Prerequisites
Before installing GitWhisper, ensure you have:
- Git installed and available in your PATH
- One of the installation methods below available on your system
GitWhisper requires Git to be installed and accessible from the command line. Verify with git --version.
Installation methods
Choose the installation method that works best for your system:
Dart pub
Homebrew (macOS)
APT (Debian/Ubuntu)
curl (Linux/macOS)
PowerShell (Windows)
Binary download
Install via Dart pub
If you have Dart SDK installed, you can activate GitWhisper globally:dart pub global activate gitwhisper
Requires Dart SDK version 3.0.0 or higher.
# Add to ~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc, or equivalent
export PATH="$PATH":"$HOME/.pub-cache/bin"
gitwhisper --version
gw --version
Install via Homebrew
On macOS, you can install GitWhisper using Homebrew:Tap the GitWhisper repository
brew tap iamngoni/homebrew-gitwhisper
Verify installation
gitwhisper --version
gw --version
Homebrew automatically adds GitWhisper to your PATH and creates the gw alias.
Update via Homebrew
To update to the latest version:brew update
brew upgrade gitwhisper
Install via APT
GitWhisper is available for Debian and Ubuntu systems via APT. Supports both amd64 and arm64 architectures.Add the GitWhisper APT repository
echo "deb [trusted=yes] https://iamngoni.github.io/gitwhisper-apt stable main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/gitwhisper.list
Install GitWhisper
sudo apt install gitwhisper
Verify installation
gitwhisper --version
gw --version
Update via APT
To update to the latest version:sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade gitwhisper
Uninstall via APT
sudo apt remove gitwhisper
Install via curl script
Use the one-line installation script for quick setup on Linux and macOS:curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/iamngoni/gitwhisper/master/install.sh | bash
This script requires sudo privileges to install to /usr/local/bin. You’ll be prompted for your password.
What the script does
The installation script automatically:
- Detects your platform (OS and architecture)
- Downloads the latest release from GitHub
- Extracts the binary
- Installs to
/usr/local/bin/gitwhisper
- Creates a symlink for the
gw alias
- Sets proper permissions
The script detects x86_64 and aarch64/arm64 architectures automatically.
Install specific version
To install a specific version:curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/iamngoni/gitwhisper/master/install.sh | bash -s v0.1.15
gitwhisper --version
gw --version
Install via PowerShell
On Windows, use the PowerShell installation script:You must run PowerShell as Administrator to install GitWhisper.
Open PowerShell as Administrator
Right-click on PowerShell and select “Run as administrator”
Run the installation script
irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/iamngoni/gitwhisper/master/install.ps1 | iex
Restart your terminal
Close and reopen your terminal to ensure PATH changes take effect
Verify installation
gitwhisper --version
gw --version
What the script does
The PowerShell installation script:
- Checks for Administrator privileges
- Fetches the latest release from GitHub
- Downloads the Windows binary
- Extracts to
C:\Program Files\GitWhisper
- Creates both
gitwhisper.exe and gw.exe
- Adds the installation directory to System PATH
The script automatically adds C:\Program Files\GitWhisper to your system PATH if it’s not already present.
Troubleshooting
If you see “command not found” after installation:
- Close and reopen your terminal
- Verify PATH includes:
C:\Program Files\GitWhisper
- Run
$env:Path to check your PATH variable
Direct binary download
Download pre-compiled binaries directly from GitHub releases:Download for your platform
Choose the appropriate binary for your operating system and architecture:
- Linux (x64):
gitwhisper-linux.tar.gz
- Linux (ARM64):
gitwhisper-linux-arm64.tar.gz
- macOS (Intel):
gitwhisper-darwin.tar.gz
- macOS (Apple Silicon):
gitwhisper-darwin-arm64.tar.gz
- Windows:
gitwhisper-windows.tar.gz
Extract the archive
tar -xzf gitwhisper-*.tar.gz
Move to PATH
sudo mv gitwhisper /usr/local/bin/
sudo ln -sf /usr/local/bin/gitwhisper /usr/local/bin/gw
chmod +x /usr/local/bin/gitwhisper
Verify installation
gitwhisper --version
gw --version
On Windows, make sure to add C:\Program Files\GitWhisper to your system PATH if it’s not already included.
Verify installation
After installation, verify that both gitwhisper and gw commands are available:
# Check version
gitwhisper --version
# Test the short alias
gw --version
# View help
gitwhisper --help
gw --help
gitwhisper version: 0.1.15
Post-installation setup
After installing GitWhisper, you’ll need to configure at least one AI model API key:
Choose an AI model
Select an AI provider from: Claude, OpenAI, Gemini, Grok, Llama, DeepSeek, GitHub, Ollama, or use the free model (no API key required)
Save your API key
gitwhisper save-key --model openai --key "your-api-key-here"
Set default model (optional)
gitwhisper set-defaults --model openai --model-variant gpt-4o
Skip API key setup if you’re using the free model: gw commit --model free
Next steps
Quick start guide
Generate your first AI-powered commit message
Configuration
Set up API keys, default models, and preferences
Update GitWhisper
To update GitWhisper to the latest version:
dart pub global activate gitwhisper
GitWhisper includes a built-in update command that works across all installation methods.
Uninstall
To remove GitWhisper from your system:
dart pub global deactivate gitwhisper