Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

GitHub Desktop VS Side Space

Compare GitHub Desktop VS Side Space and see what are their differences

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GitHub Desktop logo GitHub Desktop

GitHub Desktop is a seamless way to contribute to projects on GitHub and GitHub Enterprise.

Side Space logo Side Space

The World's First Al Assistant for Your Tabs
  • GitHub Desktop Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-02
  • Side Space
    Image date //
    2025-11-17
  • Side Space
    Image date //
    2025-05-13

An Al-powered vertical tabs manager in your side panel.

An alternative to Arcโ€™s Sidebar and Edgeโ€™s Vertical Tabs โ€” now upgraded with a built-in AI assistant.

Side Space gives you complete control over your browsing experience with powerful vertical tab management and Side Copilot, an AI that helps you research, organize, and automate your workflow directly from the side panel.

๐Ÿš€ How do vertical tabs work?

When vertical tabs are enabled, your open tabs are moved from the top of the browser window to the left side panel. This layout stacks tabs vertically instead of horizontally, giving you more space, better visibility, and easier navigationโ€”especially when working with many tabs.

โœจ Features

  • โšก๏ธ Vertical Tabs Panel โ€” Manage tabs and tab groups efficiently in a clean, space-saving sidebar.
  • ๐Ÿ—‚๏ธ Save, restore, and reorder tabs or tab groups with intuitive drag-and-drop.
  • ๐Ÿ”„ Side-by-side layout that keeps all your open tabs visible at a glance.
  • ๐Ÿ” Fuzzy search to instantly find the tab you're looking for.
  • ๐Ÿงน Suspend tabs to save memory and keep your browser running smoothly.
  • โ˜๏ธ Cloud sync (cross-browser) with a single login.
  • ๐ŸŒ› Dark Mode support.
  • ๐Ÿ’พ Space Backup Solutions

    • ๐Ÿ“‘ Export sessions as JSON
    • โ˜๏ธ Sync to the cloud via login
  • โœจ AI-powered Tab Grouping for automatically organizing related tabs.

  • ๐Ÿ”— Group Guardian automatically groups tabs based on URL patterns.

๐Ÿค– Introducing Side Copilot โ€” Your AI Assistant in the Side Panel

Side Copilot brings AI directly into your browsing workflow:

  • Ask questions about the page you're viewing
  • Research topics with auto-opened results
  • Summarize long articles instantly
  • Organize tabs and windows through natural language commands
  • Trigger automated actions across your browser

Just open AI Chat in the extension and start talking to your browser โ€” it does the rest.

GitHub Desktop

Pricing URL
-
$ Details
Platforms
-
Release Date
-

Side Space

$ Details
Free Trial $39 / One-off
Platforms
Google Chrome Firefox Edge Brave Comet Opera
Release Date
2023 October
Startup details
Country
Hong Kong
Founder(s)
Robert Shaw
Employees
1 - 9

GitHub Desktop features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    GitHub Desktop offers a clean, intuitive GUI that simplifies the Git process, making it accessible for beginners and less technical users.
  • Seamless GitHub Integration
    The application is tightly integrated with GitHub, allowing users to easily clone repositories, create branches, and submit pull requests directly through the desktop interface.
  • Cross-Platform Support
    GitHub Desktop is available on both Windows and macOS, offering a consistent experience across these major operating systems.
  • Simplifies Workflow
    Features like drag-and-drop to add files, visual diff tools, and easy branching help streamline the workflow for users.
  • Collaborative Features
    The app provides useful collaborative tools such as reviewing changes, creating requests, and viewing history, enhancing team productivity.

Possible disadvantages of GitHub Desktop

  • Limited Advanced Features
    While GitHub Desktop is great for basic tasks, it lacks advanced features found in other Git clients like GitKraken or the command line.
  • Dependency on GitHub
    The app is deeply integrated with GitHub, which can be limiting for users who want to interact with repositories hosted on other platforms like GitLab or Bitbucket.
  • Performance Issues
    Some users report performance issues when dealing with large repositories or a significant number of files, which can hinder productivity.
  • Customization Limitations
    GitHub Desktop offers limited customization options compared to other Git clients or the command line, which may be a drawback for power users.
  • Offline Limitations
    Certain features of GitHub Desktop require an internet connection to interact with GitHub, limiting its usability in offline scenarios.

Side Space features and specs

  • ๐ŸŒˆ Arc-like Side Panel
    Weโ€™ve built an Arc-like side panel that transforms your tabs into a sleek vertical layout, making it easier than ever to navigate and manage your workspace.
  • ๐Ÿง  Smart AI Grouping
    Itโ€™s not just about organizing tabsโ€”itโ€™s about doing it intelligently. Our AI grouping feature clusters tabs based on content for a streamlined experience. Plus, you have control with our Group Guardian feature, letting you customize tab groupings using URL matches to set your own organizational rules.
  • โ˜๏ธ Spaces & Cloud Sync
    Take productivity to the next level! Save your tabs into different Spaces and we automatically sync them to the cloud. Your organized tabs are accessible across devices, so you can browse seamlessly wherever you are.
  • ๐Ÿค– AI Assistant
    Research, summarize, and organize, chat with your tabs and let Al Assistant help you browse smarter.

Analysis of Side Space

Overall verdict

  • SideSpace is a well-regarded browser productivity tool that helps users organize their tabs and workspaces efficiently, making it a solid choice for anyone who struggles with tab overload.

Why this product is good

  • Helps organize and group browser tabs into dedicated spaces, reducing clutter
  • Improves productivity by allowing quick switching between different projects or contexts
  • Offers a clean, intuitive interface that's easy to adopt
  • Saves and restores tab sessions so you never lose your place
  • Reduces memory usage by managing inactive tabs effectively

Recommended for

  • Power users who juggle many browser tabs at once
  • Professionals managing multiple projects or clients simultaneously
  • Researchers and students who need to organize reference materials
  • Remote workers seeking better digital workspace organization
  • Anyone prone to tab overload looking to streamline their browsing

GitHub Desktop videos

GitHub Desktop 2.0 -- Easy Mode Version Control

More videos:

  • Review - GitHub Desktop Quick Intro For Windows
  • Tutorial - Git and GitHub for Beginners: GitHub basics, and how to use GitHub Desktop

Side Space videos

Side Space 2.0 | The World First AI Assistant for your Tabs

More videos:

  • Demo - Introducing Side Space 1.0

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to GitHub Desktop and Side Space)
Git
100 100%
0% 0
Chrome Extensions
0 0%
100% 100
Code Collaboration
100 100%
0% 0
Productivity
0 0%
100% 100

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing GitHub Desktop and Side Space.

What makes your product unique?

Side Space's answer:

Side Space combines powerful vertical tab management with an integrated AI assistant, that's something no other browser extension offers.

Instead of choosing between a better tab manager or an AI browser, Side Space gives you both in one clean side panel.

What's the story behind your product?

Side Space's answer:

I am the kind of person who always ends up with too many tabs, too many windows, and no idea where that one page I read yesterday has gone. I tried a bunch of the new AI browsers, but they all felt like replacements for tools I already rely on. I didnโ€™t want a new browser. I just wanted my existing one to feel less chaotic.

So I built Side Copilot for myself first. It helps me manage tabs, jump between windows, find stuff I opened days ago, and generally clean up the mess I constantly create. The thing that changed everything for me was giving it the ability to understand natural commands. I can tell it to group my research tabs or bring back an article from last week and it actually does it. It also has a simple chat mode for quick summaries or translating a page on the spot.

I realized it solved a real problem for me, so I decided to make Side Copilot completely free. Iโ€™m curious how other heavy browser users feel about this. Would an assistant like this make your browsing less stressful?

Why should a person choose your product over its competitors?

Side Space's answer:

  1. The worldโ€™s first AI assistant built for your tabs

Most AI tools only analyze text. Side Copilot controls your tabs, windows, history, and pages using real browser APIs. You can research, summarize, organize, open sites, perform searches, restore sessions, and automate actions โ€” all with natural language.

  1. A true vertical tabs manager, not a browser replacement

You donโ€™t need to switch to Arc or Edge. Side Space turns Chromeโ€™s side panel into a clean vertical tabs system with:

Drag-and-drop tab & group management

Fuzzy search

Memory-saving tab suspension

Saved spaces & session restore

Cloud sync

Dark mode

You get a modern browser experience without leaving Chrome.

  1. Dual AI modes for different tasks

Chat Mode โ†’ instant content analysis (summary, translation, extraction, quick answers)

Agent Mode โ†’ deep automation (organize tabs, clean up windows, run research workflows)

Fast when you need speed, powerful when you need automation.

  1. Page, tab, window, and history tools powered by real browser capabilities

Side Copilot isnโ€™t โ€œjust another chatbot.โ€ It uses more than 20 AI MCP tools built on Chrome Extension APIs:

Tab tools: create, close, group, move

Window tools: tile, arrange, focus

History tools: analyze, find, reopen past pages

Page interaction tools: scroll, navigate, search, capture screenshots

Session tools: restore recently closed tabs/windows

This gives Side Space automation capabilities even AI browsers donโ€™t have.

How would you describe the primary audience of your product?

Side Space's answer:

Side Space is designed for anyone who works, researches, or creates directly in the browser โ€” especially those who manage dozens of tabs every day. If the browser is your workspace, this is for you.

Productivity-Driven Professionals

Marketers, PMs, developers, designers, analysts โ€” anyone who needs a smarter, faster way to organize tabs, windows, and workflows.

Power Browsers with Endless Tabs

For users juggling 20โ€“200+ tabs across multiple windows. Side Space brings structure, clarity, and smart automation without forcing you to switch browsers.

AI-Forward Users

If you want to control your browser with natural language, automate tasks, and let Side Copilot handle the heavy lifting, this is your perfect tool.

Researchers & Knowledge Workers

Students, academics, journalists, content creators, and anyone who collects and analyzes information online. Summarize, extract, search, and research pages instantly.

People Who Want Arc/Edge-Style Features โ€” But in Chrome

Enjoy a vertical tabs manager, powerful side panel, and full AI assistant experience without giving up the browser you already love.

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare GitHub Desktop and Side Space

GitHub Desktop Reviews

Best Git GUI Clients of 2022: All Platforms Included
Creating branches and switching to existing ones isnโ€™t a hassle, so is merging code with the master branch. Furthermore, you can track your changes with GitHub Desktop. Check out our detailed guide on how to use GitHub for more detailed information.
Boost Development Productivity With These 14 Git Clients for Windows and Mac
GitHub Desktop is the global standard for working with Git-related tasks in a graphical user interface (GUI). It is an open-source tool and hence completely free to use for all sorts of projects. It is available for both Windows and macOS desktops and laptops.
Source: geekflare.com
Best Git GUI Clients for Windows
GitHub Desktop is, perhaps, the most famous solution for working with Git in a visual interface. It is familiar to all developers keeping their repositories on GitHub (Git repository hosting service used for version-controlling IT projects). This free Git GUI is open-source, transparent, and functional. When you consider the Git graphical interface for Windows, GitHub...
Source: blog.devart.com

Side Space Reviews

We have no reviews of Side Space yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, GitHub Desktop seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 136 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

GitHub Desktop mentions (136)

  • You too can Git it: A beginners guide to connecting Git and GitHub
    Optional: You can also download GitHub Desktop (https://desktop.github.com) if you prefer a GUI version, but this guide focuses on Git Bash to understand the basics. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • How to Fix the Issue of Not Being Able to View Your GitHub Account on Other Devices
    Download the latest version from the GitHub Desktop website. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • 12 Steps to Organize and Maintain Your Python Codebase for Beginners
    Iโ€™m not going to dive into Git commands here โ€” you can find plenty of tutorials online. If youโ€™re not a fan of using the plain terminal CLI, you can also manage repositories with tools like GitHub Desktop or SourceTree, which provide a more visual, intuitive interface. - Source: dev.to / almost 2 years ago
  • File Governance and Versioning in Corticon BRMS
    Using terminal commands isnโ€™t necessary for basic adoption of Git with Corticon Studio files, though. There are various tools that will allow us to bypass the command line when defining rules, including the built-in Eclipse plugin for Git version control. If youโ€™ll be storing your assets on GitHub, though, an even easier solution is GitHub Desktop, a free desktop software that GitHub offers. It can be used in... - Source: dev.to / almost 2 years ago
  • An Introduction to Nix for Ruby Developers
    Nix currently is akin to git's "porcelain": powerful but esoteric. However, much like git evolved into exoteric, user-friendly tools such as git-flow, GitHub Desktop, and Tower to become user-friendly, many developers are building abstractions, wrappers, and utilities to simplify Nix usage. Let's briefly look at a few of these tools now. - Source: dev.to / about 2 years ago
View more

Side Space mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Side Space yet. Tracking of Side Space recommendations started around Feb 2024.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing GitHub Desktop and Side Space, you can also consider the following products

GitKraken - The intuitive, fast, and beautiful cross-platform Git client.

OneTab - Whenever you find yourself with too many tabs, click the OneTab icon to convert all of your tabs into a list. When you need to access the tabs again, you can either restore them individually or all at once.

SourceTree - Mac and Windows client for Mercurial and Git.

Workona - A better way to work in the browser.

SmartGit - SmartGit is a front-end for the distributed version control system Git and runs on Windows, Mac OS...

tabExtend - Easily save tabs and quickly create notes in your browser