How To Install Lazygit on Fedora 39

In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Lazygit on Fedora 39. Git, the widely used version control system, has revolutionized the way developers manage their code. However, for some users, navigating through Git’s command-line interface can be a daunting task. This is where Lazygit comes in – a simple, easy-to-use terminal UI for Git. Lazygit simplifies common Git operations, making it an excellent tool for both beginners and experienced developers looking to streamline their workflow.

This article assumes you have at least basic knowledge of Linux, know how to use the shell, and most importantly, you host your site on your own VPS. The installation is quite simple and assumes you are running in the root account, if not you may need to add ‘sudo‘ to the commands to get root privileges. I will show you the step-by-step installation of the Lazygit on a Fedora 39.

Prerequisites

Before we dive into the installation process, ensure that you have the following prerequisites in place:

• A server running one of the following operating systems: Fedora 39.
• It’s recommended that you use a fresh OS install to prevent any potential issues.
• You will need access to the terminal to execute commands. Fedora 39 provides the Terminal application for this purpose. It can be found in your Applications menu.
• A network connection or internet access to download the Lazygit repository.
• A non-root sudo user or access to the root user. We recommend acting as a non-root sudo user, however, as you can harm your system if you’re not careful when acting as the root.

Install Lazygit on Fedora 39

Step 1. Before diving into the Lazygit server installation, it’s crucial to prepare your Fedora system by updating it and installing the necessary dependencies. Open your terminal and execute:

sudo dnf clean all
sudo dnf update

Step 2. Installing Git.

Lazygit is a terminal UI for Git, so you must have Git installed on your system. If you haven’t installed Git yet, you can do so by running the following command in your terminal:

sudo dnf install git

Step 3. Enabling the Copr Repository.

Fedora Copr is a collection of third-party repositories that provide additional packages not found in the official Fedora repositories. To install Lazygit on Fedora 39, we will use the “atim/lazygit” repository from Copr.

Open your terminal and run the following command to install the Copr plugin for dnf:

sudo dnf install dnf-plugins-core

Once the installation is complete, enable the “atim/lazygit” repository by executing the following command:

sudo dnf copr enable atim/lazygit

Step 4. Installing Lazygit on Fedora 39.

Now that the “atim/lazygit” repository is enabled, installing Lazygit is a straightforward process. Follow these steps to install Lazygit using the dnf package manager:

sudo dnf install lazygit

Wait for the installation process to complete. dnf will resolve any dependencies and install Lazygit along with any required packages.

After completing the installation process, it’s essential to verify that Lazygit has been installed correctly and is accessible from the terminal. To verify the installation, follow these steps:

lazygit --version

Step 5. Launching Lazygit on Fedora.

To launch Lazygit, simply open your terminal and navigate to the Git repository you want to manage. Then, run the following command:

lazygit

Lazygit will open its interface, displaying various panels and information about your Git repository.

Step 6. Navigating the Lazygit Interface.

The Lazygit interface consists of several key panels that provide an overview of your Git repository’s status and allow you to perform common Git operations. Here’s a brief description of each panel:

1. Status Panel: Displays the current branch, staging area, and any modified or untracked files.
2. Files Panel: Shows the list of files in your repository, allowing you to stage, unstage, or discard changes.
3. Commits Panel: Presents a list of commits in the current branch, enabling you to view, checkout, or interact with specific commits.
4. Stashes Panel: Manages your stashed changes, allowing you to apply, drop, or view stashes.
5. Branches Panel: Lists local and remote branches, facilitating branch management and checkout.

To navigate between panels, use the arrow keys or the specific keybindings displayed at the bottom of each panel.

Step 7. Common Commands and Shortcuts.

Lazygit provides a set of intuitive commands and shortcuts to perform common Git operations efficiently. Here are a few essential commands to get you started:

• a: Stage/unstage changes in the Files panel.
• c: Commit staged changes, opening a commit message editor.
• p: Push commits to the remote repository.
• P: Pull changes from the remote repository.
• s: Stash changes, allowing you to switch branches or perform other operations.
• S: View and apply stashed changes.
• b: Checkout a different branch or create a new one.
• q: Quit Lazygit and return to the terminal.

For a comprehensive list of commands and shortcuts, press ? within the Lazygit interface to access the help menu.

Step 8. Staging, Committing, and Pushing Changes.

One of the most common workflows in Git involves staging changes, creating a commit, and pushing those changes to a remote repository. Here’s how you can perform these operations using Lazygit:

1. In the Files panel, navigate to the file(s) you want to stage using the arrow keys.
2. Press a to stage the selected file(s). Repeat this process for all the files you want to include in your commit.
3. Once you have staged the desired changes, press c to create a new commit. This will open your default text editor to enter a commit message.
4. Write a descriptive commit message, save the file, and exit the editor. Lazygit will create the commit with the provided message.
5. To push the commit to the remote repository, press p. Lazygit will prompt you to confirm the push operation.

By following these steps, you can easily stage, commit, and push changes to your Git repository using Lazygit’s intuitive interface.

Step 9. Interactive Rebasing.

Lazygit provides an interactive rebase mode that allows you to easily modify, reorder, or squash commits in your branch history. To initiate an interactive rebase:

1. In the Commits panel, navigate to the commit where you want to start the rebase.
2. Press r to enter the rebase mode.
3. Use the arrow keys to select the commits you want to modify and press e to edit the rebase action for each commit.
4. Once you have configured the desired rebase actions, press w to start the rebase process.

Interactive rebasing is a powerful feature that enables you to clean up and organize your commit history before pushing changes to the remote repository.

Step 10. Cherry-Picking

Cherry-picking allows you to select specific commits from one branch and apply them to another branch. Lazygit makes cherry-picking a breeze:

1. In the Commits panel, navigate to the commit you want to cherry-pick.
2. Press c to initiate the cherry-pick operation.
3. Lazygit will prompt you to select the target branch where you want to apply the commit.
4. Once you’ve selected the target branch, Lazygit will perform the cherry-pick and apply the commit to the chosen branch.

Cherry-picking is useful when you need to selectively apply changes from one branch to another without merging the entire branch.

Step 11. Efficient Git Management

Lazygit offers several tips and best practices to help you manage your Git repositories efficiently:

• Regularly review and prune stale branches to keep your repository clean and organized.
• Use descriptive and concise commit messages to make your commit history more readable and understandable.
• Leverage Lazygit’s search functionality to quickly find specific commits, branches, or stashes.
• Customize Lazygit’s keybindings and configuration to match your preferred workflow and shortcuts.

By incorporating these tips into your daily Git workflow, you can enhance your productivity and streamline your development process.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed Lazygit. Thanks for using this tutorial for installing Lazygit on your Fedora 39 system. For additional or useful information, we recommend you check the official Lazygit website.