Repository Initialization

FlowForge can create a brand-new Git repository from any folder on your machine. The Init Repo blade walks you through every step — from choosing a default branch name to generating a .gitignore and an optional first commit.

Opening the Init Repo Blade

When you open a folder that is not yet a Git repository, FlowForge's welcome screen shows an Initialize Repository button. Clicking it pushes the Init Repo blade onto the navigation stack.

You can also reach it from the command palette with Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+P → Initialize Repository.

Default Branch Name

The first field lets you set the initial branch name. FlowForge defaults to main, but you can type any valid branch name. This value is passed directly to git init --initial-branch.

Project Type Detection

FlowForge scans the target folder and suggests a project type based on the files it finds. Detection is based on common markers:

Marker File	Detected Type
package.json	Node.js
Cargo.toml	Rust
pyproject.toml / setup.py	Python
go.mod	Go
*.sln / *.csproj	.NET
Gemfile	Ruby

The detected type pre-selects a recommended .gitignore template so you can get started quickly.

.gitignore Templates

FlowForge ships with 163 templates sourced from GitHub's gitignore repository. Templates are organized by category:

Category	Examples
Languages	C, Go, Java, Python, Rust, Swift
Frameworks	Node, Rails, Unity, Unreal Engine
Editors	JetBrains, Vim, VS Code
Operating Systems	macOS, Windows, Linux

Multi-Template Composition

Select more than one template to combine them. FlowForge merges the selected templates and deduplicates overlapping rules so your .gitignore stays clean.

Offline Fallback

If GitHub's API is unreachable, FlowForge falls back to a bundled copy of the templates. You always have access to the full template library regardless of network connectivity.

Live Preview

A preview pane on the right side of the blade shows the final .gitignore content in real time as you add or remove templates. You can also edit the preview directly before committing.

README Generation

Toggle the Create README.md switch to generate a starter README.md containing the repository name and a placeholder description. The file uses the folder name as the project title.

Initial Commit

Enable the Create initial commit option to have FlowForge stage the generated files and create a first commit automatically. The default commit message is:

feat: initialize repository

You can edit the message before confirming.

Workflow Summary

1. Open a non-Git folder in FlowForge.
2. Click Initialize Repository on the welcome screen.
3. Set the default branch name.
4. Select one or more .gitignore templates (or accept the auto-detected recommendation).
5. Optionally enable README generation and an initial commit.
6. Click Create — FlowForge runs git init, writes the selected files, and optionally commits them.

After initialization, FlowForge loads the new repository and you can start working immediately.