How Lix compares to Git
Lix is not a Git replacement. Git versions source code as line-diffed text. Lix is an SDK you embed in an app. It versions files and data with row-level diffs. It exposes content and history as SQL.
Keep your code in Git. Use Lix for the documents and app data your product needs to diff, merge, and roll back.
When to use which
- Use Git for source code repositories and developer workflows.
- Use Lix when non-developers and agents change files and data: documents, spreadsheets, and app records. Lix is built for their workflows: real-time collaboration, automatic change tracking, review, and restore. Lix commits automatically, so nobody runs a commit command or opens a terminal.
- Use both. Code lives in a Git repository. Your product's files and data live in a Lix repository. The two stay independent.
What Lix adds over Git
| Capability | Git | Lix |
|---|---|---|
| Diffs by cell, clause, or row | Text lines only | Yes, via plugins (Markdown, CSV today) |
| SQL over content and history | No | Yes |
| ACID transactions across files and rows | No | Yes |
| Runs embedded in your app | CLI-first; libraries exist | SDK-first |
| Pluggable storage (memory, disk, S3) | Assumes a POSIX filesystem | Yes |
An agent updates one field in an orders CSV. Git shows a changed text line. Lix shows the row that changed:
order_id 1002 status:
- pending
+ shipped
You query that history with SQL:
SELECT created_at, schema_key, row_ref, snapshot_content
FROM lix_change
ORDER BY created_at DESC
LIMIT 20;
What Git has that Lix doesn't
- A mature ecosystem: GitHub, CI, code review, hosting, and two decades of tooling.
- A universal CLI workflow every developer already knows.
- Battle-tested stability. Lix is in alpha.
Deeper reading
- Diffs: how plugins split files into rows.
- History: query what changed with SQL.
- Persistence and Storage: storage adapters from memory to S3.