GitHub Desktop

To regular computer users, people who use software as a tool they need to get things done, GitHub is just a website that hosts lots of free and open source applications. To developers and programmers, GitHub is more than that. It is a development platform, a web-based version repository and internet hosting service. And since it’s developers and programmers who will make the most out GitHub, it’s them who should give GitHub Desktop a try.

Here are some of the main features that GitHub Desktop puts at your disposal: contribute to projects on GitHub and GitHub Enterprise; manage existing projects and start new projects; create a new repository or clone an existing one directly from GitHub.com; switch or create new branches; view a diff of your uncommitted changes; visualize changes and commits in a comparison graph; create a pull request; merge code to the master branch; and more.

GitHub Desktop provides support for Microsoft’s Windows and Apple’s macOS operating system. GitHub Desktop for Windows requires Windows 7 or newer and GitHub Desktop for Mac requires macOS 10.9 Mavericks or newer. Once you’re done installing GitHub Desktop on your comptuer, you’ll have to configure your GitHub or GitHub account settings and set up the Git configuration options.

If you need help using GitHub Desktop, detailed guides and other useful documentation is available online.

According to GitHub’s Amy Palamountain (ammeep) GitHub Desktop is "a fast, easy way to contribute to projects from OS X and Windows. Whether you're new to GitHub or a seasoned user, GitHub Desktop is designed to simplify essential steps in your GitHub workflow and replace GitHub for Mac and Windows with a unified experience across both platforms."

What’s left to say? Just that GitHub Desktop is definitely a must for anyone who works with GitHub or GitHub Enterprise.