--- {"title": "Sourcetree alternatives in 2026", "description": "Compare Sourcetree alternatives in 2026: GitHub Desktop, Fork, Tower, GitKraken and RepoYeti, with what each one does and where each runs.", "url": "https://saydeploy.com/sourcetree-alternatives/", "date": "2026-10-11"} --- Compare Sourcetree alternatives in 2026: GitHub Desktop, Fork, Tower, GitKraken and RepoYeti, with what each one does and where each runs. Sourcetree's own page presents it as a free Git client for Windows and Mac [^1]. The right alternative depends on the operating system you use, the tasks you do most often, and whether you need pull request views, file history, or AI help with commits, so match each option below to that work before switching. | Option | What it does | Platforms or install | |---|---|---| | Sourcetree | Visual Git client for managing repositories. [^1] | Mac OS X and Windows. [^1] | | GitHub Desktop | Drag and drop to cherry-pick, squash, or reorder commits. [^2] | Not published | | Fork | Git client with file history and blame views. [^3] [^3] | Mac OS X 10.11 or later, and Windows 7 or later. [^3] [^3] | | Tower | Git client with pull request, undo, and conflict resolution tools. [^4] [^4] | macOS and Windows, with x64 and ARM downloads. [^4] | | GitKraken | Launchpad view of pull requests, issues, and tasks. [^5] | Kepler ADE download on Windows, Mac, or Linux. [^5] | | RepoYeti | One dashboard for many local repos, with bulk actions and AI commits you approve. [^6] [^6] | Windows x64, Linux x64, and macOS on Apple Silicon. [^6] | ## Why developers look past Sourcetree Git is the tool developers use to record changes to their code, and a Git client is a visual app for working with it. Sourcetree provides a Git GUI for visualizing and managing repositories [^1]. Developers often compare tools for reasons the listed features and platforms make clear. Some need a different operating system, so the platform list is the first thing to check. Others want help with particular tasks. Sourcetree's page describes staging and discarding changes by file, hunk, or line [^1]. Teams that work with large files or shared project code may weigh other details. A developer who needs something that Sourcetree's page does not describe has a good reason to read the other options. Check each option's own page for the features that matter to your work. ## GitHub Desktop: a visual Git app with drag-and-drop commit editing GitHub Desktop lets users drag and drop to cherry-pick, squash, or reorder commits [^2]. Check its download page for the platforms it supports. ## Fork: a Git app for Mac and Windows with file history views Fork's blame view identifies the last commit that changed a particular line [^3]. It can show diffs for common image formats [^3]. The page lists fetching, pulling, pushing, committing, branching, tagging, cherry-picking, reverting, merging, rebasing, stashes, and submodules [^3]. ## Tower: a Git app for Mac and Windows with undo and pull request tools Its page says it supports macOS and Windows, including x64 and ARM downloads [^4]. Check Tower's page for the feature list that matters to your work. Check Tower's page for the feature list that matters to your work. It mentions stacked branches and AI commits [^4]. Tower offers a free way to get started [^4] and a 30-day Pro trial without limitations [^4]. Tower 18 for Mac was released on October 6, 2026 [^4], and Tower 14.1 for Windows was released on the same day [^4]. ## GitKraken: a Git app with a view of pull requests, issues, and tasks A pull request is a request to bring your changes into a shared project. GitKraken's command line tool can be installed with winget, a Windows command for installing programs [^5]. GitKraken offers a free download called Kepler ADE, available on Windows, Mac, or Linux [^5]. It also offers a free trial of GitKraken Pro [^5]. ## RepoYeti: one dashboard for all your local repositories RepoYeti is made by the team that publishes this site. It shows every repo under the folders you add in one dashboard, with the branch, the number of changed files, and how far ahead of or behind the online copy each repo is [^6]. The dashboard updates when files change on disk [^6]. Its commit graph draws the history of saved changes with lines, merges, and tags, and it loads in pages so large projects open quickly [^6]. Diffs, which show what changed between your last saved version and the files as they are now, open in the editor used in VS Code, side by side or inline, and you can edit and save files there [^6]. Before you pull changes from the online copy, it shows the incoming changes, the files they touch, and any conflicts they would cause [^6]. You can select many repos and pin, star, hide, remove, pull, or push them all at once [^6]. For each repo, you can set a different commit name and email using folder path rules, and pin a GitHub account to each repo for sending changes online [^6]. The AI commit feature splits your unsaved changes into separate commits with suggested messages, which you approve, edit, or discard, using your own key from Groq, OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, OpenRouter, or DeepSeek [^6]. A typed command can undo or redo the last Git action, such as a commit, pull, or branch switch, and it refuses a rebasing pull or a cherry-pick [^6]. A command-line option can give AI agents access to your repos, and any action that changes a repo must be approved first, by you or by a separate program you run [^6]. On a phone, the dashboard can be added to the home screen and reconnects after the phone wakes from sleep [^6]. A command-line option opens a Cloudflare connection and prints a QR code so you can open the dashboard on your phone, and you need to install cloudflared, a Cloudflare program, separately [^6]. Prebuilt binaries are available for Windows x64, Linux x64, and macOS on Apple Silicon, and you open the dashboard in any browser, including on Android or iPhone [^6]. You can install it by downloading a single program file from GitHub Releases, or clone the repo and run it with Bun 1.1 or newer, a JavaScript runtime [^6]. It is free for noncommercial use, and commercial use costs US$79 per installation, which means per machine that runs it, as a perpetual licence with 12 months of updates [^6]. No features are locked or time-limited under the free licence or a paid one [^6]. It is licensed under the PolyForm Noncommercial License 1.0.0, a source-available license with a noncommercial restriction [^6]. ## How to pick the right Sourcetree alternative Start with the operating system you use, because each page names its own platforms. Tower supports macOS and Windows, including x64 and ARM downloads [^4]. RepoYeti's prebuilt versions cover Windows x64, Linux x64, and macOS on Apple Silicon [^6]. Check GitHub Desktop's download page for its platforms. If your main task is tidying commits, GitHub Desktop describes drag and drop for cherry-picking, squashing, and reordering [^2], and Fork lists rebasing among the actions it supports [^3]. If you need to find when a file or line changed, Fork's blame view covers that [^3]. If pull requests and issues are part of your daily work, Check each tool's page for how it handles pull requests and issues. Check the seat limit before buying for a team, since the Pro plan allows 2 seats [^7]. If you want to try a paid tool first, Tower's Pro trial runs 30 days without limitations [^4], and Fork offers a free evaluation [^3]. If you manage many local repositories at once, RepoYeti's dashboard shows every repo under the folders you add [^6], can act on many repos together [^6], and splits changes into commits you approve [^6]. Check whether your use counts as commercial, since commercial use costs US$79 per installation [^6]. If you want AI help with commits, Tower lists AI commits [^4], and RepoYeti's AI commit feature uses your own key from one of several AI services [^6]. Check each tool's own page for how its AI features are set up. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Sourcetree free to use? Sourcetree is a free Git client for Windows and Mac [^1]. Its download page names Mac OS X and Windows as platforms [^1]. Check Sourcetree's own page for its current terms before you install it. ### Is there a free Sourcetree alternative for Windows? Tower offers a free way to get started [^4], and it supports Windows with x64 and ARM downloads [^4]. GitKraken offers a free download called Kepler ADE that is available on Windows, Mac, or Linux [^5]. Fork for Windows requires Windows 7 or later and costs $59.99, with a free evaluation [^3]. Each page lists its own terms, so read the details there before you choose. ### Which Sourcetree alternative handles Git LFS for large files? Sourcetree's page says it supports Git LFS for tracking large assets [^1]. Git LFS is an add-on for storing large files such as images and video. Check the GitHub Desktop and Fork pages for Git LFS support before moving a project that stores large files. ### Is RepoYeti free for work use? RepoYeti is free for noncommercial use, and commercial use costs US$79 per installation, meaning per machine that runs it, as a perpetual licence with 12 months of updates [^6]. No features are locked or time-limited under either licence [^6]. Whether your work counts as commercial use depends on the licence terms, so read the PolyForm Noncommercial License 1.0.0 before you decide [^6]. ### Which Sourcetree alternative can split changes into commits with AI? Tower lists AI commits among its features [^4]. RepoYeti's AI commit feature splits your unsaved changes into scoped commits with suggested messages, which you approve, edit, or discard, using your own key from one of several AI services [^6]. Check whether each tool's AI features need a separate account or key before you rely on them. Free for noncommercial use; commercial use costs US$79 per installation (per machine running the daemon), a perpetual licence with 12 months of updates. [^6] - [Visit RepoYeti](/go/sourcetree-alternatives) ## Sources [^1]: Sourcetree, sourcetreeapp.com, read 2026-10-07 (https://www.sourcetreeapp.com/) [^2]: GitHub Desktop, desktop.github.com, read 2026-10-07 (https://desktop.github.com/) [^3]: Fork, git-fork.com, read 2026-10-07 (https://git-fork.com/) [^4]: Tower, git-tower.com, read 2026-10-07 (https://www.git-tower.com/) [^5]: GitKraken, gitkraken.com, read 2026-10-07 (https://www.gitkraken.com/) [^6]: RepoYeti's own description of itself (the product of this site's publisher) (/go/sourcetree-alternatives) [^7]: GitKraken, gitkraken.com/pricing, read 2026-10-07 (https://www.gitkraken.com/pricing)