SCM means Source Code Management and is not much of a magic when I tell you that basically it’s not much more than using CVS, SVN, git or mercurial for instance. These are very powerful tools indeed and sometimes a CLI just doesn’t feel intuitive in world where we judge the tools by their look&feel and sincerly a visual diff is easier to understand. Also I wanted to make a translation of my post over at G+.
Mac OS X
Free/FOSS
Gity App
It is FOSS (GPLv3) and runs 10.6 and 10.7. Frankly I didn’t run into any limitations but probably because I’m not using all git’s power and complexity. I think this is a good tool for daily use.
Gitx
Also FOSS (GPLv2) but with a very simple interface, in my opinion a bit too simple so I can only recommend it for the very very beginner, though a very good app.
Gitti
Gitti is free of charge, but I’m not sure how the development is going on. It is noted as ‘Beta’ which could mean that the final version may be shareware. However I found the interface a bit disturbing: I don’t see the changes in the commit area which makes it hard to know what to write in the commit message. On the other hand I found the Configuration area quite interesting.
SmartGit
SmartGit is also free and provides also clients for Windows and Linux. You may use it free for non-commercial use, but the interface looks more like a tool from a few years ago. Oh, and the log buttons opens a new window. Probably not the worst client for code review but … no, I’m not convinced.
http://www.syntevo.com/smartgit/
Gitbox
Well, it’s not exactly shareware though $39.00 (50% discount for students), it just restricts you to three projects in the sidebar, but if you remove a project from the sidebar and add a other one, it works. Unfortunately it lacks of an integrated diff view.
Shareware
Tower
Unfortunately it is shareware and costs €49.00 but on the other side you can test it for 30 days. You get 50% discount as a student. The earlier beta versions were free of charge, but you were forced to update every 30 days or so.
SourceTree
SourceTree (€45.00, 21 days trial) brings the most complicated interface I think but also feels like it uses the whole power git provides. It also supports mercurial, so if you ever happen to use both, you should consider this GUI. Oh, but I don’t like the icons, the look too candy to me.
Sprout
Sprout is only sold via the Apple App Store for $35.00 but doesn’t make a good figure. The log doesn’t show any changes in the code which disappoints. In my opinion it’s not worth testing, but the low version number indicates there might be some changes in the future.
Windows
Since I no longer use Windows I just googled a bit.
Free/FOSS
tortoisegit
When you know tortoisesvn, you’ll know your way around tortoisegit. It’s FOSS and brings a redmine bugtracker plugin.
Linux
Well, I never used any GUI for git under Linux, but I’d like to point out to two good looking: qgit and gitg. You should find them in your distros repo.
Android
FOSS
agit
Yes, there is a git client for android! But it costs you something like CHF 2.20. I didn’t try it out, I followed the instruction to build your own agit and I didn’t managed to get it work. Maybe you are more lucky than I am.
Crash course!
Well, finally we got some tools to work with but the code also should find its way to a centralized place. I suggest to have a look at setting up your own server and then setting tortoisegit if you use windows and github.
There’s also my tutorial for setting up redmine (a bugtracker with git support) on debian or you can take a look at gitorious which provides hosting for code for free. And if you’re still thinking that this is soooo complicated, have a look here.
Finally I’d like to point you to the most valuable document for entry level git user: Everyday GIT With 20 Commands Or So
Final words
If you happen to use a GUI I didn’t mention or found other good or interesting stuff, let me know. I acknowledge that this post is a bit long on Mac OS X apps due I use this daily, I’d be really happy if you write a post about linux GUIs and I’ll link to your post, I promise!
Personally I use Gity and maybe I’ll buy Tower one day, depending how much I’ll use git. I also like to thank my friends over at NGAS for their support!