I’ve been using GitHub Desktop because it’s really simple and looks nice. The interface is much easier to understand than the command line version. However, there are still some specific operations I need to do that I used to handle with terminal commands.
I’m wondering how I can access these particular functions in the desktop client:
gitk --all (for viewing the repository history)
git reset --hard HEAD (to discard all local changes)
git diff (to see differences between files)
Is there a way to find these features in the GUI, or do I need to use the built-in terminal? Any guidance would be helpful.
totally! GUIs can be limiting. if you need those commands, the terminal is def the best way to go. desktop’s good for simple stuff, but yeah, some features just aren’t there.
GitHub Desktop handles most basic stuff, but you’ll hit walls with advanced operations. I switched from command line about two years ago and now I’m back in terminal maybe once every few weeks for edge cases. Desktop’s visual diff viewer beats command line output - way easier to spot changes across multiple files. But when you need precise control over resets or want to check specific commit ranges, you’ll need terminal. Desktop does have a shortcut to open terminal in your repo directory, which I use for those complex operations the GUI can’t handle.
GitHub Desktop has all these features - they’re just in different spots. The History tab shows your commits and branches like gitk --all does. For diffs, just click any commit or look at your uncommitted changes and it’ll show the file differences on the right. Want to discard local changes instead of git reset --hard HEAD? Right-click modified files in the Changes tab and hit “Discard changes” or use the discard all button. Sure, it’s different from command line, but once you know where everything is, the GUI’s actually more intuitive.