Git to AgentGit

If you know Git, this page maps what you do to what you type here, and says where the idea is different. It lists only what exists; where AgentGit has no equivalent it says so. Every command is in the CLI reference; the vocabulary is in Concepts and the glossary. To move an existing repository, see Migrating from Git.

The daily loop

In Git	In AgentGit	What is different
git init	ag init (--preset team stores a policy preset)	The repository is .ag/ (a SQLite file and content-addressed objects); there is no .git.
git clone URL	ag clone http://host:8080/owner/name	Clones from an ag-server. Log in once with ag login and no token handling is needed.
git status	ag status	Also shows your proposals, leases, task and remote at a glance.
git add + git commit	ag snapshot -m "message"	There is no staging area: a snapshot records the whole working directory (minus what .agignore lists). A snapshot is private to your workspace until you propose it.
git push (then "open a pull request")	ag push -t "title" (server), or ag propose -t "title" (local)	Publishing and asking for integration are one step. The result is a proposal. Nothing you push can move a stream.
pull request / merge request	proposal	Reviews are attached to the exact version they looked at: when the proposal changes, earlier approvals stop counting.
clicking "Merge"	ag integrate PROPOSAL (local), ag remote integrate PROPOSAL (server)	The policy decides, in the same transaction that moves the stream. Exit code 0 landed, 3 blocked (something you can provide), 4 refused (conflict or denial).
"why can't I merge?"	ag explain [PROPOSAL]	Each reason in plain words, with the exact commands that fix it. On a server: ag remote prepare PROPOSAL.
git fetch	ag fetch
git pull	ag pull	Fast-forward only; it never creates a merge by itself. To bring new work into a workspace that has its own changes: ag sync.
git log	ag log	20 entries by default; -n N for more.
git show REV	ag show REV
git diff A B	ag diff A B
git blame FILE	ag blame REV:FILE	Follows renames.
git ls-tree, git show REV:path	ag ls REV, ag cat REV:path
git checkout REV -- . into a new place	ag checkout REV DIR	Writes a revision's files into a new directory.
git remote add origin URL	ag remote add origin URL (a clone sets origin itself)
a credential helper, a personal access token	ag login URL --token-file FILE (or --token-stdin)	One saved credential per server, in a private file beside your user configuration (ag config path). AG_TOKEN still wins when set.

Branches

In Git	In AgentGit	What is different
branch	stream	A named line of integration with a head and a version. A stream moves only by compare-and-swap, and every move is in an append-only reflog (ag stream reflog).
git switch -c topic	ag workspace create topic --dir ../topic	Your own line of work, checked out in its own directory, so people and agents never trample each other. A workspace is not published until you propose it.
git merge main into your branch	ag sync	Brings the stream's head into your workspace: clean parts merge, overlapping ones get <<<<<<< markers. Resolve, ag snapshot, ag proposal update ID.
merge conflict	exit code 4, then ag explain	The stream is untouched. The merge is deterministic and rename-aware; it does not guess between two edits of the same lines.
git branch -a	ag stream list

What Git leaves to the platform, AgentGit does in the tool

You want	In Git	In AgentGit
"changes need an approval"	branch protection on the hosting service	approvals in the policy; ag proposal review ID --approve
code owners for sensitive files	CODEOWNERS on the hosting service	protected_paths with their own approval counts
"tests must pass"	a status check from CI	required_validations: a signed attestation from a trusted issuer, about the exact tree that would land. ag validate run ID --check tests --key ci -- <command>
"an AI agent may touch only docs"	nothing; convention	agent_autonomy (allowed paths, file limit, whether it may land alone) and ag agent, leases and signed provenance
"two agents must not edit the same area"	merge conflicts afterwards	leases: ag lease acquire 'src/**' --exclusive hands out a fencing token that integration checks
a starting point instead of writing rules	a template repository	ag policy preset list (solo, team, agents, strict); ag policy explain reads any policy back in words
an audit trail	the hosting service's log	ag audit verifies a tamper-evident chain; ag trace shows what happened to an object, proposal or run

Things with no equivalent here

• Rewriting history (rebase, commit --amend, reset --hard, filter-repo). History is immutable; you add changesets, and ag sync merges rather than rebases.
• Staging parts of a file (git add -p). A snapshot records the directory as it is.
• cherry-pick, stash, bisect, submodules, hooks. Not provided. A workspace takes the place of a stash.
• Tags as release markers. ag pin NAME REV keeps a revision from garbage collection, which is a different thing.
• Reading Git's formats directly. ag git import and ag git export move history between the two (they need the git command installed).

Words

Git	AgentGit
commit	changeset (a delta against its first parent; the resulting state is a tree)
branch	stream
working tree / branch checkout	workspace
pull request	proposal
merge	integration (fast-forward or deterministic three-way merge)
CI status	attestation (signed, about one tree and one policy version)
branch protection	policy