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Getting started

Getting started with siGit

siGit is a Git client for iOS, Android, and Windows. This guide walks you through the first few things you’ll need to do to clone a repo and get to work.

Download the app

Pick your platform:

Set up authentication

Before you can clone anything, you need to tell siGit how to authenticate with your Git host (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, self-hosted, etc.).

SSH key

This is the recommended approach. In the app:

  1. Go to Settings → SSH Keys
  2. Tap Generate new key — siGit creates an Ed25519 key pair on your device
  3. Copy the public key and add it to your Git host (GitHub: Settings → SSH and GPG keys → New SSH key)

That’s it. The private key stays on your device.

If you already have an SSH key you want to use, you can import it instead.

HTTPS

If you prefer HTTPS, enter your username and a personal access token (not your account password) when prompted during clone. Most Git hosts have deprecated password auth for HTTPS, so make sure you’re using a token.

Clone a repository

  1. Tap the + button on the home screen
  2. Choose Clone
  3. Paste the repository URL — SSH or HTTPS both work
  4. Pick a local name and location if you want to change the defaults
  5. Tap Clone

Cloning happens in the background. For large repos on a slow connection this can take a moment.

Browse files and commits

Once cloned, you’ll land on the repository view. From here you can:

  • Tap any file to open it in the built-in code viewer, which has syntax highlighting for most common languages
  • Switch to the Commits tab to browse history — tap a commit to see the diff for that change
  • Switch branches from the branch selector at the top of the screen

You can browse files and history without a connection if you’ve already cloned the repo locally.

Make a commit

  1. Edit a file in the code editor, or make changes through another tool that has access to the same local repo
  2. Go to the Changes tab — you’ll see all modified and untracked files listed
  3. Tap a file to review the diff before staging it
  4. Stage the files you want to include, write a commit message, and tap Commit

If you’re mid-thought on a commit message and want to double-check the diff again, the staged files stay staged until you explicitly unstage them.

Push to remote

After committing, tap Push. If your branch has no upstream yet, siGit will ask you to set one. Pick the remote (usually origin) and the branch name, then confirm.

If the push is rejected because the remote has commits you don’t have locally, pull first, resolve any conflicts, then push again.

Pull and fetch

  • Pull downloads new commits and merges (or rebases) them into your current branch
  • Fetch downloads remote changes without touching your working copy — useful for checking what’s changed before deciding what to do

Both are available from the repository action menu.

Manage branches

From the branch selector you can:

  • Switch to an existing branch
  • Create a new branch from your current HEAD
  • Delete a local branch

Merging is done from the branch view — select the branch you want to merge into the current one and confirm.

Deploy with smbCloud

If you have an smbCloud account and your project is connected, a Deploy button appears in the repository toolbar. Tap it to trigger a deployment of the current branch. You can watch the deploy status update in real time without leaving the app.

If you’re not using smbCloud, you can ignore this entirely — it’s opt-in.

A few things worth knowing

  • Dark mode follows your system setting, but you can also pin it in Settings → Appearance
  • SSH keys are stored in the device’s secure enclave where supported
  • Files you’ve already cloned are available offline; pushing, pulling, and cloning require a connection
  • The code editor is for reviewing and making small edits — it’s not a full IDE