Learning how and why to use version control can be rough. Just as those of you transitioning from a graphical user interface (GUI) statistical software like Stata or SPSS will discover, adapting to a command line interface is difficult. Using a GUI interface, rather than the command line, will be extremely helpful when getting started. Essentially, this is a helper client because it helps you interface with Git and GitHub but still uses the same underlying Git commands.
![Macos git gui Macos git gui](/uploads/1/3/3/9/133933110/491291940.png)
SmartGit is a graphical Git client with support for SVN and Pull Requests for GitHub and Bitbucket. SmartGit runs on Windows, macOS and Linux. SmartGit runs on Windows, macOS and Linux. I’m developing a new Git client for macOS. Its major feature is Finder integration, thus it aims to be what TortoiseGit is for Windows. Fork is a fast and friendly git client for Mac.Basic featuresFetch, pull, pushCommit, amendCreate and delete branches and tagsCreate and delete remote repos.
Git and a Git client are not the same thing, just like R and RStudio are not the same thing. A Git client and the RStudio IDE are not necessary to use Git or R, but they make the experience more pleasant by reducing the steep learning curve.
RStudio incorporates a basic Git client. For simple operations such as committing and pushing changes to GitHub, this will be sufficient. Once you start collaborating with other users, managing multiple branches in the same project, and performing complex merges, you will want another, more powerful Git client.
It is helpful, and sometimes still necessary, to know how to use the command line. But the more powerful your Git client, the less often this will happen.
Because all Git clients are just forming and executing Git commands on your behalf, you don’t have to pick a specific one. You can literally do one operation from the command line, do another from RStudio, and another from your Git client, one after the other, and it just works. Very rarely, both clients will scan the repo at the same time and you’ll get an error message about
.git/index.lock
. Try the operation again at least once before doing any further troubleshooting.
Recommendations for Git clients
I admit that until recently I relied on the free GitHub client for Windows and Mac. However in researching recommended Git clients, I have heardnegativereviews about this client. Specifically, the GitHub client offers lots of hand-holding. Perhaps too much. It also cannot handle complex Git operations, and installation of the GitHub client also includes a version of Git that does not play nicely with default settings. In addition, because it is intended to work with Git repositories hosted on GitHub, if you ever decide to share your repositories using an alternative hoster the GitHub client does not play nicely with outsiders. The print shop for mac reviews.
If you want to use a Git client, here are a couple of recommendations I’ve found online.
- SourceTree - the pros are that it is free, multi-platform (Mac and Windows only, sorry Linux), powerful, and has a great GUI design. Some would complain that it is perhaps too powerful and its interface is overly complicated.
- GitKraken - this is the Git client to which I am transitioning. Like SourceTree, GitKraken is free, powerful, and gets kudos for a great GUI layout. Unlike SourceTree, GitKraken is available across all major operating systems (Windows, Mac, and Linux).
Other Git clients
Git Gui For Mac
- TortoiseGit (Windows)
- SmartGit (Windows, Mac, and Linux - free for non-commercial use only)
- GitUp (Mac only)
Acknowledgments
- This page is derived in part from “UBC STAT 545A and 547M”, licensed under the CC BY-NC 3.0 Creative Commons License.
PuTTY for Mac is a port of the Windows version of PuTTY. However, there are many options for SSH clients for Mac, and this page discusses several of them.
- Using the built-in SSH client in Mac OS X
- Ported PuTTY for Mac
Using the built-in SSH client in Mac OS X
Git Tool Mac Os
Mac OS X includes a command-line SSH client as part of the operating system. To use it, goto Finder, and selext Go -> Utilities from the top menu. Then look for Terminal. Terminal can be used to get a local terminal window, and also supports SSH connections to remote servers.
Running SSH from the terminal command line
Once you have the terminal window open, you have two alternatives. The first approach is to type
ssh hostname
or ssh user@hostname
into the terminal window. This is more familiar for Linux and Unix users who are used to using a command line.
Running SSH with a graphical user interface
The second option is to select New Remote Connection.. from the Shell menu of Terminal. This opens a graphical dialog asking for the host to connect to and the user name. This also allows saving connections. This is recommended for users who are not accustomed to using a command line.
How to use PuTTY SSH keys with the built-in OpenSSH
If you have a PuTTY
.ppk
format private key and want to use it with the built-in OpenSSH on Mac on the command line or in scripts, you can use the following commands.
First, install PuTTY for Mac using
brew install putty
or port install putty
(see below). This will also install the command-line version of puttygen, the PuTTY key generator tool.
Then, use the following command to convert the
.ppk
format private key to a standard PEM format private key:
Make sure permissions on the private key file are set properly. It should only be readable by the user that owns it.
You can now use the key for logins from scripts and command line with:
![Git Clients For Mac Git Clients For Mac](/uploads/1/3/3/9/133933110/601334830.png)
Ported PuTTY for Mac
There is a port of PuTTY for Mac. It can be installed in several ways.
Installation using HomeBrew
If you already have the
brew
command installed, the best way to install PuTTY is to use the following command:
Installation using MacPorts
PuTTY is readily available via MacPorts. To see how to install MacPorts and PuTTY, see here.
Once you have MacPorts installed, you just need to give this command:
and to add a shortcut on the Desktop,
Alternatives to PuTTY on the Mac
A lot of people use Cyberduck on Mac. It is a solid, well-known SSH client that is quite popular. https://belever166.weebly.com/blog/sophos-antivirus-for-mac.