommitted changes, a branch behind its remote, or commits that were never pushed. Keep a short note of repos that are archived or paused so they do not clutter the list. Writing these details down first makes the later steps faster and makes results easier to compare from one day to the next.

Step by step

Make a complete list of repo folders. Include the path for each one and mark archived or paused repos separately.

Confirm that each folder is a working clone with a remote. A folder without a remote cannot show whether it is behind or ahead of anything.

Fetch remote changes for every repo before reading status. Without a fetch, a repo can look up to date when its remote has already moved on.

Read the branch name, the uncommitted changes and the ahead or behind count for each repo. Note these values in one place so they can be compared.

Sort the repos into groups such as clean, has local changes, behind its remote, and needs attention. Groups make it clear where to spend time first.

Review the changed files in repos with local changes. Decide whether to commit them, stash them for later, or discard them. Read before discarding anything.

Pull repos that are behind only after you understand the incoming commits. Check for conflicts before the pull so they do not surprise you midway through the work.

Push finished commits and record which repos still have open work. A short written list at the end of the check shows what is waiting.

Repeat the check on a regular schedule or before each release. Compare the results with the previous run to spot repos that keep falling behind.

Tools that can do it

RepoYeti is made by the team that publishes this site. RepoYeti shows the branch, number of changed files and ahead or behind count for every repo under the folders you add, and updates when files change on disk. ^[1] Before you pull, it shows the incoming commits, the files they touch and any conflicts they would cause. ^[1] Bulk actions let you select many repos and pin, star, hide, remove, pull or push them all at once. ^[1] RepoYeti is free for noncommercial use, and commercial use costs US$79 per installation, which means per machine running the daemon, 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] Prebuilt binaries are available for Windows x64, Linux x64 and macOS on Apple Silicon. ^[1]

Terminal scripts are another option. A short shell script can run a git status check in each repo folder in turn and print a summary. You write and maintain the script yourself, and its output is only as complete as the list of folders it reads.

Source control panels in code editors show the repo that is open in the editor. Checking many repos this way means opening each project in turn, so it suits a small number of folders better than a long list.

Common mistakes to avoid

Checking status without fetching first can show a repo as up to date when its remote has already changed. Leaving archived or paused repos in the list can hide real work or keep stale folders in front of you. Treating every uncommitted change as junk can lose work that was meant to be kept, so read the changed files before deciding. Pulling many repos without reading the incoming commits makes conflicts harder to trace back to their cause. Running the check once and never again means problems that appear later go unnoticed. Keep the list of folders current, and review the results before acting on them.

Frequently asked questions

How can open source maintainers check status across many project repos?

Maintainers can list every repo folder, fetch remote changes for each one, and then read the branch, uncommitted changes and ahead or behind count. Sorting the repos into groups such as clean, changed and behind makes the results easier to act on. Repeating the check on a schedule shows which repos keep falling behind. A dashboard tool or a saved script can gather these details, and the right choice depends on how many folders there are and how much control you want over the output.

Is RepoYeti free for open source maintainers?

RepoYeti is free for noncommercial use, and commercial use costs US$79 per installation. ^[1] Whether a given use counts as noncommercial depends on the terms of its licence, the PolyForm Noncommercial License 1.0.0. ^[1] Read that licence and check how your projects are used before deciding which terms apply. Core features are not locked or time-limited under either licence. ^[1]

Can RepoYeti show status for many repos at once?

RepoYeti shows the branch, changed file count and ahead or behind count for every repo under the folders you add. ^[1] It updates when files change on disk, so the view stays current without a manual refresh. Bulk actions let you select many repos and pull or push them together. ^[1] Before pulling, it shows the incoming commits and any conflicts they would cause. ^[1]

Can RepoYeti check repo status from a phone?

RepoYeti can open a Cloudflare tunnel and print a QR code so you can open the dashboard on your phone. ^[1] The tunnel needs cloudflared, a separate tool, to be installed first. The dashboard can also be installed to a phone's home screen as a web app, and it reconnects after the phone wakes from sleep. ^[1] Check that cloudflared is installed on the machine before you rely on the QR code.

What should maintainers check before choosing a tool to check status across many repos?

Check which operating systems the tool supports, how it reads your repo folders, and whether it can show incoming commits before a pull. Look at how it handles repos you have archived or paused, and whether it can run the same check again later. RepoYeti has prebuilt binaries for Windows x64, Linux x64 and macOS on Apple Silicon. ^[1] Compare these details against your own setup before deciding.

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

Sources

RepoYeti's own description of itself (the product of this site's publisher)