Desktop app · 2026
GitHub Desktop fork
GitHub Desktop for Windows and Linux with PDF, SVG and HTML previews in diffs and repository groups.
What it does
- PDF diffs: old and new pages side by side, with page navigation.
- SVG diffs shown as images, with swipe, onion skin and difference modes and a Preview/Code switch.
- HTML previews rendered with their local stylesheets, images and scripts, with scripts sandboxed.
- One button writes the commit title and description in the language and style you pick, through Claude Code, DeepSeek or OpenRouter. AI is off until you choose a provider.
- Markdown and text diffs can be shown translated into Turkish, with changed paragraphs highlighted.
- Repository groups: group, reorder, collapse and hide repositories, from the app or with github group in a terminal.
- Problem
- GitHub Desktop shows a changed PDF, image or web page as “binary file changed” and leaves the commit message to you.
- My role
- A community fork of GitHub’s open-source GitHub Desktop. I build the fork’s additions, merge upstream regularly and publish the releases; the rest of the app is GitHub’s work.
- Solution
- The diff view renders PDFs, SVGs and HTML pages, an optional AI provider writes commit messages, and pushes to self-hosted Forgejo, Gitea and GitLab use git’s credential helpers. Fork code lives in its own files so upstream merges stay clean.
- Result
- Released for Windows and Linux as exe, deb, rpm and AppImage; the latest release is v3.6.6-2. MIT like upstream, and settings and sign-in are shared with the official app. Not an official GitHub product.
About
A GitHub Desktop fork for Windows and Linux. Diffs show previews of PDF, SVG and HTML files, repositories can be grouped, and commit messages can be written with Claude, DeepSeek or OpenRouter.
It pushes to self-hosted Forgejo, Gitea and GitLab without asking for a password, and can copy a repository link or open it in the browser.
Screenshots
