~ Software

Legit: Git for Humans

Legit is a command-line tool that adds a layer of sanity to everyday Git workflows. It wraps the most common branch operations into simple, memorable commands.

$ uv pip install legit

What It Looks Like

# Install the Git aliases.
$ legit --install

# Sync your current branch: stash, fetch, merge/rebase, push, unstash.
$ git sync

# Publish a branch to the remote.
$ git publish

# Unpublish a branch from the remote.
$ git unpublish

# Undo the last commit (keeps your changes).
$ git undo

# See all branches, nicely formatted.
$ git branches
#   main         (published)
#   feature-x    (unpublished)
#   fix-login    (published)

# Switch branches with stash management.
$ git switch feature-x
# Legit stashes your changes, switches, and unstashes.

Each command does one thing and does it safely. git sync handles the entire stash-fetch-merge-push cycle that normally takes four separate commands and a good memory.

The Philosophy

I built Legit in 2011 because I loved the Git workflow in GitHub for Mac and wanted that same clarity on the command line. Git is powerful, but most developers use the same five workflows over and over. Legit packages those workflows into commands that say what they do.

sync synchronizes. publish publishes. undo undoes. No flags to memorize. No arcane incantations. The same "for humans" thinking that shaped Requests, applied to version control.

What It Taught Me

Legit was the project where I first understood that "for humans" wasn't just about simplifying APIs — it was about naming things honestly. Git's existing commands are technically accurate but emotionally misleading. git push -u origin feature-x is correct. git publish is clear. The difference matters more than it seems, because command names become the vocabulary you think in.

The same principle shows up everywhere now. When I'm designing any interface, I ask: does the name of this thing describe what the human is trying to do, or what the computer is doing? Those are different questions, and the answer determines whether the tool feels like an extension of your thinking or an obstacle to it.

Many thanks to Frost Ming for maintaining this project.

Install

$ uv pip install legit

Also available via Homebrew:

$ brew install legit

Resources

Requests — The library that established the "for humans" philosophy.
Delegator — Another tool for simplifying command-line interactions.
From HTTP to Consciousness — How naming things for humans became a design principle.