Install git-branchless with Homebrew, apk, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, scoop

Project links

• Homepage

Commands and aliases

• git-branchless

Project history

The repository opened in 2020 and grew around a branchless workflow idea: users can commit directly, treat branches as optional labels, and manipulate commit graphs without fear of losing work. The README presents the tool as compatible with branches while adding undo, smartlog, restack, sync, move, next, prev, and interactive switch commands.

The design goals describe git-branchless as an incremental improvement path for Git users and a test bed for workflows later explored by Jujutsu. Its emphasis is practical rather than academic: reduce Git complexity, increase developer velocity, and keep commands fast enough for very large repositories.

Adoption history

git-branchless became one of the better-known modern Git workflow experiments. The project documents package-manager installation, Cargo installation, Git hooks, shell alias integration, discussions, Discord, and a user survey, and it benchmarks ideas against large repositories such as Linux and Mozilla's gecko-dev.

Its related-tools page places it in the same ecosystem as Stacked Git, git-stack, git-ps, Jujutsu, Sapling, git-absorb, git-autofixup, and git-revise, making it part of the broader move toward stacked-diff and mutable-history workflows.

How it is used

Practitioners install the executable, run git branchless init inside each repository, and then use git sl for a smart log, git undo for repository-level undo, git restack to repair abandoned descendants, git sync to rebase local stacks, and git move to manipulate subtrees of commits without checking them out.

Why package nerds care

For package maintainers, git-branchless is notable because it ships a Rust CLI with Git hook integration, Cargo distribution, packages across several ecosystems, and commands that intentionally wrap or augment ordinary Git rather than replacing the repository format.

Timeline

• 2020: Repository created.
• 2021: Public 0.x tags began with v0.1.0 and expanded through frequent 0.3 releases.
• 2024: v0.10.0 continued the pre-1.0 release line.
• 2026: v0.11.1 was published in the same 0.x series.

Related projects

• Related and adjacent tools include Jujutsu, Sapling, Stacked Git, git-stack, Git Patch Stack, git-absorb, git-autofixup, git-revise, Git itself, and large monorepo workflows.

Sources

• https://api.github.com/repos/arxanas/git-branchless
• https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/git-branchless
• https://github.com/arxanas/git-branchless
• https://github.com/arxanas/git-branchless/releases
• https://github.com/arxanas/git-branchless/wiki
• https://github.com/arxanas/git-branchless/wiki/Design-goals
• https://github.com/arxanas/git-branchless/wiki/Installation
• https://github.com/arxanas/git-branchless/wiki/Related-tools