What is sourcetree?

SourceTree is a free and feature-rich Git desktop client for both Windows and macOS developed by Atlassian. It provides a graphical interface for managing and interacting with Git repositories, making it easier for users to visualize and track their code changes.

Key features of SourceTree include:

  1. User-friendly interface: SourceTree offers a clean and intuitive interface, allowing users to easily manage their Git repositories. It provides a visual representation of branches, commits, and tags, making it simpler to understand the version control workflow.

  2. Git and Mercurial support: SourceTree supports both Git and Mercurial repositories. This makes it convenient for developers who work with both version control systems or those transitioning between them.

  3. Repository management: SourceTree allows users to clone, create, and initialize repositories with just a few clicks. It also provides options to push, pull, fetch, and merge from remote repositories.

  4. Visual diff and merge: The tool includes a built-in visual diff and merge tool, enabling users to see the differences between code changes. This makes it easier to review and resolve conflicts during the merging process.

  5. Commit and branch management: SourceTree allows users to create and switch between branches easily. It also provides a comprehensive view of commit history, allowing users to examine changes made to their codebase over time.

  6. Stash and cherry-pick: SourceTree offers useful features like stash and cherry-pick. Stashing allows users to temporarily save changes without committing, while cherry-picking enables the selective application of commits from one branch to another.

  7. Integration with GitFlow: SourceTree integrates seamlessly with the GitFlow workflow, a branching model for Git. It provides easy-to-use buttons to create and finish feature, release, hotfix, and support branches, streamlining the GitFlow process.

  8. Support for Git LFS: SourceTree supports Git Large File Storage (LFS), allowing users to handle large binary files more efficiently by storing them outside the repository.

Overall, SourceTree simplifies the usage of Git and Mercurial for both beginners and experienced developers, providing a robust set of features and a visually appealing interface.