Ubiquitous Tools: git

I am tired of getting used to a tool to find that it isn’t supported cross-platform or cross-architectures. It’s just frustrating when you develop a workflow that involves a tool that doesn’t work everywhere you want or need it. That tool for me is GitKraken, one of the best GUI tools for working with git. It has so much functionality available and so quick to perform more complex tasks. However, GitKraken isn’t always available, like on ARM, or it is too intensive being electron-based to make sense in some environments. Given my current needs, I canceled my subscription. I have been a happy pro customer for around three years. Before that, I used SourceTree from Atlassian until I really increased my Linux usage, and they at the time didn’t have a Linux version, and they still don’t. You know what is available for every platform and architecture as a native tool, the git CLI. I started out learning git with just the CLI, and I have found it relaxing to be using it again. It’s simple, and it works. I can easily install it with the package manager, and I don’t have to worry about which desktop environment I am using either. Flatpaks and Snaps help with that last issue, yet that is just one more thing to learn about and manage.

I have this post titled in such a way that it means that I will be writing more of these types of posts. I am starting to evaluate the tools, workflows, etc., that I use. I want the tools that I use to be readily available with little to no effort to get up and to run. I have fooled myself into believing that these more complex tools and setups are required to be productive. I now realize that the weight of these other tools is counterproductive in my experience. I am finding more wisdom in The Pragmatic Programmer after a decade has passed since I read it.

Thanks for reading,

Jamie

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