Git vs SourceTree

Overview

Git

Stacks343.6K

Followers184.2K

Votes6.6K

GitHub Stars57.1K

Forks26.9K

SourceTree

Stacks10.6K

Followers8.1K

Votes727

Git vs SourceTree: What are the differences?

Git and SourceTree are both version control systems that help developers manage and track changes in their codebases. Here are the key differences between the two.

User Interface: SourceTree provides a graphical user interface (GUI) that makes it easier for users to interact with Git repositories. It offers a visually intuitive way to manage and visualize different branches, commits, and file changes. Git, on the other hand, is primarily a command-line tool and requires users to have a good understanding of command-line operations to use it effectively.
Platform Compatibility: SourceTree is available for both Windows and macOS platforms, making it a more versatile choice for developers. Git, on the other hand, is a cross-platform tool that can be used on various operating systems including Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Integration with Other Tools: SourceTree integrates seamlessly with other popular development tools like JIRA, Bitbucket, and Trello. It provides built-in functionalities to create and manage branches, perform code reviews, and track issues. Git, although it doesn't have direct integrations, can be easily integrated with other tools using plugins and command-line utilities.
Advanced Git Features: While SourceTree offers a user-friendly interface, it may lack some of the advanced features that can be accessed directly through Git commands. Git provides a wide range of powerful functionalities such as rebasing, stashing, and interactive adding, which may not be fully exposed or easily accessed in SourceTree.
Command-Line Flexibility: Git offers a command-line interface that allows users to have more control and flexibility over their version control operations. This can be advantageous for experienced users who prefer to work with Git commands directly, as it allows for more fine-grained control and customization.
Learning Curve: SourceTree, with its graphical interface, provides a smoother learning curve for beginners who are new to version control systems. It abstracts away some of the complexities of Git and makes it easier to understand and use. Git, although initially more challenging for beginners, offers a more comprehensive understanding of version control principles and operations.

In summary, Git is a distributed version control system widely used for tracking changes in source code during software development. SourceTree is a Git client that provides a graphical user interface, enhancing the user experience and simplifying Git operations for developers who prefer a visual representation of their version control workflows.

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Advice on Git, SourceTree

Stefan

Jan 19, 2020

Decided

I explored many Git Desktop tools for the Mac and my final decision was to use Fork. What I love about for that it contains three features, I like about a Git Client tool.

It allows

to handle day to day git operations (least important for me as I am cli junkie)
it helps to investigate the history
most important of all, it has a repo manager which many other tools are missing.

198k views198k

Comments

Detailed Comparison

Git	SourceTree
Git is a free and open source distributed version control system designed to handle everything from small to very large projects with speed and efficiency.	Use the full capability of Git and Mercurial in the SourceTree desktop app. Manage all your repositories, hosted or local, through SourceTree's simple interface.
-	Full-powered DVCS;Create, clone, commit, push, pull, merge, and more are all just a click away.;Review your outgoing and incoming changesets, cherry-pick between branches, patch handling, rebase, stash, shelve, and much more.;Use Git-flow and Hg-flow with ease. Keep your repositories cleaner and your development more efficient with SourceTree's intuitive interface to Git and Hg's 'branchy' development model.
Statistics
GitHub Stars 57.1K	GitHub Stars -
GitHub Forks 26.9K	GitHub Forks -
Stacks 343.6K	Stacks 10.6K
Followers 184.2K	Followers 8.1K
Votes 6.6K	Votes 727
Pros & Cons
Pros 1429 Distributed version control system 1053 Efficient branching and merging 959 Fast 843 Open source 726 Better than svn Cons 16 Hard to learn 11 Inconsistent command line interface 9 Easy to lose uncommitted work 8 Worst documentation ever possibly made 5 Awful merge handling	Pros 205 Visual history and branch view 164 Beautiful UI 134 Easy repository browsing 87 Gitflow support 75 Interactive stage or discard by hunks or lines Cons 12 Crashes often 8 So many bugs 7 Fetching is slow sometimes 5 Very unstable 5 No dark theme (Windows)
Integrations
No integrations available	GitHub Bitbucket Windows macOS Mercurial

What are some alternatives to Git, SourceTree?

GitKraken

The downright luxurious Git client for Windows, Mac and Linux. Cross-platform, 100% standalone, and free.

Fork

Manage your repositories without leaving the application. Organize the repositores into categories. Fork's Diff Viewer provides a clear view to spot the changes in your source code quickly.

Mercurial

Mercurial is dedicated to speed and efficiency with a sane user interface. It is written in Python. Mercurial's implementation and data structures are designed to be fast. You can generate diffs between revisions, or jump back in time within seconds.

Tower

Use all of Git's powerful feature set - in a GUI that makes you more productive.

Sublime Merge

A snappy UI, three-way merge tool, side-by-side diffs, syntax highlighting, and more. Evaluate for free – no account, tracking, or time limits.

SVN (Subversion)

Subversion exists to be universally recognized and adopted as an open-source, centralized version control system characterized by its reliability as a safe haven for valuable data; the simplicity of its model and usage; and its ability to support the needs of a wide variety of users and projects, from individuals to large-scale enterprise operations.

GitUp

GitUp lets you see your entire labyrinth of branches and merges with perfect clarity. Any change you make, large or small, even outside GitUp, is immediately reflected in GitUp's graph. No refreshing, no waiting.

Plastic SCM

Plastic SCM is a distributed version control designed for big projects. It excels on branching and merging, graphical user interfaces, and can also deal with large files and even file-locking (great for game devs). It includes "semantic" features like refactor detection to ease diffing complex refactors.

Pijul

Pijul is a free and open source (AGPL 3) distributed version control system. Its distinctive feature is to be based on a sound theory of patches, which makes it easy to learn and use, and really distributed.

DVC

It is an open-source Version Control System for data science and machine learning projects. It is designed to handle large files, data sets, machine learning models, and metrics as well as code.

Related Comparisons

Git vs SourceTree: What are the differences?

Git and SourceTree are both version control systems that help developers manage and track changes in their codebases. Here are the key differences between the two.

User Interface: SourceTree provides a graphical user interface (GUI) that makes it easier for users to interact with Git repositories. It offers a visually intuitive way to manage and visualize different branches, commits, and file changes. Git, on the other hand, is primarily a command-line tool and requires users to have a good understanding of command-line operations to use it effectively.
Platform Compatibility: SourceTree is available for both Windows and macOS platforms, making it a more versatile choice for developers. Git, on the other hand, is a cross-platform tool that can be used on various operating systems including Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Integration with Other Tools: SourceTree integrates seamlessly with other popular development tools like JIRA, Bitbucket, and Trello. It provides built-in functionalities to create and manage branches, perform code reviews, and track issues. Git, although it doesn't have direct integrations, can be easily integrated with other tools using plugins and command-line utilities.
Advanced Git Features: While SourceTree offers a user-friendly interface, it may lack some of the advanced features that can be accessed directly through Git commands. Git provides a wide range of powerful functionalities such as rebasing, stashing, and interactive adding, which may not be fully exposed or easily accessed in SourceTree.
Command-Line Flexibility: Git offers a command-line interface that allows users to have more control and flexibility over their version control operations. This can be advantageous for experienced users who prefer to work with Git commands directly, as it allows for more fine-grained control and customization.
Learning Curve: SourceTree, with its graphical interface, provides a smoother learning curve for beginners who are new to version control systems. It abstracts away some of the complexities of Git and makes it easier to understand and use. Git, although initially more challenging for beginners, offers a more comprehensive understanding of version control principles and operations.

Git vs SourceTree

Overview