Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Magit VS git-cola

Compare Magit VS git-cola and see what are their differences

Magit logo Magit

Front-end to the git revision control system for emacs.

git-cola logo git-cola

git-cola is a powerful GUI for git, a distributed revision control system.
  • Magit Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-13
  • git-cola Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-02-03

Magit features and specs

  • Integration
    Seamless integration with Emacs, making it convenient for Emacs users to use Git without leaving their text editor.
  • Efficiency
    Highly efficient as it provides numerous keybindings and shortcuts that allow for rapid Git operations.
  • Interactive Interface
    Interactive and intuitive visual interface for performing Git tasks, which helps with a better understanding of Git operations.
  • Documentation
    Excellent documentation and tutorials are available, making it easier for new users to learn and use the tool effectively.
  • Customizability
    Highly customizable, allowing users to tailor the workflow and functionality to fit their individual needs.
  • Community Support
    Strong community support, providing numerous plugins and extensions to enhance functionality.

Possible disadvantages of Magit

  • Learning Curve
    Steeper learning curve for users who are not already familiar with Emacs, which can be a barrier to entry.
  • Dependency
    Requires knowledge and use of Emacs, which may not be appealing or feasible for all users.
  • Complexity
    The extensive feature set and configurability can be overwhelming for beginners.
  • Speed
    May not be as fast as command-line Git for certain operations, especially in very large repositories.
  • Platform Limitation
    Primarily designed for Emacs, thus limiting its use to environments where Emacs is available and optimal.

git-cola features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    Git Cola provides a graphical user interface that simplifies version control for users who are uncomfortable with the command line.
  • Cross-Platform Compatibility
    Git Cola is available on multiple operating systems including Windows, macOS, and Linux.
  • Open Source
    As an open-source project, Git Cola is free to use and can be modified or extended by anyone.
  • Integration with Git
    Built specifically for Git, Git Cola offers deep integration with all features of Git, making it a powerful tool for Git users.
  • Customizable
    The application allows for extensive customization of its interface, layout, and behaviors to suit individual workflows.
  • Rich Set of Features
    Git Cola supports a wide range of Git functionalities including branching, merging, diff viewing, and stash management.

Possible disadvantages of git-cola

  • Learning Curve
    While user-friendly, the abundance of features and customization options might be overwhelming for new users.
  • Performance Issues
    Some users may experience performance slowdowns, particularly with very large repositories.
  • Dependency Management
    Installing Git Cola can sometimes be a hassle due to dependency issues, especially on Linux distributions.
  • Occasional Bugs
    As with many open-source projects, users may encounter bugs and crashes from time to time.
  • Less Active Development
    Compared to some commercial Git GUI tools, Git Cola might have less frequent updates and new feature additions.

Magit videos

Magit Introduction and Demonstration

More videos:

  • Review - Emacs Magit - The Git Commit Flow in More Detail - Emacs Doom 19
  • Review - Git in Spacemacs/Emacs with Magit

git-cola videos

No git-cola videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

Add video

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Magit and git-cola)
Git
39 39%
61% 61
Git Tools
36 36%
64% 64
Code Collaboration
39 39%
61% 61
Git Client
51 51%
49% 49

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Magit and git-cola

Magit Reviews

Best Git GUI Clients for Windows
Magit is not a separate Git desktop client – it is a free plugin with an original text-based interface. It is implemented as a GNU Emacs package to use on Windows, Mac, and Linux. The plugin allows the developers to perform the necessary version control tasks directly in the Emacs window.
Source: blog.devart.com

git-cola Reviews

Best Git GUI Clients of 2022: All Platforms Included
Git Cola is a simple yet powerful Git client that was developed using Python, and it’s free to use. The interface is made of multiple tools that you can hide and rearrange to your needs. The four panes of the interface allow you to view separate aspects of your project.
Boost Development Productivity With These 14 Git Clients for Windows and Mac
Git Cola is a Git desktop client primarily made for Linux distributions. It is an open-source tool and should already be present in your Linux workstation. Later on, as the popularity grew, the tool developers released compatible versions for Windows and macOS.
Source: geekflare.com
Best Git GUI Clients for Windows
Git Cola allows its users to carry out all the necessary routines. The tool compares commits, searches for data by message, author, filename, etc., and edits git indexes. It also ensures proper execution of all necessary Git-related commands in a visual mode. An interface with several panes allows you to view different project aspects and track activities.
Source: blog.devart.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Magit seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 6 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.

Magit mentions (6)

  • Tig: Text-Mode Interface for Git
    There're multiple solutions like this and I've used some of them over the past years. - There's obviously the fantastic Magit (https://github.com/magit/magit) I did use this for a long time but recently switched over to LazyGit for the better Vim bindings and having more features - LazyGit (https://github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit). One thing that I added that (as far as I know) none of the others have and I... - Source: Hacker News / 5 months ago
  • What is the best possible solution for file history?
    If you use magit, it has magit-wip-mode to automatically commit changes to tracked files in working and index trees into wip refs per branch. Source: over 2 years ago
  • What does your workflow look like on Linux?
    Magit because it's a great git frontend. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Let's share your top 3 packages that you can't live without.
    Without any order magit, lispy and minions. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • Link to a git commit from Org mode using Magit | THIS IS EMACS
    Do you believe me if I tell you that with Org mode the data we refer To in a link can be a buffer in magit-revision-mode (from magit Package) showing us a specific commit of some git repository? Source: about 3 years ago
View more

git-cola mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of git-cola yet. Tracking of git-cola recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Magit and git-cola, you can also consider the following products

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

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

tig - TIG Software Updates & Expansions. Download the most up-to-date, innovative software solutions for your TIG welder instantly to a memory card for enhanced performance.

SourceTree - Mac and Windows client for Mercurial and Git.

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

Fork - Fast and Friendly Git Client for Mac