gitk: add README with usage, build, and contribution details
Signed-off-by: Michael Rappazzo <rappazzo@gmail.com> Signed-off-by: Johannes Sixt <j6t@kdbg.org>
Michael Rappazzo committed
Aug 27, 2025 at 18:59 UTC
ac8fec7d8de265e56441713faaf4e08f11c31469
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README.md
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+Gitk - The Git Repository Browser
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+=================================
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+
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+Gitk is a graphical Git repository browser. It displays the commit
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+history of a Git repository as a graph, showing the relationships
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+between commits, branches, and tags.
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+
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+Usage
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+=====
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+
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+To view the history of the current repository:
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+```bash
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+gitk
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+```
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+
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+To view the history of specific files or directories:
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+```bash
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+gitk path/to/file
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+gitk path/to/directory
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+```
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+
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+To view a specific branch or range of commits:
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+```bash
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+gitk branch-name
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+gitk v1.0..v2.0
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+```
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+
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+For more usage examples and options, see the [gitk manual](https://git-scm.com/docs/gitk).
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+
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+Building
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+========
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+
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+Gitk is a Tcl/Tk application. It requires Tcl/Tk to be installed on
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+your system.
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+
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+Running directly
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+----------------
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+
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+Gitk can be run from the source directory without installation:
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+
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+```bash
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+./gitk
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+```
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+
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+This allows for quick testing of changes.
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+
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+Installation
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+------------
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+
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+To install system-wide, you can use either `make` or `meson`:
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+
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+```bash
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+# Install to default location ($HOME/bin)
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+make install
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+
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+# Install to system-wide location
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+sudo make install prefix=/usr/local
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+
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+# Install to custom location
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+make install prefix=/opt/gitk
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+
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+# Using Meson
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+meson setup builddir
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+meson compile -C builddir
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+meson install -C builddir
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+```
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+
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+Both build systems will handle setting the correct Tcl/Tk interpreter
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+path and installing translation files.
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+
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+Contributing
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+============
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+
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+Contributions are welcome! The preferred method for submitting patches
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+is via email to the Git mailing list, as this allows for more thorough
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+review and broader community feedback. However, GitHub pull requests
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+are also accepted.
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+
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+All commits must be signed off (use `git commit --signoff`) and should
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+have commit messages prefixed with `gitk:`.
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+
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+Email Patches
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+-------------
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+
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+Send patches to git@vger.kernel.org and CC j6t@kdbg.org. See the Git
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+project's [patch submission guidelines](https://git-scm.com/docs/SubmittingPatches)
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+for detailed instructions on creating and sending patches.
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+
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+License
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+=======
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+
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+Gitk is distributed under the GNU General Public License, either
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+version 2, or (at your option) any later version.