A Git client that hides the commits nobody points at.

Git Nav is a free, open-source desktop Git client for macOS, Windows and Linux. Keep branches, tags and worktrees visible, compare changes, stage and commit, and preview operations before you run them.

Download Git Nav

macOS, Windows and Linux. Free and open source.

Or install it from npm with npm install --global git-nav.

Git Nav showing Git's own repository, with runs of unreferenced commits collapsed into single rows — Two thousand commits of Git's own history, in the eight rows something points at. Every run opens where it sits.

Collapse the commits nothing points at

A branch, a remote branch, a tag, a worktree, a stash or your current checkout earns a commit its own row. Everything between them folds into one run that opens in place. Turn it off and the whole history is back, at the scroll position you left.

Git's own history with every commit listed, one topic branch per lane — Every commit, in order.

The same history with every unreferenced commit collapsed into a run — Only what something points at.

Diff any two references

Pick a branch, tag, commit or revision on each side and read the difference between them, either directly or from the point the two sides forked. The files you have read stay marked, keyed to the patch you read them at, so a rebase or a force push brings back only what actually changed.

Split or unified, per tab
Read a comparison without its whitespace
Fold a file away from its header
Filter down to what you have not read
Images before and after, with their dimensions
A root commit against the empty tree

A diff between two tags, with a file tree and a split view

When to compare branch tips and when to use the merge base

Stage and commit beside the graph

A working tree tab lists what is staged and what is not, in the same cards the diff uses. A file's checkbox is the index itself, so staging done in a terminal or an editor shows up here and staging done here shows up there, and a partially staged file reads against HEAD and against the working tree separately. Write the message and commit. The tab belongs to one worktree and moves between them from its toolbar; a branch chip in the graph opens it on the worktree that branch is checked out in.

The working tree tab, with two staged files, one unstaged file and a commit message

How staged and unstaged changes become a commit

Operations that say what they will do

Twenty-one operations, from checkout and merge to rebase, cherry-pick, revert, reset and push, read off the two things you picked and offer only what applies to them. Each one predicts its conflicts before it runs and reports every reference it moved, with one button to put them back.

The commit menu, listing the operations available for the selected commit

Select a branch or a tag and a sheet beside the graph reads out where it stands: the tip, the upstream, the pull request raised from it, and the commits it is ahead of and behind the default branch, with the operations that apply to it underneath.

The selection sheet for a branch, listing its tip, upstream, pull request, the commits it is ahead and behind, and its actions — A branch four commits ahead of main and three behind, read without checking it out.

Delete the branches a squash merge left behind

git branch --merged can miss them. A squash merge combines the branch's changes into a new commit without making its original tip an ancestor of the default branch. Git Nav matches by content instead, and previews what it would delete grouped by reason: a merged pull request whose head matches your local tip, a branch with no commits ahead of the default branch, and a branch whose changes already sit on the default branch as one squashed commit.

The branch cleanup dialog, listing the branches that match each signal

Why squash-merged branches stay behind and how to clean them up

And the rest of it

Every worktree, beside the repository

Opening a repository lists the worktrees checked out next to it and the branch each one holds. Open one in Git Nav, an editor, a terminal or the file manager.

Pull request state on the branch

A branch chip carries the pull request raised from it and whether it is open, merged or gone. It reads through the gh CLI, so it uses the GitHub login you already have.

Reachable from your tablet

git-nav serve --host 0.0.0.0 turns on sharing and prints a URL holding a token. The same repositories, read from another device on your network.

Tabs that survive the day

Graphs, diffs and working trees open in tabs you can split and drag. The layout is saved per repository, and a closed tab reopens from the keyboard.

Search that reaches the whole graph

Find a branch, tag or commit and land on it, including inside a collapsed run, which opens where it sits.

Updates that find you

The app looks for a new version in the background. An installed build updates itself from a signed release; an npm install tells you the command to run.

Install it

As an installer

A .dmg for macOS, a .exe for Windows, and .AppImage, .deb and .rpm for Linux, on both x64 and arm64. Once installed, the app updates itself from signed releases.

Download Git Nav

macOS, Windows and Linux. Free and open source.

The macOS build is signed and notarized, so it opens straight away. Windows is not signed yet, and SmartScreen warns on the first launch: choose More info, then Run anyway.

From npm

Installs the launcher and the binary for your platform, puts git nav on your path, and on Windows arrives without the mark a download carries, so SmartScreen stays out of the way.

$npm install --global git-nav

$git nav .

All downloads and installation requirements

Read it from another device

Sharing serves the same app over HTTP and prints a URL holding a token, which the browser keeps as a cookie. Branch deletion and rebasing are reachable over the network, so leave authentication on unless the port is already protected.

$git-nav serve --host 0.0.0.0

Questions about Git Nav

Is Git Nav free?: Yes. Git Nav is free to download and use, with source code available under the MIT license.
Which operating systems does it support?: macOS, Windows and Linux, with x64 and arm64 builds. See downloads and requirements for the installers and npm option.
Do I need a GitHub account?: The core Git features work with local repositories. GitHub pull request state is optional and uses your existing login through the gh CLI.
Can I keep using my terminal and editor?: Yes. Git Nav reads your repositories and stages through the same Git index. Changes staged in one place show up in the other. See how staging works.
Does collapsing the graph change my history?: Collapsing changes the graph's display. The commits remain in your repository, and you can expand a run in place or show the full history again.
Can I work on more than one branch at once?: Use Git worktrees to check out branches into separate directories. Git Nav lists those worktrees and opens their changes separately. Follow the worktree guide.

Get more from your Git workflow

Practical guides to the Git behavior behind the graph, the diff and the working tree.