Stacked Diffs
Small PRs equal fast reviews. Break features into pieces. Edit any diff in the stack and the rest rebase automatically.
v2.4.3 · local GitHub Actions · SOPS + age secrets
Stacked diffs. Local CI.
Encrypted deploys.
stax combines stacked diff workflows, local GitHub Actions, repo-backed encrypted secrets, deployment logs, and a VS Code-quality dashboard in one workflow that works with any GitHub repo.
$ brew install elloloop/tap/stax $ curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/elloloop/stax/main/install.sh | sh
stax — Terminal
$ stax feature "user authentication"
✓ Started feat: user authentication
... write auth API ...
$ stax diff "add auth API"
✓ Created D1: feat(auth): add auth API endpoints
+200/-0 · 3 files · LLM generated title
... write login form ...
$ stax diff "add login form"
✓ Created D2: feat(auth): add login form
+150/-0 · 2 files · stacked on D1
$ stax diff edit D1
... fix a bug in the API ...
$ stax diff
✓ Updated D1 → v2: feat(auth): fix validation
D2 rebased automatically.
$ stax submit
✓ Submitted 2 diffs
Review: http://localhost:3000/diffs/user-authentication
$ stax land
✓ Landed D1: feat(auth): add auth API endpoints
✓ Landed D2: feat(auth): add login form
Feature complete.
Why stax exists
We studied how the best teams ship code.
Then we built the tool.
The practices that make the fastest engineering teams fast are not proprietary. They just were not available as a single tool. Until now.
The fastest engineering teams use stacked diffs. Instead of one massive PR, every change is a small, reviewable piece that ships independently. Reviews take minutes, not days.
Stacked Diffs — used by top engineering teams worldwide
In the best code review workflows, every change gets thorough review with true interdiff between rounds. Reviewers see exactly what changed since their last review.
Version History — the standard at elite engineering orgs
The best teams run CI locally before pushing. Bugs are caught in seconds on your machine, not minutes later in a remote pipeline.
Local CI — a proven practice for shipping fast
These practices are not secrets. They are just trapped inside custom internal tools that require massive infrastructure.
stax — all of the above, no custom infrastructure
stax brings all of this to every team. No custom
infrastructure. No migration. Just install and start shipping.
What you get
Everything you need. Nothing you do not.
Eight capabilities that replace a dozen tools. Each one works standalone. Together, they are a complete development workflow.
Local CI Runner
Your .github/workflows run locally in seconds. Same YAML, same marketplace actions, same result. No pushing to test.
Encrypted Secrets in Git
Keep production secrets in SOPS + age encrypted files. Public recipients are reviewable; private keys stay local.
Deployment Ledger
Production runs are written to .stax/deployments.jsonl and can be mirrored as structured comments on a GitHub issue.
VS Code Diff Viewer
Monaco Editor in the browser. Syntax highlighting, side-by-side diffs, stack navigation, and real review state.
Version Snapshots
Every edit is a snapshot. Compare any version of any diff. True interdiff between review rounds.
No Git Ceremony
feature, diff, sync, land. Git handles everything underneath.
GitHub Compatible
Creates real GitHub PRs. Your team does not need to change anything. Review on GitHub as usual.
Built for everyone
Whether you are learning or leading.
stax meets you where you are. Use as much or as little as you need.
For Beginners
You do not need to learn git.
Clone a project, start a feature, save your work, ship it. stax handles branches, commits, rebases, and pushing.
For Team Leads
Ship smaller, faster PRs with fewer conflicts.
Stacked diffs encourage incremental changes. Local CI catches issues before GitHub. Version history gives reviewers true interdiff.
For Experienced Developers
You are not replacing git. You are removing the ceremony around it.
stax wraps git in a workflow that handles stacked diffs, version history, local CI, and a diff viewer that works. Git is still there.
Workflow
Four commands. That is the whole workflow.
Start a feature, save diffs, submit for review, land to main. No branching strategy to memorize.
1
Start
$ stax feature "auth" 2
Save
$ stax diff "add API" 3
Review
$ stax submit 4
Ship
$ stax land What you get
A local dashboard runs alongside the CLI. The previews use the same dark product styling as the original landing page.
D1✓→D2✓→D3
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
1
+import { useState } from "react";2
+export function LoginForm() {3
+ const [email, setEmail] = useState("");4
+ const [pass, setPass] = useState("");5
+ return <form>...</form>; Diff Viewer Monaco-style review, stack navigation, and interdiff.
D1feat(auth): add API endpointsapproved
D2feat(auth): add login formsubmitted
D3feat(auth): add E2E testsdraft
Stacked Diffs Break features into small, reviewable pieces.
✓CI Pipeline2.3s
✓Lint0.4s
✓Build1.2s
✓Test0.7s
Local CI Runner Your GitHub Actions YAML, running locally.
OAuth Login shipped
Added Google and GitHub OAuth with session management.
demo.mp4
Feature Documentation Auto-generated docs with video demos.
FAQ for skeptics
Fair questions, honest answers.
We built stax for ourselves first. These are the questions we asked too.
"Do I need to learn a new workflow?"+
Four commands:
feature, diff, sync, land. You will be productive in 5 minutes."Does my team need to adopt this?"+
No. stax creates standard GitHub PRs. Your teammates can review on GitHub as usual. Only you need stax installed.
"What about my existing .github/workflows?"+
They run locally, unchanged. Same YAML, same marketplace actions. When they pass locally, they should pass on GitHub.
"Can secrets safely live in the repo?"+
Yes, when they are SOPS-encrypted. Each developer or CI runner gets its own age private key through another channel.
"Does Stax replace SOPS or age?"+
No. Stax uses the SOPS file format and can generate/read age identities. Install
sops for encryption operations."Is this just a git wrapper?"+
Under the hood, yes. The value is the workflow: stacked diffs, version history, local CI, and a better diff viewer.
v2.4.3
Latest release
3 CI
Release-gated suites
SOPS
Standard secret format
Start shipping in 10 seconds
Pick your favourite. Both ship the same release binary.
$ brew install elloloop/tap/stax $ curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/elloloop/stax/main/install.sh | sh
Works on macOS (Apple Silicon & Intel), Linux (x86_64 & ARM64), and Windows via GitHub Releases. macOS users can also install the universal DMG.