Ask HN: Apps that are built with Git as the back end?

#1

Post by hannes_paul » Wed, Oct 19, 2022, 1:32 PM UTC

Hey HN, I'm working on a project that builds with git as the backend (https://github.com/inlang/inlang) and I'm looking for other projects that have a similar approach.

PS: Also apps such as VS-Code or Obsidian which work on local files and have git plugins would be interesting!

Re: Ask HN: Apps that are built with Git as the back end?

#2

Post by xanthine » Wed, Oct 19, 2022, 2:00 PM UTC

Not entirely necessary for its function, but UNIX `pass` and dotfile managers such as `yadm` come to mind when considering git based programs.

Re: Ask HN: Apps that are built with Git as the back end?

#3

Post by theturtletalks » Wed, Oct 19, 2022, 2:12 PM UTC

I built Opensource.builders using GitHub Issues as a CMS. Building 2.0 using an actual CMS though.

Re: Ask HN: Apps that are built with Git as the back end?

#4

Post by slowhand09 » Wed, Oct 19, 2022, 2:18 PM UTC

This guy built and hosts a SQLite database via github. Is this helpful?

https://phiresky.github.io/blog/2021/hosting-sqlite-database...

Re: Ask HN: Apps that are built with Git as the back end?

#5

Post by georgyo » Wed, Oct 19, 2022, 2:18 PM UTC

Gerrit's database is fully based on git.

https://gerrit-review.googlesource.com/Documentation/note-db...

Re: Ask HN: Apps that are built with Git as the back end?

#6

Post by rmnclmnt » Wed, Oct 19, 2022, 2:20 PM UTC

For simple use-cases and dev-oriented tools, this is a pretty nifty thing to do! Diagrams.net[0] is one such app that can use Git as a backend. Pretty awesome!

[0]: https://www.diagrams.net

Re: Ask HN: Apps that are built with Git as the back end?

#7

Post by georgyo » Wed, Oct 19, 2022, 2:21 PM UTC

slowhand09 wrote: post #4

This guy built and hosts a SQLite database via github. Is this helpful? https://phiresky.github.io/blog/2021/hosting-sqlite-database...

This is not using git as a backend, it is merely using GitHub's static web hosting to serve files. Still impressive, but git could have been replaced with FTP here.

Re: Ask HN: Apps that are built with Git as the back end?

#8

Post by jtwaleson » Wed, Oct 19, 2022, 2:21 PM UTC

I'm using a webscraper that extracts data from some APIs, and stores all the data in a git repo periodically. Then you can see the data changing with tools like git and tig.

Re: Ask HN: Apps that are built with Git as the back end?

#9

Post by georgyo » Wed, Oct 19, 2022, 2:23 PM UTC

theturtletalks wrote: post #3

I built Opensource.builders using GitHub Issues as a CMS. Building 2.0 using an actual CMS though.

GitHub issues are not git and don't even use git.

Re: Ask HN: Apps that are built with Git as the back end?

#10

Post by hprotagonist » Wed, Oct 19, 2022, 2:23 PM UTC

overleaf uses git as a data store for collaborative editing.