Switching from Fork
If Fork is your Git client today, this guide maps the habits you already have to where they live in Mergepond, and is honest about what Mergepond does differently, what it does not do, and when you might want to keep Fork around.
Before you start
You do not have to move anything. Both apps read the same .git folder, so you can open a repository in Fork and in Mergepond on the same afternoon and nothing breaks. Mergepond writes Git config only when you ask it to (a worktree folder pattern, a setup recipe, a repository identity), and never commits those settings.
Mergepond is free for local repositories. Pro, a one-time purchase, adds repositories over SSH, unlimited workspaces and the worktree board. Fork is also a one-time purchase; see git-fork.com for its current price and terms.
Where things are
Fork documents its features on its home page and blog rather than in a manual, so the left column below links what Fork has written up; the right column is what Mergepond's own menus and sheets say.
| In Fork | In Mergepond |
|---|---|
| Quick Launch with ⌘P (Fork's post) runs commands and opens repositories | ⌘P switches repositories and worktrees; ⌘K is the command palette for everything else |
| Repository Manager for several repositories | Tabs: ⌘T opens a repository in a new tab, ⌘W closes it, ⌘⇧] and ⌘⇧[ move between them |
| One working-copy view and the commit graph | Changes ⌘1, History ⌘2, Worktrees ⌘3 as tabs; branches, remotes, tags, stashes and submodules in the sidebar |
| Stage, unstage, and stage single lines or hunks | Stage file, Stage hunk, Unstage hunk from the diff; Space stages or unstages the selected file. Whole-line staging is not in Mergepond yet |
| Interactive rebase by dragging commits in the graph | Interactive rebase in a sheet: drag rows to reorder, pick an action per row, then "Start rebase". See Rebase by dragging |
| Merge-conflict helper with a built-in resolver | A conflict banner on every view and a resolver that keeps ours, theirs, both or the base per conflict. See Resolve merge conflicts |
| Collapsible commit graph (Fork's post) | The graph is always expanded. Use ⌘F to filter it by message, author, path or date instead |
| Stashes in the sidebar | Stashes in the sidebar, with Apply, Pop and Drop; "Stash all changes" from the toolbar or the palette |
| Reflog, git-flow, image diffs, GitHub notifications | Not in Mergepond. Open the repository in Terminal with ⌘⌥T for reflog and git-flow |
Three things that feel different
Worktrees are a first-class view
Fork treats a repository as one working folder. Mergepond expects you to have several: every worktree shows in the sidebar under its repository, the Worktrees tab lays them out as a board, and ⌘N creates one from a new branch, an existing branch or a pull request number. If you have been juggling stashes or second clones, read the Git worktrees tutorial first; it changes how the rest of the app feels.
Windows belong to workspaces
Mergepond groups repositories into workspaces, and each workspace opens in its own window with its own colour along the top edge and, if you want, its own Git identity. Fork's repository manager has no equivalent of the identity check: before each commit Mergepond compares the commit's name and email with what the workspace expects and warns you if they differ. See Workspaces, windows and Git identities.
Repositories can live on another machine
Type dev-box:~/src/infra into the open sheet and Mergepond opens that repository over SSH, running Git on the other machine as your SSH user. It needs Pro. See Use a Git GUI on repos over SSH.
Move your first repository
- In Mergepond, press ⌘O and open the folder you use most in Fork.
- Press ⌘2 to check History looks right: the same branches, the same tags, your uncommitted changes in the top row.
- Press ⌘1 and make a small commit the way you would in Fork: stage, write the message, ⌘⏎.
- Press ⌘K and type the name of a branch. "Switch to" it from the palette instead of hunting in the sidebar.
- Open a second repository with ⌘T. From now on ⌘P moves between them.
Get more from it
- Mergepond's shortcuts use the standard macOS pattern, so ⌘, opens Settings, ⌘O opens, ⌘W closes. The full list is in the docs under keyboard shortcuts.
- Everything in the right-click menus is also in ⌘K, so the palette is the quickest way to learn what the app can do.
- If a Fork habit has no home here and it matters to you, write to hello@mergepond.dev. Specific requests shape what gets built next.