Launching today
gitmanual
See if a GitHub repo runs on your OS, and how to set it up
33 followers
See if a GitHub repo runs on your OS, and how to set it up
33 followers
Know if a GitHub project will run on your computer before you clone it. Paste any repo link and get its setup manual: a yes/no verdict for macOS, Windows or Linux, everything you need to install, and the exact steps, or one setup script. It reads the repo's own files, no AI guessing, and links to the maintainers' guide when unsure. Swap "hub" for "manual" in any GitHub URL, use the Chrome extension, or the MCP server for AI assistants. Works on private repos. Free and open source.
Free
Launch Team / Built With
Render Sandboxes: a computer for every agentIsolated compute, persistent state and a real filesystem
Promoted
Hi Product Hunt! I made gitmanual because I kept finding great open-source projects and then getting stuck on "how do I run this on my machine?"
It reads a repo's README, releases and config files and gives you a verdict for your OS, the easiest install, and step-by-step commands (or one setup script). No signup, no AI guessing: when it isn't sure, it links you to the maintainers' guide. We tested it on 100 random repos, and every Linux setup script ran to the end on a clean machine.
Three ways to use it: change github.com to gitmanual.com in any repo link, the Chrome extension (a button next to Star and Fork), or the MCP server for AI assistants. It works on private repos too: nothing is saved, and nothing is sent to an AI.
I'd love to hear which repo it gets wrong. That's how it gets better.
If I already use Cursor or Claude Code, how would adding GitManual’s MCP help compared to just asking my agent to read the README and set up the project?
@lida_n Fair question. The MCP just gives it the answer up front instead of making it dig.
- More than the README. When you ask an agent to "read the README", it usually stops there. gitmanual has already read the manifests, version pins, Dockerfile, CI config and .env examples, so the agent gets the runtimes, versions, services and settings in one call instead of opening a dozen files.
- Before you clone. It tells you whether the repo will even run on your system and chip (yes, maybe or no, with reasons), so you don't find out halfway through an install.
- A script you can review. get_setup_script returns one bash or PowerShell script for your OS. It stops at the first error, skips what's already installed, never starts servers and is safe to re-run. That's easier to review than an agent typing commands one at a time.
- Fewer tokens and fewer wrong guesses. It's one tool call, and the agent spends its effort on your actual task.
The MCP helps most on unfamiliar or messy repos, and when you're deciding whether a repo is worth setting up at all.
For private repos, does it need a GitHub token, and if so where does it keep it?
@convertqbo
Good question! Yes, private repos need access, and there are two ways to give it:
Connect GitHub: a read-only GitHub App that only sees the repos you pick.
Paste a fine-grained token: it's saved in your own browser (local storage), not on our servers. You can clear it any time.
Either way, a private repo's manual is built just for that one request. It's never saved, cached, listed publicly or sent to an AI service.
Love the verdict-before-you-clone idea — I've lost count of the times I've cloned a repo only to discover it needs a toolchain I don't have installed. The MCP angle is smart too, since that's usually where I run into setup questions anyway. Curious: when the README and the actual config files disagree, which one does it trust? Congrats on the launch!
@jcbuilds Thank you! That moment of finding out after you clone is exactly why I built it.
For anything about the toolchain, the config files win. The README isn't even used for versions. gitmanual takes them from the files the tools themselves read, in this order:
Version pin files (.nvmrc, .python-version, .tool-versions, rust-toolchain)
The package manifest (engines or volta in package.json, requires-python in pyproject, go.mod)
The CI workflow, as a last resort
Each version in the Manual shows which file it came from, so if something looks off you can check it yourself.
the README is still used for what config files can't tell you: the maintainers' recommended way in, which systems they say they support, and the install commands. Even then, a README command is only kept if it installs that specific project.