githuganswered from live GitHub & Hugging Face data
Which open-source tools add stacked diffs / stacked PRs to GitHub in 2026 — ghstack vs spr vs git-branchless vs Graphite?
In the landscape of open-source tools for stacked diffs and stacked pull requests (PRs) in 2026, ghstack stands tall as a well-maintained, feature-rich option. However, contenders like stack-pr and git-grok also offer promising functions but vary significantly in activity and support. Here's a detailed examination of the options available:
Comparison of Stacked Diff/PR Tools
| Project | Stars | Maintenance | Last Push | Issues | License | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ezyang/ghstack | 1016 | ✅ Actively Maintained | 2026-09-24 | 47 | MIT | Command-line tool for submitting stacked diffs to GitHub. |
| modular/stack-pr | 569 | ⚠️ Maintained | 2026-07-14 | 36 | NOASSERTION | CLI tool helping create and manage stacked PRs with easy review workflows. |
| dimikot/git-grok | 28 | ⚠️ Slowing | 2026-02-05 | 0 | BSD-3-Clause | Simplified command for handling stacked commits and PRs on GitHub. |
| rockset/stacky | 17 | 💀 Stale | 2024-12-03 | 4 | MIT | Tool for managing stacks of PRs without relying on GitHub APIs. |
| simedw/pullsaw | 4 | ⚠️ Slowing | 2025-12-18 | 0 | MIT | Automatically splits large PRs into smaller, manageable stacked PRs. |
Tool Insights
ghstack
- Stars: 1016
- Active Maintenance: Last pushed just 2 days ago.
- Usage: Facilitates submitting stacks of diffs as separate PRs, enabling a fluid workflow for developers managing interdependent features. The setup process is straightforward, requiring a GitHub Personal Access Token.
- Example Command: Run
ghstackafter preparing commits to submit them as distinct pull requests.
stack-pr
- Stars: 569
- Recent Activity: Updated 74 days ago.
- Functionality: Focuses on creating and managing multiple PRs stacked to help overcome challenges in reviewing interdependent changes. It's useful for managing complex changes more easily compared to traditional methods.
- Installation: Available via
pipxor manual installation, making it accessible for different development environments.
git-grok
- Stars: 28
- Activity Level: Last updated over 7 months ago; slower maintenance signals.
- Pros: Provides a one-command solution (
git grok) for creating PRs from local commits efficiently, reducing the complexity of managing multiple branches. - Cons: Though it makes interactions simpler, the slower maintenance may hinder trust in usage for critical projects.
stacky
- Stars: 17
- Stale Status: Last pushed nearly 2 years ago.
- Use Case: Designed to manage PR stacks without directly interfacing with GitHub APIs, relying instead on local git commands, which could be limiting in terms of integration.
pullsaw
- Stars: 4
- Activity: Last push made around 9 months ago; considered slowing.
- Specialty: Automates the process of splitting larger PRs into stacked smaller ones, potentially streamlining the review processes but may require integration with tools like Claude Code for optimum performance.
Recommendation
For active development with stacked diffs/PRs, go with ghstack. It combines strong community backing, ongoing updates, and a practical feature set that suits modern GitHub workflows. Choose stack-pr if you need a straightforward way to manage related PRs but can afford to use a tool with slower updates. Avoid git-grok or stacky for critical projects due to their maintenance concerns.