Official Linux packages, not a fork
- Ubuntu and Debian: an apt repository that also installs the desktop entry and icons, with updates through apt.
- Arch Linux: a package in the AUR.
- Gentoo: an ebuild repository.
- Nix and NixOS: a flake, usable from a NixOS or Home Manager configuration.
- Homebrew on Linux: the binary, desktop entry and icons under the Homebrew prefix.
- Any distribution: an AppImage, one file with no installation, or a tarball for ~/.local/bin.
What you keep from GitHub Desktop
- Clone from GitHub and GitHub Enterprise with the account you connect; tokens live in the system credential store.
- Stage, commit, push and pull with buttons and shortcuts; the basics look the same.
- Create pull requests from the app: pick the branches, see the commit count, changed files and conflicts, write a Markdown description, open it as a draft or publish it.
- Open pull requests and issues sit in the sidebar, next to your branches.
What you gain
- The whole commit graph, every branch and tag at once, instead of one branch at a time.
- A three-way merge conflict resolver in the app instead of a jump to your editor.
- Visual interactive rebase, line and hunk staging, blame, reflog with reset.
- GitLab, self-hosted GitLab, Bitbucket, Bitbucket Data Center and Azure DevOps, not only GitHub.
- A Launchpad for every repository you own, profiles for work and personal, a docked terminal.
Native speed
GitHub Desktop is built on Electron. BranchBay is written in Rust and drawn on the GPU, so it starts fast and stays smooth on repositories with years of history.
Pay once, run it on 2 computers
BranchBay costs $20 once for 2 computers, in any mix of Linux, macOS and Windows. There is no account to create, no subscription to renew and no telemetry. The trial lasts 14 days with every feature, and your groups, profiles and settings carry over when you buy.