GitStudio

A free, open-source, JetBrains-grade Git suite for VS Code, Cursor, and desktop.

_{Logo & brand assets live in brand/.}

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Get GitStudio

VS Code / Cursor extension

Install GitStudio from the VS Code Marketplace or Open VSX (VSCodium, Gitpod, …), or from the command line:

code   --install-extension gitstudio.gitstudio    # VS Code
cursor --install-extension gitstudio.gitstudio    # Cursor

Desktop app

Download the installer for your platform from the latest GitHub Release or from gitstudio.dev:

Platform	Installer
macOS — Apple Silicon	GitStudio-<version>-arm64.dmg
macOS — Intel	GitStudio-<version>-x64.dmg
Windows	GitStudio-Setup-<version>.exe (NSIS — choose your install dir)
Linux	GitStudio-<version>-x86_64.AppImage (universal) · GitStudio-<version>-amd64.deb (Debian/Ubuntu)

Windows and Linux (AppImage) builds check GitHub Releases and update in-app (electron-updater); macOS updates are manual until signed builds ship.

The idea

VS Code's built-in Git is functional but flat. GitLens is great at information (blame, history, lenses) but doesn't own the interaction (merging, staging, resolving). JetBrains IDEs nail the interaction — three-pane merges, a real commit graph, hunk-level staging, inline blame that feels native — but you only get them if you live in IntelliJ.

GitStudio brings the JetBrains-grade Git workflow to VS Code, Cursor, and a native desktop app, and adds an intelligence layer on top. The polish of a native IDE, the depth of a power-user tool, and AI that actually understands your history — all free, on public and private repos.

What's inside — the six pillars

Everything ships in one extension (gitstudio.gitstudio) and one desktop app, both built on the same shared engine:

Pillar	What's in
Visualize	A sidebar-native Commits view (true branch topology at sidebar scale, mini author avatars on the nodes, scoped search) plus a full-screen virtualized commit graph; inline + full-file blame with a code-age heatmap; file & line history; revision navigation; reflog time-machine.
Change	Instant hunk- & line-level staging; guided commit box (amend, sign-off, author, Commit & Push); side-by-side / unified diff with word-level highlighting; 3-pane merge editor with accept ribbons — conflicts auto-open as they appear.
Rewrite	Drag-to-reorder interactive rebase (pick · reword · edit · squash · fixup · drop); a universal, reflog-powered Undo safety net (never hijacks Ctrl/Cmd+Z).
Manage	Branches (live ↑/↓ badges, fetch-in-place, pull without checkout), remotes, tags, first-class stashes, worktrees; GitHub-style branch compare; status-bar sync with in-view Push/Pull.
Collaborate	In-editor GitHub pull-request review — list, check out, diff, comment inline, submit, merge, create.
Assist	GitBrain — optional, bring-your-own-key (Anthropic or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint, including local Ollama / LM Studio) or zero-key (Copilot): AI commit messages, explain-diff, summaries. Off by default; keys live in SecretStorage; AI never gates a Git operation.

The desktop app

A standalone, cross-platform Git client (macOS / Windows / Linux) built on the exact same core — not a rewrite. On top of the shared graph, diff/merge, staging, rebase, and undo it adds:

• A GitHub home for your repo — sign in with a token and get pull requests (diffs + inline review), issues, Actions runs with logs, releases, notifications, gists, orgs, and projects, all local-first.
• An integrated terminal (node-pty + xterm.js) that opens in your repo.
• An AI Assistant panel wired to @gitstudio/ai — connect Anthropic or any OpenAI-compatible model, including local ones.
• Auto-update from GitHub Releases.

MCP server

gitstudio-mcp (in apps/mcp) exposes a repository's Git capabilities to any MCP-compatible agent (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Copilot, Windsurf) over stdio. Read tools are always available; write/destructive tools are opt-in via environment variables.

Monorepo layout

npm workspaces (packages/* + apps/*):

packages/
  engine/        Pure, unit-tested diff/merge + graph-layout model (no vscode/electron imports).
  git-service/   Thin git layer: log, blame, status, staging, refs, stashes, worktrees, sync…
  host-bridge/   Protocols shared between the hosts (extension / desktop) and their webviews.
  webview-ui/    Shared webview front-ends: commit graph, diff/merge (Monaco), rebase.
  ai/            Host-agnostic AI layer: multi-provider model registry, git AI tasks, agent
                 loop, and the shared git tool catalog that also backs the MCP server.
apps/
  extension/     The VS Code / Cursor extension.
  desktop/       The Electron desktop app.
  mcp/           gitstudio-mcp — the Model Context Protocol server.

engine, host-bridge, and ai are kept pure (no vscode/electron imports) so they stay portable and testable — enforced by npm run check-purity.

Development

Requires Node 22+.

npm ci               # install all workspaces
npm test             # run every workspace's tests (tsx --test)
npm run check-types  # tsc --noEmit across all workspaces
npm run check-purity # assert the pure packages stay host-free

Extension — open the repo in VS Code and press F5 to launch an Extension Development Host with GitStudio loaded. Package a sideloadable VSIX with:

cd apps/extension
npm run package
npx @vscode/vsce package --no-dependencies

Desktop — build and launch Electron:

npm start --workspace apps/desktop   # dev build + launch
npm run dist --workspace apps/desktop  # installers for the host OS -> apps/desktop/release/

Releasing

Both products release from tags — ext-v* for the extension (→ Marketplace, Open VSX, GitHub Release) and app-v* for the desktop app (→ per-OS installers on a GitHub Release, built natively on a 4-way matrix). CI runs typecheck + the full test suite before anything publishes. See RELEASING.md for the full playbook, including the optional signing/notarization secrets.

Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome at GitStudioHQ/gitstudio. Before opening a PR, please run the three gates locally:

npm test && npm run check-types && npm run check-purity

Facts

Extension	gitstudio.gitstudio (publisher gitstudio) — VS Code Marketplace + Open VSX
Desktop	GitHub Releases — .dmg (arm64 + x64), .exe, .AppImage, .deb
Website	gitstudio.dev
License	Apache-2.0
Sibling product	Merge Studio — gitstudio.merge-studio, the original 3-pane merge editor. Shares an engine, not a listing.

Architecture notes

• One flagship extension, not a swarm (the GitLens model). It grows pillar by pillar; Merge Studio stays a separate, focused product.
• Webview custom editors for rich UI (merge, graph, rebase), providers + decorations for ambient features (blame, history), and a thin git service with its own repo discovery (git rev-parse, symlink-safe) plus direct .git reads where speed matters — the views paint from local git instead of blocking on vscode.git activation.
• Strict CSP + per-load nonces on every webview; AI keys live in SecretStorage (extension) / safeStorage (desktop) and never reach a webview.
• One core, two hosts. The desktop app runs @gitstudio/git-service unchanged in Electron's main process and renders the same @gitstudio/webview-ui components the extension uses — behind the same @gitstudio/host-bridge protocol.

License

Apache-2.0 (see LICENSE and NOTICE). Brand assets in brand/ identify the project; don't use the GitStudio name/logo in a way that implies official endorsement.