GitHub for Windows Demystifies Git for Everyone

After years of waiting, developers on Windows can finally enjoy an easier GitHub experience. On May 18, the team behind GitHub released the first version of GitHub for Windows.

This release joins its counterpart on Mac OS as by far the simplest, easiest, most beautiful way to develop on GitHub. The flashy, Metro-inspired app brings (almost) all the features of the command-line Git program in GUI form, in an interface that is as easy to use as it is beautiful. 

Git was originally written for Linux, so using it on Windows has always been a bit of a pain. For a while, there have been working ports of Git on Windows, but they were either bound to the command line or to less than simple GUIs. Git isn’t all that difficult to learn on the command line, but it’s not the easiest thing to learn either. 

Git for Windows, however, ends all of that trouble. Installing is completely hands-off, and the only setup required is logging into your GitHub account. The program walks you through a one-step, painless process to properly configure your Git globalconfig, which automatically adds the proper SSL keys to your GitHub account. It’s incredibly simple, especially compared to the existing alternatives. 

Inside the app, you get a nice display of all of your repositories, both online and local. Dive into any repo and you get a clear, detailed readout of any uncommitted changes, including deleted files (notoriously difficult to keep track of via a traditional Git command line). Committing is as simple as selecting the changes you want to commit, typing a name, and clicking a button. Then, pushing is another click away. The program also keeps track of your branches, which are easy to switch between. Browsing past commits is also very well designed, giving clear indications of exactly what was changed in each step, in trademark Git style. From this view, the user can roll back commits or delete changes entirely. It really is a joy to use, and makes programming with Git genuinely enjoyable.

The app automatically checks for updates and notifies you when they’re ready. Once installed, a new “Clone in Windows” button appears on all repos on the GitHub website, allowing for extremely fast, one-click cloning. 

GitHub for Windows is available as a free download here.