# GitHub Desktop

Tool · [Standard tools and platforms](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/tools)

Also called: Github desktop app, GitHub for desktop

A free app from [GitHub](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/github) that lets you use [Git](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/git) through buttons instead of typed commands: see changes, make [commits](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/commit), switch branches and open [pull requests](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/pull-request).

**For example:** A non-[technical cofounder](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/technical-co-founder) installs GitHub Desktop to update the website copy in the [repository](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/repository) without learning the [command line](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/terminal).

Official site: <https://desktop.github.com>

## Connects to (5)

- [GitHub](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/github): A website where developers store code repositories, review each other's changes and work on software together.
- [Git](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/git): The free, open source version control program that almost every software team uses.
- [Commit](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/commit): One saved change in version control: a snapshot of the code with a short note saying what changed, who made it and when.
- [Branch](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/branch): A separate line of work inside a repository.
- [Terminal](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/terminal): A text window where a person types commands to a computer and reads its replies.

Map view: https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/github-desktop