gitbash

Git utilities written in pure bash: only git is required, fzf, delta and bat are optional. Reduce repetitive typing and supercharge git workflows with optional interactive previews and safe cleanup — see a full comparison.

Installation

Needs git >= 2.23 and bash >= 3.2. fzf (menus), delta (diffs) and bat (previews) are optional but recommended.

macOS

npm i -g gitbash
brew install fzf git-delta bat
gitbash --config

Shell integration (lets you type commit instead of gitbash commit):

## for bash
echo 'eval "$(gitbash --init)"' >> ~/.bashrc

## for zsh
echo 'eval "$(gitbash --init)"' >> ~/.zshrc

Linux

npm i -g gitbash
sudo apt install fzf git-delta bat   # Debian/Ubuntu, needs fzf >= 0.36
gitbash --config

Shell integration:

## for bash
echo 'eval "$(gitbash --init)"' >> ~/.bashrc

## for zsh
echo 'eval "$(gitbash --init)"' >> ~/.zshrc

Windows

Needs Git for Windows. In PowerShell or Git Bash; in WSL, follow the Linux steps:

npm i -g gitbash
winget install junegunn.fzf dandavison.delta sharkdp.bat   # needs fzf >= 0.54
gitbash --config

gitbash --config also sets up the shell integration: it offers to load the gitbash functions in your PowerShell profile (and to allow local scripts, which Windows PowerShell blocks by default) and in ~/.bashrc for Git Bash. Open a new window afterwards. switch is a PowerShell keyword: use gitbash switch there.

To set it up by hand, add this line to your PowerShell profile (notepad $PROFILE):

gitbash --init --shell=pwsh | Out-String | Invoke-Expression

Without npm

Installation by script on machines without npm available

# macOS, Linux, Git Bash (or: wget -qO- ... | sh)
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jaggli/gitbash/main/install.sh | sh

# Windows PowerShell (needs Git for Windows; prints the line for your $PROFILE)
irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jaggli/gitbash/main/install.ps1 | iex

It downloads the package published on npm, checks it against npm's sha512 checksum, and installs it to ~/.local/share/gitbash and links ~/.local/bin/gitbash (add that folder to your PATH if the script says so); delete both to uninstall. Set GITBASH_VERSION for a specific version, and GITBASH_INSTALL_DIR / GITBASH_BIN_DIR for other locations.

Options

| Option | Description | | --- | --- | | -h, --help | Show the help | | -v, --version | Show the version | | --update | Update to the latest release (npm, pnpm or install script) | | --init | Print shell functions to call commands without the gitbash prefix | | --init --prefix=gb- | Prefixed functions: gb-commit, gb-switch, ... (avoids shadowing e.g. /usr/bin/pr) | | --init --shell=pwsh | PowerShell functions instead of bash/zsh | | --config | Configuration wizard (~/.gitbashrc); offers to install dependencies and the shell integration | | --config-local | Overrides for the current repository (.gitbashrc, committed) | | --config-user | Personal overrides for the current repository (.gitbashrc-user, not committed) |

Commands

-y / --yes answers every yes/no question with yes and is passed on to the commands a command runs (e.g. pr -y → commit). Deleting unmerged work or remote branches and force-pushing always ask. Options with a value accept --days=14 and --days 14.

branch

Interactive menu for branch operations (create/switch/update).

branch              # Interactive menu
branch -h           # Show help
branch --version    # Show version

create

create [--feature|--bugfix|--hotfix|--release|-t] [-p|--push|--no-push] [-y] [JIRA_LINK|ISSUE] [TITLE...]

Create a branch from the latest origin/<base> with optional Jira parsing, then push and track it (GITBASH_CREATE_AUTO_PUSH, --no-push).

Branch Name Format: <type>/<custom-prefix>/<issue>-<title> or <type>/<custom-prefix>/<title>

Issue keys like PROJ-123, AB2-45 or proj-7, or a Jira URL. Titles are lower-cased, umlauts and accents transliterated (Über → ueber).

Examples with custom prefix (GITBASH_CREATE_BRANCH_PREFIX="awesome-team"):

With issue parsing enabled (default):

create PROJ-123 fix login bug           # → feature/awesome-team/PROJ-123-fix-login-bug
create fix bug                          # → feature/awesome-team/NOISSUE-fix-bug
create --hotfix PROJ-999 critical fix   # → hotfix/awesome-team/PROJ-999-critical-fix
create                                  # Interactive mode with Jira prompt

With issue parsing disabled (GITBASH_CREATE_NO_ISSUE_PARSING="yes"):

create fix login bug                    # → feature/awesome-team/fix-login-bug
create --hotfix enhance security        # → hotfix/awesome-team/enhance-security
create                                  # Interactive mode (no Jira prompt)

Examples with empty prefix (GITBASH_CREATE_BRANCH_PREFIX="", default):

create PROJ-123 fix bug                 # → feature/PROJ-123-fix-bug
create fix bug                          # → feature/NOISSUE-fix-bug
create --no-push PROJ-7 quick fix       # → feature/PROJ-7-quick-fix, not pushed

switch

switch [FILTER...]

Switch branches with fzf. Shows local branches (merged: = fully merged into the base branch), then remote branches without a local copy. Preview shows commit history. Switches directly when the filter is an exact branch name or matches exactly one branch name. After switching, offers to fast-forward a branch that is behind.

• Del deletes the selected local branch (asks first, default no; unmerged commits need a second confirmation)

switch              # Browse all branches
switch captcha      # Pre-filter for "captcha"

commit

commit [-p] [-s] [-a] [-t] [-y] [--force-with-lease] [MESSAGE...] [-- MESSAGE...]

Commit with optional push.

• Only staged changes → commits them. Only unstaged/new files → stages everything (lists new files first).
• Both staged and unstaged → asks [s]taged only (default) or [a]ll.
• -p pushes; new branches get tracking. If the remote diverged, asks: rebase, merge or abort.
• --amend without a message keeps the old one; with -p it asks before push --force-with-lease.

commit fix bug           # Commit
commit -s fix bug        # Commit staged only
commit -p add feature    # Commit and push
commit -t add endpoint   # Conventional commit type menu (feat, fix, ...)
commit --amend           # Amend, keep message

status

Interactive staging with fzf and diff previews.

• Enter stages the selected files (unstages fully staged ones)
• Ctrl-R discards changes (asks first)
• Ctrl-O commits the staged changes, then asks whether to push
• ESC exits

pr

pr [-p|--push] [--print] [-y|--yes]

Open the pull request in the browser: the existing PR via the GitHub CLI when available, otherwise the create page (GitHub, GitHub Enterprise, GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure DevOps). Offers to commit local changes and to push a branch that is not on the remote yet. -p pushes first, --print prints the URL.

repo

repo [--print]

Open the repository's web page in the browser: via the GitHub CLI (gh repo view --web) when available, otherwise the URL derived from the remote (GitHub, GitHub Enterprise, GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure DevOps). --print prints the URL.

reset-repo

reset-repo [-n|--dry-run] [-y|--yes]

Reset the current branch like a fresh clone: fetch, git reset --hard <remote>/<branch> and delete all untracked and ignored files (git clean -dx). Lists the unpushed commits, local changes and files it removes and asks first. Aborts an unfinished merge or rebase. Files matching GITBASH_RESET_KEEP (e.g. .env), .gitbashrc-user and nested repositories are kept; stashes and other branches are not touched.

update

update [-p|--push] [-y|--yes]

Merge the latest origin/<base> into the current branch. With local changes, asks to commit, stash (restored afterwards) or abort. Lists conflicts and opens the merge tool (GITBASH_MERGE_COMMAND). On the base branch itself, fast-forwards it.

stale

stale [-a|--all] [-m|--my] [--age=N] [--json] [FILTER...]

List remote branches older than 3 months (oldest first). Multi-select with TAB, Enter deletes them from the remote after confirmation. Protected branches are never listed.

• -a|--all starts with all branches (not only stale ones); Ctrl-T toggles
• -m|--my pre-fills the filter with your git username
• --age=N sets the threshold in months (default: 3, or GITBASH_STALE_MONTHS)
• --json outputs JSON for scripting

stashes

Interactive stash menu: create, apply, or delete stashes.

stash

stash [--] [NAME...]

Create named stash (includes untracked files). Use -- for a name starting with -.

unstash

Apply stash with fzf picker. Drops it afterwards unless you say no. -y drops it without asking.

cleanstash

Delete stashes (multi-select with TAB). -y skips the confirmation.

cleanup

cleanup [-n|--dry-run] [--days=N] [-y|--yes] [--json]

Find and delete leftover local branches:

• [MERGED] - Changes are in the base branch (also squash merges). Pre-selected if the remote branch is gone or it is older than N days.
• [STALE] - No commits in 7+ days. Pre-selected only if everything is pushed.
• [GONE] - Remote branch deleted but changes not merged (not selected)
• [RECENT] - Recent activity (not selected)

Unpushed commits are shown per branch. Deletes with git branch -d; force-deleting unmerged work needs a second confirmation. Switches to the base branch first if the current branch is deleted. --dry-run lists and --yes deletes the pre-selected branches without the picker.

--json outputs non-interactive JSON for scripting:

[
  {
    "last_change_timestamp": 1733123456,
    "author_email": "[email protected]",
    "author_name": "Dev",
    "name": "feature/old",
    "last_change_relative": "2 weeks ago",
    "category": "merged",
    "preselected": true,
    "unpushed_commits": 0
  }
]

commits

commits [-a|--all] [-y|--yes] [COUNT]

List the current branch's own commits with option to revert. On a feature branch only commits not in the base branch are shown; on the base branch its first-parent history (merged branches as their merge commit). If the upstream has new commits, offers to fast-forward first. Multi-select with TAB; selected commits are reverted newest first.

commits          # Show the branch's last 20 commits
commits 50       # Show up to 50
commits --all    # All recent commits, like git log

Configuration

gitbash reads ~/.gitbashrc. Run gitbash --config to set it up interactively, or write it by hand:

# Branch prefix inserted between type and issue number (default: "")
GITBASH_CREATE_BRANCH_PREFIX=""

# Disable Jira issue number parsing in branch names: yes or no (default: "no")
GITBASH_CREATE_NO_ISSUE_PARSING="no"

# Fallback prefix when no issue number is provided (default: "NOISSUE")
GITBASH_CREATE_ISSUE_PARSING_FALLBACK="NOISSUE"

# Push new branches right after 'create': yes or no (default: "yes")
GITBASH_CREATE_AUTO_PUSH="yes"

# Merge tool invoked by 'update' on conflicts (default: "fork")
GITBASH_MERGE_COMMAND="fork"

# Theme for delta/bat: auto, dark or light (default: "auto")
GITBASH_THEME="auto"

# Stale thresholds: 'stale' in months, 'cleanup' in days (defaults: 3, 7)
GITBASH_STALE_MONTHS="3"
GITBASH_CLEANUP_DAYS="7"

# Branches never offered for deletion, space-separated globs
GITBASH_PROTECTED_BRANCHES="main master develop release/*"

# Files 'reset-repo' keeps, space-separated .gitignore patterns, e.g. ".env .idea/" (default: "")
GITBASH_RESET_KEEP=""

# Base branch (default: detected from origin/HEAD, then main, then master)
GITBASH_BASE_BRANCH=""

# Remote name (default: "origin")
GITBASH_REMOTE="origin"

# Turn off the automatic update checks: yes or no (default: "no")
GITBASH_NO_UPDATE_CHECKS="no"

Config files are read, never executed. Only GITBASH_*="value" lines are used (double, single or no quotes, optional export, # comments). Values cannot contain $, backticks, backslashes or quotes; anything else is ignored with a warning.

Local Configuration

Run gitbash --config-local inside a repository to create a committed .gitbashrc with overrides for everyone working on it (e.g. a team branch prefix or different thresholds). For security, a committed .gitbashrc cannot set GITBASH_MERGE_COMMAND.

User Configuration

Run gitbash --config-user to create .gitbashrc-user for personal overrides in one repository. It is excluded from git via .git/info/exclude.

Configuration priority (highest to lowest):

1. .gitbashrc-user - Personal settings for this repository (not committed)
2. .gitbashrc - Repository settings (committed)
3. ~/.gitbashrc - Global settings

Updates

gitbash --update installs the latest release the same way gitbash was installed: with npm install -g (or pnpm add -g) for a global package, or by running the release's install script again for the same locations.

gitbash also checks for new releases on its own, at most once a day, in the background while a command runs, so commands never wait for the network. When a new version is known, the next command at a terminal asks (at most every other day) whether to update now, not now, or skip that version for good. It never asks in scripts or pipes.

To turn the checks off, answer "no" in gitbash --config or --config-user, set GITBASH_NO_UPDATE_CHECKS="yes" in any config file, or export GITBASH_NO_UPDATE_CHECKS=1. They are also off in CI (CI and similar variables) and when running from a git checkout. The check state is kept in ~/.local/state/gitbash/update-check ($XDG_STATE_HOME if set).

Colors

gitbash supports NO_COLOR: set it to any non-empty value (e.g. export NO_COLOR=1) to turn off all colors, including the help, messages, the git output in previews and bat. delta is not used then, and fzf uses its black-and-white theme. Colors are also left out when the output is not a terminal.

License

See LICENSE file for details.