Gitmsg turns every chat message into a Git commit, including the embarrassing edits
GitHub repositories become chat rooms, with optional encryption and a history that deletion does not erase.
Deleting a message in gitmsg can leave the receipt in version control. The chat app makes repositories into conversations, so an edit adds another commit instead of quietly replacing what you said.
The maker describes the arrangement as “Chats are repositories. Messages are commits.” Its README outlines an authenticated API writing event files and commits, followed by the other person’s polling tab. There is no separate persistent message database.
A conversation begins with GitHub sign-in and a repository invitation. The project also offers a self-hosted web setup using Node.js 22. Its terminal client is a separate alpha path whose npm publication remains gated in the README, so a package named simply gitmsg should not be mistaken for this project.
Photos and files become blobs. Audio calls use WebRTC rather than recording the call into Git. The maker warns that there is no TURN relay, so some networks cannot connect.
The privacy tradeoff needs to be read before the first message: ordinary messages are visible to GitHub and repository readers. Encryption is optional and applies to new content rather than retroactively hiding earlier history. OAuth mode requests broad repository access; the README also describes a scoped GitHub App option.
The fun experiment is a conversation you can diff. Whether people want their everyday chat to carry that much history is the part the repository cannot decide.