Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

GitHub Desktop VS Steam Link

Compare GitHub Desktop VS Steam Link and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

GitHub Desktop logo GitHub Desktop

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

Steam Link logo Steam Link

Play your Steam games on any TV in the house
  • GitHub Desktop Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-02
  • Steam Link Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-17

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.

Steam Link features and specs

  • Convenience
    Steam Link allows you to stream games from your PC to other devices, enabling gaming anywhere in your house as long as you have a good network connection.
  • Compatibility
    Works with many different devices, including TVs, tablets, and smartphones, expanding your options for where and how you play.
  • Cost-Effective
    Since it's a free app, you can gain an additional way to play your games without needing to purchase more hardware.
  • Quality Gaming Experience
    Supports high-quality streaming, including high frame rates and low latency, provided you have an adequate network setup.
  • Ease of Use
    The setup is straightforward, mostly involving the app and some basic networking setup, making it accessible to most users.

Possible disadvantages of Steam Link

  • Network Dependency
    The quality of the experience depends heavily on your home networkโ€™s speed and stability, potentially requiring upgrades to achieve optimal performance.
  • Limited to Home Network
    Works best over your local home network, meaning you're not truly mobile and are limited to your home unless you configure remote play over the internet.
  • Hardware Requirements
    You still need a host PC that can run the games, so while the app itself is free, it's not a substitute for owning capable gaming hardware.
  • Input Lag
    Although minimized, some users might still experience noticeable input lag depending on their network configuration and hardware.
  • Compatibility Issues
    Some games or setups may have compatibility issues with Steam Link's streaming capabilities, requiring adjustments or troubleshooting.

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

Steam Link videos

Steam Link Review - A surprisingly interesting device?

More videos:

  • Review - Should You Buy The Steam Link?
  • Review - Steam Link Review

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to GitHub Desktop and Steam Link)
Git
100 100%
0% 0
Games
0 0%
100% 100
Code Collaboration
100 100%
0% 0
Gaming
0 0%
100% 100

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 Steam Link

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

Steam Link Reviews

Top Remote Desktop Software for Gaming
Steam Link, a Valve 2019 production, is another RDP gaming solution designed explicitly for streaming games from a Windows computer to any device. All you need to do is install the app on both your host and client devices.
Source: cloudzy.com
Moonlight game streaming alternatives
Steam Link is a free game streaming service that could have been the perfect alternative for Moonlight. But a few limiting factors prevent it from doing so. Even with the limiting factors, it is still a pretty good streaming service that can be sued by the players who fulfill the requirements. First and foremost, players can only play the games that are a part of their Steam...
Source: androidgram.com
5 Best Google Stadia Alternatives 2020 | Cloud Gaming Services
Steam Link, released in 2018, is the best alternative to Google Stadia. This game streaming service is all about bringing your Steam library to any of your devices, including TVs, streaming youโ€™re your hosting desktop.
Stream games with these Google Stadia alternatives
Valve has been slowing creeping into the streaming market with its Steam Link Anywhere program, now simply called Steam Link. Itโ€™s largely flown under the radar since launch, probably due to the fact there are only a couple of Steam support pages regarding it, which are light on the details, and little to no discernible effort to spread the good word of what it does. But...
15 game streaming services you can try before Google Stadia arrives
Right now, Valve is being somewhat cryptic about the exact requirements for Steam Link Anywhere. According to the beta page, you need to have โ€œa good upload speed and [that] your Steam Link device has a good network connection.โ€ Once you get past that, all you need is a Windows PC to host the games, plus the Steam beta client running on an Android device or the ill-fated...

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, GitHub Desktop seems to be a lot more popular than Steam Link. While we know about 136 links to GitHub Desktop, we've tracked only 1 mention of Steam Link. 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 / almost 2 years ago
View more

Steam Link mentions (1)

  • Why I Don't Need a Steam Machine
    There's a Steam app on my Samsung smart TV that I think can do this, with a USB-controller connected to a USB-port on the TV. Haven't tried it though. But I think the best way to do it is to have a cheap PC (or maybe an Android TV device or something?) connected to your TV. You can stream games to it from your gaming PC in the other room: https://store.steampowered.com/remoteplay. - Source: Hacker News / 9 months ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing GitHub Desktop and Steam Link, you can also consider the following products

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

Parsec - Streams games locally or over the internet

SourceTree - Mac and Windows client for Mercurial and Git.

Moonlight-Stream.org - Moonlight allows you to stream your collection of games from your GameStream-compatible PC to any...

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

Geforce Now - Underpowered PC can now pack the punch of high-performance GeForce GTX GPUs with GeForce NOW.