GitBrain AI is an AI-powered Git client built exclusively for macOS, designed to simplify the developer’s interaction with version control. Its core mission is to automate the most tedious parts of the Git workflow, such as writing clear commit messages, generating code summaries, and managing repository changes.

Introduction

GitBrain AI is an AI-powered Git client built exclusively for macOS, designed to simplify the developer’s interaction with version control. Its core mission is to automate the most tedious parts of the Git workflow, such as writing clear commit messages, generating code summaries, and managing repository changes.

Unlike command-line interfaces or traditional GUIs, GitBrain uses AI to analyze code diffs and suggests human-readable, descriptive commit messages, significantly improving documentation quality. By providing a keyboard-friendly, native Mac interface and focusing on streamlining complex operations like code splitting and self-review, GitBrain maximizes efficiency for individual developers and helps maintain a clean, readable commit history

Automated Documentation

Open Source

Non-Destructive

AI Agent Integration

Virtual Branches

Review

GitBrain AI is known for its specialized, Mac-native integration and highly effective AI-driven documentation. Its primary strength is the automatic generation of commit messages and change summaries, which drastically reduces the time developers spend on version control administration. The platform’s clean UI and support for tasks like splitting large code changes into multiple focused commits address common Git pain points.

While its exclusivity to the Mac ecosystem and dependency on external AI services limit its broader appeal, its deep, intuitive feature set for maximizing coding productivity and commit quality makes it an essential tool for Mac-based developers.

Features

Virtual Branches

Isolates uncommitted work (individual file hunks) into parallel virtual branches that can be independently committed, squashed, and pushed without impacting the working tree.

Agents Tab

A dedicated UI panel for managing sessions with AI coding agents (like Claude Code), which can be assigned tasks and have their changes automatically committed to the current branch.

Non-Destructive Editing

Allows users to easily drag-and-drop changes between branches, undo commits, and amend history visually without executing destructive commands like git rebase -i.

Upstream Integration Helper

Provides visual tools to manage diverged state (when remote and local branches conflict), helping to reorder, squash, or skip commits to resolve upstream work cleanly.

AI Auto-Commit Management

Works with coding agents to automatically record the agent's changes into a checkpoint/commit with an AI-generated message after every task.

Interactive Commit Splitting

Users can easily select files or even individual hunks and "Split off changes" into a new, dependent branch.

Best Suited for

Solo Developers (Productivity)

Ideal for managing feature development, bug fixes, and chores all at once without local branch switching.

Teams Using Stacked PRs

Perfect for creating small, clean, focused pull requests that are easy for reviewers to manage.

Developers Avoiding CLI

Excellent for those who find the command line (CLI) commands for rebase, squash, and amend complex and error-prone.

AI-Assisted Coders

A strong tool for using autonomous agents, as it automatically commits the agent's work into clean, manageable branches.

Advanced Git Users

Useful for visualizing complex commit histories and performing non-destructive, interactive rebases.

Small to Mid-Sized Teams

Helps to enforce best practices for code quality and documentation effortlessly.

Strengths

Virtual Branches eliminate context switching, allowing simultaneous work on unrelated tasks.

Automatically manages and commits agent-generated code, solving the version control problem for AI coding.

Visually simplifies complex operations (squashing, rebasing, splitting) into easy, non-destructive drag-and-drop actions.

Accelerates the creation of clean, focused Pull Requests (PRs) that dramatically improve team review speed.

Weakness

AI usage costs are external (user pays the LLM provider), requiring manual monitoring to avoid unexpected API bills.

Users who prefer a rebase workflow may find the tool too prescriptive and restrictive on certain complex Git operations.

Getting started with: step by step guide

The GitButler workflow is a visually driven alternative to the Git command line, focused on continuous work in the same environment, regardless of the task.

Step 1: Open Project

The developer opens their project in their IDE. GitBrain automatically detects the repository and opens its management panel.

Step 2:Assign Changes

As the developer works, they drag and drop file changes (hunks) from the “Unassigned” area into dedicated vertical lanes (Virtual Branches) for specific tasks (e.g., “Feature A” or “Bug Fix B”).

Step 3: AI Generation

The user opens the Agents Tab and prompts an agent (e.g., Claude Code) to perform a task. GitButler automatically records the agent’s output and commits it to the active virtual branch.

Step 4: Commit Editing

Within each virtual branch’s lane, the developer uses the visual interface to amend, squash, or reorder their commits until the branch history is clean and focused.

Step 5: Push & PR

The user pushes the finalized Virtual Branch to the remote repository, and GitButler can optionally create a Pull Request that is clean and ready for immediate review.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is GitBrain AI free to use?

A: The core application is free to download, but advanced features like unlimited AI commits and splitting require a paid Pro subscription.

Q: What platforms is GitBrain available on?

A: GitBrain is exclusively built as a native application for macOS (Mac computers).

Q: How does the AI generate commit messages?

A: The AI analyzes the diff (the code changes) in your working directory and uses Natural Language Processing to generate a clear, human-readable summary that explains the purpose of the change.

Q: What is "Self Code Review"?

A: It’s a feature that provides a summary of your staged and unstaged code changes before you commit, helping you quickly validate that you are committing the intended work.

Q: Can GitBrain split a large commit into multiple smaller ones?

A: Yes, the Split Code Changes feature intelligently divides a large set of modifications into smaller, more focused commits, which is key for clean history and easier reviews.

Q: Do I need to be a Git expert to use it?

A: No, GitBrain is specifically designed for developers of all skill levels, abstracting complex operations like rebase and squashing into intuitive visual actions.

Q: Does GitBrain integrate with VS Code or JetBrains IDEs?

A: GitBrain automatically detects projects open in major IDEs like VS Code and JetBrains, ensuring a seamless link between your coding environment and the Git client.

Q: Does the application store my code on a remote server?

A: GitBrain is a local Git client. It performs operations locally and generally only interacts with your code on your machine, using external AI services briefly for summarization purposes.

Q: How does GitBrain ensure my commits are high quality?

A: By automating the message generation and providing the Self Code Review summary, it reduces the chance of vague messages and accidental inclusion of unwanted changes.

Q: How does GitBrain ensure my commits are high quality?

A: The main drawback is its Mac-only availability, limiting its use for developers working on Windows or Linux, or in mixed-OS environments.

Pricing

GitBrain AI operates on a standard freemium model common among desktop applications. The core application is often offered free for beta users or through a trial, with paid subscription tiers unlocking the full range of AI-powered features, high-volume usage, and advanced commit tools. Specific pricing plans typically follow a monthly or discounted annual subscription structure.

Free (Core)

$0 (Free Software)

Virtual Branches, drag-and-drop commit editing, non-destructive undo/amend, local repository management.

AI Integration

User-managed API costs

Agents Tab (AI Chat), AI-driven auto-committing, Context management (MCP Server), prompt templates.

AI Integration

Custom Pricing

Advanced security, central management, Single Sign-On (SSO) for larger teams.

Alternatives

Tower & GitKraken

Traditional Git GUI clients that offer visual management of branches and history but lack the Virtual Branches and integrated AI features.

Graphite

A toolchain that specializes in stacked PRs and command-line workflows, offering a non-visual approach to the same problem GitButler solves visually.