LazyJJ vs Graphite

Both LazyJJ and Graphite provide stacked PR workflows, but they take fundamentally different approaches. Here’s why LazyJJ (powered by Jujutsu) might be a better choice.

Open Source

Jujutsu is fully open source (Apache 2.0 license), developed by Google and a growing community. You can inspect the code, contribute, and trust that it will remain free.

Graphite’s CLI is source-available but their core service is proprietary. Your workflow depends on their business decisions.

Native Stacking vs Wrapper

JJ has first-class support for stacking built into the version control system itself. Stacks aren’t a feature bolted on top - they’re how JJ naturally works.

Graphite is a wrapper around Git. It maintains parallel metadata to track stacks, which can get out of sync with Git’s state. JJ’s approach is fundamentally more reliable.

No Service Dependency

LazyJJ works with any Git remote - GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, self-hosted. Your workflow isn’t tied to any service.

Graphite requires their cloud service for features like:

• Viewing PR stack status
• Merge queues
• Dashboard analytics

With LazyJJ, all stack management happens locally. Use any Git hosting you want.

More Powerful Foundation

JJ provides capabilities that Graphite simply can’t offer:

First-Class Conflict Handling

In Graphite/Git, conflicts block your workflow. In JJ, conflicts are just another state:

# JJ lets you continue working with conflicts
jj new              # Create new commit even with conflicts below
jj status           # See which commits have conflicts
jj resolve          # Resolve when you're ready

Undo Any Operation

Every JJ operation is recorded and reversible:

jj undo             # Undo last operation
jj op log           # See full operation history
jj op restore <id>  # Go back to any point

Graphite has gt undo but it’s limited compared to JJ’s comprehensive operation log.

Revsets for Powerful Queries

JJ’s revset language lets you query and operate on commits:

jj log -r "mine() & mutable()"     # All your work in progress
jj log -r "trunk..@ & conflicts()" # Conflicted commits in your stack
jj abandon "empty()"               # Remove all empty commits

Graphite has no equivalent.

Anonymous Branches

JJ doesn’t require branch names. You can work freely and only create bookmarks when needed for PRs:

jj new                              # Just start working
jj describe -m "Add feature"
# ... later, when ready to push ...
jj bookmark-create feature-name

Graphite requires a branch for every commit in your stack.

Works Offline

LazyJJ works completely offline. All operations happen locally with no network calls.

Graphite’s CLI phones home for analytics and some features require their service to be available.

Fully Customizable

JJ’s configuration is transparent TOML files. LazyJJ is a collection of aliases and settings you can modify:

# See exactly what any command does
cat ~/.config/jj/lazyjj/config/lazyjj-stack.toml

# Override anything in your own config
# ~/.config/jj/conf.d/zzz-my-overrides.toml

Graphite’s behavior is largely fixed.

Feature Comparison

Feature	LazyJJ/JJ	Graphite
Open source	Yes (Apache 2.0)	CLI source-available
Service dependency	None	Required for some features
Git hosting	Any	GitHub only
Conflict handling	First-class	Git’s model
Undo support	Full operation log	Limited
Query language	Revsets	None
Offline support	Full	Partial
Customization	Full	Limited
Stacking model	Native to VCS	Wrapper on Git

When to Use Graphite

Graphite might still be a good choice if you:

• Need their merge queue feature
• Want their web dashboard and analytics
• Prefer their specific PR workflow
• Are invested in their ecosystem

When to Use LazyJJ

LazyJJ is better if you:

• Want truly open source tools
• Need to work with non-GitHub remotes
• Want more powerful version control features
• Prefer local-first, offline-capable tools
• Want full control over your workflow
• Care about data sovereignty

Ready to Switch?

If you’re coming from Graphite, check out the From Graphite to LazyJJ guide for a command-by-command mapping and migration help.