Ghostgit is a minimal, incognito-style Git GUI client for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Clone, commit, push, pull, and fetch on any machine without running git config or leaving a stored identity behind: point it at a folder or clone a repo, paste a GitHub token, and work. Close the session and every credential is gone.
Built with Tauri, Rust, and git2-rs (libgit2), Ghostgit ships as a small native desktop binary — no Electron, no bundled Chromium, no background telemetry.
Most Git GUIs assume you live in one repo, on one machine, with global user.name/user.email set forever. Ghostgit is built for the opposite case:
- No stored git identity — name, email, and Personal Access Token are entered per session, not written to global git config.
- Incognito by design — close the session and your credentials leave memory. Nothing lingers in a keychain or config file.
- Works on borrowed or shared machines — a lab computer, a shared workstation, a friend's laptop — without polluting it with your identity.
- Minimal surface area — no plugin ecosystem, no themes, no telemetry. Select a folder, review your diff, commit, push.
- Clone a repository by URL, or browse and pick from your own GitHub repositories once you've entered a token.
- Changed files and diff view — see modified, staged, and untracked files with inline diffs before you commit.
- Select-what-you-commit — pick individual files instead of committing everything by default.
- Commit with summary and description, and browse commit history with relative timestamps.
- Branch switching from a simple dropdown.
- Fetch, pull (fast-forward), and push against a remote, authenticated with a GitHub Personal Access Token.
.gitignore-aware staging — ignored paths are refused at commit time, not silently included.- Repo initialization — point Ghostgit at a plain folder and initialize it as a git repo in one click.
- No persisted secrets — your PAT lives only for the current session.
Ghostgit is a Tauri desktop app. To build it from source you'll need:
- Node.js (for the frontend tooling)
- Rust (stable toolchain, for the Tauri backend)
- The Tauri prerequisites for your OS (e.g. WebView2 on Windows, GTK/WebKitGTK on Linux)
git clone https://github.com/abduznik/ghostgit.git
cd ghostgit
npm install
npm run tauri devTo produce an installable, platform-native binary (.msi/.exe, .dmg, .AppImage/.deb):
npm run tauri build- Open a folder or clone a repository — pick an existing project folder, or switch to the Clone Repository tab to clone by URL (or browse your own GitHub repos once a token is entered).
- Enter your identity (optional name/email) and a GitHub Personal Access Token (required for clone/push/pull/fetch). Nothing is written to global git config.
- Review changed files in the sidebar and click any file to see its diff.
- Select the files you want, write a commit summary, and commit.
- Fetch, pull, or push using the toolbar — Ghostgit handles fast-forward merges and prompts you to set a remote if one isn't configured yet.
- Close Session when you're done to clear the in-memory identity and token.
| Layer | Technology |
|---|---|
| Shell | Tauri 2 |
| Backend | Rust, git2 (libgit2 bindings) |
| Frontend | Vanilla HTML/CSS/JS |
| Networking | reqwest (rustls) for GitHub token validation |
Issues and pull requests are welcome. If you're proposing a larger change, open an issue first to discuss the approach.
MIT © abduznik