Using Git with Visual Studio [closed]

Question

As a long-time Visual SourceSafe user (and hater) I was discussing switching to SVN with a colleague; he suggested using Git instead. Since, apparently, it can be used as peer-to-peer without a central server (we are a 3-developer team).

I have not been able to find anything about tools that integrate Git with Visual Studio, though - does such a thing exist?

What are the technologies available for using Git with Visual Studio? And what do I need to know about how they differ before I begin?

Answer 1

The newest release of Git Extensions supports Visual Studio 2010 now (along with Visual Studio 2008 and Visual Studio 2005).

I found it to be fairly easy to use with Visual Studio 2008 and the interface seems to be the same in Visual Studio 2010.

Answer 2

I find that Git, working on whole trees as it does, benefits less from IDE integration than source control tools that are either file based or follow a checkout-edit-commit pattern. Of course there are instances when it can be nice to click on a button to do some history examination, but I don't miss that very much.

The real must-do is to get your .gitignore file full of the things that shouldn't be in a shared repository. Mine generally contain (amongst other stuff) the following:

*.vcproj.*.user
*.ncb
*.aps
*.suo

but this is heavily C++ biased with little or no use of any class wizard style functionality.

My usage pattern is something like the following.

1. Code, code, code in Visual Studio.

2. When happy (sensible intermediate point to commit code, switch to Git, stage changes and review diffs. If anything's obviously wrong switch back to Visual Studio and fix, otherwise commit.

Any merge, branch, rebase or other fancy SCM stuff is easy to do in Git from the command prompt. Visual Studio is normally fairly happy with things changing under it, although it can sometimes need to reload some projects if you've altered the project files significantly.

I find that the usefulness of Git outweighs any minor inconvenience of not having full IDE integration but it is, to some extent, a matter of taste.

Answer 3

As of 2013-02-11, the Microsoft Git plugin for Visual Studio 2012 should work with the Express version as well.

Answer 4

Also don't miss TortoiseGit... https://tortoisegit.org/

Answer 5

Currently there are 2 options for Git Source Control in Visual Studio (2010 and 12):

1. Git Source Control Provider
2. Microsoft Git Provider

I have tried both and have found 1st one to be more mature, and has more features. For instance it plays nicely with both tortoise git and git extensions, and even exposed their features.

Note: Whichever extension you use, make sure that you enable it from Tools -> Options -> Source control -> Plugin Selection for it to work.

Answer 6

TortoiseGit has matured and I recommend it especially if you have used TortoiseSVN.