Bring GitHub Desktop's complete workflow experience directly into VS Code
Modern React UI • Multi-Account Support • Advanced Git Operations • Seamless GitHub Integration
🎨 GitHub Desktop-style interface right in your VS Code sidebar 👥 Multiple GitHub accounts with one-click switching 📝 Visual commit history with user avatars and detailed file changes 🌿 Advanced branch management with activity tracking 🔄 Smart sync operations with visual feedback ⚡ Native VS Code integration using built-in diff viewer
- GitHub Desktop-style UI with clean, responsive design
- Material-UI components styled with VS Code theming
- Avatar integration with user profile pictures
- Dark/Light theme support matching VS Code
- Responsive layout that adapts to panel sizes
- Interactive commit history with detailed commit cards
- Commit detail panel opening in separate webview with file changes
- Right-click context menu on commits with full Git operations:
- Reset to commit
- Checkout commit
- Revert changes
- Create branch from commit
- Create tags
- Cherry-pick commits
- Copy SHA/commit info
- View on GitHub
- File diff viewer integrated with VS Code's native diff editor
- Commit statistics showing additions/deletions per file
- Advanced branch dropdown with grouping (Default/Recent/Other)
- Branch activity tracking with last commit dates
- Branch creation from any commit
- Branch merging with merge dialog
- Branch switching with visual feedback
- Multiple GitHub accounts with visual indicators and easy switching
- Secure token storage using VS Code Secret Storage API
- GitHub CLI integration with automatic account detection
- One-click account switching directly from accounts panel
- Account-specific operations with proper isolation
- Smart CLI account selection with guided switching process
- Auto-detection of workspace repositories with Git integration
- Repository cloning with account selection and progress tracking
- Private repository support with proper authentication
- Repository switching within VS Code without window changes
- GitHub integration for direct repository links and issue creation
- VS Code Source Control UI - Exact replica of native source control
- Collapsible sections for staged and unstaged changes
- File staging/unstaging with individual file controls
- Commit message editing with keyboard shortcuts (Ctrl+Enter)
- Smart action buttons (Stage All, Unstage All, Commit, Sync)
- Real-time updates with file watching and auto-refresh
- Dynamic sync status showing Push/Pull/Fetch operations
- Interactive branch switching with current branch display
- Sync counters showing commits ahead/behind
- Contextual actions (Force Push, Fetch Origin) when available
- GitHub Desktop-style layout with proper spacing and icons
- Search for "GitHub Desktop" in VS Code Extensions
- Click Install and you're ready to go!
- Look for the 🐙 icon in VS Code's activity bar
- Click "Add Account" or use Command Palette:
GitHub Desktop: Sign In - Choose your preferred method:
- Browser Sign-in (Recommended) - Uses VS Code's built-in GitHub authentication
- GitHub CLI - If you have
ghinstalled - Personal Access Token - For manual setup
- Enterprise Server - For GitHub Enterprise users
- Any Git repository in your workspace is automatically detected
- Use the sidebar to view commit history, manage branches, and stage changes
- Right-click commits for advanced Git operations
- Switch between accounts instantly from the Accounts panel
💡 Pro Tip: The extension works seamlessly with VS Code's built-in Source Control - no configuration needed!
- Add multiple GitHub accounts (personal, work, enterprise)
- Switch between accounts with a single click
- Each account maintains its own repositories and settings
- Commit History: Timeline view with user avatars and commit details
- File Changes: Click any commit to see detailed file diffs
- Branch Management: Visual branch dropdown with recent/active branches
- Right-click Context: Access all Git operations via context menus
- Auto-detection: Any Git repo in your workspace appears automatically
- Stage & Commit: VS Code Source Control-style interface for staging files
- Sync Operations: Push/pull with visual feedback and conflict detection
- GitHub Integration: Direct links to view commits/repos on GitHub
Access these commands via Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P):
GitHub Desktop: Sign In- Add a new GitHub accountGitHub Desktop: Switch Active Account- Switch between your accountsGitHub Desktop: Clone Repository- Clone a repo with account selectionGitHub Desktop: Open Repository- Open any tracked repositoryGitHub Desktop: Create Issue- Create GitHub issues directlyGitHub Desktop: Refresh Views- Refresh all panels
- Ctrl+Enter - Commit staged changes
- Click any account - Switch to that account instantly
- Right-click commits - Access Git operations menu
- Click commit - View detailed file changes
- Click branch name - Open branch selector
Your data is safe with us:
- Encrypted storage: All GitHub tokens stored securely using VS Code's Secret Storage
- Local processing: Everything runs locally on your machine
- No data collection: We don't collect or transmit your personal data
- Account isolation: Each GitHub account's data is completely separated
- Open source: Full transparency - inspect the code yourself
- VS Code: Version 1.84.0 or higher
- Git: Must be installed and accessible in PATH
- GitHub Account: For full functionality (free accounts work perfectly)
When creating a personal access token, ensure these scopes:
repo- Repository accessread:org- Organization membershipuser:email- User email access
🔐 Can't sign in?
- Try "Browser Sign-in" first (recommended method)
- For tokens: Ensure scopes include
repo,read:org,user:email - For GitHub CLI: Run
gh auth statusto verify authentication
📂 Repository not showing?
- Make sure the folder contains a
.gitdirectory - Use
GitHub Desktop: Refresh Viewscommand - Check that you have access to the repository
🔄 Sync not working?
- Verify you have push permissions to the repository
- Check your internet connection
- For organization repos, ensure proper access rights
Report issues on GitHub - we fix them fast!
We welcome contributions! Here's how you can help:
- ⭐ Star the repository if you find it useful
- 🐛 Report bugs on our GitHub Issues
- 💡 Suggest features via GitHub Discussions
- 📝 Write reviews and share your experience
- 🔧 Fix bugs or add features via pull requests
- 📚 Improve documentation
- 🧪 Add tests for better reliability
- 🎨 Enhance UI/UX to match GitHub Desktop even closer
Visit our GitHub repository to get started!
We're constantly improving! Here's what's on our roadmap:
- 📝 Pull Request Management - View, create, and review PRs directly in VS Code
- 🔔 GitHub Notifications - Get notified about mentions, reviews, and issues
- ✅ Status Checks - See CI/CD pipeline status right in the extension
- 📦 Stash Management - Visual Git stash operations
- 🤝 Conflict Resolution - Better merge conflict resolution tools
- 📊 Repository Insights - Contribution graphs and repository statistics
- ✅ Multi-account support with secure token storage
- ✅ Right-click context menus for all Git operations
- ✅ VS Code native diff integration
- ✅ GitHub CLI integration with account detection
- ✅ Branch activity tracking and smart grouping
- ✅ Dynamic sync status and operations
vs. GitLens: We provide a dedicated GitHub Desktop-style interface, while GitLens focuses on inline annotations and blame features.
vs. GitHub Pull Requests: We offer complete Git workflow management with multi-account support, while GitHub PR extension focuses specifically on pull request operations.
vs. Built-in Source Control: We enhance VS Code's native Git support with GitHub-specific features, visual commit history, and multi-account management.
Our Unique Value: The only extension that brings the complete GitHub Desktop experience into VS Code with full multi-account support.
Made with ❤️ for the VS Code and GitHub communities
🚀 Happy coding with GitHub Desktop for VS Code! 🚀
⭐ Star on GitHub • 🐛 Report Issues • 💡 Discussions
License: MIT © 2024 GitHub Desktop for VS Code Contributors