If you do choose to use SourceTree as a GUI Git client, you'll need to add your GitHub credentials to SourceTree. Let's do that now. Open the SourceTree app. Click the 'Gear' icon in the top right corner and select 'Settings'. Loaded my private key into SourceTree via Putty Key Generator and copied the Public Key over to GitHub Enterprise (including the first line 'ssh-rsa.' SSH client Config has key loaded and SSH Client set to Putty/plink with Auto-start on Put in the userID from github Hit Refresh Password and put in my GitHub password.
Atlassian SourceTree Portable. Download the latest version of SourceTree Portable. Installation Prerequisites. Windows 7 or Windows 10.NET Framework 4.5; At least 360 MB of free disk space; Contributing Bug reports. We use GitHub for bug tracking. Please search the existing issues for your bug and create a new one if the issue is not yet tracked!
Software developers, students, and a few sea creatures have spoken. GitKraken is the most popular Git GUI in the world—named the most used graphical user interface for Git in the 2020 State of the Software Development Report.
You might, however, be on the fence; maybe you’re Git-curious, but not sure whether to ‘commit’ (sorry) to a GUI. After all, there are several out there. Which one should you choose? If you’re still deciding which Git client is best for you, we’ll save you some time.
Download the GitKraken Git GUI to maximize your productivity with Git.
So, how do Sourcetree and GitKraken compare? GitKraken satisfies developers worldwide with Linux support, cross-platform consistency, intuitive input actions, interface design, undo button, and more.
Linux Support
GitKraken ✅ | Sourcetree ❌
Stack Overflow’s 2019 Developer Survey reports that over 25% of developers choose Linux as their primary OS. While many of our competitors neglect the growing market of Linux lovers, GitKraken, will dutifully manage your Git projects without bias toward your operating system. Windows, Mac and Linux users rejoice!
Sourcetree, by comparison, does not support Linux.
Cross-Platform Consistency
GitKraken ✅ | Sourcetree ❌
We formerly covered that GitKraken is able to offer an identical experience of our application across Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Not only is this feature appealing to developers, who in turn get to use the OS of their preference, it’s also beneficial for teams and organizations. Empowering your engineers with the tools they want to use will lead to happier employees and improved productivity.
Sourcetree’s experience varies greatly depending on whether you’re using the tool on Windows or Mac. Users often complain of frustrating discrepancies between versions. Having varied features across OS can be challenging when you need to troubleshoot an issue.
Furthermore, Sourcetree is not a focus of Atlassian, shown by a lack in communication and infrequent application updates.
GitKraken is a primary focus of Axosoft’s development team, making it possible to provide frequent updates and improvements, in addition to discoverable and helpful online resources and support.
Commit Graph UI
GitKraken ? | Sourcetree ?
GitKraken’s interface is simple, intuitive and customizable with light and dark themes. If you’re going to use a GUI, it should look good! You’re worth it! Treat yourself!
The graph in GitKraken is not only a beautiful representation of your work, it is also a highly functional tool for managing your branches and commits. Interact directly with branches and commits when you merge with drag-and-drop, create branches, or revert commits. If you’re collaborating on a project, avatars act as visual markers that let you know who committed work. Icons on branch labels show which remotes and PRs they belong to.
The difference in UI is eloquently described by Satoripop developer, Ghassen Rjab, in his article, “Is it better to use GitKraken or Sourcetree for Git?”
“In GitKraken’s main interface, we have everything we need. In the left panel, we have information about the project, such as local branches, the remote repositories added to the project and their branches, stashes, tags, and submodules. The project’s history and the work in progress are in the center, and we can see stashes too. In the right panel, we can see details of any commit we select from the history. At the top, we have the search button that we can use to look for commits.
All these features exist in the main interface, which makes it a great experience to work with GitKraken.”
By comparison, Sourcetree’s UI is split into three views: File Status, Log/History, and Search.
“The Sourcetree UI will make your UX a bit frustrating as you’ll always need to switch between these three tabs to get your work done.”
Undo/Redo Button
GitKraken ✅ | Sourcetree ❌
One-click undo! What Git client can do that? Certainly not Sourcetree.
A crowd favorite, GitKraken’s Undo/Redo button has been a lifesaver for many developers, who may have accidentally discarded hours-worth of code changes. ?
GitKraken allows users to undo the following actions with the click of a button: checkout; commit; discard; delete branch; remove remote; and reset branch to commit. You can also redo these actions if you ever undo them by mistake. ?
Merge Conflict Resolution
GitKraken ? | Sourcetree ?
Resolve merge conflicts with more control over which bits of code to include by using GitKraken’s built-in merge tool. With Sourcetree it’s “mine,” “theirs,” or open another application.
GitKraken will display any conflicting files in the right commit panel. Clicking on a conflicted file will open the merge conflict editor where the current branch is displayed on the left, the target branch on the right, and an output field at the bottom.
Users can select all changes in a file, individual sections, or individual lines of code, all of which are displayed with an accompanying checkbox. Simply check the box to add that piece of code to the output field where you can see your options in context and decide which changes are preferable. (GitKraken users with paid accounts can even edit in the output field directly ?). After you have resolved the conflict, save the output and commit your changes.
With Sourcetree, you’re better off using an external merge tool.
Issue Tracking Integrations
GitKraken ✅ | Sourcetree ❌
The GitKraken Git GUI is like no other tool of its kind on the market for many reasons, but this is a big one. No other Git clients offer robust integrations with the most popular issue trackers used by software developers and teams. None.
The GitKraken Git GUI integrates with the following issue trackers:
Users who utilize one of the above tools to manage their issues can accomplish the following actions directly from the GitKraken Git GUI: view, filter, and edit issues/cards, create branches tied to issues/cards, and create new issues/cards.
No more context switching to stay on top of your issues – simply do so from your beautiful coding environment.
Sourcetree, by comparison, does not offer robust issue tracking features and does not integrate with Trello, GitKraken Boards, GitLab Issues, or GitHub Issues.
Drag-and-Drop
GitKraken ✅ | Sourcetree ❌
With GitKraken you can use the input methods you’re most comfortable with. Execute Git actions using drag-and-drop, or stick to the keyboard and switch repos, check out branches, etc. with GitKraken’s Fuzzy Finder. This is something you can also do in Sourcetr– oh no, you can’t.
Users on GitKraken can drag-and-drop to initiate interactive rebase or create a pull request (after setting up the integration to your hosting service); users can also drag-and-drop a branch onto a remote to perform a Push.
Don’t worry, GitKraken has something for you keyboard lovers out there too: our Fuzzy Finder, which allows users to access a variety of actions via keyboard shortcuts.
Sourcetree lacks drag-and-drop functionality and does not offer discoverable keyboard shortcuts.
Stand-Alone Licenses for Teams
GitKraken ✅ | Sourcetree ❌
The GitKraken team has thoughtfully evolved our product offerings to support enterprise organizations required to work in disconnected or firewalled environments. Senior leadership can choose from our stand-alone or self-hosted options to best fit their needs.
While Sourcetree advertises an Enterprise option that offers better account management, they do not offer a version of their application that can be self-hosted.
If you do want the account management offered with Sourcetree Enterprise, you will need to download an MSI file installer to manage the process.
Sourcetree or GitKraken: Ready to make the Switch?
If you were already using Sourcetree, do yourself a favor. MAKE. ?THE. ?SWITCH. ? Trust us and many of those who have made the same transition: you will not regret it.
Plus: we’re ready to sweeten the deal with a HUGE discount on GitKraken Pro!
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If you want to access GitLab via SourceTree, you can connect it with an account profile now. Another method is to connect GitLab by using the clone function with SSH key.
What Will We Learn (Method 1)
- Access GitLab with personal access token
What Will We Learn (Method 2)
- Create SSH key
- Access GitLab via SourceTree with SSH key
Method 1: Connect with Remote (Account Profile)
Since SourceTree 3.0, it adds support for additional remote hosting services. They are GitHub Enterprise, Microsoft Visual Studio Team Services, and GitLab (Cloud, CE, EE).
Create Personal Access Token
To connect GitLab with Remote, personal access token is required for authentication. To create personal access token, login GitLab and go to Settings.
After that, select Access Tokens from the sidebar. You will create your personal access token here. Give access token a name. You are able to set an expiry date for your access token. By leaving it blank, access token will never expire. Next check the api and read_user checkbox, it is required for SourceTree to connect to GitLab remotely. Click on Create personal access token to complete the setup.
Next open up your SourceTree, click on Remote and click on Add an account.
Select GitLab as the hosting services, and choose HTTPS as the Preferred Protocol. Click on Refresh Personal Access Token.
You will be prompted to enter the username and password. After entering the username and password then press OK to continue.
Do take note that email address you used to login GitLab is not your username. If you do not know your username. Go to GitLab and click on the top right profile icon. The text after @ is your username. In this example, it would be aword-test.
Furthermore, the password is your personal access token code. It only shows you once you created your personal access token. Make sure save your personal access token code in a safe place.
Then you have completed the steps to connect GitLab with SourceTree. If you connect successfully, you will able to see your repositories in SourceTree.
Method 2: Connect with SSH Key
This method is useful for users who are not using SourceTree 3.0 and above.
What is SSH Key
The Secure Shell (SSH) key is based on the principle of Public-key cryptography. It is used as a way of authentication. By generating an SSH key pair, you will get a private key and a public key. You can image public key as a padlock. You can distribute it to any systems on the Internet. Private key is like a key of the padlock. You should keep the private key securely and avoid it from being compromised. To access any system with public key, you need to use the private key to authenticate yourself.
Sourcetree Github Enterprise Account
Create SSH Key
To create SSH key, you need to generate your own SSH key with SourceTree. Go to Tools and select Create or Import SSH Keys.
Click on Generate to create SSH Key. Move your mouse cursor within the PuTTY Key Generator continuing to generate the SSH Key.
After SSH Key is generated, type your own Key passphrase for your SSH Key. Key passphrase is like a password to protect your SSH private key. Save your public key and private key for future use.
Add SSH Public Key to GitLab
To add your SSH Key to GitLab, you need to log into you GitLab account. Click on your profile icon on the top right corner, then select Settings. Click on SSH Keys on the side menu.
Copy your public key inside your PuTTY Key Generator, then paste it into GitLab. Click on Add Key to add your SSH Key into the GitLab.
Add SSH Private Key to SourceTree
To add private key to SourceTree, Click on Tools then click Launch SSH Agent…
You will find SSH Agent named as Pageant on the taskbar. Double click on Pageant.
Sourcetree Github 2fa
Now click on Add Key. Add your private key which have been saved earlier.
Clone Repository to Access GitLab via SourceTree
Go into your projects in your GitLab. Copy the SSH URL.
In SourceTree, click on Clone. Paste the repository URL into Source Path. Click on Clone, you have successfully connected GitLab with SourceTree. Now you are able to pull and push your code to GitLab with SourceTree.