whygit

Name: whygit
Author: Srikarmk

by Srikarmkversion 0.1.2i★ –iRuns on your computer

Registry nameio.github.Srikarmk/whygit

Install

Overview

Description from the maker (original English)

Read-only Git explainer: what state a repo is in, what an error means, and the exact fix.

PopNx MCP’s three pillars

These three are never merged into one score: opinions, measurements and popularity are different things.

User voiceiNo reviews yetReviews open together with accounts in a later step
Our basic checksi1 of 1 passedChecked from public information; code not scanned yet
UsageiNot measured yet★ –

What you can do with it

We have not written a plain-language summary for this one yet. Below are the facts we read from the registry.

Connection: Runs on your computer
Transport: stdio
Category: Developer tools

Install

Pick the AI app you use, then copy the settings.

Before you install

Basic checks: 1 of 1 passed
Runs on your computer with your user’s permissions (files, network, apps).
The registry lists no key to fill in.

You need

PyPIPython’s uv installed (for the uvx command)

Which app do you use?

ClaudeClaude CodeCursorVS CodeChatGPT

Pick your app above. We remember it, so next time the button says “Install in …”.

Open Claude Desktop → Settings → Developer → Edit Config, and paste this into claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "whygit": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "whygit",
        "mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Run this in your terminal

claude mcp add whygit -- uvx whygit mcp

Open in Cursor

Or copy the settings yourself

Paste into .cursor/mcp.json in your project, or ~/.cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "whygit": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "whygit",
        "mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Your browser asks to open the app, then the app shows the settings and asks you to confirm. Key values are left empty for you to fill in.

Open in VS Code

Or copy the settings yourself

Paste into .vscode/mcp.json in your project

{
  "servers": {
    "whygit": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "whygit",
        "mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Your browser asks to open the app, then the app shows the settings and asks you to confirm. Key values are left empty for you to fill in.

This one runs on your computer, and ChatGPT can only connect to servers on the internet. Pick another app.

Your choice stays on this device in a cookie; no account needed.

These settings are generated from the maker’s registry entry. If the README says otherwise, follow the README.

What it can do

Runs on your computer; the tool list appears in your AI app after you install it.

Basic checksi

We check information anyone can see; we have not read the code. Checks that do not apply are left out of the count. · Checked Nov 6, 2026

✓ Pass
Maker matches the repo
The registry name was verified with the GitHub account Srikarmk, which owns the repo
… Not checked yet
Still maintained
We have not read this repo from GitHub yet
… Not checked yet
Has a licence
We have not read this repo from GitHub yet
– Not applicable
Endpoint responds
This one runs on your computer; there is no internet endpoint
– Not applicable
Sign-in with OAuth
Runs on your computer and uses local settings instead
… Not checked yet
No hidden instructions in tool descriptions
Runs on your computer; we can only read tool lists from internet endpoints

Compared with others in Developer toolsi

More stars than 0% of the other 1390 servers in this category
Published to the registry more recently than 73% of the other 1390 servers in this category
Basic checks equal to or better than 100% of the other 1390 servers in this category

Compared with every active server in this category in the registry. Stars count only when the publisher owns the repo.

Common questions

Is whygit safe?

It passed 1 of 1 applicable basic checks. We have not read the code. Before adding a key or token, see what access the server asks for and use a key with only the permissions you need.

What keys or codes does it need?

The registry does not list a required key, though some servers ask you to sign in on first use.

Does it run on my computer or in the cloud?

It runs on your computer. Your AI app starts it when needed, and data does not pass through the maker’s servers (unless it calls an online service itself).

Is it still maintained?

The GitHub repo last changed –, and the latest version (0.1.2) reached the registry 17 days ago.

Which apps can use it?

Apps that support MCP, such as Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor and VS Code. You also need Python (uv) on your computer.

What can I use instead?

In the same category: GitHub, Desktop Commander, Cloudflare MCP

Alternatives

Servers in the same category from other makers, sorted by stars.

Reading a card:★ GitHub starsiThree pillars: reviews · checks · usageiUpdated = latest version published to the registryi

GitHub

by github

GitHub’s official server lets AI read and manage code, issues and pull requests in your account. Use GitHub’s hosted version or run it locally with Docker.

Computer or cloud★ 34,245MITUpdated 3 days ago

Install

Desktop Commander

by wonderwhy-er

MCP server for terminal commands, file operations, and process management

Runs on your computer★ 10,225MITUpdated 15 days ago

Install

Cloudflare MCP

by cloudflare

Cloudflare MCP servers

Runs in the cloud★ 4,446Apache-2.0Updated 14 months ago

Install

README from the maker

Open the README

Copied from the maker’s repo as written. PopNx MCP has not reviewed or endorsed it. HTML, images and scripts are removed. Links lead off this site.

whygit

What just happened to my Git repository, and how do I fix it?

whygit looks at a Git repository and tells you, in plain English, what state it is in and which commands will get you out of it: a merge conflict, a rebase stopped halfway, a detached HEAD, a rejected push, a login GitHub won't accept, a 120 MB CSV that GitHub will refuse. Paste it an error message and it explains that too.

It is written for people meeting Git for the first time. Git's own messages are accurate but hard to read; whygit turns them into a short explanation and the exact fix.

It only ever reads your repository. It never runs the fixes it suggests, so you stay in control and learn the commands as you go.

There are two ways to use it, built on the same engine:

On the command line, with no AI tools involved: whygit.
As an MCP server, so an assistant such as Claude Code, Claude Desktop or Cursor gets a reliable diagnosis instead of guessing from git status.

Install

whygit needs Python 3.10 or newer and Git. Pick one:

uv tool install whygit     # with uv (https://docs.astral.sh/uv/)

pipx install whygit # with pipx uvx whygit # run once without installing

This works the same on macOS, Windows and Linux.

Use it from the terminal

Run it inside your project folder:

whygit                    # what's wrong here, most urgent first

whygit status # a plain summary: branch, upstream, what's changed whygit explain "fatal: refusing to merge unrelated histories" git push 2>&1 | whygit explain -

Options: --path (or -C) to look at another folder, --json for machine-readable output, --no-color to turn off colour. Colour is only used in a real terminal and never when NO_COLOR is set.

Exit codes: 0 nothing blocking, 1 something blocking was found, 2 bad usage (for example the folder does not exist), 3 explain did not recognise the message.

Example

$ whygit

whygit: /Users/sam/ds3500/hw2 (branch main)

[BLOCKING] Merge in progress with conflicts in 1 file Git tried to combine two lines of work, but both changed the same part of these files, so it stopped and is waiting for you to choose what the result should be. Nothing is lost while you decide. Conflicted files:

analysis.py (both changed) How to fix: Finish the merge:

Open each file and find the blocks between <<<<<<< and >>>>>>>. The part above ======= is one version, the part below is the other. Keep what you want, and delete the three marker lines.
git add analysis.py Marks the files as resolved
git commit --no-edit Records the merge and finishes it Or cancel the merge:
git merge --abort Puts everything back the way it was before the merge started Learn more: https://git-scm.com/docs/git-merge#_how_to_resolve_conflicts

1 blocking. whygit never runs these commands for you; copy the ones you want.

Commands that can lose work (git restore, git rebase --skip, git push --force-with-lease and so on) are always marked with a warning, and a safer option is listed first when one exists.

Use it with an AI assistant (MCP)

whygit mcp runs a Model Context Protocol server over stdio with three read-only tools:

Tool	Use it when	Returns
`diagnose_repo(path=".")`	something seems stuck or broken	every problem found, most urgent first, with explanation and fix
`explain_git_error(error_text, path=None)`	a git command printed an error	what the error means and the fix, using the repository's state if `path` is given
`explain_state(path=".")`	you want a neutral summary	branch, upstream, ahead/behind, remotes, staged and changed files, operations in progress

Results are small JSON objects. Pass an absolute path: relative paths resolve against the server's working directory, which for desktop apps is usually not your project. ~ works.

Claude Code

claude mcp add --scope user whygit -- uvx whygit mcp

--scope user makes it available in every project; leave it out to add it to the current project only. Check it with claude mcp list.

Claude Desktop

Open Settings > Developer > Edit Config, and add whygit to claude_desktop_config.json (on macOS ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/, on Windows %APPDATA%\Claude\):

"mcpServers": { "whygit": { "command": "uvx", "args": ["whygit", "mcp"] } } }

Restart Claude Desktop. If it can't find uvx, use the full path that which uvx (macOS) or where uvx (Windows) prints as the command.

Cursor

Add the same block to ~/.cursor/mcp.json (all projects) or .cursor/mcp.json in a project:

"mcpServers": { "whygit": { "command": "uvx", "args": ["whygit", "mcp"] } } }

If you installed whygit with uv tool install or pipx, you can use "command": "whygit" with "args": ["mcp"] instead.

What it recognises

Repository states: merge conflicts (and a merge that is resolved but not committed, including leftover <<<<<<< markers), a rebase stopped on a conflict or an edit, cherry-pick, revert, git am and bisect in progress, detached HEAD (and commits that no branch points to), diverged / behind / ahead of the upstream, no upstream yet (the first git push -u), no remote, upstream branch deleted, no commits yet, not a repository (including being one folder too high, and your home folder), a home folder that was accidentally turned into a repository, nested repositories (common with downloaded starter code), files over GitHub's 100 MB limit (and over 50 MB) staged or in unpushed commits, files that usually hold secrets (.env, id_rsa, *.pem, kaggle.json, credentials JSON), notebooks with large saved outputs, Jupyter notebook conflicts, missing user.name / user.email, a leftover index.lock, and folders Git refuses because of "dubious ownership".

Error messages: rejected pushes, "You have divergent branches", "refusing to merge unrelated histories", GitHub login failures (passwords no longer work; it explains tokens, SSH and gh auth login, and never asks for your token), Permission denied (publickey), repository not found, 403, "Your local changes would be overwritten", untracked files in the way, "not a git repository", "src refspec main does not match any", "pathspec did not match", "remote origin already exists", missing upstream, "couldn't find remote ref", GitHub's large-file rejection (GH001), "detected dubious ownership", "Please tell me who you are", index.lock exists, line-ending warnings, network errors, and more. If it doesn't recognise a message, it says so and shows what it can see in the repository instead.

The read-only promise

whygit never changes your repository, and this is enforced in code rather than left to good intentions:

Every Git command goes through a single function that only accepts read-only subcommands (status, rev-parse, for-each-ref, rev-list, diff, log, ls-files, cat-file, config --get, remote -v, ...) and refuses anything else, including the writing forms of config, remote and symbolic-ref.
It sets GIT_OPTIONAL_LOCKS=0, so even git status doesn't refresh the index, and turns off external diff programs and the fsmonitor hook.
It never runs git fetch. Ahead/behind counts are "as of your last fetch", and whygit tells you to run git fetch yourself when that matters.
The test suite builds each state in a real repository, snapshots every file under .git (names, timestamps and contents) before and after diagnosing, and checks nothing changed. It also checks that no other module in the package can start a process or write a file.

Credentials are never printed: a remote address like https://name:token@github.com/... is shown as https://***@github.com/..., in every output.

Privacy

whygit collects nothing and makes no network calls. It reads your repository on your own computer and prints the result. That's all.

whygit

Overview

PopNx MCP’s three pillars

What you can do with it

Install

Before you install

What it can do

Basic checksi

Maker matches the repo

Still maintained

Has a licence

Endpoint responds

Sign-in with OAuth

No hidden instructions in tool descriptions

Compared with others in Developer toolsi

Common questions

Alternatives

GitHub

Desktop Commander

Cloudflare MCP

README from the maker

whygit

Install

Use it from the terminal

Example

Use it with an AI assistant (MCP)

Claude Code

Claude Desktop

Cursor

What it recognises

The read-only promise

Privacy

Licence