The console

The console is for people who like to type Git commands. Open it with Console in the rail, or with Control and the backquote key (Control with `). It opens along the bottom of the window. Drag its top edge to change its height.

Typing commands

Typing git switch with suggestions, then git log drawn as a small graph

Type a command such as status, log or switch main. You can leave out git. Press Tab, or use the arrow keys and Enter, to take a suggestion. The suggestions come from the open repository:

You type	Gitkeen suggests
The start of a command	Commands, each with a short description.
A `-` after a command	That command’s options, each with a short description.
A place that takes a branch	The branches. For `switch` and `merge`, the current branch is left out.
A place that takes a file	The changed files. After `restore --staged`, the staged files.
A place that takes a commit	The recent commits with their subjects, and the tags.
`stash pop` and similar	The stashes, with their messages.

The Up and Down keys bring back the commands you typed before in this repository. Command or Control with L clears the console.

Results as pictures

Gitkeen draws the result of these commands. Show raw output switches to Git’s own text.

Command	How the result is shown
`status`	The files in groups: conflicts, staged, not staged and untracked. Click a file to open its diff.
`log`	A small graph with the branches and tags. Click a commit to select it in the main graph.
`diff` and `show`	The change in colour, with each file’s code colours.
`branch`	Each branch, with how many commits it is ahead of and behind its upstream.
`stash list`	Each stash, with its message, branch and age.

When a command fails, Gitkeen says what went wrong in plain words and how to fix it.

Learning the commands

When you use a button, the console shows the Git command that does the same thing. You can learn the commands while you work.

What keeps the console safe

The console runs Git only. It does not start a shell, so |, ;, && and $(…) are refused as you type.
Only everyday Git commands are allowed, and none of the options that make Git start another program.
A command that can lose work shows what it will do before you press Enter. After Enter it asks again, with Run it and Cancel.
Before such a command runs, Gitkeen saves a recovery point for each branch, file, tag or stash it could lose. The Undo panel can put them back.
A command that would wait for an editor opens Gitkeen’s own editor instead. rebase -i opens the rebase editor, add -p opens the diff viewer to stage hunks, and commit without a message opens the commit panel.

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