SikaGit — Self-Hosted Git GUI for Developers

The open-source, self-hosted Git GUI client you run in Docker.
Visual commit graph, inline diff viewer, hunk-level staging, built-in terminal, AI commit messages — all from your browser.
A free alternative to GitKraken, Sourcetree, and GitHub Desktop that runs on your own machine.

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Why SikaGit?

	GitKraken	Sourcetree	GitHub Desktop	SikaGit
Self-hosted	No	No	No	Yes
Runs in Docker	No	No	No	Yes
Visual commit graph	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Hunk-level staging	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Built-in terminal	No	No	No	Yes
AI commit messages	No	No	No	Yes
Run dev servers	No	No	No	Yes
Free for personal use	Limited	Yes	Yes	Yes
Open source	No	No	Partial	Yes

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Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Docker & Docker Compose

Development

git clone https://github.com/AhmedSayedSk/sikagit.git
cd sikagit
docker compose up --build

Open http://localhost:3200 in your browser.

Production

docker compose -f docker-compose.prod.yml up --build -d

Without Docker

npm install
npm run dev

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Features — What Can SikaGit Do?

Git Operations

• Visual Commit Graph — Lane-based rendering with color-coded branches, merge curves, and uncommitted changes
• Inline Diff Viewer — Syntax-highlighted diffs with hunk-level staging and discarding
• File Staging — Staged/unstaged panels with folder grouping and bulk actions
• Commit Management — Author identity auto-detection from local, global, or host git config
• Branch & Tag Support — Inline branch/tag labels with automatic remote default branch detection
• Remote Operations — Push, pull (merge or rebase), fetch, and remote URL configuration

Project Management

• Multi-Repo Organization — Group repositories under projects with collapsible tree navigation
• Run & Build — Execute dev servers and builds with real-time terminal streaming
• Process Monitoring — Live CPU/memory stats, port auto-detection, and lifecycle management
• AI Commits — Generate commit messages and smart commit grouping from staged changes

Developer Experience

• HMR in Docker — Polling-based file watching for Next.js, Vite, CRA, Angular
• Binary Detection — Prevents diff viewer freeze on video, audio, and archive files
• WSL Compatible — Seamless Windows Subsystem for Linux path handling
• Clickable URLs — Ctrl+Click terminal links to open in browser

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Ports & Networking

Service	Port	Description
Client	3200	Web interface
API Server	3001	Express + Socket.io

Reserved Dev Server Ports

The following ports are mapped through Docker so dev servers started by SikaGit are accessible from your host browser:

Ports	Typical Use
3000, 3002-3010, 3220	React, Next.js, Node.js
4200	Angular
5000-5001	Flask, .NET
8080-8090	Spring, Go, General
9000	PHP, Portainer

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Configuration & Environment Variables

Variable	Default	Description
PORT	3001	API server port
CORS_ORIGINS	http://localhost:3200	Allowed CORS origins
DATA_DIR	/app/server/data	SQLite database path
VITE_API_URL	http://server:3001	Backend URL (client in Docker)
GIT_SSH_COMMAND	ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no	SSH config for remotes
AZURE_DEVOPS_PAT	—	Azure DevOps token (optional)

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Usage — How to Use SikaGit

Adding a Repository

1. Click + in the sidebar
2. Browse to your repository folder or paste the path
3. The repo appears in the sidebar with its git status

Organizing with Projects

1. Click New Project in the sidebar
2. Name your project and select repositories to include
3. Repos are grouped under the project with a collapsible view

Committing Changes

1. Select a repository from the sidebar
2. Review changed files in the Unstaged panel
3. Stage files individually or click Stage All
4. Click a file to view its diff — use Stage Hunk for partial staging
5. Write your commit message and click Commit

Running Dev Servers

1. Open repo settings and set a Run Command (e.g., npx next dev)
2. Optionally set a fixed Port to avoid conflicts
3. Click Play — terminal output streams in real-time
4. URLs in output are clickable (Ctrl+Click to open in browser)
5. HMR works automatically via polling-based file watching

Remote Operations

1. Configure the remote URL in repository settings
2. Use Push, Pull, or Fetch from the toolbar
3. Pull supports both merge and rebase strategies
4. SSH keys from ~/.ssh are automatically mounted into Docker

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Tech Stack

Frontend    React 19  ·  Vite 6  ·  TailwindCSS 4  ·  Zustand  ·  Radix UI  ·  Lucide Icons
Backend     Node.js 22  ·  Express  ·  Simple-git  ·  Socket.io
Database    SQLite (better-sqlite3)
Infra       Docker  ·  Docker Compose  ·  npm Workspaces
Language    TypeScript 5.9 (shared types across client & server)

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Project Structure

sikagit/
├── client/                  React frontend (Vite)
│   └── src/
│       ├── components/
│       │   ├── diff/        Diff viewer & image preview
│       │   ├── files/       File staging panels
│       │   ├── graph/       Commit graph rendering
│       │   ├── layout/      Sidebar, MainContent
│       │   ├── log/         Commit list & detail
│       │   ├── operations/  Dialogs (commit, settings)
│       │   └── ui/          Reusable primitives
│       ├── lib/             API client, ANSI parser
│       └── store/           Zustand state stores
│
├── server/                  Express API server
│   └── src/
│       ├── routes/          git, repos, projects, run, browse, ai
│       └── services/        Git, DB, storage services
│
├── shared/                  Shared TypeScript types
├── data/                    SQLite database (auto-created)
├── docker-compose.yml       Development
└── docker-compose.prod.yml  Production

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API Reference

Repositories

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	/api/v1/repos	List all repositories
POST	/api/v1/repos	Add a repository
PATCH	/api/v1/repos/:id	Update repo settings
DELETE	/api/v1/repos/:id	Remove a repository

Projects

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	/api/v1/projects	List all projects
POST	/api/v1/projects	Create a project
PATCH	/api/v1/projects/:id	Update project
DELETE	/api/v1/projects/:id	Delete a project

Git

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	/api/v1/git/graph	Commit graph with lane rendering
GET	/api/v1/git/status	Detailed file status
GET	/api/v1/git/status-summary	Batch status (multiple repos)
GET	/api/v1/git/branches	Branches and tags
GET	/api/v1/git/config	Git configuration
POST	/api/v1/git/config	Set config values
POST	/api/v1/git/stage	Stage files
POST	/api/v1/git/unstage	Unstage files
POST	/api/v1/git/stage-hunk	Stage a diff hunk
POST	/api/v1/git/discard-hunk	Discard a diff hunk
POST	/api/v1/git/commit	Create a commit
POST	/api/v1/git/push	Push to remote
POST	/api/v1/git/pull	Pull (merge or rebase)
POST	/api/v1/git/fetch	Fetch from remote
POST	/api/v1/git/remote-url	Set remote URL
POST	/api/v1/git/test-remote	Test remote connection
GET	/api/v1/git/diff	File diff
GET	/api/v1/git/file	File content at commit

Run & Build

Method	Endpoint	Description
POST	/api/v1/run/:id/start	Start dev server
POST	/api/v1/run/:id/stop	Stop dev server
GET	/api/v1/run/:id/status	Process status & port
GET	/api/v1/run/:id/output	Buffered terminal output
POST	/api/v1/run/:id/build	Start build
POST	/api/v1/run/:id/build/stop	Stop build

Real-time Events (Socket.io)

Event	Description
run:output:{repoId}	Terminal output lines
run:port:{repoId}	Detected dev server port
run:stats:{repoId}	CPU/memory (every 2s)
run:exit:{repoId}	Process exit code

Scripts

# Development
npm run dev                  # Client + server with hot reload
npm run docker:dev           # Docker Compose (foreground)
npm run docker:dev:detach    # Docker Compose (background)

# Production
npm run build                # Build all packages
npm run docker:prod          # Production (foreground)
npm run docker:prod:detach   # Production (background)

# Utilities
npm run lint                 # Lint client and server
npm run docker:down          # Stop containers
npm run docker:logs          # Tail logs

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Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please read our Contributing Guide before submitting a pull request.

• Report a Bug
• Request a Feature
• Read the Code of Conduct
• Security Policy

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License

SikaGit is released under the Sikasio Source Available License. Free for personal use. Commercial use requires a license from Sikasio.

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Keywords

git gui · git client · self-hosted git · docker git gui · visual commit graph · diff viewer · git staging tool · gitkraken alternative · sourcetree alternative · github desktop alternative · open source git gui · react git client · node.js git gui · wsl git gui · ai commit messages · git branch visualization · hunk staging · dev server manager · docker developer tools

Built by Sikasio — A design & development studio from Cairo, Egypt.