diff --git a/src/Mod/AddonManager/AddonManagerTest/app/test_git.py b/src/Mod/AddonManager/AddonManagerTest/app/test_git.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..7ad29344ed
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Mod/AddonManager/AddonManagerTest/app/test_git.py
@@ -0,0 +1,138 @@
+# ***************************************************************************
+# *                                                                         *
+# *   Copyright (c) 2022 FreeCAD Project Association                        *
+# *                                                                         *
+# *   This file is part of FreeCAD.                                         *
+# *                                                                         *
+# *   FreeCAD is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it    *
+# *   under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as           *
+# *   published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 2.1 of the  *
+# *   License, or (at your option) any later version.                       *
+# *                                                                         *
+# *   FreeCAD is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but        *
+# *   WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of            *
+# *   MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU      *
+# *   Lesser General Public License for more details.                       *
+# *                                                                         *
+# *   You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public      *
+# *   License along with FreeCAD. If not, see                               *
+# *   <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.                                      *
+# *                                                                         *
+# ***************************************************************************
+
+
+import unittest
+import os
+import shutil
+import stat
+import tempfile
+from zipfile import ZipFile
+import FreeCAD
+
+from typing import Dict
+
+from addonmanager_git import GitManager, NoGitFound, GitFailed
+
+
+class TestGit(unittest.TestCase):
+
+    MODULE = "test_git"  # file name without extension
+
+    def setUp(self):
+        """Set up the test case: called by the unit test system"""
+        test_data_dir = os.path.join(
+            FreeCAD.getHomePath(), "Mod", "AddonManager", "AddonManagerTest", "data"
+        )
+        git_repo_zip = os.path.join(test_data_dir, "test_repo.zip")
+        self.test_dir = os.path.join(
+            tempfile.gettempdir(), "FreeCADTesting", "AddonManagerTests", "Git"
+        )
+        os.makedirs(self.test_dir, exist_ok=True)
+        self.test_repo_remote = os.path.join(self.test_dir, "TEST_REPO_REMOTE")
+        self._rmdir(self.test_repo_remote)
+
+        if not os.path.exists(git_repo_zip):
+            self.skipTest("Can't find test repo")
+            return
+
+        with ZipFile(git_repo_zip, "r") as zip_repo:
+            zip_repo.extractall(self.test_repo_remote)
+        self.test_repo_remote = os.path.join(self.test_repo_remote, "test_repo")
+
+        try:
+            self.git = GitManager()
+        except NoGitFound:
+            self.skipTest("No git found")
+
+    def tearDown(self):
+        """Clean up after the test"""
+        # self._rmdir(self.test_dir)
+
+    def test_clone(self):
+        """Test git clone"""
+        checkout_dir = self._clone_test_repo()
+        self.assertTrue(os.path.exists(checkout_dir))
+        self.assertTrue(os.path.exists(os.path.join(checkout_dir, ".git")))
+
+    def test_checkout(self):
+        """Test git checkout"""
+        checkout_dir = self._clone_test_repo()
+
+        self.git.checkout(checkout_dir, "HEAD~1")
+        status = self.git.status(checkout_dir).strip()
+        expected_status = "## HEAD (no branch)"
+        self.assertEqual(status, expected_status)
+
+    def test_update(self):
+        """Test using git to update the local repo"""
+        checkout_dir = self._clone_test_repo()
+
+        self.git.reset(checkout_dir, ["--hard", "HEAD~1"])
+        self.assertTrue(self.git.update_available(checkout_dir))
+        self.git.update(checkout_dir)
+        self.assertFalse(self.git.update_available(checkout_dir))
+
+    def test_tag_and_branch(self):
+        """Test checking the currently checked-out tag"""
+        checkout_dir = self._clone_test_repo()
+
+        expected_tag = "TestTag"
+        self.git.checkout(checkout_dir, expected_tag)
+        found_tag = self.git.current_tag(checkout_dir)
+        self.assertEqual(found_tag, expected_tag)
+        self.assertFalse(self.git.update_available(checkout_dir))
+
+        expected_branch = "TestBranch"
+        self.git.checkout(checkout_dir, expected_branch)
+        found_branch = self.git.current_branch(checkout_dir)
+        self.assertEqual(found_branch, expected_branch)
+        self.assertFalse(self.git.update_available(checkout_dir))
+
+        expected_branch = "master"
+        self.git.checkout(checkout_dir, expected_branch)
+        found_branch = self.git.current_branch(checkout_dir)
+        self.assertEqual(found_branch, expected_branch)
+        self.assertFalse(self.git.update_available(checkout_dir))
+
+    def _rmdir(self, path):
+        try:
+            shutil.rmtree(path, onerror=self._remove_readonly)
+        except Exception as e:
+            print(e)
+
+    def _remove_readonly(self, func, path, _) -> None:
+        """Remove a read-only file."""
+
+        os.chmod(path, stat.S_IWRITE)
+        func(path)
+
+    def _clone_test_repo(self) -> str:
+        checkout_dir = os.path.join(self.test_dir, "test_repo")
+        try:
+            # Git won't clone to an existing directory, so make sure to remove it first
+            if os.path.exists(checkout_dir):
+                self._rmdir(checkout_dir)
+            self.git.clone(self.test_repo_remote, checkout_dir)
+        except GitFailed as e:
+            self.fail(str(e))
+        return checkout_dir
diff --git a/src/Mod/AddonManager/AddonManagerTest/data/test_repo.zip b/src/Mod/AddonManager/AddonManagerTest/data/test_repo.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c35876021c
Binary files /dev/null and b/src/Mod/AddonManager/AddonManagerTest/data/test_repo.zip differ
diff --git a/src/Mod/AddonManager/CMakeLists.txt b/src/Mod/AddonManager/CMakeLists.txt
index e79cc77604..a05be05bb4 100644
--- a/src/Mod/AddonManager/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/Mod/AddonManager/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ SET(AddonManager_SRCS
     Addon.py
     AddonManager.py
     AddonManager.ui
+    addonmanager_git.py
     addonmanager_macro.py
     addonmanager_utilities.py
     addonmanager_workers_startup.py
@@ -46,6 +47,7 @@ SET(AddonManagerTests_SRCS
 SET(AddonManagerTestsApp_SRCS
     AddonManagerTest/app/__init__.py
     AddonManagerTest/app/test_addon.py
+    AddonManagerTest/app/test_git.py
     AddonManagerTest/app/test_macro.py
     AddonManagerTest/app/test_utilities.py
 )
@@ -70,6 +72,7 @@ SET(AddonManagerTestsFiles_SRCS
     AddonManagerTest/data/macro_template.FCStd
     AddonManagerTest/data/missing_macro_metadata.FCStd
     AddonManagerTest/data/prefpack_only.xml
+    AddonManagerTest/data/test_repo.zip
     AddonManagerTest/data/test_version_detection.xml
     AddonManagerTest/data/workbench_only.xml
 )
diff --git a/src/Mod/AddonManager/TestAddonManagerApp.py b/src/Mod/AddonManager/TestAddonManagerApp.py
index 7602010674..f048466270 100644
--- a/src/Mod/AddonManager/TestAddonManagerApp.py
+++ b/src/Mod/AddonManager/TestAddonManagerApp.py
@@ -32,8 +32,12 @@ from AddonManagerTest.app.test_addon import (
 from AddonManagerTest.app.test_macro import (
     TestMacro as AddonManagerTestMacro,
 )
+from AddonManagerTest.app.test_git import (
+    TestGit as AddonManagerTestGit,
+)
 
 # dummy usage to get flake8 and lgtm quiet
 False if AddonManagerTestUtilities.__name__ else True
 False if AddonManagerTestAddon.__name__ else True
 False if AddonManagerTestMacro.__name__ else True
+False if AddonManagerTestGit.__name__ else True
diff --git a/src/Mod/AddonManager/addonmanager_git.py b/src/Mod/AddonManager/addonmanager_git.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..b4e4c98ef9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Mod/AddonManager/addonmanager_git.py
@@ -0,0 +1,191 @@
+# ***************************************************************************
+# *                                                                         *
+# *   Copyright (c) 2022 FreeCAD Project Association                        *
+# *                                                                         *
+# *   This file is part of FreeCAD.                                         *
+# *                                                                         *
+# *   FreeCAD is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it    *
+# *   under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as           *
+# *   published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 2.1 of the  *
+# *   License, or (at your option) any later version.                       *
+# *                                                                         *
+# *   FreeCAD is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but        *
+# *   WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of            *
+# *   MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU      *
+# *   Lesser General Public License for more details.                       *
+# *                                                                         *
+# *   You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public      *
+# *   License along with FreeCAD. If not, see                               *
+# *   <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.                                      *
+# *                                                                         *
+# ***************************************************************************
+
+""" Wrapper around git executable to simplify calling git commands from Python. """
+
+# pylint: disable=too-few-public-methods
+
+import os
+import platform
+import shutil
+import subprocess
+from typing import List
+import FreeCAD
+
+
+class NoGitFound(RuntimeError):
+    """Could not locate the git executable on this system."""
+
+
+class GitFailed(RuntimeError):
+    """The call to git returned an error of some kind"""
+
+
+class GitManager:
+    """A class to manage access to git: mostly just provides a simple wrapper around the basic
+    command-line calls. Provides optional asynchronous access to clone and update."""
+
+    def __init__(self):
+        self.git_exe = None
+        self._find_git()
+        if not self.git_exe:
+            raise NoGitFound()
+
+    def clone(self, remote, local_path, args: List[str] = None):
+        """Clones the remote to the local path"""
+        final_args = ["clone", "--recurse-submodules"]
+        if args:
+            final_args.extend(args)
+        final_args.extend([remote, local_path])
+        self._synchronous_call_git(final_args)
+
+    def async_clone(self, remote, local_path, progress_monitor, args: List[str] = None):
+        """Clones the remote to the local path, sending periodic progress updates
+        to the passed progress_monitor. Returns a handle that can be used to
+        cancel the job."""
+
+    def checkout(self, local_path, spec, args: List[str] = None):
+        """Checks out a specific git revision, tag, or branch. Any valid argument to
+        git checkout can be submitted."""
+        old_dir = os.getcwd()
+        os.chdir(local_path)
+        final_args = ["checkout"]
+        if args:
+            final_args.extend(args)
+        final_args.append(spec)
+        self._synchronous_call_git(final_args)
+        os.chdir(old_dir)
+
+    def update(self, local_path):
+        """Fetches and pulls the local_path from its remote"""
+        old_dir = os.getcwd()
+        os.chdir(local_path)
+        self._synchronous_call_git(["fetch"])
+        self._synchronous_call_git(["pull"])
+        self._synchronous_call_git(["submodule", "update", "--init", "--recursive"])
+        os.chdir(old_dir)
+
+    def status(self, local_path) -> str:
+        """Gets the v1 porcelain status"""
+        old_dir = os.getcwd()
+        os.chdir(local_path)
+        status = self._synchronous_call_git(["status", "-sb", "--porcelain"])
+        os.chdir(old_dir)
+        return status
+
+    def reset(self, local_path, args: List[str] = None):
+        """Executes the git reset command"""
+        old_dir = os.getcwd()
+        os.chdir(local_path)
+        final_args = ["reset"]
+        if args:
+            final_args.extend(args)
+        self._synchronous_call_git(final_args)
+        os.chdir(old_dir)
+
+    def async_fetch_and_update(self, local_path, progress_monitor, args=None):
+        """Same as fetch_and_update, but asynchronous"""
+
+    def update_available(self, local_path) -> bool:
+        """Returns True if an update is available from the remote, or false if not"""
+        old_dir = os.getcwd()
+        os.chdir(local_path)
+        self._synchronous_call_git(["fetch"])
+        status = self._synchronous_call_git(["status", "-sb", "--porcelain"])
+        os.chdir(old_dir)
+        return "behind" in status
+
+    def current_tag(self, local_path) -> str:
+        """Get the name of the currently checked-out tag if HEAD is detached"""
+        old_dir = os.getcwd()
+        os.chdir(local_path)
+        tag = self._synchronous_call_git(["describe", "--tags"]).strip()
+        os.chdir(old_dir)
+        return tag
+
+    def current_branch(self, local_path) -> str:
+        """Get the name of the current branch"""
+        old_dir = os.getcwd()
+        os.chdir(local_path)
+        branch = self._synchronous_call_git(["branch", "--show-current"]).strip()
+        os.chdir(old_dir)
+        return branch
+
+    def repair(self, remote, local_path):
+        """Assumes that local_path is supposed to be a local clone of the given remote, and
+        ensures that it is. Note that any local changes in local_path will be destroyed. This
+        is achieved by archiving the old path, cloning an entirely new copy, and then deleting
+        the old directory."""
+        old_path = local_path + ".bak"
+        os.rename(local_path, old_path)
+        try:
+            self.clone(remote, local_path)
+        except GitFailed as e:
+            shutil.rmtree(local_path)
+            os.rename(old_path, local_path)
+            raise e
+
+    def _find_git(self):
+        # Find git. In preference order
+        #   A) The value of the GitExecutable user preference
+        #   B) The executable located in the same bin directory as FreeCAD and called "git"
+        #   C) The result of an shutil search for your system's "git" executable
+        prefs = FreeCAD.ParamGet("User parameter:BaseApp/Preferences/Addons")
+        git_exe = prefs.GetString("GitExecutable", "Not set")
+        if not git_exe or git_exe == "Not set" or not os.path.exists(git_exe):
+            fc_dir = FreeCAD.getHomePath()
+            git_exe = os.path.join(fc_dir, "bin", "git")
+            if "Windows" in platform.system():
+                git_exe += ".exe"
+
+        if not git_exe or not os.path.exists(git_exe):
+            git_exe = shutil.which("git")
+
+        if not git_exe or not os.path.exists(git_exe):
+            return
+
+        prefs.SetString("GitExecutable", git_exe)
+        self.git_exe = git_exe
+
+    def _synchronous_call_git(self, args: List[str]) -> str:
+        """Calls git and returns its output."""
+        final_args = [self.git_exe]
+        final_args.extend(args)
+        try:
+            proc = subprocess.run(
+                final_args,
+                stdout=subprocess.PIPE,
+                stderr=subprocess.PIPE,
+                shell=True,
+                check=True,
+            )
+        except subprocess.CalledProcessError as e:
+            raise GitFailed(str(e)) from e
+
+        if proc.returncode != 0:
+            raise GitFailed(
+                f"Git returned a non-zero exit status: {proc.returncode}\n"
+                + f"Called with: {' '.join(final_args)}\n\n"
+                + f"Returned stderr:\n{proc.stderr.decode()}"
+            )
+
+        return proc.stdout.decode()