Git for Windows for PortableApps.com

Git for Windows focuses on offering a lightweight, native set of tools that bring the full feature set of the Git SCM to Windows while providing appropriate user interfaces for experienced Git users and novices alike.

Packaged with this PortableApps build is the BASH emulation used to run Git from the command line. *NIX users should feel right at home, as the BASH emulation behaves just like the "git" command in LINUX and UNIX environments.

Runtime dependencies

32-bit or 64-bit version of Windows Vista or greater.

Companion apps

Since version 2.39.2 GitlabCliPortable is accessible from within the bash and CMD shells if installed.

Support matrix

OS	32-bit	64-bit
ReactOS 0.4.14
ReactOS 0.4.15
Windows XP
Windows Vista
Windows 7
Windows 8
Windows 10
Windows 11

Legend: not supported; not applicable; no data; supported but not verified; verified;

ℹ️	With version `2.27` the `mintty` terminal is stackdumping on Windows 7 and possibly Vista. The last version supported and tested on Windows 7 is `2.26.2`.

Status

This PortableApps project is in production stage.

SSH key setup

To keep the git settings and the SSH keys portable accross machines the home and start directory of the user are set to %PAL:DataDir%\home or in more user friendly notation ...\PortableApps\GitPortable\Data\home.

All the private SSH keys should be stored under the home’s .ssh directory.

Git Bash

OpenSSH

Generating a private key and public ssh key

After opening a git-bash session issue the command ssh-keygen -t ed25519 For more options and switches for ssh-keygen issue ssh-keygen --help or consult the manual.

ℹ️	Because the key may be used on potentially unsafe hosts it is strongly advised to protect the private key with a passphrase!

$ ssh-keygen -t ed25519
Generating public/private ed25519 key pair.
Enter file in which to save the key (/e/PortableApps/GitPortable/Data/home/.ssh/id_ed25519): ⏎
Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase): *******⏎
Enter same passphrase again: *******⏎
Your identification has been saved in /e/PortableApps/GitPortable/Data/home/.ssh/id_ed25519
Your public key has been saved in /e/PortableApps/GitPortable/Data/home/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub
The key fingerprint is:
SHA256:NT+krIKluNrqEOC3jCuomgfTMBuM5ZyxRlVPHpR+f5o urs@winnie-the-poo
The key's randomart image is:
+--[ED25519 256]--+
|   ....oo        |
|  +   .=         |
|+= + .  . = .    |
|B.* .    S =     |
|.O . .. S o o    |
|+.=..+.  .   .   |
|o+.oo.. .        |
|+oo.  ..    E    |
|@*o    ...o+     |
+----[SHA256]-----+

Passwordless git over SSH

Since the private SSH key is protected with a password each time git fetches or pulls data via the SSH protocol the password prompt appears. But one can start an ssh-agent add the key.

$ eval $(ssh-agent)
Agent pid 1337

$ ssh-add
Enter passphrase for /e/PortableApps/GitPortable/Data/home/.ssh/id_ed25519: *******⏎
Identity added: /e/PortableApps/GitPortable/Data/home/.ssh/id_ed25519 (urs@winnie-the-poo)

Once setup remote git commands over the SSH protocol work without password prompts.

$ git clone git@github.com:uroesch/GitPortable.git
Cloning into 'GitPortable'...
remote: Enumerating objects: 848, done.
remote: Counting objects: 100% (399/399), done.
remote: Compressing objects: 100% (230/230), done.
remote: Total 848 (delta 195), reused 265 (delta 128), pack-reused 449
Receiving objects: 100% (848/848), 417.09 KiB | 273.00 KiB/s, done.
Resolving deltas: 100% (382/382), done.

PuTTY

If PuTTY and its SSH agent pageant is already in use or more suitable for your environment it can be used instead of the packaged OpenSSH.

Generating a PuTTY private key

Open the program puttygen to create a PuTTY private key.

Store the key preferably under .../PortableApps/GitPortable/Data/home/.ssh/

Open pageant and load the generated key into memory.

Ensure the key is loaded unencrypted.

Passwordless git over SSH

Once pageant is running and holding keys the following command allows git to use it for authentication.

$ eval $(ssh-pageant.exe)
ssh-pageant pid 1515

And then a git operation to verify.

$ git clone git@github.com:uroesch/GitPortable.git
Cloning into 'GitPortable'...
remote: Enumerating objects: 856, done.
remote: Counting objects: 100% (407/407), done.
remote: Compressing objects: 100% (235/235), done.
remote: Total 856 (delta 199), reused 272 (delta 130), pack-reused 449
Receiving objects: 100% (856/856), 419.32 KiB | 657.00 KiB/s, done.
Resolving deltas: 100% (386/386), done.

Git Cmd

OpenSSH

Generating a private key and public ssh key

To create a ssh private and public key follo the instructions under the Git Bash section they are identical under git-cmd.

Passwordless git over SSH

Once the keys are in place there is a CMD script which starts an agent and adds the keys available in the home’s .ssh directory into the store.

E:\PortableApps\GitPortable\Data\home>start-ssh-agent
Removing old ssh-agent sockets
Starting ssh-agent:  done
Enter passphrase for /e/PortableApps/GitPortable/Data/home/.ssh/id_ed25519:
Identity added: /e/PortableApps/GitPortable/Data/home/.ssh/id_ed25519 (urs@winnie-the-poo)

Once the key is added git can be used passwordless with SSH URLs.

E:\PortableApps\GitPortable\Data\home>git clone git@github.com:uroesch/GitPortable.git
Cloning into 'GitPortable'...
remote: Enumerating objects: 893, done.
remote: Counting objects: 100% (444/444), done.
remote: Compressing objects: 100% (262/262), done.
Receiving objects: 100% (893/893), 604.09 KiB | 2.65 MiB/s, done.d 449Receiving objects:  95% (849/893)

Resolving deltas: 100% (408/408), done.

PuTTY

Generating a PuTTY private key

For creating a PuTTY private key refer to the git-bash section above.

Passwordless git over SSH

To link the running pageant process with the git command use the start-ssh-pageant CMD script.

E:\PortableApps\GitPortable\Data\home>start-ssh-pageant
Starting ssh-pageant...
SSH_AUTH_SOCK='/tmp/ssh-V7OwXRH4HEpm/agent.660'

Once done SSH URLs will work without asking for a password.

E:\PortableApps\GitPortable\Data\home>git clone git@github.com:uroesch/GitPortable.git
Cloning into 'GitPortable'...
remote: Enumerating objects: 893, done.
remote: Counting objects: 100% (444/444), done.
remote: Compressing objects: 100% (262/262), done.
Receiving objects:  94% (840/893), 348.01 KiB | 548.00 KiB/sremote: Total 893 (delta 221), reused 297 (delta 140), pack-Receiving objects: 100% (893/893), 604.09 KiB | 676.00 KiB/s, done.

Resolving deltas: 100% (408/408), done.

Installation

Download

Since this is not an official PortableApp the PortableApps installer must be download first. Navigate to https://github.com/uroesch/GitPortable/releases for a selection of releases.

Install via the PortableApps.com Platform

After downloading the .paf.exe installer navigate to your PortableApps.com platform Apps Menu ❶ and select Install a new app (paf.exe) ❷.

From the dialog choose the previously downloaded .paf.exe file. ❸

After a short while the installation dialog will appear.

Install outside of the PortableApps.com Platform

The Packages found under the release page are not digitally signed so there the installation is a bit involved.

After downloading the .paf.exe installer trying to install may result in a windows defender warning.

To unblock the installer and install the application follow the annotated screenshot below.

Right click on the executable file.
Choose Properties at the bottom of the menu.
Check the unblock box.

Build

Windows

Windows 10

The only supported build platform for Windows is version 10 other releases have not been tested.

Clone repositories

git clone https://github.com/uroesch/PortableApps.comInstaller.git
git clone -b patched https://github.com/uroesch/PortableApps.comLauncher.git
git clone https://github.com/uroesch/GitPortable.git

Build installer

cd GitPortable
powershell -ExecutionPolicy ByPass -File Other/Update/Update.ps1

Linux

Docker

ℹ️	This is currently the preferred way of building the PortableApps installer.

For a Docker build run the following command.

Clone repo

git clone https://github.com/uroesch/GitPortable.git

Build installer

cd GitPortable
curl -sJL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/uroesch/PortableApps/master/scripts/docker-build.sh | bash

Local build

Ubuntu 20.04

To build the installer under Ubuntu 20.04 Wine, PowerShell, 7-Zip and when building headless Xvfb are required.

Setup

sudo snap install powershell --classic
sudo apt --yes install git wine p7zip-full xvfb

When building headless run the below command starts a virtual Xserver required for the build to succeed.

export DISPLAY=:7777
Xvfb ${DISPLAY} -ac &

Clone repositories

git clone https://github.com/uroesch/PortableApps.comInstaller.git
git clone -b patched https://github.com/uroesch/PortableApps.comLauncher.git
git clone https://github.com/uroesch/GitPortable.git

Build installer

cd GitPortable
pwsh Other/Update/Update.ps1

Ubuntu 18.04

To build the installer under Ubuntu 18.04 Wine, PowerShell, 7-Zip and when building headless Xvfb are required.

Setup

sudo snap install powershell --classic
sudo apt --yes install git p7zip-full xvfb
sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
sudo apt update
sudo apt --yes install wine32

When building headless run the below command starts a virtual Xserver required for the build to succeed.

export DISPLAY=:7777
Xvfb ${DISPLAY} -ac &

Clone repositories

git clone https://github.com/uroesch/PortableApps.comInstaller.git
git clone -b patched https://github.com/uroesch/PortableApps.comLauncher.git
git clone https://github.com/uroesch/GitPortable.git

Build installer

cd GitPortable
pwsh Other/Update/Update.ps1

Files

README.adoc

Latest commit

History

README.adoc

File metadata and controls

Git for Windows for PortableApps.com

Runtime dependencies

Companion apps

Support matrix

Status

SSH key setup

Git Bash

OpenSSH

Generating a private key and public ssh key

Passwordless git over SSH

PuTTY

Generating a PuTTY private key

Passwordless git over SSH

Git Cmd

OpenSSH

Generating a private key and public ssh key

Passwordless git over SSH

PuTTY

Generating a PuTTY private key

Passwordless git over SSH

Installation

Download

Install via the PortableApps.com Platform

Install outside of the PortableApps.com Platform

Build

Windows

Windows 10

Clone repositories

Build installer

Linux

Docker

Clone repo

Build installer

Local build

Ubuntu 20.04

Setup

Clone repositories

Build installer

Ubuntu 18.04

Setup

Clone repositories

Build installer