explaingit

jesseduffield/lazygit

Analysis updated 2026-05-18

77,519GoAudience · developerComplexity · 2/5LicenseSetup · easy

TLDR

A terminal UI that lets you manage git repositories interactively instead of typing commands.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((lazygit))
    What it does
      Interactive git UI
      Terminal-based
      Command shortcuts
    How to use
      Run in terminal
      Keyboard navigation
      Visual git operations
    Use cases
      Faster git workflows
      Learning git visually
      Managing branches easily
    Tech stack
      Go language
      Terminal UI
      Git integration
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Code map

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What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Speed up your git workflow by navigating branches, commits, and diffs through a visual interface instead of typing commands.

USE CASE 2

Learn how git works by seeing the effects of your actions immediately in an interactive terminal UI.

USE CASE 3

Manage staging, committing, and rebasing without memorizing git command syntax.

What is it built with?

GoGit

How does it compare?

jesseduffield/lazygitjunegunn/fzfcaddyserver/caddy
Stars77,51980,01872,131
LanguageGoGoGo
Setup difficultyeasyeasyeasy
Complexity2/51/52/5
Audiencedeveloperdeveloperops devops

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min
Use freely for any purpose including commercial, as long as you keep the copyright notice.

In plain English

Lazygit is a simple terminal user interface for git commands. Git is the version-control system most developers use to track changes in their code, and its built-in commands are typed at a plain text prompt. Lazygit puts that same workflow inside an interactive screen that runs in your terminal: panels for branches, files, commits, and stashes that you can move around and act on with keys, instead of remembering long git invocations. A short demo in the README shows a commit-and-push flow happening with a few keystrokes. The author, Jesse Duffield, also runs a paid SaaS-tracking product called Subble, and the readme calls out a few sponsors at the top including Warp (a terminal application) and Tuple (a screen-sharing app), as well as a list of GitHub Sponsors who fund maintenance. The project itself is open source. You would reach for Lazygit if you use git often and want a faster, more visual way to drive everyday actions without leaving the terminal or installing a full graphical app. It is distributed through the GitHub releases page and through package managers, with a Homebrew formula highlighted in the readme badges, and the project tracks download counts on its tagged releases. The project is written in Go, and source quality is tracked through public reports from Go Report Card, Codacy code grade, Codacy coverage, and golangci-lint, all of which the readme links to as status badges. Maintenance is described in the readme as coming from contributors and sponsors together, and the file links to a GitHub Sponsors page for anyone who wants to fund development and get their avatar shown in the supporter list.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
How do I install and start using lazygit to manage my git repositories from the terminal?
Prompt 2
What are the main keyboard shortcuts in lazygit for switching branches and viewing commit history?
Prompt 3
Show me how to stage, commit, and push changes using lazygit instead of git commands.
Prompt 4
How can I use lazygit to rebase commits and resolve merge conflicts visually?

Frequently asked questions

What is lazygit?

A terminal UI that lets you manage git repositories interactively instead of typing commands.

What language is lazygit written in?

Mainly Go. The stack also includes Go, Git.

What license does lazygit use?

Use freely for any purpose including commercial, as long as you keep the copyright notice.

How hard is lazygit to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 5min to a first successful run.

Who is lazygit for?

Mainly developer.

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