Git Repositories
Read a repository's files, README and commit history in the browser.
A repository's page lists the files on its default branch, with the latest commit above them and the clone address below. Open a folder to list it, open a file to read it, and open Commits for the branch's whole history. A public repository also has a page anyone can open without an account.
Get started freeThe repository's page
The page opens with the repository's name, its team or Personal, whether it is public or private, its default branch and its description. The description is written in Markdown and is shown formatted.
- Files
- The files and folders at the top of the default branch, folders first, each file with its size.
- Last commit
- A line above the files with the latest commit's date, message and author, which shows whether a push has arrived.
- Clone address
- Below the files, the HTTPS address with Copy.
- Commits
- A button beside the files that opens the history of the default branch.
Folders and files
Open a folder to list what is in it, with a trail of the folders above it. Open a file to read it on its own page.
- README and Markdown
- A README and every other Markdown file are shown formatted, as a document under the file's name.
- Code and text
- Source code and other text files are shown as text.
- Binary and large files
- Images and other binary files, and files over 1 MB, are not shown on the website. They are still in the repository, and a clone has them.
Commit history
Commits lists every commit on the default branch, newest first, 30 to a page. Each line shows the commit's message, its author, its date and its short ID.
Starter files
A new repository needs only a name. Under Starter files it can also be given a first commit, so it can be cloned and read straight away. Without starter files it is empty until someone pushes to it.
- README
- A README.md headed with the repository's name.
- .gitignore
- One of GitHub's .gitignore files for a language, framework or tool, such as Node, Python, Go or Unity, chosen by name.
- License
- A license such as MIT, Apache 2.0 or GPL 3.0, with the year filled in and the team named as the copyright holder.
- Name
- Letters, numbers, dots, hyphens and underscores, not already used in the team. The name and the default branch, main, cannot be changed later.
The public repository page
A public repository has a page at /g/team/repository, its clone address without .git, that anyone can open without signing in. It shows the name, description and default branch, the last commit, the number of commits, the files with their sizes, and the HTTPS clone address with Copy.
The number of commits opens the history, 30 commits to a page. A file opens as plain text in a new window, so an HTML or SVG file shows its source and is never run as a page. Signed-in people who can open the repository in Magpie see Open in Magpie.
Reading a repository with the assistant
The assistant on the Dashboard can search your repositories and read what Magpie stores of them: the branches, recent commits, the file tree, the README and a text file you name.
Create a repository with a README.
Create a Magpie account, open Git Repositories, choose New Git Repository and add a README under Starter files.