A powerful terminal-based (TUI) Git branch management tool that provides an interactive interface for managing Git branches with rich visual feedback and advanced features.

• Interactive TUI: Navigate branches with arrow keys in a clean, professional interface
• Branch Operations: Checkout, delete, rename, and create branches with ease
• Visual Indicators:
  • * Current branch
  • ↓ Remote branches
  • [modified] Uncommitted changes
  • [unpushed] Local branches not on remote
  • [merged] Branches merged into main/master
  • [worktree] Branches in other worktrees
• Smart Stash Management:
  • Automatic prompt to stash changes when switching branches
  • Track and recover stashes with 'S' key
  • Branch-specific stash detection
• Remote Branch Support: Toggle viewing and checkout remote branches
• Branch Protection: Extra confirmation for deleting main/master branches
• Worktree Support: Shows worktree indicators and prevents conflicts

• Powerful Filtering:
  • Search by name (/)
  • Filter by author (a)
  • Hide old branches (o)
  • Hide merged branches (m)
  • Filter by prefix (p)
• Smart Sorting: Branches sorted by most recent commits
• Color Coding: Age-based coloring for quick visual scanning
• Browser Integration: Open branches in GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, etc.
• Performance Optimized: Progressive loading with caching for instant startup, even in large repos
• Professional UI: Nano-style footer with command shortcuts

• Python 3.6+
• Git
• Terminal with color support

# Download and install to /usr/local/bin (requires sudo)
sudo curl -L https://raw.githubusercontent.com/daveschumaker/gbm/main/git-branch-manager.py -o /usr/local/bin/git-bm
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/git-bm

# Or install to ~/.local/bin (no sudo required)
mkdir -p ~/.local/bin
curl -L https://raw.githubusercontent.com/daveschumaker/gbm/main/git-branch-manager.py -o ~/.local/bin/git-bm
chmod +x ~/.local/bin/git-bm

# Add ~/.local/bin to PATH if not already present
# For bash: echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc && source ~/.bashrc
# For zsh:  echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc && source ~/.zshrc

# Now you can run from anywhere
git-bm

# Or as a git alias
git config --global alias.bm '!git-bm'
git bm  # Now works as a git subcommand!

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/daveschumaker/gbm.git
cd gbm

# Make executable
chmod +x git-branch-manager.py

# Option 1: Run directly
./git-branch-manager.py

# Option 2: Create symlink (recommended)
ln -s $(pwd)/git-branch-manager.py ~/.local/bin/git-bm

# Now you can run from anywhere
git-bm

# Add as git alias
git config --global alias.bm '!python3 /path/to/git-branch-manager.py'

# Now use as:
git bm

# Show version
gbm --version
gbm -v

# Show help
gbm --help
gbm -h

# Specify a different git repository directory
gbm --directory /path/to/repo
gbm -d /path/to/repo

• ↑/↓ or j/k: Navigate through branches
• Page Up/Page Down: Navigate by page
• Home/End: Jump to first/last branch
• Enter: Checkout selected branch
• q or ESC: Quit (ESC also clears filters)

• D: Delete selected branch (with confirmation)
• M: Move/rename branch
• N: Create new branch from current
• S: Pop last stash (if available)

• /: Search branches by name
• a: Toggle author filter (show only your branches)
• o: Toggle old branches filter (>3 months)
• m: Toggle merged branches filter
• p: Filter by prefix (feature/, bugfix/, etc.)
• c: Clear all filters

• t: Toggle remote branches view
• f: Fetch from remote
• b: Open branch in browser
• B: Open branch comparison/PR page
• r: Reload branch list

• ?: Show help screen

Git Branch Manager supports configuration via ~/.config/git-branch-manager/config.json:

{
  "platform": "auto",              // auto-detect or: github, gitlab, bitbucket-cloud, bitbucket-server, custom
  "default_base_branch": "main",   // default branch for comparisons
  "browser_command": "open",       // command to open browser (open on macOS, xdg-open on Linux)
  "prevent_browser_for_merged": false,  // prevent opening browser for merged branches (useful if remote deletes merged branches)
  "custom_patterns": {             // for custom Git hosting platforms
    "branch": "https://git.example.com/{repo}/tree/{branch}",
    "compare": "https://git.example.com/{repo}/compare/{base}...{branch}"
  }
}

The tool automatically detects your Git hosting platform:

• GitHub
• GitLab
• Bitbucket (Cloud & Server)
• Azure DevOps
• Custom platforms (via configuration)

• * Current branch (highlighted in green)
• ↓ Remote branch
• Local branch

• [modified]: Has uncommitted changes
• [unpushed]: Exists locally but not on remote
• [merged]: Has been merged into main/master
• [worktree]: Checked out in another worktree

• Green: Current branch
• Cyan: Branch names
• Yellow: Modified indicator
• Magenta: Recent branches (<1 week)
• Blue: Commit info
• Red: Old branches (>1 month)

# Start branch manager
gbm

# Press 't' to see remote branches
# Press '/' to search for a feature
# Press Enter to checkout
# Press 'N' to create new branch
# Press 'D' to delete old branches

gbm
# Press 'o' to hide old branches
# Press 'm' to hide merged branches
# Review remaining branches
# Press 'D' on branches to delete

gbm
# Press 'a' to show only your branches
# Navigate and manage your work

1. Quick Filter Clear: Press ESC to clear all filters at once
2. Safe Stashing: The tool remembers stashes it creates and shows them in the header
3. Worktree Safety: Can't checkout branches that are active in other worktrees
4. Protected Branches: Main and master branches require extra confirmation to delete
5. Remote Checkout: Select a remote branch and press Enter to create a local tracking branch
6. Quick Browser: Press 'b' to instantly view a branch on GitHub/GitLab/etc.

1. "No branches found"

   • Ensure you're in a Git repository
   • Try pressing 'f' to fetch from remote

2. Colors not showing

   • Ensure your terminal supports colors
   • Try setting TERM=xterm-256color

3. Can't delete remote branches

   • This is by design - only local branches can be deleted
   • To remove remote branches, use standard git commands

4. Spinner not animating during fetch

   • Requires Python threading support
   • Check Python installation

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

# Clone your fork
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/git-branch-manager.git
cd git-branch-manager

# Create a branch
git checkout -b feature/your-feature

# Make changes and test
python3 git-branch-manager.py

# Submit PR

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details

• Inspired by interactive Git tools like lazygit and gitui
• Built with Python's curses library
• UI design influenced by nano and micro editors

Note: This tool is designed for local branch management. For advanced Git operations, please use the standard Git CLI.