GitHub for Mac Makes Version Control Sexy


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Earlier this week, ! web-base d code hosting service GitHub released GitHub for Mac, a free Git client for Mac OS X that makes managing and interacting with GitHub repositories and sharing code a snap.

Git is a distributed revision control system (DVCS) developed by Linus Torvalds for managing the development process of the Linux kernel. Its a great way for teams to collaboratively share code. Like other DVCS tools, Git was designed for use at the command line.

GitHub for Mac isnt the first GUI-based Git client for Mac OS X, but the fact that its free, well-designed and integrates beautifully with the worlds most popular Git host certainly sets it apart from some of the other options. That isnt to say that apps like Tower, Gitbox, GitX and Sprout dont still have their own merits, but GitHub for Mac sets a high bar for other Git clients.

Within 24 hours of its release, GitHub for Mac has already been installed by more than 30,000 users.

The app uses Chameleon, a port of Apples UIKit for iOS to Mac OS X. Chameleon was built by The Iconfactory for its fantastic Twitterrific for Mac app.

The user-interface of GitHub for Mac is top-notch; browsing through histories, looking at commits, switching branches and syncing changes is a snap.

The app is fast and it makes it easy to add a new repository to your GitHub account, share code, clone branches that dont exist on your local machine and do standard push and pull requests. You dont even have to use GitHub as your Git remote (though obviously, the program was optimized as such! ). You c an set a remote manually and push, pull and sync changes within the app.

GitHub has also added a fantastic new Clone in Mac button on its website that makes cloning a repository a snap. I dont commit a lot of code to GitHub, but I follow a lot of different projects and frequently download repositories and releases from the site. Being able to clone a repo directly in GitHub makes it easier to watch for updates, sync changes and also manage my own branches and forks locally (and if I choose, publish my changes publicly).

For a 1.0 release, the GitHub team did a great job. The app will be updated on a regular basis (a few bugs have already been fixed) and we look forward to seeing the app become bigger and better.

Do you use Git? If so, how do you manage your code and interact with remote repositories? Let us know.

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