Git Tools Compared: lazygit, GitKraken, Fork, tig, and More

Git Tools Compared: lazygit, GitKraken, Fork, tig, and More

The command line is Git's native interface, but it's not always the most efficient one. Staging individual hunks, resolving merge conflicts, and navigating complex branch histories are all tasks where a visual interface helps. Here's a practical comparison of the tools available, from terminal UIs to full desktop applications.

TUI Tools (Terminal-Based)

lazygit

lazygit is a terminal UI for Git that's become the standard recommendation for developers who live in the terminal. Written in Go, it provides a fast, keyboard-driven interface for every common Git operation.

What it does well: Staging individual lines and hunks is effortless -- navigate to the changed line and press space. Interactive rebase is visual rather than editing a text file. Cherry-picking, stashing, and branch management are all accessible without memorizing commands.

Configuration (~/.config/lazygit/config.yml):

gui:
  showRandomTip: false
  nerdFontsVersion: "3"
  theme:
    activeBorderColor:
      - "#89b4fa"
      - bold
    inactiveBorderColor:
      - "#585b70"
git:
  paging:
    colorArg: always
    pager: delta --dark --paging=never
  autoFetch: true

Keybindings to know: space to stage/unstage, c to commit, P to push, p to pull, [/] to switch tabs, enter to expand, d to discard changes, s to stash.

Verdict: The best Git tool for terminal-first developers. Fast to learn, fast to use, and handles 95% of Git operations more efficiently than raw commands.

tig

tig is a lightweight text-mode interface for Git. It's been around since 2006 and focuses on browsing repository history rather than performing operations.

What it does well: Browsing commit history, viewing diffs, and exploring the tree. It's essentially git log with a navigable interface. Very low resource usage and available in most package managers.

tig                    # Browse commit history
tig blame file.ts      # Interactive blame view
tig refs               # Browse branches and tags
tig stash              # Browse stash entries

Limitations: tig is primarily a viewer. You can stage changes and commit from within it, but the experience isn't as polished as lazygit for write operations.

Verdict: Good for history exploration, but lazygit supersedes it for interactive Git work.

GUI Tools (Desktop Applications)

GitKraken

GitKraken is a cross-platform Git GUI with a polished visual interface. It shows the commit graph prominently, with branches rendered as a visual timeline.

Strengths: Beautiful branch visualization, drag-and-drop interactive rebase, built-in merge conflict editor, integration with GitHub/GitLab/Bitbucket (PRs, issues), and Workspaces for managing multiple repos.

Weaknesses: Requires a paid license for private repos ($4.95/mo). Can be slow on very large repositories. Electron-based, so memory usage is higher than native apps. The free tier is limited to public repos.

Best for: Teams that want a visual Git interface with built-in code review platform integration.

Fork

Fork is a fast, native Git client for macOS and Windows. It's the best-looking and best-performing desktop Git GUI available.

Strengths: Native UI (not Electron) so it's fast and responsive. Excellent diff viewer with inline and side-by-side modes. Interactive rebase with drag and drop. Built-in merge conflict resolver. Free to evaluate, with a $49.99 one-time license.

Weaknesses: No Linux support. The free evaluation period is technically unlimited (it shows a reminder), which creates an awkward honor-system situation.

Best for: macOS and Windows users who want a fast, no-nonsense Git GUI without a subscription.

Comparison Table: Git Clients

Diff and Patch Tools

git-delta

delta (the git-delta package) is a syntax-highlighting pager for Git diff output. It's not a separate diff tool -- it enhances the output of git diff, git show, git log -p, and git blame.

# Install
brew install git-delta
cargo install git-delta

# Configure in ~/.gitconfig
[core]
    pager = delta

[delta]
    navigate = true
    side-by-side = true
    line-numbers = true
    syntax-theme = "Catppuccin Mocha"

Once configured, every Git command that shows diffs automatically uses delta. You don't change your workflow at all -- the output just becomes dramatically more readable.

Verdict: Install this immediately. Zero learning curve, massive readability improvement.

diff-so-fancy

diff-so-fancy is an older diff enhancer that predates delta. It reformats diff output with better visual grouping and colors.

Verdict: delta has superseded it. diff-so-fancy doesn't support syntax highlighting or side-by-side view. Use delta instead.

difftastic

difftastic is a structural diff tool that understands code syntax. Instead of comparing lines, it compares the AST (abstract syntax tree). This means it can identify that code was moved or reformatted without marking it as a change.

cargo install difftastic

# Use as external diff tool
git config --global diff.external difft

Trade-off: Structural diffs are more accurate but slower. On large diffs, difftastic can take noticeably longer than line-based diff. It also doesn't integrate as a pager (it replaces diff.external), so you can't use it alongside delta.

Verdict: Interesting for code review and understanding changes, but not a daily driver replacement for delta.

Merge Conflict Resolution

Merge conflicts are where visual tools provide the most value over the command line. Staring at <<<<<<< markers in a text file is error-prone.

Built-in Editor Support

VS Code has a built-in merge editor (three-way: current, incoming, result) that shows conflicts visually with accept/reject buttons. It's good enough for most conflicts. Open a conflicted file and VS Code shows the merge UI automatically.

Neovim with the diffview.nvim plugin provides a three-way merge view in the terminal:

{ "sindrets/diffview.nvim", cmd = { "DiffviewOpen", "DiffviewFileHistory" } }

Dedicated Merge Tools

Meld (free, cross-platform) is a visual diff and merge tool that handles three-way merges well. Configure it as Git's merge tool:

git config --global merge.tool meld
git config --global mergetool.meld.cmd 'meld "$LOCAL" "$MERGED" "$REMOTE" --output "$MERGED"'

kdiff3 (free, cross-platform) is another three-way merge tool. It's less visually polished than Meld but has powerful auto-merge capabilities.

Beyond Compare ($30-60, cross-platform) is a commercial diff/merge tool with the best file and directory comparison features. Worth the money if you deal with complex merges regularly.

Recommended Setup by Workflow

Terminal-First Developer

Daily Git operations: lazygit
Diff viewing:         git-delta (configured as pager)
Merge conflicts:      Neovim + diffview.nvim (or VS Code if complex)
History browsing:     lazygit (or tig for deep dives)

GUI-Comfortable Developer (macOS/Windows)

Daily Git operations: Fork
Diff viewing:         Fork's built-in diff viewer
Merge conflicts:      Fork's built-in merge resolver
History browsing:     Fork's commit graph
Fallback:             git-delta for terminal diffs

Team-Oriented Developer

Daily Git operations: GitKraken (for PR/issue integration)
Diff viewing:         git-delta + GitKraken
Merge conflicts:      GitKraken's merge editor
Code review:          GitKraken's PR view

The Bottom Line

Everyone should install git-delta. It makes every diff you see more readable with zero workflow change.

For interactive Git work, lazygit is the best tool for terminal users. It makes staging, rebasing, and branch management faster than typing commands.

For GUI users, Fork is the best value on macOS/Windows. It's fast, native, and does everything well. GitKraken is worth the subscription only if you need the platform integrations.

Don't install all of these. Pick one daily driver (lazygit or a GUI client), add delta for diff rendering, and use your editor's built-in merge tool for conflicts. That covers every scenario.