Magit
A text-based Git interface that runs as a package inside the Emacs editor.
Loved by Emacs users as their main way to use git,1234 especially for staging individual lines and hunks, reviewing changes, and rebasing.56789 The most common complaint is sluggish rendering,1011 particularly in very large repositories or on some macOS setups.121314
Why people recommend it
Better git UX · 3
Many say it beats the git CLI and is the best way they know to use git.
“Every thing except magit. I can’t think of a better way to use git”
“I do all of my work using magit in emacs. I don't even use emacs for writing code anymore, I only use it for git.”
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“The UX of magit is just out of this world.”
Essential Emacs package · 3
Long-time Emacs users list it among the few packages they use every day.
“my only essential package addon-ons are magit and yasnippet.”
“Magit and ghostel are good examples of packages that I use on a daily basis”
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“That, org-mode, and magit is about all I use for coding and text editing.”
Line and hunk staging · 3
Staging single lines or hunks makes it easy to split work into focused commits.
“The per-line staging in magit is a frequent tool I use.”
“magit and its magical ability to stage individual hunks of a diff”
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“I use magit, so it's always easier to select only the lines/hunks/files that is for one specific change, stage and commit that.”
Reviewing code · 3
Users review changes in it, including code written by AI agents.
“I love reviewing changes in magit.”
“I then use mAgit to review it.”
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“And I use magit in Emacs for reviewing code.”
Rebasing · 2
Rebases, including subset rebases and reword or fixup, are described as easy.
“The UX of magit is just out of this world.”
“out of the box you get reword and fixup as first-class rebase macros. I use them all the time.”
Close to git · 2
It is described as a thin layer that stays close to real git commands.
“Magit OTOH stays much closer to the true git.”
“It's a thin layer over git output, it pops up, it infers parameters from ui state, call the usual git command, and goes out. Lean and fast”
Caveats and dissent
Performance · 3
Some find it slow or hanging, especially in large repositories or on macOS with security software.
“magit still feels very sluggish”
“I love it, I just wish it wouldn't hang so much rendering the output of the near instantaneous git commands.”
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“Magit is the worst offender”
Requires Emacs · 2
It lives inside Emacs, which deters people who dislike Emacs keyboard controls.
“I've never tried magit so I don't know if lazygit is a decent substitute.”
“I love Magit, it's the only git gui I can stomach (it helps that I use Emacs already).”
Hard to adopt · 2
One Emacs user couldn't get used to it, and one says they never convinced a peer to switch.
“I tried Magit a few times, and even though Emacs is my main editor, I couldn't get used to it.”
“The UX of magit is just out of this world.”
Worktree limits · 1
It refuses to check out a branch that is already checked out in another worktree.
“No excuses though, I love magit and might as well hack this myself.”
Large-repo tuning · 1
Very large repositories may need profiling and disabling some features.
“I'm still finding it an improvement over the CLI.”
Often compared with
Who recommends it in their own words
Threads where it came up
- Rebasing in Magit 6 mentions
- Emacs Turns 50 3 mentions
- Why Emacs Consult async searches feel slow and how to speed them up 3 mentions
- Ask HN: Where to begin with "modern" Emacs? 3 mentions
- Working with Git Worktrees in Magit 2 mentions
- Emacs 31: An unofficial guide to Markdown-ts-mode 2 mentions
Also written as magit. Data: magit.json. Quotes are verbatim; the verdict and theme labels are written by a model from these comments, and every clause links to its sources.
All comments 41
“I use Magit on Mac and it is not slow.”
“Using magit made me believe again that really good software can exist”
“Magit and ghostel are good examples of packages that I use on a daily basis”
“I love reviewing changes in magit.”
“I've never tried magit so I don't know if lazygit is a decent substitute.”
“No excuses though, I love magit and might as well hack this myself.”
“And I love Magit but didn’t know it handles git worktrees so well!”
“magit still feels very sluggish”
“"I love Magit, but why is it so damn slow..."”
“Magit is the worst offender”
“I use a specific text editor with a specialized interface into git that's superior”
“Git porcelain with magit.”
“I then use mAgit to review it.”
“flow between dired and magit”
“magit and its magical ability to stage individual hunks of a diff”
“I use magit, so it's always easier to select only the lines/hunks/files that is for one specific change, stage and commit that.”
“I recommend M-x magit to get a taste of what is possible”
“The per-line staging in magit is a frequent tool I use.”
“knowing how much stuff there exists in Org-mode and Magit”
“Magit OTOH stays much closer to the true git.”
“Emacs now with tree-sitter, LSPs, native-compilation, magit”
“I do all of my work using magit in emacs. I don't even use emacs for writing code anymore, I only use it for git.”
“out of the box you get reword and fixup as first-class rebase macros. I use them all the time.”
“It's a thin layer over git output, it pops up, it infers parameters from ui state, call the usual git command, and goes out. Lean and fast”
“And I use magit in Emacs for reviewing code.”
“I love it, I just wish it wouldn't hang so much rendering the output of the near instantaneous git commands.”
“That, org-mode, and magit is about all I use for coding and text editing.”
“although the brief time I used Magit I was enamored I gotta say.”
“magit is pretty useful!”
“since i use lazygit/magit”
“it's really quick for me to jump back and forth between this and magit, which I use to review what it's done”
“I'm still finding it an improvement over the CLI.”
“Staging/unstaging in magit is quite nice.”
“Every thing except magit. I can’t think of a better way to use git”
“Magit is absolutely the only reason I'm able to use git.”
“Magit is absolutely wonderful. It is one of the main tools I use daily to get my work done”
“I've been using magit for years”
“The UX of magit is just out of this world.”
“I used Magit before”
“I use magit which afaik is still undefeated for this workflow.”
“my only essential package addon-ons are magit and yasnippet.”