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Open the workspace picker → Initialize repository…. Enter the full path to a new or existing folder and the initial branch (default main), review, then Initialize & open graph. The parent folder must exist. Existing files stay unchanged and unstaged; no first commit or remote is created automatically. Use Open for an existing Git repository. See the setup guide for this alpha workflow.

Open Working changes, select a file to inspect its diff, then Stage file or Stage all changes. Enter a summary, review the staged files and confirm the commit. Only staged content enters the commit; committing does not publish it. Push publishes to a remote.

A workspace groups projects for quick switching; it is not a Git submodule. A repository stores Git history. A worktree is a checkout with its own files, HEAD and staging area; linked worktrees share repository history. Switch repositories from the workspace picker; search and pagination help with long lists.

Each node is a commit; lines connect it to its parents. Branch and tag labels point to commits. HEAD marks your current checkout. A merge commit has multiple parents; a fast-forward moves a branch label without adding a merge node. Select a row to inspect its files and diff. Right-click a commit for available actions.

Drag the separators in the history header; widths are saved on this device. Double-click a separator or press Home while it is focused to reset that column. Arrow keys resize it, with Shift for larger steps. The Graph column keeps a minimum width for its lanes; wide histories can scroll horizontally.

Use the branch picker, or double-click a graph node or branch label to enter checkout review. Inspect the destination before confirming. Opening a remote branch can create a local tracking branch. Switching the parent repository does not silently update submodule checkouts.

Stage copies the selected changes into the next commit’s staging area. Unstage removes them from that area while keeping working files. Discard restores the reviewed scope and can remove new files. Review its exact scope before confirming; recovery information is shown after supported operations.

Select a regular tracked text file in Working changes. Stage hunk or Unstage hunk on its diff header changes only that block in the index; working files stay intact. Full-file actions remain available. New/deleted files, mode changes, binary files, non-UTF-8 content and truncated patches require file staging. Stale previews are refused.

Fetch downloads remote history without merging into your local branch. Pull fetches and integrates into the current branch using the reviewed method. Push publishes selected local history. Refresh rereads local Git state; it does not replace Fetch. On macOS, HTTPS actions use a matching saved GitNova host account when available, otherwise configured Git credentials. SSH uses your existing agent.

↑ counts local commits missing from the tracked remote branch; ↓ counts remote commits missing locally. Both can be nonzero when histories diverge. These counts describe the last fetched remote state, not live server state. Fetch before deciding how to integrate.

Stash saves unfinished work. Apply restores it onto the currently checked-out branch and keeps the stash. Pop restores it there and removes the stash only after success. You can stash on main, switch to develop, then pop onto develop. Conflicts keep the stash. Finish an active Git operation before restoring another stash.

Merge combines histories into the current branch. Create merge commit retains both tips as parents, making the junction visible. Fast-forward is available when the current tip is an ancestor of the incoming tip; it only advances the branch. Optional source deletion removes only the eligible local source branch after a verified successful merge.

Cherry-pick applies one commit’s changes onto your current branch as a new commit. A merge commit has multiple parents, so choose the baseline used to calculate those changes. Parent 1 is usually the destination branch before the merge; compare the preview before selecting it. Parent 2 produces a different delta.

Rebase replays commits onto a new base and changes their IDs. Right-click the target commit, choose Rebase, inspect current branch → target and the replay range, then acknowledge rewriting. GitNova supports up to 100 linear commits; merge/root ranges and submodule pointer changes are refused. Conflicts use Working changes, followed by reviewed Continue, Skip empty commit or Abort. Original tips remain recoverable; no force push occurs.

Amend replaces the last commit using the reviewed message and staged content; its ID changes. It does not combine arbitrary older commits. Revert creates a new commit undoing a selected commit’s changes. Prefer a new revert when preserving shared history matters.

Open Working changes and select a conflict. Compare Current and Incoming, choose individual text blocks or edit Result, then review and stage the resolved result. Continue or commit the pending operation only after every conflict is resolved. Current/Incoming refer to the shown operation, especially during rebase. Binary and submodule conflicts need their dedicated choices.

Open Working changes to inspect a pending merge, cherry-pick, revert or GitNova-started rebase. Resolve conflicts, then review commit/Continue or Abort. An uncertain interrupted journal needs inspection; the app never retries automatically. Handle an externally started rebase with Git outside the app. Zero changed files does not mean no operation is pending. Recent activity and recovery show retained references or backup locations; review them before recovery.

A submodule is a separate Git repository referenced by a recorded commit in its parent. Each parent branch can record a different commit. Recorded, staged and checked-out commits can differ. Dirty means files inside changed; Commit changed means the checkout differs from the recorded pointer. Detached HEAD is normal when checking out a recorded submodule commit.

Use the Submodules row for the selected branch and Manage to inspect it. Open the child graph to handle its files. Restore recorded returns its checkout to the parent’s recorded commit; stage its pointer to record the checked-out commit. Review dirty files and unpushed commits first. Sync URLs copies the reviewed .gitmodules URL to the selected initialized child’s local configuration; it does not fetch, change files or update its commit. Relative URLs require external Git in this version.

Use a linked worktree to keep another checkout of the same repository, for example to review a release while keeping feature work open. Open or create one from the graph context. In Related repositories, Worktree metadata offers reviewed Lock, Unlock and Repair for an existing linked checkout. Lock protects against pruning; Unlock removes that protection. Repair fixes metadata without deleting files or moving branches. Dirty worktrees are not removed automatically.

Clone from the workspace picker into a new folder. To publish local work, commit first and use Push. If no remote exists, Add remote lets you use an existing repository URL or create an empty GitHub/GitLab repository using a global Connection. Repository creation, local remote setup and Push are separate reviewed steps. Choose visibility carefully.

Right-click the desired commit and choose Create tag. Review the name and exact commit. A local tag is not published by a normal branch push; use the tag’s Push action and review the destination. Existing remote tags are not silently overwritten.

Use the branch’s request action and verify the source → target direction. Publish the source branch first. GitHub calls it a pull request; GitLab calls it a merge request. The host connection needs the relevant API permissions. Creating a request does not itself merge the branches.

It copies the selected commit’s full remote web URL. GitNova uses the current branch’s fetch upstream, then origin, then a sole configured remote. Global Connections identify private Git hosts. No token is needed just to form a link. A local-only commit may not open for teammates until pushed; a link does not grant access.

Open Settings → Connections. Host accounts apply globally to matching Git hosts, not one repository. CI status appears between Commit message and Author when configured and available. GitLab pipelines and configured Jenkins evidence are read from their services, not from local Git alone. On macOS, the saved GitHub/GitLab host account can also authenticate HTTPS Git operations; tokens stay in Keychain and pass to Git through a process-local helper. Existing Git credentials are a fallback when no app account exists. SSH uses your agent. Git permissions still depend on the token.