GitStudio

A free, open-source, JetBrains-grade Git suite for VS Code, Cursor, and desktop.

_{Logo & brand assets live in brand/.}

In VS Code and Cursor — the same engine, as an extension:

A three-pane merge editor — yours, the result, theirs.	Pull requests and issues — read, review and merge.
An optional assistant — your own key or a local model.	A real terminal, in every repository tab.

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Get GitStudio

VS Code / Cursor extension

Install GitStudio from the VS Code Marketplace or Open VSX (VSCodium, Gitpod, …), or from the command line:

code   --install-extension gitstudio.gitstudio    # VS Code
cursor --install-extension gitstudio.gitstudio    # Cursor

To use GitStudio's compare viewer for VS Code text diffs (Source Control, Explorer comparisons, history and vscode.diff), enable gitstudio.merge.useAsDefaultDiffViewer in Settings. It is off by default and independent of conflict auto-open. With the standalone Merge Studio extension, use jbMerge.useAsDefaultDiffViewer instead. If both are enabled, GitStudio handles diffs. Once it is on, the comparison opens everywhere: for the diffs VS Code and other extensions open, and for GitStudio's own Changes list, Commit Graph, stashes, history, blame, compare, worktrees and push review. To use it only in some of those places, untick the others in gitstudio.diff.comparisonIn: for instance untick changes to keep VS Code's diff editor, with its selective-staging menu, for the Changes list. Pull request diffs always open in VS Code's diff editor, where their review threads are. So do binary and custom-editor diffs, diffs of other extensions' own documents (pull request reviews, AI edits), and a comparison that cannot be loaded. This uses VS Code's stable tab API, so the native diff may briefly appear before the comparison opens. Unsaved source tabs are kept; editing the comparison opens the writable document in a background text tab for normal saving and close prompts. Disable the setting to restore VS Code for future diffs.

Desktop app

One line:

# macOS and Linux
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/GitStudioHQ/gitstudio/main/scripts/install.sh | bash

# Windows
irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/GitStudioHQ/gitstudio/main/scripts/install.ps1 | iex

Homebrew (macOS):

brew install --cask gitstudiohq/gitstudio/gitstudio   # add --force if you already have GitStudio.app

winget (Windows) — once the first submission (microsoft/winget-pkgs#437547) is merged:

winget install GitStudioHQ.GitStudio

Or download it from the latest GitHub Release or gitstudio.dev:

Platform	Installer
macOS — Apple Silicon	GitStudio-<version>-arm64.dmg
macOS — Intel	GitStudio-<version>-x64.dmg
Windows	GitStudio-Setup-<version>.exe (NSIS — choose your install dir)
Linux	GitStudio-<version>-x86_64.AppImage (universal) · GitStudio-<version>-amd64.deb (Debian/Ubuntu) · GitStudio-<version>-x86_64.rpm (Fedora/RHEL) · GitStudio-<version>-x64.tar.gz (portable)

Every release carries a SHA256SUMS.txt; the one-line installers verify against it and refuse to install on a mismatch.

The builds are not code-signed yet. Homebrew and install.sh clear macOS's quarantine flag for you; if you took the .dmg and macOS says the app is damaged, run xattr -d -r -s com.apple.quarantine /Applications/GitStudio.app once. On Windows, SmartScreen: More info → Run anyway.

Every build checks GitHub Releases for a newer version and asks before downloading. Windows and Linux (AppImage) then update in place; macOS downloads the new .dmg to your Downloads folder and opens it — one drag to Applications (unsigned builds cannot apply a Squirrel.Mac update).

The idea

VS Code's built-in Git is functional but flat. GitLens is great at information (blame, history, lenses) but doesn't own the interaction (merging, staging, resolving). JetBrains IDEs nail the interaction — three-pane merges, a real commit graph, hunk-level staging, inline blame that feels native — but you only get them if you live in IntelliJ.

GitStudio brings the JetBrains-grade Git workflow to VS Code, Cursor, and a native desktop app, and adds an intelligence layer on top. The polish of a native IDE, the depth of a power-user tool, and AI that actually understands your history — all free, on public and private repos.

What's inside — the six pillars

Everything ships in one extension (gitstudio.gitstudio) and one desktop app, both built on the same shared engine:

Pillar	What's in
Visualize	A sidebar-native Commits view (true branch topology at sidebar scale, mini author avatars on the nodes, scoped search) plus a full-screen virtualized commit graph; inline + full-file blame with a code-age heatmap; file & line history; revision navigation; reflog time-machine.
Change	Instant hunk- & line-level staging; guided commit box (amend, sign-off, author, Commit & Push); side-by-side / unified diff with word-level highlighting; 3-pane merge editor with accept ribbons — conflicts auto-open as they appear.
Rewrite	Drag-to-reorder interactive rebase (pick · reword · edit · squash · fixup · drop); a universal, reflog-powered Undo safety net (never hijacks Ctrl/Cmd+Z).
Manage	Branches (live ↑/↓ badges, fetch-in-place, pull without checkout), remotes, tags, first-class stashes, worktrees; GitHub-style branch compare; status-bar sync with in-view Push/Pull.
Collaborate	In-editor GitHub pull-request review — list, check out, diff, comment inline, submit, merge, create.
Assist	AI features — optional, bring-your-own-key (Anthropic or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint, including local Ollama / LM Studio) or zero-key (Copilot): AI commit messages, explain-diff, summaries. With Copilot it works with nothing to set up, otherwise it is off until you connect a provider; keys stay on your machine in GitStudio's own encrypted store; AI never gates a Git operation.

The desktop app

A standalone, cross-platform Git client (macOS / Windows / Linux) built on the exact same core — not a rewrite. On top of the shared graph, diff/merge, staging, rebase, and undo it adds:

• A GitHub home for your repo — sign in with a token and get pull requests (diffs + inline review), issues, Actions runs with logs, releases, notifications, gists, orgs, and projects, all local-first.
• An integrated terminal (node-pty + xterm.js) that opens in your repo.
• An AI Assistant panel wired to @gitstudio/ai — connect Anthropic or any OpenAI-compatible model, including local ones.
• Auto-update from GitHub Releases.

MCP server

gitstudio-mcp (in apps/mcp) exposes a repository's Git capabilities to any MCP-compatible agent (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Copilot, Windsurf) over stdio. Read tools are always available; write/destructive tools are opt-in via environment variables.

Monorepo layout

npm workspaces (packages/* + apps/*):

packages/
  engine/        Pure, unit-tested diff/merge + graph-layout model (no vscode/electron imports).
  git-service/   Thin git layer: log, blame, status, staging, refs, stashes, worktrees, sync…
  host-bridge/   Protocols shared between the hosts (extension / desktop) and their webviews.
  webview-ui/    Shared webview front-ends: commit graph, diff/merge (Monaco), conflicts
                 dashboard, rebase.
  merge-vscode/  The VS Code side of the merge experience, shared by the extension and
                 Merge Studio: merge editor, conflicts dashboard, routing, diff panel.
  ai/            Host-agnostic AI layer: multi-provider model registry, git AI tasks, agent
                 loop, and the shared git tool catalog that also backs the MCP server.
apps/
  extension/     The VS Code / Cursor extension.
  desktop/       The Electron desktop app.
  mcp/           gitstudio-mcp — the Model Context Protocol server.
  merge-studio/  Merge Studio — the merge-only extension, exported to GitStudioHQ/merge-studio.
scripts/
  merge-studio/  Export to and import from the merge-studio repository (docs/merge-studio.md).
  merge-e2e/     The all-cases conflict matrix the merge code is tested against.

engine, host-bridge, and ai are kept pure (no vscode/electron imports) so they stay portable and testable — enforced by npm run check-purity.

Development

Requires Node 22+.

npm ci               # install all workspaces
npm test             # run every workspace's tests (tsx --test)
npm run check-types  # tsc --noEmit across all workspaces
npm run check-purity # assert the pure packages stay host-free

Extension — open the repo in VS Code and press F5 to launch an Extension Development Host with GitStudio loaded. Package a sideloadable VSIX with:

cd apps/extension
npm run package
npx @vscode/vsce package --no-dependencies

Desktop — build and launch Electron:

npm start --workspace apps/desktop   # dev build + launch
npm run dist --workspace apps/desktop  # installers for the host OS -> apps/desktop/release/

Releasing

Both products release from tags — ext-v* for the extension (→ Marketplace, Open VSX, GitHub Release) and app-v* for the desktop app (→ per-OS installers on a GitHub Release, built natively on a 4-way matrix). CI runs typecheck + the full test suite before anything publishes. See RELEASING.md for the full playbook, including the optional signing/notarization secrets.

Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome at GitStudioHQ/gitstudio. Before opening a PR, please run the three gates locally:

npm test && npm run check-types && npm run check-purity

CONTRIBUTING.md has the rest (and the code of conduct; report security problems privately, as SECURITY.md says), and docs/merge-studio.md explains how the merge code is shared with Merge Studio and how a pull request opened on its repository comes back here.

Facts

Extension	gitstudio.gitstudio (publisher gitstudio) — VS Code Marketplace + Open VSX
Desktop	GitHub Releases — .dmg (arm64 + x64), .exe, .AppImage, .deb, .rpm, .tar.gz
Website	gitstudio.dev
License	Apache-2.0
Privacy	What each product sends, and how to turn it off: desktop · extension · Merge Studio
Security	SECURITY.md — report privately, through the repository's Security tab
Sibling product	Merge Studio — gitstudio.merge-studio, the merge-only extension. Built from apps/merge-studio and the shared packages here, exported to GitStudioHQ/merge-studio. Shares its merge editor, not a listing.

Architecture notes

• One flagship extension, not a swarm (the GitLens model). It grows pillar by pillar; Merge Studio stays a separate, focused product, built from the same merge code (see docs/merge-studio.md).
• Webview custom editors for rich UI (merge, graph, rebase), providers + decorations for ambient features (blame, history), and a thin git service with its own repo discovery (git rev-parse, symlink-safe) plus direct .git reads where speed matters — the views paint from local git instead of blocking on vscode.git activation.
• Strict CSP + per-load nonces on every webview; AI keys live in SecretStorage (extension) / safeStorage (desktop) and never reach a webview.
• One core, two hosts. The desktop app runs @gitstudio/git-service unchanged in Electron's main process and renders the same @gitstudio/webview-ui components the extension uses — behind the same @gitstudio/host-bridge protocol.

License

Apache-2.0 (see LICENSE and NOTICE). Brand assets in brand/ identify the project; don't use the GitStudio name/logo in a way that implies official endorsement.