Git2Go, Your Git Repo on the Go!

Git2Go, Your Git Repo on the Go!

December 5, 2015 19:32 EST • Alexandre Vallières-Lagacé • 4 minute read

With all the discussion going around on iPads replacing MacBooks, one class of user could not get work done. That is until now! Git2Go is a fairly new app on iOS that can do a lot of things for web developers, and the nicest thing is that it’s developers really seem to be behind their product with two major releases since the 1.0 release less than 1.5 month ago!

You know Git, the collaboration source code solution that is considered the top of the game at the moment? Well, Git2Go can work with two flavours of hosted Git repository services, namely GitHub and, since the 1.2 release, BitBucket! You can see the list of repository and clone them locally on your device. You can even do changes to your text files and commit your changes!

And in a future version, you will be able to send file to the application (using that famous x-callback-url) and then commit these new files to your repository. I’m personally waiting for this, my current mobile blogging workflow requires me to add new files to a Git (BitBucket) repository. Faster, faster Nerdishbynature!! ;)

So, how does it work?

First of all you must add your GiHub or BitBucket identities. Then, you have to publish your public SSH key generated on your mobile device to you accounts. The app helps you greatly for this part. Then, you will see all of your accessible repositories listed on the app’s main page.

Git2Go Repositories

You will see the complete list GiHub first and then BitBucket. Don’t mind the redacted repositories on my screenshot there’re from my work ;)

Just tap a repo for Git2Go to launch the Git clone on your local device. Then the app brings you to the three screen where you have the three main sections of the app. The commit history, the branches and the hierarchy of files. From there you can browser around and see the different diffs associated with commits or even create new branches right there on the second tab. And finally, the third tab is where most of the fun occurs! There you are able to browse the stucture of the project and add new files to your repo.

Git2Go Repository commits, branches and files

Where Git2Go differiencates itself from the other pseudo apps on the App Store is that you actually have a great file editor built-in. You can very easily make changes to your files and then push your changes to your Git repo. Just tap a file, and tap inside it to start the editor and you’re good to go!

Git2Go, edit a file

When you go back to the files a fourth tab appears with all your modified files. From there you can add files to your index and commit your changes. Once the commit description entered you simply go back to the history tab and “pull to sync”. This will actually run a git fetch, then merge, then push) for you.

Git2Go, commit changes and push them

From the history tab you can see your newly pushed commit and even the diff between the old version and the new version of the file. From the file manager you can also create new files and folders.

Git2Go, diff and files

How good is it?

It’s amazing! The design of the app is very well done and you can do your changes and push them in only a few steps! For me, it can only be used to do small changes to existing files. When I want to add a new article from my Workflow, I can’t since the x-callback-url is sadly not available yet. But it will come soon!

I would not change anything in Git2Go, it’s a well designed app, optimized for efficiency and using native gestures to make your work very simple and fast. And new features are coming up every few weeks! So it will keep on getting better with every release!

The app is free for public repos, but you must pay 9.99$ (11.99$CA) to enable all the features on all types of repositories for all your devices and forever. Taking into account the new features that keep on coming and the quality of the app, this is a fair price.

Git2Go – The Git client you always wanted is available as free iOS universal app