stak

Minimal stacked changes for git. A lightweight alternative to Graphite, ghstack, and git-branchless.

What is it?

Build big features as a chain of small, reviewable branches:

main → auth-types → auth-service → auth-ui

Each branch builds on the previous. Submit all for review at once. When you edit a lower branch, one command updates everything above.

Install

# Homebrew (macOS/Linux)
brew install memorypasta/tap/stak

# npm
npm install -g stak-git

# pip / uv
pip install stak-git

# Direct install
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/memorypasta/stak/main/packaging/install.sh | bash

Commands

| Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | stak new <name> | Create branch on top of current | | stak insert | Insert branch at any position (fzf) | | stak split | Split current branch's commits (fzf) | | stak up / down | Move up or down the stack | | stak goto | Jump to branch (fzf interactive) | | stak status | Show the stack | | stak sync | Rebase entire stack | | stak continue | Continue after resolving conflicts | | stak abort | Abort current rebase | | stak push | Push branches (fzf multi-select) | | stak push -a | Push all branches | | stak drop | Remove top branch | | stak fold | Fold branch (fzf interactive) | | stak fold --down | Fold into child (non-interactive) | | stak land | Clean up after PR merge | | stak log | View commits (fzf interactive) | | stak log -a | Show all branches | | stak ls | List all stacks | | stak use | Switch to stack (fzf interactive) | | stak use <name> | Switch/create stack by name | | stak rm-stack | Delete a stack (fzf interactive) | | stak setup-interactive | Install fzf |

Disable Interactive Mode

export STAK_NO_INTERACTIVE=1
stak push    # pushes all without fzf prompt

Basic Workflow

git checkout main

# Build feature in parts
stak new auth-types
# ... commit ...

stak new auth-service
# ... commit ...

stak new auth-ui
# ... commit ...

# See the stack
stak status
#     main
#     auth-types (2 commits)
#     auth-service (3 commits)
#   → auth-ui (4 commits)

# Push all for review
stak push

Editing a Lower Branch

# Go back to fix something
stak down
stak down
# ... fix and commit ...

# Update everything above
stak sync

# Push updates
stak push

Handling Conflicts

stak sync
# Conflict in auth-service!

# Fix the conflict in your editor
git add .
stak continue    # continues sync

# Or abort and try differently
stak abort

Combining Branches

Fold up (into parent - keep parent's name):

# Combine auth-service into auth-types
stak down              # go to auth-service
stak fold              # fold up into auth-types

#     main
#   → auth-types (combined)
#     auth-ui

Fold down (into child - keep child's name):

# Combine auth-service into auth-ui
stak down              # go to auth-service
stak fold --down       # fold down into auth-ui

#     main
#     auth-types
#   → auth-ui (combined)

After PR Merges

# auth-types PR merged to main
stak land        # removes auth-types, rebases rest onto main

# Stack is now:
#     main
#   → auth-service
#     auth-ui

Multiple Stacks

Work on different features simultaneously:

# Create stacks for different features
stak use auth-feature     # creates & switches
stak new auth-types
stak new auth-service

stak use billing-feature  # creates & switches
stak new billing-api
stak new billing-ui

# Switch between them
stak use auth-feature

# List all stacks
stak ls
#   ● auth-feature (2 branches) ◀ current
#   ○ billing-feature (2 branches)

# Delete when done
stak rm-stack billing-feature

Each stak tracks its own chain of branches independently.

Why stak?

| Tool | Complexity | Dependencies | Works with any Git host | |------|------------|--------------|-------------------------| | stak | Minimal | Just bash + git | ✅ Yes | | Graphite | Full platform | Requires account | ❌ GitHub only | | ghstack | Medium | Python | ❌ GitHub only | | git-branchless | High | Rust binary | ✅ Yes |

Philosophy

• Minimal: Only commands you need for stacked changes
• Transparent: Just git branches. Use git directly anytime.
• No magic: Stacks stored in .git/stacks/, one branch per line
• Conflict-friendly: Resolve normally, then stak continue

Tips

• Keep stacks shallow (2-3 branches). Deep stacks = more conflicts.
• Commit before running sync, fold, or drop.
• Use stak status often to see where you are.
• You can always use raw git commands - stak just helps manage the chain.
• Run stak setup-interactive to install fzf for interactive navigation.

License

MIT