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Git GUI Clients

Graphical Git clients present the same underlying repository states through visual controls. A useful interface should help you inspect the selected diff and destination before an operation.

How it works

The lab produces the two comparisons a GUI normally exposes: a staged note and an unstaged task update. You can open this disposable repository in an installed client and identify the same states, but the automated check uses the CLI and does not pretend to click or validate a particular product. Review the client’s exact meaning for sync, discard, amend and force.

Run the disposable lab

Use Windows PowerShell 5.1 or later and Git 2.28 or later. The reviewed CLI is Git for Windows 2.53.0.windows.2. These are PowerShell examples, not Git Bash commands. Save the download as gui-clients.ps1 in a separate empty learning folder and run it in a separate process: powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\gui-clients.ps1. The execution-policy option applies to that process, not your machine policy.

The script creates bhylu-git-gui-clients and refuses an existing folder. It supplies two fictional seed files and repository-local settings, then runs the lesson commands. The literal separator is quoted as '--' so PowerShell passes it through the guard. A guard function named git calls the real CLI and stops on unexpected failures; Expect-GitFailure checks deliberately refused operations. Child-process configuration isolates your personal Git settings. File transports are allowed only for owned local remotes; internet transports are disabled in this lab. No hosting account, Apache or MySQL service is required. There is no Git playground. Leave the generated folder for inspection; choose another empty parent to run again.

Test boundary: CLI state is tested; no vendor GUI interaction is automated.

Download the complete gui-clients.ps1 lab

Example

gui-clients.ps1

# Bhylu Git lab: GUI Clients
# Run in a separate PowerShell process, in an empty learning folder.
# Existing lab folders are refused; nothing is pushed to an internet host.
$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'
$script:GitExe = (Get-Command git -CommandType Application | Select-Object -First 1).Source
$script:LabRoot = Join-Path (Get-Location) 'bhylu-git-gui-clients'
if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $script:LabRoot) { throw 'Lab folder already exists. Choose another empty parent folder.' }
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $script:LabRoot | Out-Null
$env:GIT_CONFIG_NOSYSTEM = '1'
$env:GIT_CONFIG_GLOBAL = Join-Path $script:LabRoot 'empty-global-config'
[IO.File]::WriteAllText($env:GIT_CONFIG_GLOBAL, '')
$env:GIT_TERMINAL_PROMPT = '0'
$env:GIT_EDITOR = 'true'
$env:GIT_SEQUENCE_EDITOR = 'true'
$env:GIT_AUTHOR_DATE = '2026-01-10T10:00:00+00:00'
$env:GIT_COMMITTER_DATE = $env:GIT_AUTHOR_DATE
function git {
    & $script:GitExe -c protocol.allow=never -c protocol.file.allow=always @args
    if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) { throw "Git exited with code $LASTEXITCODE" }
}
function Expect-GitFailure {
    & $script:GitExe -c protocol.allow=never -c protocol.file.allow=always @args
    if ($LASTEXITCODE -eq 0) { throw 'Expected Git to refuse this operation' }
}
function Assert-Equal($Actual, $Expected) {
    if ((($Actual | Out-String).Trim()) -cne (($Expected | Out-String).Trim())) { throw "Expected [$Expected], got [$Actual]" }
}
function Write-LabFile([string]$Name, [string]$Text) {
    $target = [IO.Path]::GetFullPath((Join-Path (Get-Location) $Name))
    if (!$target.StartsWith($script:LabRoot + [IO.Path]::DirectorySeparatorChar, [StringComparison]::OrdinalIgnoreCase)) { throw 'Path outside lab' }
    [IO.Directory]::CreateDirectory([IO.Path]::GetDirectoryName($target)) | Out-Null
    [IO.File]::WriteAllText($target, ($Text.Replace('\n', "`n") + "`n"), (New-Object Text.UTF8Encoding($false)))
}
function New-LabRepo([string]$Name) {
    New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $Name | Out-Null
    Push-Location $Name
    try {
        git init --initial-branch=main
        git config --local user.name 'Repair Lab'
        git config --local user.email 'repair@example.invalid'
        git config --local core.autocrlf false
        git config --local commit.gpgSign false
        git config --local tag.gpgSign false
        git config --local core.hooksPath (Join-Path $script:LabRoot 'empty-hooks')
        Write-LabFile 'notes.md' 'Inspect hinge'
        Write-LabFile 'tasks.txt' 'desk=open'
        git add '--' notes.md tasks.txt
        git commit -m 'Record initial repair plan'
    } finally { Pop-Location }
}
Push-Location $script:LabRoot
try {
    New-LabRepo 'desk'
    Set-Location desk
    Write-LabFile 'notes.md' 'Staged graphical review'
    git add '--' notes.md
    Write-LabFile 'tasks.txt' 'desk=review'
    Assert-Equal (git diff --cached --name-only) @('notes.md')
    Assert-Equal (git diff --name-only) @('tasks.txt')
    git status --short
    Write-Output 'Verified: gui-clients'
} finally { Pop-Location }
Focus on the lesson commands

This excerpt omits the seed repository and guard helpers. Use the complete download to run it.

Lesson excerpt

Write-LabFile 'notes.md' 'Staged graphical review'
git add '--' notes.md
Write-LabFile 'tasks.txt' 'desk=review'
Assert-Equal (git diff --cached --name-only) @('notes.md')
Assert-Equal (git diff --name-only) @('tasks.txt')
git status --short

Expected result

The note is staged and the task change is unstaged, ready for comparison with an installed GUI.

The complete script ends with Verified: gui-clients only after its checks pass. Object IDs, temporary paths and progress output can differ.

A one-click sync operation may combine fetch, integration and push under a configured policy. Learn those components so you can diagnose a refusal instead of trying multiple destructive menu items. Repository-local teaching settings do not change your client’s global identity.

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