Git has become a very popular version control system in iOS and Mac development. Git comes with a set of command line tools to check status, commit changes, view logs, make and merge branches, and coordinate commits with a remote repository.  There are a number of desktop apps that can perform these functions, including Xcode.  When I ask other iOS and Mac developers how they interact with Git, most say they use the command line or a separate desktop app like Tower.  I find very few developers use Xcode for even some basic Git tasks, and many developers are not aware of the Git support Xcode offers.

For my own workflow, I like to minimize the number of tools used and number of switches between apps needed to complete a task.  So, I decided to attempt to use Xcode exclusively to interact with Git and share my results.  So far I have been pleasantly surprised at what all Xcode can do with Git. If you have not taken a look at Xcode’s support for Git, you may be surprised how much you can accomplish.

This article assumes basic familiarity with Xcode and Git, and describes Git functionality present in Xcode version 4.6.2. (more…)