GITmaxed and Git Glossary — Terms Explained for Desktop Users

A plain-language glossary of terms used throughout GITmaxed documentation. Aimed at desktop-app users who may not know command-line Git vocabulary. Terms are listed alphabetically.

A–F

• Account assignment — in GITmaxed, the link between a repository and the GitHub account that authenticates its operations. Stored per repository, changeable in the Changes sidebar, remembered permanently.
• Branch — a movable pointer to a line of commits. Branches appear in the left sidebar; creating, switching, deleting, merging, and rebasing happen from the Branch menu.
• Clone — a local copy of a remote repository. GITmaxed clones into an account-named subfolder by default so multiple accounts' repositories stay organized.
• Commit — a saved snapshot of staged changes with a message and author, created from the commit form at the bottom of the Changes view.
• Credential routing — GITmaxed's internal process of choosing the correct account token when a repository talks to GitHub.com; the assigned account's token is used transparently.
• Diff — the view of what changed. Individual lines can be staged for commit directly from a diff.
• Fetch — downloading new data from the remote without changing local branches; the Fetch button performs this.
• Fork — a copy of a software project maintained separately. GITmaxed is a fork of GitHub Desktop.

G–O

• GitHub Desktop — the official open-source desktop Git client by GitHub; the foundation GITmaxed builds on.
• Git LFS — Git Large File Storage, an extension for versioning large files; supported by GITmaxed.
• OAuth token — the credential GitHub issues after you approve a sign-in in your browser; what GITmaxed stores per account — never your password.
• Origin — the default name for a repository's primary remote, usually the GitHub.com repository it was cloned from.
• Owner folder — the account-named subfolder GITmaxed uses by default when cloning, which also powers automatic account assignment.

P–Z

• Pull request — a GitHub feature proposing changes from one branch or fork into another; create and browse them from a repository's GitHub tab.
• Push — uploading local commits to the remote; the Push origin button does this using the repository's assigned account.
• Rebase — replaying your commits on top of another branch's tip for a linear history; available from the Branch menu.
• Remote — the URL where a repository's copy lives on a server; GITmaxed remotes stay standard HTTPS URLs regardless of account assignment.
• Repository (repo) — the project folder plus its .git history; what you clone, open, and manage inside GITmaxed.
• Stage — marking files or lines for inclusion in the next commit; checkboxes in the Changes view stage files, right-click options stage lines.
• Trampoline (credential helper) — an internal GITmaxed component that intercepts Git authentication requests and supplies the correct account token; users never interact with it directly — it is what makes per-repository account assignment work at the Git level.
• Worktree list — the toolbar segment showing the currently open worktree; Appearance settings include an option to keep it always visible.
• Working directory (working tree) — the files in your project folder as they currently exist on disk; the Changes view shows the working directory's modifications.