hub: git + hub = github

hub is a command line utility which adds GitHub knowledge to git.

It can used on its own or as a git wrapper.

Normal:

$ hub clone rtomayko/tilt

Expands to:
$ git clone git://github.com/rtomayko/tilt.git

Wrapping git:

$ git clone rack/rack

Expands to:
$ git clone git://github.com/rack/rack.git

hub requires you have git installed and in your $PATH. It also requires Ruby 1.8.6+ or Ruby 1.9.1+. No other libraries necessary.

Install

Standalone

hub is most easily installed as a standalone script:

curl -s http://defunkt.github.com/hub/standalone > ~/bin/hub &&
chmod 755 ~/bin/hub

Assuming ~/bin/ is in your $PATH, you're ready to roll:

$ hub version
git version 1.7.0.4
hub version 1.1.0

Homebrew

$ brew install hub
$ which hub
/usr/local/bin/hub
$ hub version
...

RubyGems

Though not recommended, hub can also be installed as a RubyGem:

$ gem install git-hub

Yes, the gem name is "git-hub".

(It's not recommended for casual use because of the RubyGems startup time. See this gist for information.)

Standalone via RubyGems

Yes, the gem name is still "git-hub":

$ gem install git-hub
$ hub hub standalone > ~/bin/hub && chmod 755 ~/bin/hub

This installs a standalone version which doesn't require RubyGems to run.

Source

You can also install from source:

$ git clone git://github.com/defunkt/hub.git
$ cd hub
$ rake install prefix=/usr/local

Aliasing

hub works best when it wraps git. This is not dangerous - your normal git commands should all work. hub merely adds some sugar.

Typing hub alias <shell> will display alias instructions for your shell. hub alias alone will show the known shells.

For example:

$ hub alias bash
Run this in your shell to start using `hub` as `git`:
  alias git=hub

You should place this command in your .bash_profile or other startup script to ensure runs on login.

The alias command can also be eval'd directly using the -s flag:

$ eval `hub alias -s bash`

Commands

Assuming you've aliased hub to git the following commands now have superpowers:

git clone

$ git clone schacon/ticgit
> git clone git://github.com/schacon/ticgit.git

$ git clone -p schacon/ticgit
> git clone git@github.com:schacon/ticgit.git

$ git clone resque
> git clone git://github.com/YOUR_USER/resque.git

$ git clone -p resque
> git clone git@github.com:YOUR_USER/resque.git

git remote add

$ git remote add rtomayko
> git remote add rtomayko git://github.com/rtomayko/CURRENT_REPO.git

$ git remote add -p rtomayko
> git remote add rtomayko git@github.com:rtomayko/CURRENT_REPO.git

$ git remote add origin
> git remote add origin git://github.com/YOUR_USER/CURRENT_REPO.git

git fork

$ git fork
... hardcore forking action ...
> git remote add -f YOUR_USER git@github.com:YOUR_USER/CURRENT_REPO.git

Forks the original repo on GitHub and adds the new remote under your username. It requires your GitHub token to be present; see "GitHub login" below for details.

git init

$ git init -g
> git init
> git remote add origin git@github.com:YOUR_USER/REPO.git

git push

$ git push origin,staging,qa bert_timeout
> git push origin bert_timeout
> git push staging bert_timeout
> git push qa bert_timeout

git browse

$ git browse
> open http://github.com/CURRENT_REPO

$ git browse -- issues
> open http://github.com/CURRENT_REPO/issues

$ git browse schacon/ticgit
> open http://github.com/schacon/ticgit

$ git browse -p schacon/ticgit
> open https://github.com/schacon/ticgit

$ git browse resque
> open http://github.com/YOUR_USER/resque

$ git browse resque network
> open http://github.com/YOUR_USER/resque/network

$ git browse -p resque
> open https://github.com:YOUR_USER/resque

git compare

$ git compare refactor
> open http://github.com/CURRENT_REPO/compare/refactor

$ git compare 1.0...1.1
> open http://github.com/CURRENT_REPO/compare/1.0...1.1

$ git compare -u fix
> (http://github.com/CURRENT_REPO/compare/fix)

$ git compare other-user patch
> open http://github.com/other-user/REPO/compare/patch

git submodule

$ hub submodule add wycats/bundler vendor/bundler
> git submodule add git://github.com/wycats/bundler.git vendor/bundler

$ hub submodule add -p wycats/bundler vendor/bundler
> git submodule add git@github.com:wycats/bundler.git vendor/bundler

$ hub submodule add -b ryppl ryppl/pip vendor/pip
> git submodule add -b ryppl git://github.com/ryppl/pip.git vendor/pip

git help

$ git help
> (improved git help)
$ git help hub
> (hub man page)

To get the most out of hub, you'll want to ensure your GitHub login is stored locally in your Git config.

To test it run this:

$ git config --global github.user

If you see nothing, you need to set the config setting:

$ git config --global github.user YOUR_USER

For commands that require write access to GitHub (such as fork), you'll want to setup "github.token" as well. See local GitHub config guide for more information.

Configuration

If you prefer http:// clones to git:// clones, you can set the hub.http-clone option to true using git-config.

For example:

$ git clone defunkt/repl
< git clone >
$ git config --global --bool hub.http-clone true
$ git clone defunkt/repl
< http clone >

Or you can enter this manually into your ~/.gitconfig file:

$ cat ~/.gitconfig
[hub]
  http-clone = yes

Prior Art

These projects also aim to either improve git or make interacting with GitHub simpler:

Contributing

Once you've made your great commits:

Fork hub
Create a topic branch - git checkout -b my_branch
Push to your branch - git push origin my_branch
Create an Issue with a link to your branch
That's it!

Development Gems

You will need the following gems (and their dependencies) to contribute to hub:

rake (gem install rake)
kicker (gem install kicker)
turn (gem install turn)
mg (gem install mg)
ronn (gem install ronn)
webhelper (gem install webhelper)

Author

Chris Wanstrath :: chris@ozmm.org :: @defunkt