The makers of Sublime Text have released a new Git client yesterday. Called Sublime Merge, this tool combines the user interface of Sublime Text, with a from-scratch implementation of Git. The result is a Git client with a better and familiar interface.
Sublime Merge has no time limit, no metrics, and with no tracking done on your usage. It has two themes, light and dark. The evaluation version is fully functional, but does not have the dark theme. You don’t need an account for the evaluation version.
Here are some of the features of Sublime Merge.
An integrated merge tool
An integrated merge tool allows resolving conflicts in Sublime Merge itself instead of having to open another editor. There is a 3-pane view for viewing conflicts. The changes done by you are on the left, and by others, on the right. The resolved text is displayed on a pane in the center with buttons to choose between what changes to accept.
Advanced diffs
For cases where necessary, Sublime Merge will display exactly which individual characters have been changed for a commit. This includes renames, moves, resolving conflicts or just looking at the commit history. It can be done simply by selecting any two commits in Sublime Merge with Ctrl+Left Mouse to show the diff between them.
Key bindings
There are also good keyboard usability options. The Tab key can be used to navigate through different parts of the application. Space bar can toggle expansion, and Enter can stage/unstage hunks. The Command Palette allows quick access to a large set of Git commands and is triggered by Ctrl+P.
Command line integration
Sublime Merge will work hand-in-hand with the command line. All repository changes are updated live and things work the same from the command line as they would from the UI. So either the GUI or the command line can be used for different functions, the choice is yours. The smerge tool that comes with Sublime Merge can be used to open repositories, blame files, and search for commits.
Advanced search
Sublime Merge features find-as-you-type search to find the commit with exact matches. You can search for commit messages, commit authors, file names, and even wildcard patterns. Complex search queries can also be constructed using ‘and’, ‘or’, and ‘()’ symbols for deep searches within folders.
Use of real Git
Working with Sublime Merge means you’re working with the real Git, and not just a simplified version. Hovering over the buttons will show you which command it will run. Sublime Merge uses the same lingo as Git, and it doesn’t make use of any state beyond Git itself.
It uses a custom implementation of Git for reading repositories that drives high performance functionalities. However, Git itself, is directly used in Sublime Merge for repository mutating operations like staging, committing, checking out branches, etc.
Downloads and licence
Individual licences are lifetime with three years of updates included. For business licenses, subscription is available.
Sublime Merge is in its early stages and has only been used by the makers and a small team of beta testers. Now they have invited other users to try it as well. You can download and read more about the Git Client from the Sublime Merge website.
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