What can GitHub Desktop show before you commit?

Open a local project and look at Changes. You can see which files changed and inspect their old and new lines before choosing what goes into a commit.

Write the edit in your usual editor, then return to Desktop to review it. If a coding agent changed several files while renaming a button, the Changes list lets you see the extra edits and decide which ones belong in that commit.

Review the full set of changes before trying the app. An unselected edit can still be present in the folder while you test, so test the recorded branch on its own before relying on it.

How do you save just the change you meant to make?

Create a branch, inspect the changed file and include only the intended change. Make a commit with a description you can recognize later.

Open the practice project
Add a local Git repository with a working booking page. Use fake content and disconnect it from customer records, outgoing services and live hosting. Start a branch for changing the label.
Choose what to include
Edit the label in your editor. Return to Changes, inspect the changed lines and verify the app still shows the confirmation. Select the edit and commit it to the branch.
Check the recorded change
Open History and find the commit you just named. Compare its changed file with what you expected. Push it only if you want a shared copy and have checked the destination and access.

Which action do you use when you made a mistake?

Undo the latest unpushed commit to put its edits back in your project folder. Revert a recorded change when you want a new commit that reverses it.

Choose the action by what you want back
What happened	What to do
You want to edit the latest commit and haven’t pushed it	In Changes, click Undo at the bottom. Desktop returns the branch to the previous commit and puts the edits back in the project folder.
You shared a commit that breaks the button	Use History to revert the specific commit. Review the resulting change, try the button again and share the reversal through your normal review workflow.

What stays on your computer when you use Desktop?

The local Git project stays on your computer and another compatible Git client can open it. Publishing sends history to a repository host with its own access settings.

GitHub Desktop is free under the MIT license and supports macOS 12 or later and 64-bit Windows 10 or later. The host has its own account and pricing. Desktop can work with repositories from other Git hosts, and GitHub-specific publishing and pull-request actions depend on GitHub.

If you publish a repository from Desktop to GitHub, check the account and the Keep this code private option first. Make a separate backup of the recorded versions you need and test that it opens on another machine or in a new folder.