Git Wikitree

Git Wikitree is a local-first desktop workspace for Git repositories. It opens folders you already have on disk, presents them as a navigable file tree, and gives documentation-heavy projects a focused place to read, preview, edit, search, switch branches, open worktrees, and inspect line authorship.

The app is built for people who spend a lot of time inside repository content: maintainers reviewing docs, engineers comparing branches, and writers keeping Markdown sites or knowledge bases close to the actual files.

What You Can Do

• Open local Git repositories from the app, the menu bar, recent items, or a startup path.
• Browse the selected working tree or linked worktree as local files, with Git metadata kept in the background.
• Preview directories through their home files, such as README.md, index.md, or _index.md, or fall back to compact directory listings.
• Preview Markdown, Marp slide Markdown, HTML, SVG, PDF, images, and text-like source files.
• Render Markdown with GitHub-flavored Markdown, syntax highlighting, heading anchors, copy-code buttons, Mermaid diagrams, local image assets, and safe repository-link handling.
• Edit text-like files and editable directory home files with CodeMirror.
• Move between preview, code, split, and blame views where the active file supports them.
• Search paths and text across the selected local workspace.
• Use current-tab find for the active preview or editor.
• Rename and delete files or folders from the file tree context menu, with repository-boundary checks in the main process.
• Open tree items and Markdown links in the current tab, a new tab, or a new window.
• Switch the primary workspace to another local branch, or open a branch or remote ref as an isolated Git worktree under .worktrees.
• Keep multiple tabs with per-tab back and forward history.
• Restore project sessions, expanded paths, active tabs, recent repositories, recent files, sidebar state, and window bounds.
• Receive signed packaged-app updates from GitHub Releases when a newer release is available.
• Configure light, dark, or system appearance; English or Simplified Chinese; directory home-file candidates; preview typography; and editor typography and indentation.
• See workspace, branch, path, preview, editor, modified-time, and latest Git author facts in the status bar.

Product Shape

Git Wikitree is not a remote repository browser or a Git history dashboard. Its center of gravity is the checked-out workspace on your machine. Git operations are explicit: branch switching changes the active local workspace, and worktree opening creates or reuses a separate working copy.

This local-files-first model keeps previews, edits, search results, recent files, and session restoration aligned with what is actually on disk.

Getting Started

Install dependencies:

npm install

Run the desktop app in development mode:

npm run dev

The development renderer server listens on 127.0.0.1:43173 with strict port checking enabled. If that port is already in use, npm run dev fails instead of silently moving to another port.

Build the app, then preview the production output locally:

npm run build
npm run start

Stack

• Electron 42 for the desktop shell
• electron-vite and Vite for main, preload, and renderer builds
• React 19 and TypeScript for the renderer UI
• CodeMirror for editing
• Node.js built-in test runner for tests
• ESLint and Prettier for code quality and formatting
• electron-builder and electron-updater for packaging and GitHub Release updates

Project Layout

src/main/        Electron main process, windows, menus, IPC, Git services
src/preload/     contextBridge API exposure and renderer type declarations
src/shared/      Types shared across main, preload, and renderer
src/renderer/    React UI, previews, navigation, hooks, and styles
tests/           Node.js test runner suites and TypeScript transpile helpers
.agents/         Agent collaboration rules for this repository

Scripts

npm run dev               # Start electron-vite development mode
npm run start             # Preview the built Electron app
npm run build             # Typecheck and build the app
npm run build:unpack      # Build and package an unpacked app directory
npm run build:mac         # Build and package an unsigned macOS app for the current arch
npm run build:mac:intel   # Build and package an unsigned macOS app for Intel Macs
npm run build:mac:arm64   # Build and package an unsigned macOS app for Apple silicon
npm run build:mac:release # Build, sign, notarize, and package for the current macOS arch
npm run build:mac:intel:release # Build, sign, notarize, and package for Intel Macs
npm run build:mac:arm64:release # Build, sign, notarize, and package for Apple silicon
npm run verify:mac:release # Verify the notarized macOS app and DMG contents
npm run verify:mac:intel:release # Verify the notarized Intel macOS app and DMG contents
npm run verify:mac:arm64:release # Verify the notarized Apple silicon app and DMG contents
npm run build:win         # Build and package for Windows x64
npm run build:linux       # Build and package for Linux
npm run build:linux:release # Build Linux AppImage and deb release assets for x64
npm run typecheck         # Run node and web TypeScript checks
npm run typecheck:node    # Typecheck main/preload code
npm run typecheck:web     # Typecheck renderer code
npm run lint              # Run ESLint
npm run test              # Run Node.js test suites
npm run format            # Format the repository with Prettier

Development Notes

Repository-specific implementation guidance lives in AGENTS.md and .agents/rules/. Those files are the best starting point before changing IPC, workspace behavior, preview/edit flows, menus, localization, tests, or documentation.

License

This project is licensed under the terms in LICENSE.