Gitfence vs GitPermit
Short answer: GitPermit is a GitHub Marketplace app focused on one job: granting read access to a subfolder or single file. If read-only sharing is all you need, it's a simple option with a free plan for one repository. Gitfence covers read and write: restricted people push changes that become pull requests, with types-only mode, Fenced CI, NDA gating and AI-agent support.
What GitPermit does well
According to its Marketplace listing, GitPermit grants read access to any subfolder or single file and keeps the original repository intact, unlike submodules. It has a free plan for a single repository. We haven't tested GitPermit ourselves, so check its current documentation for details such as how access is delivered and whether changes can flow back.
Where it falls short for partial access
- Its listing describes read access; we couldn't confirm a write-back path with per-path push validation.
- We found no mention of types-only views, sandboxed tests against hidden code, or AI-agent tooling.
Side by side
| GitPermit | Gitfence | |
|---|---|---|
| Read access to subfolders and files | Yes (per listing) | Yes |
| Write back as pull requests | Not confirmed | Yes, every push validated |
| Types only | Not mentioned | Yes (Go, Python, TypeScript) |
| Tests against hidden code | Not mentioned | Fenced CI |
| AI agents (tokens, MCP, AGENTS.md) | Not mentioned | Yes |
| NDA before access | Not mentioned | Yes |
Which to choose
Choose GitPermit when
- You only need to share part of a repo read-only, and it's already on your GitHub Marketplace shortlist.
Choose Gitfence when
- Restricted people need to build features and push them back as pull requests.
- You work with AI coding agents and want least-privilege tokens, an MCP server and an in-repo guide.
- You need NDAs signed before access.
Gitfence's own trade-offs
- It adds a service between restricted people and GitHub, hosted by us or self-hosted (your core team doesn't use it).
- It supports GitHub only today (github.com, and GitHub Enterprise Server when self-hosted), and Types only covers Go, Python and TypeScript.
- Hidden modules can't yet run on the restricted person's machine; Fenced CI runs the tests instead.
- It's a young product without a SOC 2 report yet (it is on our roadmap). See the security page for what's tested.
Questions
Why compare with a competitor at all?
Because you'll find it anyway. We'd rather tell you when the simpler tool is enough. If anything here is out of date, email us and we'll correct it.
Sources, checked October 2026: GitPermit on GitHub Marketplace.
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