Sublime Merge
A desktop Git client from the makers of Sublime Text.
HN commenters like Sublime Merge for its speed1, line-level staging and diff viewing2, and for being hard to replace once adopted.345 Caveats include a slow pace of development with long-standing UX issues6, a diff view seen as weaker than IntelliJ's, and awkward use on Windows with WSL.78
Why people recommend it
Hard to replace · 3
Users rely on it daily and found alternatives no better.
“I use their Git client [1] daily and there’s nothing like it.”
“I tried a couple of alternative solutions, but none of those felt like an improvement, so I still rely on it”
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“It opens and does everything so fast, and I love it.”
Speed · 1
It opens and responds very quickly.
“It opens and does everything so fast, and I love it.”
Line staging · 1
Useful for staging or unstaging individual lines and reviewing diffs.
“I do use sublime merge at times though now - it's nice for [un]staging individual lines and for looking at some diffs.”
Sublime Text heritage · 1
It brings Sublime Text's strengths to a Git frontend.
“Check out sublime merge, too. All the goodies from sublime text for a git frontend!”
Linux support · 1
Works well on Linux, including side-by-side tabs for comparing branches.
“When things get messy I use Sublime Merge with two tabs”
Caveats and dissent
Slow development · 1
Changes are rare, and basic UX issues persist year over year.
“I tried a couple of alternative solutions, but none of those felt like an improvement, so I still rely on it”
Diff view · 1
One user finds it only okay compared with IntelliJ's diff UI.
“I use Sublime Merge right now and it's kind of ok but definitely not on the same level”
Windows + WSL · 1
It can be made to work with WSL, but one user does not recommend it.
“When things get messy I use Sublime Merge with two tabs”
Paid license · 1
It must be bought, unlike some free Git GUIs.
“It opens and does everything so fast, and I love it.”
Often compared with
Who recommends it in their own words
Threads where it came up
- A browser-native classic Visual Basic VB6 IDE 1 mention
- Sublime Text Build 4213 1 mention
- Stop sending me PRs; a rant 1 mention
- They don't make 'em like Sublime Text anymore 1 mention
- A Beginner's Guide to Split Keyboards 1 mention
- Git Rebase for the Terrified 1 mention
Data: sublime-merge.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 9
“It opens and does everything so fast, and I love it.”
“I use their Git client [1] daily and there’s nothing like it.”
“Before magit, I use sublime merge, Intellij vcs feature, and fugitive.”
“Check out sublime merge, too. All the goodies from sublime text for a git frontend!”
“Hyper + Q is Sublime Merge”
“When things get messy I use Sublime Merge with two tabs”
“I use Sublime Merge right now and it's kind of ok but definitely not on the same level”
“I tried a couple of alternative solutions, but none of those felt like an improvement, so I still rely on it”
“I do use sublime merge at times though now - it's nice for [un]staging individual lines and for looking at some diffs.”