UniverLab/gitkit: Standalone CLI that configures git repositories — hooks, .gitignore and .gitattributes — idempotently. https://univerlab.org/gitkit/ · GitHub

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Visit the website

Set up a git repo the way you actually work — one guided flow for hooks, .gitignore, .gitattributes, and git config. One binary, no Node.js, no Python, no runtime dependencies.

• 🪄 Guided repo setup — Configure hooks, .gitignore, .gitattributes, and git config in one interactive flow.
• 📊 Status overview — See what's currently configured with gitkit status.
• 🔁 Clone and bootstrap — Clone a repo and drop straight into the setup wizard.
• 🧰 Hook management — Install, list, show, or remove built-in hooks, or wire up your own command.
• 🧩 Ignore and attribute presets — Browse built-in and gitignore.io templates, then apply line-ending or binary presets.
• ⚙️ Curated git config — Apply practical presets with --global or --local scope, with idempotency detection.
• 💾 Save & reuse builds — Save configurations and apply them to any project with one command.
• 🔒 Repository locks — Block commits and pushes during agent sessions with gitkit lock / gitkit unlock — useful when autonomous agents are editing the repo.
• ⬆️ Version check & self-update — Automatic check for new releases with optional auto-update; disable with GITKIT_NO_UPDATE_CHECK.
• 📦 Single binary — No Node.js, no Python, no extra runtime.

Linux / macOS:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/UniverLab/gitkit/main/scripts/install.sh | sh

Windows (PowerShell):

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/UniverLab/gitkit/main/scripts/install.ps1 | iex

cargo install gitkit

Available on crates.io.

Check the Releases page for precompiled binaries (Linux x86_64, macOS x86_64/ARM64, Windows x86_64).

Linux / macOS:

rm -f ~/.local/bin/gitkit

Windows (PowerShell):

Remove-Item "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\gitkit\gitkit.exe" -Force

Run the wizard (no arguments needed):

gitkit

Or explicitly:

gitkit init

Clone and configure a repo in one command:

gitkit clone https://github.com/user/repo

Or use commands directly:

gitkit hooks add conventional-commits
gitkit ignore add rust,vscode,agentic
gitkit attributes init
gitkit config apply defaults

Full documentation lives in docs/: installation, quick start, hooks, ignore & attributes, config presets, builds and the complete CLI reference.

Show what's currently configured in your repo and globally.

gitkit status

Output example:

Hooks:
  ✓ conventional-commits (commit-msg)
  ✓ custom: pre-push → "cargo test"

.gitignore:
  ✓ 14 patterns

.gitattributes:
  ✓ line-endings (eol=lf)

Git config (local):
  (none)

Git config (global):
  ✓ push.autoSetupRemote = true
  ✓ help.autocorrect = prompt
  ✓ diff.algorithm = histogram

Interactive wizard that guides you through configuring a repo step by step. Shows what's already configured and allows removal.

• Hooks — shows installed hooks, pre-selects them, allows removal
• .gitignore — filterable search across all gitignore.io templates + built-ins
• .gitattributes — line endings and binary file presets
• Git config — shows current values, allows removal
• Custom hooks — interactive picker for hook type selection

Run without arguments or explicitly:

gitkit
# or
gitkit init

Automatically initializes a git repository if one doesn't exist.

Clone a repository and automatically run gitkit init to configure it.

Usage:

gitkit clone [OPTIONS] <REPOSITORY> [DIRECTORY]

Arguments:

• <REPOSITORY> — Repository URL or path to clone
• [DIRECTORY] — Target directory (defaults to repository name)

Options:

• -b, --branch <BRANCH> — Clone specific branch (defaults to repository default)
• -h, --help — Print help

Examples:

# Clone and auto-configure
gitkit clone https://github.com/user/repo

# Clone specific branch
gitkit clone -b develop https://github.com/user/repo

# Clone to custom directory
gitkit clone https://github.com/user/repo my-project

The wizard runs automatically after cloning, allowing you to configure hooks, .gitignore, .gitattributes, and git config in one workflow.

Scope options:

• --global — Apply to global git config (all repos)
• --local — Apply to local repo config only
• Default: --local if in a repo, --global otherwise

Idempotency:

Configs already set with the same value show (already set) and are skipped.

$ gitkit config apply defaults --global
✓ push.autoSetupRemote = true (already set)
✓ help.autocorrect = prompt (already set)
✓ diff.algorithm = histogram (already set)

All configs already applied.

Save and reuse configurations across projects.

Example:

# Save current configuration
gitkit build save rust-dev --description "Rust development setup"

# Apply to another project
cd /path/to/other/project
gitkit build apply rust-dev

Builds are saved to ~/.gitkit/builds/ as TOML files.

Run gitkit hooks list --available to see these without leaving the terminal.

Built-ins are embedded in the binary — no network required.

MIT

An experiment of UniverLab — an open computational laboratory. Made with ❤️ by JheisonMB