Announcing GitHub Desktop 1.3
With the GitHub Desktop 1.3 release, you’ll be notified when your branch diverges from your repository’s default branch.
The latest version of our Electron-based GitHub Desktop app has just launched. With the GitHub Desktop 1.3 release, you’ll be notified when your branch diverges from your repository’s default branch.
We’ve found that one of the easiest ways to prevent really complicated merge conflicts is to merge early and often. But if you’re working on a branch, you shouldn’t have to lose your focus just to periodically check if there are updates on the master branch. You’ll now be notified about changes on your default branch that are not in your current branch, and hopefully prevent merge conflicts from getting unwieldy:

This release also enables you to more easily keep up with changes across your repositories. You’ll now be able to see which repositories have had recent activity, uncommitted changes, and unpushed changes without having to click into each one:

Tags:
Written by
Related posts
GitHub Copilot app: The agent-native desktop experience
At Microsoft Build 2026, GitHub introduced new tools, updates, and surfaces so agents can work the way you already work.
Still a developer. Just outside. Our latest GitHub Shop collection is here.
The ESC collection lets you escape the confines of your desk and get out into the sun where good ideas are bound to happen.
Take your local GitHub sessions anywhere
Kick off work in VS Code or the CLI, finish it from your phone. Remote control for GitHub Copilot sessions is now generally available on github.com and GitHub Mobile.