Gitg: Git client for Linux

In my last post, I wrote about the way to update our local repository from Bitbucket using the Ubuntu command line.I was working through the Ubuntu terminal, downloading the project from the Bitbucket's repository and I have not had any problem so far. It works fine and it is actually not  a big deal.

However, what happens when you are a Linux user and you want to upload some changes made in your computer (local repository) to the Bitbucket's repository? I made a quick research, and I quickly realized that there is a wide number of graphical Git clients for Linux. According to the reviews and opinions found on the Internet, I firstly installed Giggle, which seemed to be the most simple option. Despite you are able to view the changes that you have previously committed, you cannot either commit your changes nor pull/push operations, so I finally uninstalled it.

Gitg screenshot

Then, I tried other option recommended in several forums: Gitg. It has a design as simple as Giggle, but by using Gitg, you are able to commit changes and view the repositories with a friendly and colorful graphical display which makes easier to see all the changes. Installing Gitg on Ubuntu is really simple. You just have to run this command (you need superuser permissions):

$ sudo apt-get install gitg

The first step is to configure your online repository. This can be done through the File menu -> Repository properties, adding the URL there. To commit the changes, you need to select the "Commit" label on the top bar, which shows the files you changed on your local repository ("Unstage" box). By right clicking on each one of them (also available multiple selection), you have to click on the "Stage" option (prepare selected files finely for a commit) in the contextual menu. After this step, the files you want to commit will disappear from the "Unstage" box, passing to the "Stage" box. You can also add a commit message explaining the changes you made on the files committed. This is particularly useful to keep track of all the modifications, as well as inform and explain your teammates those changes. The last step in Gitg is to click on "Commit" button, that logically runs the commit operation.

In fact, there is only one step left. You have to push the changes in order to upload them to Bitbucket (or your preferred online repository). The easiest way to accomplished this operation is using the Terminal, but before run the appropriate command, you need to find out what is your alias (configurable by the command git config) and your branch (typically "master").

$ git push [alias] [branch]

Once you push the changes, you can check on Bitbucket if all worked fine by verifying the last commit's list.