Git Winch: The Comprehensive Office Management Solution

(If you have time, read the Philosophy and Background before the rest of this document. It is optional. But do read it sometime.)

Think of Git Winch as your smart replacement for Windows File Explorer - but one that actually knows what everyone in your office is doing. It's a hybrid application that combines a desktop client with web-based coordination to help small and medium offices manage files, people, and tasks seamlessly. The coordination server opens in a browser window when you login.

Start Git Winch when you and everyone in your office begins the workday, and close it at the end of the day. Everything else in the course of the day at office happens naturally in between. You and everyone in your teams work together holistically.

We believe offices should own their data, trust their people, and have tools that enhance rather than complicate their work. Git Winch embodies this philosophy in every feature.

Most offices fail for just two reasons:

1. People Problems: Unhappy employees due to rigid work arrangements. Such as work from home not allowed, etc.
2. Data Problems: Poor file management, security breaches, and lost work.

Git Winch tackles both head-on.

• Ransomware Risk: One wrong click can destroy data on your entire LAN network.
• Remote Work Challenges: Managers often don't trust people working remotely, as they can't figure out what they contributed.
• Version Chaos: Hassled by questions such as: “Which file is the latest version?”
• Data Theft: Ex-employees walking away with everything.
• Vendor Lock-in: Some systems, deliberately put you into their proprietary products. The “Walled Garden” problem: https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/definition/walled-garden
• Hidden Agendas: Some companies have hidden agendas, such as making you their “product”. Big companies using your data to train AI and sell ads.
• Rigid Teams: If in a team, someone acts too pushy, it can overwhelm others.

[PULL] → Do Your Work → [PUSH]

That's it. Three steps:

1. Pull: Get the latest files before you start.
2. Work: Edit files normally in their applications, on your desktop.
3. Push: Send your changes back to the central repository. The rest of the team is notified accordingly.

Two Components Working Together:

• Desktop Application: Runs on your Windows computer, manages files using Git
• Web Application: Coordinates team activities, includes Kanban task management. This does not show the browser address bar. So won't tempt the worker into going into other websites.

Three Hosting Options:
We do NOT host your office files. You are in full control of your files, as we do not interfere when you setup your repositories at one of these Git Hosts. That is where you would centrally place your office files.

• GitHub (free self-hosting and free tier available from them)
• GitLab (free tier available from them)
• Gitea (free self-hosted option from them)

• Real-time Awareness: See who's working on what files.
• ALL Files are private to you: Git Winch only handles meta-data of files (filename, date/time) Our server never, ever comes in contact with your files.
• LAN not needed: You do not need a LAN when you use Git Winch. So viruses, if ever they come, do not spread.
• Conflict Prevention: Reduces chance of multiple people working on the same file simultaneously.
• File Notes: Add context and instructions to any file.
• Version History: Easily revert to any previous version.
• Strong privacy: Your credentials are fully protected (i.e. Not just passwords, even usernames never get exposed by us) When you take an account, you get an anonymized “Full Name”. You can change it if you want, but if you do not want others to guess who you are; you can use our cleverly generated “Full Names” – thus, a Delphi Method kind of way of working together can also be carried out. Extremely useful, when the “personality” behind some person should not overwhelm the team work.

• SSH Deploy Keys: Military-grade security. Our server never gets your private keys or API tokens.
• Instant Access Revocation: Remove someone's access in a second. Really useful for handing out work to temporary freelancers and contractors.
• Your Data, Your Control: Files stay in your repositories, never with us.
• Need-to-Know Access: Give people only what they need to work on. So your intellectual property of each project in your office is well protected.
• Downloadable CSV files: You can get a good idea if someone is moonlighting.

• Work from anywhere with Internet.
• Continue to work on computer without Internet too. But Internet is needed for critical Git functions. For a few minutes.
• Work on the tasks in the web-application if not at your desktop computer/laptop.
• No VPN complexity.
• Same security whether in office or at home or hybrid.
• Managers can monitor progress without being intrusive.
• Unlike other office management systems, Git Winch does not track mouse actions or monitor keyboard activities or take screenshots, as we believe those are dismal ways to control remote workers.

• Small to Medium Offices (our sweet spot)
• Creative Agencies working with binary files, such as architects, graphic designers.
• Consulting Firms with document-heavy workflows.
• Remote-First Companies needing tight coordination.
• Growing Startups that need to scale securely and has “build” processes.

• You have files that multiple people need to work on.
• You should be free to use any kind of desktop applications.
• You need to know who's doing what, when.
• Security and version control matter.
• You want simple tools, not enterprise complexity.
• You want to demonstrate respect to those who work for you.

30 minutes. That's how long it takes most people to understand and start using Git Winch effectively. Just learn to read all the dialogs that pop-up as you start using Git Winch. Also these help pages. If you have more questions, post them at our discussion forum. If you have something private to ask, just email us at admin@gitwinch.com or use one of the communication channels available on our website. We are always there for you.

Git Winch is extremely easy to install. No fancy installer. Just extract from a zip file.

• For Owners: Account at GitHub/GitLab/Gitea + API key
• For Workers: Just install the desktop app
• For Everyone: Access to our web coordination system
• Pre-installation: A couple of standard software is needed to run Git Winch. Read more here.

• Pay-as-you-go: Start with some free credits. Then only pay for what you use.
• No Expiration: Accounts never get deleted.
• Flexible Payments: Individuals or companies can pay.
• Credit Transfer: Managers can fund their team's usage.
• Lifetime Options: Available during special events.

Git Winch is essentially an elegant Git client designed for non-programmers. While Git is powerful, it's traditionally too complex for most office workers. We've simplified it dramatically while keeping all the benefits. And it is extremely empathetic to the team. For example; Everyone gets immediate notifications on who is working on what files.

Unlike traditional Git clients that work in isolation, Git Winch keeps everyone informed:

• Who's working on which files.
• When files are available for others.
• Manager oversight without micromanagement.
• Simple, continuous integration triggered locally when someone pushes files into the repo.
• Managers/owners can download simple CSV Files for analytics and assessments.

Two Types of Groups:

• Repository Groups: People who work on the same files.
• Kanban Groups: People who share tasks and coordination.

These can overlap or be completely separate, depending on your needs.

Imagine an executive desktop organizer - elegant, minimal, but containing everything you need. Git Winch doesn't clutter your screen; it organizes your work. It even collects all your desktop shortcuts and gives you neat dialog with a fast way to run any of them. That means you can hide the clutter of your regular Windows Desktop. It also collects all the clipboard texts and organize them, so you never lose a (Ctrl-X) cut out text.

• No Close Button: Just use the X when you're done.
• Context-Sensitive Help: Hover + F1 for instant guidance.
• Familiar Actions: Works like File Explorer, but smarter.
• Translations: Most of Git Winch is translatable. Currently only the “en” (English) version is available in the downloadable installer zip file, but if you are a paid user; you can request for a translation. We'll use Google Translate to make the translation data and give you a zip file that you just have to extract to the translations folder.

• Hybrid Architecture: Desktop power + web coordination. Suits all kinds of working: Use desktop applications as well as the web on your terms.
• File Agnostic: You can use any kind of application that work on all kinds of files: Word-processor files, PDFs, images, technical drawings, BIM, etc.
• Flexible delegation: Loosely coupled (i.e. opposite of “rigid”) team structures. People can come and go as per the needs of the office – so interns, outside contractors and consultants. You can even give some only read only access. Repository managers can be assigned as per needs, if the owner does not want to do that work himself/herself.
• Zero Vendor Lock-in: Your files, your repositories, your control. Our server NEVER sees your files' contents and clipboard text at all.
• Real-time Coordination: All participating team members know what's happening in the office as it happens.
• Simple for Non-Techies: Git power without Git complexity.
• Partially open-source: Many of the functionality is achieved by sophisticated batch files. So you know exactly what is being carried out. Just ask any techie to read the batch files!
• Zero cuteness: Analytics are NOT shown in cute graphs that someone keeps staring at. Just download the CSV files, and then you can setup your own internal work flow to suit your office.
• No distractions: Everything is minimalistic and to the point. The web-application runs in a special browser window that does not have an address bar – so no temptations to doom-crawl the web. Git Winch has a simple group chat system. We do NOT have “direct one-to-one chats” as that can cause distractions and digressions. Ypu can even hide your Windows desktop icons – Git Winch does a much better job of handling short-cuts of your Desktop.

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Ready to transform how your office works? Git Winch is waiting to simplify your digital life. Do read the philosophy and background.

Table of Contents | Configuration | Advantages | Management | Advanced uses | Troubleshooting