Tag: Git

GitQlient 1.4.0 released

I’m happy to announce the release of GitQlient 1.4.0

Five months after the last big release, I present you a new GitQlient 1.4.0 version. This comes with less features than the previous versions but in exchange I hope it brings better performance.

In this release I’ve focused in the performance of the Git queries and the RAM memory used by GitQlient. I’ve done a deep research on the usage of QString and the allocations that were done to reduce them to the minimum. I’ve also added an internal cache system so now the UI won’t freeze every time the main graph needs to be refreshed. This also includes the separation between the data update of the references and the log history.

During this version I’ve paused the development of GitHub integration although is totally stable and usable, and the integration of Jenkins. This last integration will take a bit longer to refactor so I’ll focus on it in the following releases.

GitQlient 1.4.0 binaries

You can find the binaries for GitQlient 1.4.0 on the release section on the GitHub repo:

New features in GitQlient 1.4.0?

  • Squash merge branches
  • Squash commits: it is now possible to squash the last commits of the current branch. Of course, if the commits where already pushed to remote, they will need to be pushed force.
  • GitQlient now has an internal cache: Local Git operations will be done against the cache and later asynchronously against remote. This allow GitQlient to run faster for local changes that doesn’t need synchronization. This also reduces the UI freeze when refreshing because of changes in the graph.
  • Credentials can be managed by GitQlient with the proper configuration. This can be done through the Config screen.
  • Multi cherry-pick: It is possible now to cherry-pick several commits at once when they’re not part of the current branch.
  • Search tags in the Branches widget: In addition to branches, it is possible to search tags by name.
  • DEB package: GitQlient is now release as well as a DEB package in addition to RPM.

Other features

Technical improvements:

  • Reduced the number of memory allocations (specially with QString)

Known issues:

  • Any MacOS issues are still opened waiting for a system to be tested on.

GitQlient 1.3.0 released

I’m happy to announce the release of GitQlient 1.3.0

Six months after the last big release, I present a new GitQlient 1.3.0 version. This comes with a lot of new stuff that I’m going to talk about in this post.

In this release I’ve continued UX refactor I started in the previous one. This time I harmonized the styles for both the bright and the dark color schemas. Another part I’ve focused in a follow-up of the last release, one of the main focus areas has been the UX in the commit area and in the code editor (adding search).

The second big area has been extending the support of GitQlient for other platforms as Haiku, providing RPMs for CentOS and Fedora and removing submodules to facilitate the release in ArchLinux.

The last area but the most important one is about the new functionality and the improvements that GitQlient 1.3.0 includes. This will need a new section, of course. One of the big changes is the inclusion of new Qt dependencies: WebEngineWidgets and WebChannel.

GitQlient 1.3.0 binaries

You can find the binaries for GitQlient 1.3.0 on the release section on the GitHub repo:

New features in GitQlient 1.3.0?

  • GitHub integration
  • Jenkins integration (preview)
  • Stage chunk
  • Subtrees
  • Deleting submodules
  • Remotes
  • Edit Git/GitQlient configuration in place
  • Translations enabled
  • Pomodoro

Extending GitQlient

One of the new things in this GitQlient 1.3.0 is the extension of the GitHub integration and the addition of Jenkins integration (as preview).

With the GitHub integration it is possible now to create issues and PRs. You can do code reviews of a PR with code extracts, comments, reviews and markdown support as well.

The other big feature, Jenkins, it’s in an early stage. You will be able to review the status of your remote Jenkins server, trigger builds and check the result of the different builds.

Finally, not a big feature but a nice to have one is the Pomodoro. GitQlient is becoming more a workspace manager than a simple GitQlient. So, I thought that having a pomodoro clock in GitQlient would be a nice to have feature.

Minor features

The UX/UI refactor I’ve been doing would be included in the minor features. Unfortunately, it doesn’t bring any really big change, but I hope it simplifies workflows when doing certain Git operations. Among other changes I’ve included:

  • Showing if commits are signed: The History view now shows a green check on the author column if the commit is signed
  • Search functionality in code editor
  • Search functionality for the branches
  • Unified untracked and unstaged lists

The future

For the next release there are some nice features I’ve already planned:

  • Code refactor: Caused by the big growth of GitQlient.
  • Moving commits from UI
  • Squashing commits
  • DEB packages
  • Refactor the GitHub API classes
  • Finish Jenkins integration

As a result of the code growth during the last two releases I’d like to improve the structure and readability of it.

Consequently, I wouldn’t expect too many new additions or changes for next release but a better performance and code split to facilitate fixes and app extension in the future.

You can see the release planning and all the features that every release will contain in the Release Plan. And as always, if you’d like some feature or you’re missing something in GitQlient, check that it’s not yet in the backlog and open an issue on GitHub!

New release of GitQlient 1.2.0

I’m happy to announce the release of GitQlient 1.2.0

Three months after the last minor release I present a new GitQlient 1.2.0 with some fixes, several improvements and a lot of new features. For this release I’ve put the main focus in the UI/UX. That includes both the new features and the improvements of the existing ones.

During this development phase, part of the UI changes have happened in the diff widget by providing multiple views for the changes. I’ve also added a tiny text editor with syntax highlight (for C/C++ for now). Other UI/UX changes are the possibility to minimize the branches widget and to pin repositories. All of this has been marinated with an improvement in the way the settings are stored.

Finally, it is worth to mention the tech preview of GitHub/GitLab integration where you can create issues, pull/merge requests as well as see the status of those in the graph view. This is a new path that I’ll explore in the future where I have other ideas about the integration of third party apps. As a complement, from now on, GitQlient will notify you when a new version is available!

The binaries

You can find the binaries for GitQlient 1.2.0 on the release section on the GitHub repo:

What’s new in GitQlient 1.2.0?

The new version includes a lot of things:

  • Pinned tabs
  • GitHub integration (tech preview)
  • Tiny text editor
  • New diff for the WIP
  • Minimalist branches widget
  • Refactored the diff view
  • Bright colours schema
  • Update notifications
  • Settings per repository
  • More configuration options

New WIP diff view

The new diff view adds the possibility of viewing the file in differnt ways (full view or split) as well as navigate through the changes (in the split mode for now).

When the diff it’s opened from the WIP view, it also adds several extra controls like edit, stage and revert.

New WIP diff view
GitQlient – New WIP diff view

New tiny text editor

The second big feature is the tiny text editor I’ve embedded in GitQlient. It allows you to edit the files that are currently in WIP and pending to be commited.

Some times I’ve missed the ability to edit the files because I forgot something and in QtCreator may be I’ve changed the project or closed the file. I usually work with very large projects and it’s very handy to have an editor just in case.

GitQlient tiny text editor
GitQlient – Tiny text editor

The future

For the next release there are some nice features already planned:

  • Add subtree Git feature support
  • Git LFS
  • RPM and DEB packages
  • Prepare GitQlient for translations

As I said, you can see the release planning and all the features that every release will contain in the Release Plan.

As always, if you’d like some feature or you’re missing something in GitQlient, check that it’s not yet in the backlog and open an issue on GitHub!

New GitQlient v1.1.1 (+ Mac)

There is available a patch for the version 1.1 of GitQlient.

The new patch version solves a problem with new repositories. The problem prevented users to work with repositories that have no commits. That applies to both new repositories (via init new repo) and already created repos that don’t have any commits.

I took advantage of this issue to release also a release for OSX. It’s as functional as I would expect to have it in the next 1.2.0. However, I’d like if people can test it before going into the next release.

The binaries

You can find the binaries for GitQlient v1.1.1 on the release section on the GitHub repo:

New GitQlient release v1.1.0

I’m happy to announce the release of GitQlient 1.1.0

After two and a half months from the first release here I present a new release with some fixes, several improvements and new features. The main focus on this release was to improve the stability of GitQlient, making it faster on Windows (there is room for improvement still) and adding some big features that didn’t go into the first release for time reasons.

During this development phase, some non-development tasks where done as well. One thing I wanted was to improve the documentation and the guides and for that reason I’ve shipped the GitQlient User Manual. Another thing I’ve added is Doxygen documentation to the headers (although it’s not yet finished). It will speed up the future documentation for developers who want to collaborate with the project. Related with that, I’ve also set up a Wiki to show the release plan and I’m currently working with GitHub kanban boards.

Finally, in the part of new features, the major addition is The Merge View, that will show the files that are in conflict and will allow you to resolve the conflict. The edition of the files, though, is done in a external editor that you can now configure. The future will be a live editor in GitQlient.

The binaries

You can find the binaries for GitQlient 1.1.0 on the release section on the GitHub repo:

What’s new in GitQlient 1.1.0?

The new version includes a lot of things:

  • New merge view
  • Basic Git config UI
  • Quick access to the recent projects in the init screen
  • Improved display of branches distance
  • Improved UX when pushing a local branch
  • Improved UX when checkout a branch
  • Improved UX for the graph view
  • Ability to open an external editor to edit files
  • Improved performance on Windows
  • Added Doxygen
  • Added User Manual
  • Added Planning

The Merge View

The merge view it’s special since it isn’t accessible as a regular view. It’s only triggered when GitQlient detects that a merge, pull or cherry-pick has conflicts.

GitQlient – The Merge View

As you can see, once this view is activated a red banner will appear under the quick access buttons. It will remain there until the merge is done. It doesn’t mean you cannot do other Git actions. But you won’t be able to push anything until solved. Of course, you can still navigate between all the other views.

The future

As I said, you can see the release planning and all the features that every release will contain in the Release Plan.

As always, if you’d like some feature or you’re missing something in GitQlient, check that it’s not yet in the backlog and open an issue on GitHub!

GitQlient: Multi-platform Git client written with Qt

I’m happy to announce the release of GitQlient 1.0.0

Almost 5 months ago I started this project with the idea of taking an old app and re-factor it. The main focus was to change the the look & feel and creating a Qt Creator plugin based on it. But the most important thing was to have a client I’d feel comfortable to work with.

During the first two months I focused in the separation of the UI and the logic to set a nicer MVC pattern so I could start from there. After that, I started to add new features and removed all the old widgets and functionality that I didn’t need.

For the version 1.0.0 I’ve implemented all the features that were part of GitQlientPlugin with some fixes and improvements. A way more that I initially thought. I’ve been using GitQlient for the last two weeks in my day-to-day work and I feel it’s ready for this first version!

The binaries

You can find the binaries for GitQlient 1.0.0 on the release section on the GitHub repo:

What’s new in GitQlient 1.0.0?

You can find everything that is in the plugin, specially this major ones:

  • Multi-repository support
  • Submodules
  • Tags and stashes
  • Blame & History
  • QLogger as log system
  • New graphic tree representation
  • Improved Diff view
GitQlient showing its main window
GitQlient showing its main window
GitQlient showing the new diff window
GitQlient showing the new diff window
GitQlient Blame&History view
GitQlient Blame&History view

Future

After this release, I’ll start working on the version 2.0.0 and the plan is to have it in 3-6 months. After that I’ll plan how often I want to release major versions: whether 3, 6 or 12 months period.

For the next version the plan is to include the following features:

  • Merge: Full merge support
  • Configuration: Provide UI for Git config file per project
  • Commit additions:
    • Stage changes by hunk and by line
    • Squash commits
  • Diff features:
    • Provide UI for file vs file diff
    • Browse file diff and full commit diff
  • UI: Stylesheet for bright colours
  • More platforms: GitQlient for MacOSX (planned for 2.0.0 if requested)

As always, if you’d like some feature or you’re missing something in GitQlient, check that it’s not yet in the backlog and open an issue on GitHub!

New UI Git plugin for QtCreator: GitQlient

Today I’m really happy to announce that the first version of the Git plugin for QtCreator has been released!

In the last post I advanced some of the final work that will be part of the first version of GitQlient. But what I didn’t explain so far is that that refactor, the re-work and addition of new functionality and the new redesign of the UI had one purpose: provide a Git plugin UI-based for QtCreator!

How to install the Git plugin

You can find the plugin in the release section of GitHub, but I give you the link as well:

Once you have downloaded the plugin, copy it into the QtCreator folder where Qt is installed (Qt/Tools/QtCreator/lib/qtcreator/plugins) or in the following folders:

  • Linux:
    • ~/.local/share/data/QtProject/qtcreator/plugin/<version>
  • Windows
    • %LOCALAPPDATA%\QtProject\qtcreator\plugins\<version>
  • OSX
    • ~/Library/Application Support/QtProject/Qt Creator/plugins/<version>

You need to replace <version> with the QtCreator version (e.g. 4.10.2).

The plugin is activated by default once you have copied it, so you just will need to reboot QtCreator.

How to use the Git plugin for QtCreator

As said before, the plugin will be active by default. That will add a new tab in the left panel with the name of GitQlient (the shourtcut is managed by QtCreator and is Ctrl+4):

New tab option for GitQlient
New tab option for GitQlient

If you go in that tab you will find the main window of GitQlient as it is in the app. I’ve disabled the logs in the plugin but apart from that is the same version.

As you can see, I’ve even added the support for multiple repositories in the view:

Support for multi-repo view - GitQlientPlugin - Git plugin for QtCreator
Support for multi-repo view – GitQlientPlugin – Git plugin for QtCreator

In the top of the window you will find the main controls. You will find all the available options in context menu inside every view. The Blame&History view is also available:

Blame&History view - GiQlientPlugin - Git plugin for QtCreator
Blame&History view – GiQlientPlugin – Git plugin for QtCreator

How to report an error, bug or request a new feature

If you find an error or a bug, please contact me as soon as possible so I can fix it. I’m using GitHub issues to help me on that task.

Since the 99% of the code belongs to GitQlient, please open an issue in that repo on GitHub and I’ll manage from there 🙂

In the Project area, you can see all the new features that are planned for the version 2.0.0. If you want something that is not there, don’t hesitate to add a new issue as Feature or Improvement in the issues page as you did for bug/errors.

Further work

The plan is to release a version of the plugin every time that QtCreator updates.

In addition and not to loose all the new features, I’ll release a new version of the plugin every time that GitQlient updates.

GitQlient: Preparing the first version

In the last post I showed all the major widgets that forms GitQlient, at least in their original design. After a month and a half of intense work, I’ve made some significant changes in the UI but also in the functionality.

For the first version I wanted to improve the UI and make GitQlient as stable as possible. However, I couldn’t resist to add all the features that I was missing for my day to day work. So after this time GitQlient no only had the functionality I showed so far. Here is what it’s new and will be part of the version 1.0.0.

The next post: about the release and something else!

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GitQlient: The new UI (Part II)

In the previous entry of this series of posts I introduced the change I planned to transform QGit in a new app and plugin called GitQlient.

A new UI for GitQlient

In the old QGit there was a mix of UI files, in place widgets and classes that handle data and return widgets because… why not? A mess. For GitQlient, I separated the UI by scopes and I changed the main window for a QWidget so I can easily integrate it in QtCreator as a plugin.

Centralized controls

In QGit there were a lot of controls, menu and options all around. You could easily feel a bit lost not because of the amount but because of their unspecific behavior. In GitQlient, I’ve opted for a central controls widget, with the main used actions and some additional features but trying to avoid as much as a possible to overwhelm the user. The Controls is widget composed by a series of buttons. The widget allows you to apply the main Git actions but also to move between the different views.

Controls widget of GitQlient
Controls widget of GitQlient
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GitQlient: The evolution of QGit (Part I)

Update: I’ve been noticed that Heimdal is already used so I’ve changed the name to GitQlient, that is not fancy but it will do it for now! 🙂

Some time ago I started looking into which possibilities I have to handle Git repositories in UI-based. The one that I like the most is GitKraken but I’m not willing to pay the price it cost. Specially since I need to work with private and/or company-hosted repositories. For that reason, I started by looking for a Qt app already made I could use. Or in the worst case adapt to my own use.

I discovered an app called QGit that is available for Linux which I could easily work with. The drawbacks were that it was using really old code and was done in quite an ugly style. Those were two of the most important inconveniences since it I wanted to understand exactly how things were done. And if needed, easily modify the app for my personal needs. After some analysis I came to the conclusion that QGit needs a big refactor. And that is what I’ve done!

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