{
    "products": [
        {
            "slug": "github-desktop",
            "name": "GitHub Desktop",
            "kind": "app",
            "website": "https://desktop.github.com/",
            "page": "https://listme.name/software/github-desktop",
            "tagline": "Free, open-source Git client from GitHub for macOS and Windows",
            "summary": "GitHub Desktop is a free, MIT-licensed Git client from GitHub for macOS and Windows. Linux is not officially supported, and community builds for Linux come from a fork of the project.",
            "developer": "GitHub",
            "platforms": [
                "macos",
                "windows"
            ],
            "pricing": "open-source",
            "price_note": "Free and open source under the MIT license; source on GitHub",
            "free_to_use": true,
            "open_source": true,
            "license": "MIT",
            "source": "https://github.com/desktop/desktop",
            "strengths": [
                "Free and open source under the MIT license",
                "Built around GitHub repositories"
            ],
            "limits": [
                "Linux is not officially supported",
                "Some advanced Git operations need the command line"
            ],
            "checked": "2026-10-10",
            "connected_to_publisher": false,
            "overview": "GitHub Desktop is a graphical Git client for committing, branching and merging work in repositories hosted on GitHub. The official installers cover macOS, including Apple silicon, and Windows. GitHub states that Linux is not officially supported and points to community builds from a fork.\n\nThe app is built with Electron and TypeScript, and its source is published on GitHub under the MIT license. It suits people who mainly work with GitHub and want a simple visual workflow at no cost. Some advanced Git operations may still need the command line, and Linux users need a community build or a different client."
        },
        {
            "slug": "gitui",
            "name": "GitUI",
            "kind": "app",
            "website": "https://github.com/gitui-org/gitui",
            "page": "https://listme.name/software/gitui",
            "tagline": "Fast terminal UI for Git that is free and open source",
            "summary": "GitUI is an MIT-licensed terminal user interface for Git, written in Rust. It gives a graphical-style Git workflow inside a terminal, is packaged for many Linux distributions, and its build instructions cover Windows and macOS too.",
            "developer": "GitUI project",
            "platforms": [
                "windows",
                "macos",
                "linux",
                "cli"
            ],
            "pricing": "open-source",
            "price_note": "MIT-licensed and free to install",
            "free_to_use": true,
            "open_source": true,
            "license": "MIT",
            "source": "https://github.com/gitui-org/gitui",
            "strengths": [
                "MIT-licensed and free",
                "Fast, written in Rust",
                "Packages for many Linux distributions"
            ],
            "limits": [
                "Key bindings need learning before use",
                "Benchmarks are the author's own"
            ],
            "checked": "2026-10-10",
            "connected_to_publisher": false,
            "overview": "GitUI brings a graphical-style Git workflow into the terminal. The project describes itself as portable, fast, free and open source. The README includes a benchmark, written by its author, that compares it with lazygit and tig on the full Linux kernel Git repository.\n\nInstall options listed in the README include Arch Linux, Fedora, Gentoo and other package managers, and the build section names Rust 1.88 or newer. The MIT license covers the source. Lazygit, which is also in this ranking, is the closest terminal alternative, and tig covers history browsing with less visual structure."
        }
    ],
    "differences": [
        "Only GitUI runs on Linux."
    ],
    "shared_rankings": [
        {
            "list": "git-clients",
            "name": "Git clients",
            "page": "https://listme.name/best/git-clients",
            "of": 10,
            "results": [
                {
                    "product": "github-desktop",
                    "rank": 1,
                    "score": 90,
                    "verdict": "The simplest free client here, MIT-licensed and built for GitHub repositories. Linux has no official build, and advanced Git operations may still need the command line.",
                    "best_for": "GitHub users who want a simple free client",
                    "spec": {
                        "interface": "Graphical",
                        "platforms": "macOS, Windows",
                        "linux": false,
                        "open_source": true,
                        "cost": "Free"
                    }
                },
                {
                    "product": "gitui",
                    "rank": 4,
                    "score": 87,
                    "verdict": "MIT-licensed terminal UI for Git, written in Rust, with a graphical-style workflow in a terminal. It is free and fast, and it ranks just below lazygit here, with a speed benchmark the author published.",
                    "best_for": "Fast Git work in a terminal window",
                    "spec": {
                        "interface": "Terminal UI",
                        "platforms": "Windows, macOS, Linux",
                        "linux": true,
                        "open_source": true,
                        "cost": "Free"
                    }
                }
            ]
        }
    ],
    "ranks_higher_in_closest_shared_list": "github-desktop",
    "page": "https://listme.name/compare/github-desktop-vs-gitui",
    "json": "https://listme.name/api/v1/compare/github-desktop-vs-gitui.json",
    "notes": [
        "Scores are editorial and only comparable inside one list. Products with connected_to_publisher true receive a disclosed ranking lift: https://listme.name/methodology"
    ],
    "source": "https://listme.name",
    "license": "Free to read and cite with attribution to listme.name.",
    "docs": "https://listme.name/developers"
}