diff --git a/build.sh b/build.sh
index 8d647deedb..a2b7c9280b 100755
--- a/build.sh
+++ b/build.sh
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ HAVE_QT=1
 HAVE_PNG=0
 HAVE_CURL=0
 HAVE_EXPAT=0
+HAVE_GIT2=1
 
 RUBYINCLUDE=""
 RUBYINCLUDE2=""
@@ -209,6 +210,9 @@ while [ "$*" != "" ]; do
   -libexpat)
     HAVE_EXPAT=1
     ;;
+  -nolibgit2)
+    HAVE_GIT2=0
+    ;;
   -qt5)
     echo "*** WARNING: -qt5 option is ignored - Qt version is auto-detected now."
     ;;
@@ -495,6 +499,9 @@ fi
 if [ $HAVE_PNG != 0 ]; then
   echo "    Uses libpng for PNG generation"
 fi
+if [ $HAVE_GIT2 != 0 ]; then
+  echo "    Uses libgit2 for Git access"
+fi
 if [ "$RPATH" = "" ]; then
   RPATH="$BIN"
 fi
@@ -578,6 +585,7 @@ echo "      HAVE_64BIT_COORD=$HAVE_64BIT_COORD"
 echo "      HAVE_CURL=$HAVE_CURL"
 echo "      HAVE_PNG=$HAVE_PNG"
 echo "      HAVE_EXPAT=$HAVE_EXPAT"
+echo "      HAVE_GIT2=$HAVE_GIT2"
 echo "      RPATH=$RPATH"
 
 mkdir -p $BUILD
@@ -650,6 +658,7 @@ qmake_options=(
   HAVE_CURL="$HAVE_CURL"
   HAVE_EXPAT="$HAVE_EXPAT"
   HAVE_PNG="$HAVE_PNG"
+  HAVE_GIT2="$HAVE_GIT2"
   PREFIX="$BIN"
   RPATH="$RPATH"
   KLAYOUT_VERSION="$KLAYOUT_VERSION"
diff --git a/src/klayout.pri b/src/klayout.pri
index 0cb25c0ab2..27a7051a05 100644
--- a/src/klayout.pri
+++ b/src/klayout.pri
@@ -103,6 +103,15 @@ equals(HAVE_PTHREADS, "1") {
   DEFINES += HAVE_PTHREADS
 }
 
+equals(HAVE_GIT2, "1") {
+  !isEmpty(BITS_PATH) {
+    include($$BITS_PATH/git2/git2.pri)
+  } else {
+    LIBS += -lgit2
+  }
+  DEFINES += HAVE_GIT2
+}
+
 equals(HAVE_RUBY, "1") {
   !isEmpty(BITS_PATH) {
     include($$BITS_PATH/ruby/ruby.pri)
diff --git a/src/lay/lay/layApplication.cc b/src/lay/lay/layApplication.cc
index e7c54f7687..1b008fb7a6 100644
--- a/src/lay/lay/layApplication.cc
+++ b/src/lay/lay/layApplication.cc
@@ -770,7 +770,7 @@ ApplicationBase::init_app ()
     size_t local_folders = (lay::get_appdata_path ().empty () ? 0 : 1);
 
     for (std::vector <std::string>::const_iterator p = m_klayout_path.begin (); p != m_klayout_path.end (); ++p) {
-      if (p - m_klayout_path.begin () < local_folders) {
+      if (size_t (p - m_klayout_path.begin ()) < local_folders) {
         mc->add_path (*p, tl::to_string (QObject::tr ("Local")), std::string (), false);
       } else if (m_klayout_path.size () == 1 + local_folders) {
         mc->add_path (*p, tl::to_string (QObject::tr ("Global")), std::string (), true);
diff --git a/src/lay/lay/layInit.cc b/src/lay/lay/layInit.cc
index 18e423c3ae..ec108ab79f 100644
--- a/src/lay/lay/layInit.cc
+++ b/src/lay/lay/layInit.cc
@@ -152,7 +152,7 @@ void init (const std::vector<std::string> &_paths)
         try {
           s_plugins.push_back (do_load_plugin (imp));
           modules.insert (*im);
-        } catch (tl::Exception (&ex)) {
+        } catch (tl::Exception &ex) {
           tl::error << ex.msg ();
         }
       }
diff --git a/src/lay/lay/laySalt.cc b/src/lay/lay/laySalt.cc
index d6fcd501f7..4f5f428b7e 100644
--- a/src/lay/lay/laySalt.cc
+++ b/src/lay/lay/laySalt.cc
@@ -21,11 +21,16 @@
 */
 
 #include "laySalt.h"
+
 #include "tlString.h"
 #include "tlFileUtils.h"
 #include "tlLog.h"
 #include "tlInternational.h"
 #include "tlWebDAV.h"
+#if defined(HAVE_GIT2)
+#  include "tlGit.h"
+#endif
+
 #include "lymMacro.h"
 
 #include <QFileInfo>
@@ -485,9 +490,23 @@ Salt::create_grain (const SaltGrain &templ, SaltGrain &target, double timeout, t
 
     if (templ.url ().find ("http:") == 0 || templ.url ().find ("https:") == 0) {
 
-      //  otherwise download from the URL
-      tl::info << QObject::tr ("Downloading package from '%1' to '%2' ..").arg (tl::to_qstring (templ.url ())).arg (tl::to_qstring (target.path ()));
-      res = tl::WebDAVObject::download (templ.url (), target.path (), timeout, callback);
+      //  otherwise download from the URL using Git or SVN
+
+      if (templ.protocol () == Git) {
+
+#if defined(HAVE_GIT2)
+        tl::info << QObject::tr ("Downloading package from '%1' to '%2' using Git protocol ..").arg (tl::to_qstring (templ.url ())).arg (tl::to_qstring (target.path ()));
+        res = tl::GitObject::download (templ.url (), target.path (), templ.branch (), timeout, callback);
+#else
+        throw tl::Exception (tl::to_string (QObject::tr ("Unable to install package '%1' - git protocol not compiled in").arg (tl::to_qstring (target.name ()))));
+#endif
+
+      } else if (templ.protocol () == WebDAV || templ.protocol () == DefaultProtocol) {
+
+        tl::info << QObject::tr ("Downloading package from '%1' to '%2' using SVN/WebDAV protocol ..").arg (tl::to_qstring (templ.url ())).arg (tl::to_qstring (target.path ()));
+        res = tl::WebDAVObject::download (templ.url (), target.path (), timeout, callback);
+
+      }
 
     } else {
 
diff --git a/src/lay/lay/laySaltController.cc b/src/lay/lay/laySaltController.cc
index 7c99e30db6..2a10a88944 100644
--- a/src/lay/lay/laySaltController.cc
+++ b/src/lay/lay/laySaltController.cc
@@ -203,11 +203,40 @@ SaltController::install_packages (const std::vector<std::string> &packages, bool
     }
 
     if (n.find ("http:") == 0 || n.find ("https:") == 0 || n.find ("file:") == 0 || n[0] == '/' || n[0] == '\\') {
+
       //  its a URL
-      manager.register_download (std::string (), std::string (), n, v);
+      manager.register_download (std::string (), std::string (), n, DefaultProtocol, std::string (), v);
+
+    } else if (n.find ("git@") == 0) {
+
+      //  git protocol:
+      //    "git@<url>"
+      //    "git@<url>[<branch>]"
+
+      std::string url (n, 4);
+      size_t br = url.find ("[");
+      std::string branch;
+      if (br != std::string::npos && url.back () == ']') {
+        branch = std::string (url, br + 1, url.size () - br - 2);
+        url = std::string (url, 0, br);
+      }
+
+      manager.register_download (std::string (), std::string (), url, Git, branch, v);
+
+    } else if (n.find ("svn@") == 0) {
+
+      //  svn protocol:
+      //    "svn@<url>"
+
+      std::string url (n, 4);
+      //  its a URL
+      manager.register_download (std::string (), std::string (), url, WebDAV, std::string (), v);
+
     } else {
+
       //  its a plain name
-      manager.register_download (n, std::string (), std::string (), v);
+      manager.register_download (n, std::string (), std::string (), DefaultProtocol, std::string (), v);
+
     }
 
   }
diff --git a/src/lay/lay/laySaltDownloadManager.cc b/src/lay/lay/laySaltDownloadManager.cc
index e104e3531b..4d9032f6c5 100644
--- a/src/lay/lay/laySaltDownloadManager.cc
+++ b/src/lay/lay/laySaltDownloadManager.cc
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ ConfirmationDialog::ConfirmationDialog (QWidget *parent)
 }
 
 void
-ConfirmationDialog::add_info (const std::string &name, bool update, const std::string &version, const std::string &url)
+ConfirmationDialog::add_info (const std::string &name, bool update, const std::string &version, const std::string &url, Protocol protocol, const std::string &branch)
 {
   QTreeWidgetItem *item = new QTreeWidgetItem (list);
   m_items_by_name.insert (std::make_pair (name, item));
@@ -68,7 +68,18 @@ ConfirmationDialog::add_info (const std::string &name, bool update, const std::s
   item->setText (0, tl::to_qstring (name));
   item->setText (1, update ? tr ("UPDATE") : tr ("INSTALL"));
   item->setText (2, tl::to_qstring (version));
-  item->setText (3, tl::to_qstring (url));
+
+  if (protocol == WebDAV) {
+    item->setText (3, tl::to_qstring ("svn@" + url));
+  } else if (protocol == Git) {
+    if (branch.empty ()) {
+      item->setText (3, tl::to_qstring ("git@" + url));
+    } else {
+      item->setText (3, tl::to_qstring ("git@" + url + "[" + branch + "]"));
+    }
+  } else {
+    item->setText (3, tl::to_qstring (url));
+  }
 
   for (int column = 0; column < list->colorCount (); ++column) {
     item->setData (column, Qt::ForegroundRole, QVariant (QBrush (update ? QColor (Qt::blue) : QColor (Qt::black))));
@@ -169,9 +180,9 @@ SaltDownloadManager::SaltDownloadManager ()
 }
 
 void
-SaltDownloadManager::register_download (const std::string &name, const std::string &token, const std::string &url, const std::string &version)
+SaltDownloadManager::register_download (const std::string &name, const std::string &token, const std::string &url, Protocol protocol, const std::string &branch, const std::string &version)
 {
-  m_registry.push_back (Descriptor (name, token, url, version));
+  m_registry.push_back (Descriptor (name, token, url, protocol, branch, version));
 }
 
 void
@@ -244,7 +255,7 @@ SaltDownloadManager::compute_list (const lay::Salt &salt, const lay::Salt &salt_
               if (tl::verbosity() >= 20) {
                 tl::log << "Considering for update as dependency: " << d->name << " (" << d->version << ") with URL " << d->url;
               }
-              m_registry.push_back (Descriptor (d->name, std::string (), d->url, d->version));
+              m_registry.push_back (Descriptor (d->name, std::string (), d->url, d->protocol, d->branch, d->version));
 
             } else {
               if (tl::verbosity() >= 20) {
@@ -257,7 +268,7 @@ SaltDownloadManager::compute_list (const lay::Salt &salt, const lay::Salt &salt_
             if (tl::verbosity() >= 20) {
               tl::log << "Considering for download as dependency: " << d->name << " (" << d->version << ") with URL " << d->url;
             }
-            m_registry.push_back (Descriptor (d->name, std::string (), d->url, d->version));
+            m_registry.push_back (Descriptor (d->name, std::string (), d->url, d->protocol, d->branch, d->version));
 
           }
 
@@ -330,7 +341,7 @@ SaltDownloadManager::fetch_missing (const lay::Salt &salt, const lay::Salt &salt
       }
 
       try {
-        p->grain = SaltGrain::from_url (p->url);
+        p->grain = SaltGrain::from_url (p->url, p->protocol, p->branch);
       } catch (tl::Exception &ex) {
         throw tl::Exception (tl::to_string (QObject::tr ("Error fetching spec file for package '%1': %2").arg (tl::to_qstring (p->name)).arg (tl::to_qstring (ex.msg ()))));
       }
@@ -387,7 +398,7 @@ SaltDownloadManager::make_confirmation_dialog (QWidget *parent, const lay::Salt
     const lay::SaltGrain *g = salt.grain_by_name (p->name);
     if (g) {
       //  \342\206\222 is UTF-8 "right arrow"
-      dialog->add_info (p->name, true, g->version () + " \342\206\222 " + p->version, p->url);
+      dialog->add_info (p->name, true, g->version () + " \342\206\222 " + p->version, p->url, p->protocol, p->branch);
     }
   }
 
@@ -395,7 +406,7 @@ SaltDownloadManager::make_confirmation_dialog (QWidget *parent, const lay::Salt
   for (std::vector<Descriptor>::const_iterator p = m_registry.begin (); p != m_registry.end (); ++p) {
     const lay::SaltGrain *g = salt.grain_by_name (p->name);
     if (!g) {
-      dialog->add_info (p->name, false, p->version, p->url);
+      dialog->add_info (p->name, false, p->version, p->url, p->protocol, p->branch);
     }
   }
 
diff --git a/src/lay/lay/laySaltDownloadManager.h b/src/lay/lay/laySaltDownloadManager.h
index a81e0f9730..04c3ef2b59 100644
--- a/src/lay/lay/laySaltDownloadManager.h
+++ b/src/lay/lay/laySaltDownloadManager.h
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ Q_OBJECT
 public:
   ConfirmationDialog (QWidget *parent);
 
-  void add_info (const std::string &name, bool update, const std::string &version, const std::string &url);
+  void add_info (const std::string &name, bool update, const std::string &version, const std::string &url, Protocol protocol, const std::string &branch);
 
   bool is_confirmed () const  { return m_confirmed; }
   bool is_cancelled () const  { return m_cancelled; }
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ Q_OBJECT
    *
    *  The target directory can be empty. In this case, the downloader will pick an appropriate one.
    */
-  void register_download (const std::string &name, const std::string &token, const std::string &url, const std::string &version);
+  void register_download (const std::string &name, const std::string &token, const std::string &url, Protocol protocol, const std::string &branch, const std::string &version);
 
   /**
    *  @brief Computes the dependencies after all required packages have been registered
@@ -145,8 +145,8 @@ Q_OBJECT
 private:
   struct Descriptor
   {
-    Descriptor (const std::string &_name, const std::string &_token, const std::string &_url, const std::string &_version)
-      : name (_name), token (_token), url (_url), version (_version), downloaded (false)
+    Descriptor (const std::string &_name, const std::string &_token, const std::string &_url, Protocol _protocol, const std::string &_branch, const std::string &_version)
+      : name (_name), token (_token), url (_url), protocol (_protocol), branch (_branch), version (_version), downloaded (false)
     { }
 
     bool operator< (const Descriptor &other) const
@@ -170,6 +170,8 @@ Q_OBJECT
     std::string name;
     std::string token;
     std::string url;
+    Protocol protocol;
+    std::string branch;
     std::string version;
     bool downloaded;
     lay::SaltGrain grain;
diff --git a/src/lay/lay/laySaltGrain.cc b/src/lay/lay/laySaltGrain.cc
index 932ceb3100..b956e11a04 100644
--- a/src/lay/lay/laySaltGrain.cc
+++ b/src/lay/lay/laySaltGrain.cc
@@ -25,8 +25,11 @@
 #include "tlString.h"
 #include "tlXMLParser.h"
 #include "tlHttpStream.h"
-#include "tlWebDAV.h"
 #include "tlFileUtils.h"
+#include "tlWebDAV.h"
+#if defined(HAVE_GIT2)
+#  include "tlGit.h"
+#endif
 
 #include <memory>
 #include <QDir>
@@ -41,7 +44,7 @@ namespace lay
 static const std::string grain_filename = "grain.xml";
 
 SaltGrain::SaltGrain ()
-  : m_hidden (false)
+  : m_protocol (DefaultProtocol), m_hidden (false)
 {
   //  .. nothing yet ..
 }
@@ -65,7 +68,10 @@ SaltGrain::operator== (const SaltGrain &other) const
          m_license == other.m_license &&
          m_hidden == other.m_hidden &&
          m_authored_time == other.m_authored_time &&
-         m_installed_time == other.m_installed_time;
+         m_installed_time == other.m_installed_time &&
+         m_protocol == other.m_protocol &&
+         m_branch == other.m_branch
+      ;
 }
 
 void
@@ -110,6 +116,18 @@ SaltGrain::set_url (const std::string &u)
   m_url = u;
 }
 
+void
+SaltGrain::set_branch (const std::string &b)
+{
+  m_branch = b;
+}
+
+void
+SaltGrain::set_protocol (const Protocol &p)
+{
+  m_protocol = p;
+}
+
 void
 SaltGrain::set_title (const std::string &t)
 {
@@ -253,18 +271,10 @@ SaltGrain::compare_versions (const std::string &v1, const std::string &v2)
   }
 }
 
-std::string
-SaltGrain::spec_url (const std::string &url)
+const std::string &
+SaltGrain::spec_file ()
 {
-  std::string res = url;
-  if (! res.empty()) {
-    //  TODO: use system path separator unless this is a URL
-    if (res [res.size () - 1] != '/') {
-      res += "/";
-    }
-    res += grain_filename;
-  }
-  return res;
+  return grain_filename;
 }
 
 bool
@@ -400,6 +410,30 @@ struct ImageConverter
   }
 };
 
+struct ProtocolConverter
+{
+  std::string to_string (const Protocol &protocol) const
+  {
+    if (protocol == lay::WebDAV) {
+      return std::string ("svn");
+    } else if (protocol == lay::Git) {
+      return std::string ("git");
+    } else {
+      return std::string ();
+    }
+  }
+
+  void from_string (const std::string &s, Protocol &res) const
+  {
+    res = lay::DefaultProtocol;
+    if (s == "svn" || s == "SVN" || s == "WebDAV") {
+      res = lay::WebDAV;
+    } else if (s == "git" || s == "Git" || s == "GIT") {
+      res = lay::Git;
+    }
+  }
+};
+
 static tl::XMLElementList *sp_xml_elements = 0;
 
 tl::XMLElementList &
@@ -416,6 +450,8 @@ SaltGrain::xml_elements ()
       tl::make_member (&SaltGrain::doc, &SaltGrain::set_doc, "doc") +
       tl::make_member (&SaltGrain::doc_url, &SaltGrain::set_doc_url, "doc-url") +
       tl::make_member (&SaltGrain::url, &SaltGrain::set_url, "url") +
+      tl::make_member (&SaltGrain::branch, &SaltGrain::set_branch, "branch") +
+      tl::make_member (&SaltGrain::protocol, &SaltGrain::set_protocol, "protocol", ProtocolConverter ()) +
       tl::make_member (&SaltGrain::license, &SaltGrain::set_license, "license") +
       tl::make_member (&SaltGrain::author, &SaltGrain::set_author, "author") +
       tl::make_member (&SaltGrain::author_contact, &SaltGrain::set_author_contact, "author-contact") +
@@ -426,6 +462,8 @@ SaltGrain::xml_elements ()
       tl::make_element (&SaltGrain::begin_dependencies, &SaltGrain::end_dependencies, &SaltGrain::add_dependency, "depends",
         tl::make_member (&SaltGrainDependency::name, "name") +
         tl::make_member (&SaltGrainDependency::url, "url") +
+        tl::make_member (&SaltGrainDependency::protocol, "protocol", ProtocolConverter ()) +
+        tl::make_member (&SaltGrainDependency::branch, "branch") +
         tl::make_member (&SaltGrainDependency::version, "version")
       )
     );
@@ -512,7 +550,7 @@ SaltGrain::from_path (const std::string &path)
 }
 
 tl::InputStream *
-SaltGrain::stream_from_url (std::string &url, double timeout, tl::InputHttpStreamCallback *callback)
+SaltGrain::stream_from_url (std::string &url, Protocol protocol, const std::string &branch, double timeout, tl::InputHttpStreamCallback *callback)
 {
   if (url.empty ()) {
     throw tl::Exception (tl::to_string (QObject::tr ("No download link available")));
@@ -533,19 +571,30 @@ SaltGrain::stream_from_url (std::string &url, double timeout, tl::InputHttpStrea
 
   }
 
-  std::string spec_url = SaltGrain::spec_url (url);
-  if (spec_url.find ("http:") == 0 || spec_url.find ("https:") == 0) {
-    return tl::WebDAVObject::download_item (spec_url, timeout, callback);
+  if (url.find ("http:") == 0 || url.find ("https:") == 0) {
+
+    if (protocol == lay::Git) {
+#if defined(HAVE_GIT2)
+      return tl::GitObject::download_item (url, SaltGrain::spec_file (), branch, timeout, callback);
+#else
+      throw tl::Exception (tl::to_string (QObject::tr ("Cannot download from Git - Git support not compiled in")));
+#endif
+    } else {
+      return tl::WebDAVObject::download_item (url + "/" + SaltGrain::spec_file (), timeout, callback);
+    }
+
   } else {
-    return new tl::InputStream (spec_url);
+
+    return new tl::InputStream (url);
+
   }
 }
 
 SaltGrain
-SaltGrain::from_url (const std::string &url_in, double timeout, tl::InputHttpStreamCallback *callback)
+SaltGrain::from_url (const std::string &url_in, Protocol protocol, const std::string &branch, double timeout, tl::InputHttpStreamCallback *callback)
 {
   std::string url = url_in;
-  std::unique_ptr<tl::InputStream> stream (stream_from_url (url, timeout, callback));
+  std::unique_ptr<tl::InputStream> stream (stream_from_url (url, protocol, branch, timeout, callback));
 
   SaltGrain g;
   g.load (*stream);
diff --git a/src/lay/lay/laySaltGrain.h b/src/lay/lay/laySaltGrain.h
index 92ef33e192..1919e98abc 100644
--- a/src/lay/lay/laySaltGrain.h
+++ b/src/lay/lay/laySaltGrain.h
@@ -39,6 +39,15 @@ namespace tl
 namespace lay
 {
 
+/**
+ *  @brief An enum describing the protocol to use for download
+ */
+enum Protocol {
+  DefaultProtocol = 0,
+  WebDAV = 1,
+  Git = 2
+};
+
 /**
  *  @brief A descriptor for one dependency
  *  A dependency can be specified either through a name (see name property)
@@ -49,8 +58,14 @@ namespace lay
  */
 struct SaltGrainDependency
 {
+  SaltGrainDependency ()
+    : protocol (DefaultProtocol)
+  { }
+
   std::string name;
   std::string url;
+  Protocol protocol;
+  std::string branch;
   std::string version;
 
   bool operator== (const SaltGrainDependency &other) const
@@ -341,6 +356,32 @@ class LAY_PUBLIC SaltGrain
    */
   void set_url (const std::string &u);
 
+  /**
+   *  @brief Gets the download protocol
+   */
+  const Protocol &protocol () const
+  {
+    return m_protocol;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   *  @brief Sets the download protocol
+   */
+  void set_protocol (const Protocol &p);
+
+  /**
+   *  @brief Gets the Git branch
+   */
+  const std::string &branch () const
+  {
+    return m_branch;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   *  @brief Sets the Git branch
+   */
+  void set_branch (const std::string &b);
+
   /**
    *  @brief Gets a value indicating whether the grain is hidden
    *  A grain can be hidden (in Salt.Mine) if it's a pure dependency package
@@ -466,21 +507,23 @@ class LAY_PUBLIC SaltGrain
    *  This method will return a grain constructed from the downloaded data.
    *  The data is read from "URL/grain.xml". This method will throw an
    *  exception if an error occurs during reading.
+   *  protocol is the protocol to use and branch the Git branch.
    */
-  static SaltGrain from_url (const std::string &url, double timeout = 60.0, tl::InputHttpStreamCallback *callback = 0);
+  static SaltGrain from_url (const std::string &url, Protocol protocol, const std::string &branch, double timeout = 60.0, tl::InputHttpStreamCallback *callback = 0);
 
   /**
    *  @brief Returns a stream prepared for downloading the grain
    *  The stream is a new'd object and needs to be deleted by the caller.
    *  "url" is the download URL on input and gets modified to match the
    *  actual URL if it is a relative one.
+   *  protocol is the protocol to use and branch the Git branch.
    */
-  static tl::InputStream *stream_from_url (std::string &url, double timeout = 60.0, tl::InputHttpStreamCallback *callback = 0);
+  static tl::InputStream *stream_from_url (std::string &url, Protocol protocol, const std::string &branch, double timeout = 60.0, tl::InputHttpStreamCallback *callback = 0);
 
   /**
-   *  @brief Forms the spec file download URL from a given download URL
+   *  @brief Gets the name of the spec file ("grain.xml")
    */
-  static std::string spec_url (const std::string &url);
+  static const std::string &spec_file ();
 
   /**
    *  @brief Returns a value indicating whether the given path represents is a grain
@@ -499,6 +542,8 @@ class LAY_PUBLIC SaltGrain
   std::string m_author;
   std::string m_author_contact;
   std::string m_license;
+  Protocol m_protocol;
+  std::string m_branch;
   bool m_hidden;
   QDateTime m_authored_time, m_installed_time;
   QImage m_icon, m_screenshot;
diff --git a/src/lay/lay/laySaltGrainPropertiesDialog.cc b/src/lay/lay/laySaltGrainPropertiesDialog.cc
index 7a3f098b9d..200bce4eb7 100644
--- a/src/lay/lay/laySaltGrainPropertiesDialog.cc
+++ b/src/lay/lay/laySaltGrainPropertiesDialog.cc
@@ -586,7 +586,7 @@ SaltGrainPropertiesDialog::accept ()
     if (!d->url.empty ()) {
       SaltGrain gdep;
       try {
-        gdep = SaltGrain::from_url (d->url);
+        gdep = SaltGrain::from_url (d->url, d->protocol, d->branch);
         if (gdep.name () != d->name) {
           dependencies_alert->error () << tr ("Package name obtained from download URL is not the expected name.") << tl::endl
                                        << tr ("Downloaded name: ") << gdep.name () << tl::endl
diff --git a/src/lay/lay/laySaltManagerDialog.cc b/src/lay/lay/laySaltManagerDialog.cc
index f439be7b80..4e135e2662 100644
--- a/src/lay/lay/laySaltManagerDialog.cc
+++ b/src/lay/lay/laySaltManagerDialog.cc
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@
 #include "pya.h"
 
 #include <QTextDocument>
+#include <QApplication>
 #include <QPainter>
 #include <QDir>
 #include <QTextStream>
@@ -682,7 +683,7 @@ BEGIN_PROTECTED
       SaltGrain *g = model->grain_from_index (index);
       //  NOTE: checking for valid_name prevents bad entries inside the download list
       if (g && model->is_marked (g->name ()) && SaltGrain::valid_name (g->name ())) {
-        manager.register_download (g->name (), g->token (), g->url (), g->version ());
+        manager.register_download (g->name (), g->token (), g->url (), g->protocol (), g->branch (), g->version ());
         any = true;
       }
     }
@@ -1133,6 +1134,24 @@ BEGIN_PROTECTED
 END_PROTECTED
 }
 
+namespace
+{
+
+/**
+ * @brief A callback to keep the UI alive (mainly used for Git grain retrieval)
+ */
+class ProcessEventCallback
+  : public tl::InputHttpStreamCallback
+{
+public:
+  virtual void wait_for_input ()
+  {
+    QApplication::processEvents (QEventLoop::ExcludeUserInputEvents);
+  }
+};
+
+}
+
 void
 SaltManagerDialog::get_remote_grain_info (lay::SaltGrain *g, SaltGrainDetailsTextWidget *details)
 {
@@ -1166,16 +1185,22 @@ SaltManagerDialog::get_remote_grain_info (lay::SaltGrain *g, SaltGrainDetailsTex
         "</body>"
       "</html>"
     )
-    .arg (tl::to_qstring (SaltGrain::spec_url (g->url ())));
+    .arg (tl::to_qstring (g->url ()));
 
     details->setHtml (html);
 
     std::string url = g->url ();
+    Protocol protocol = g->protocol ();
+    std::string branch = g->branch ();
+
     m_downloaded_grain.reset (new SaltGrain ());
     m_downloaded_grain->set_url (url);
+    m_downloaded_grain->set_protocol (protocol);
+    m_downloaded_grain->set_branch (branch);
 
     //  NOTE: stream_from_url may modify the URL, hence we set it again
-    m_downloaded_grain_reader.reset (SaltGrain::stream_from_url (url));
+    ProcessEventCallback callback;
+    m_downloaded_grain_reader.reset (SaltGrain::stream_from_url (url, protocol, branch, 60.0, &callback));
     m_downloaded_grain->set_url (url);
 
     tl::InputHttpStream *http = dynamic_cast<tl::InputHttpStream *> (m_downloaded_grain_reader->base ());
diff --git a/src/tl/tl/tl.pro b/src/tl/tl/tl.pro
index 558134601b..5a9f735622 100644
--- a/src/tl/tl/tl.pro
+++ b/src/tl/tl/tl.pro
@@ -121,7 +121,17 @@ HEADERS = \
     tlUniqueName.h \
     tlRecipe.h \
     tlSelect.h \
-    tlEnv.h
+    tlEnv.h 
+
+equals(HAVE_GIT2, "1") {
+
+  HEADERS += \
+    tlGit.h
+
+  SOURCES += \
+    tlGit.cc
+
+}
 
 equals(HAVE_CURL, "1") {
 
diff --git a/src/tl/tl/tlGit.cc b/src/tl/tl/tlGit.cc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..59e619234f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/tl/tl/tlGit.cc
@@ -0,0 +1,198 @@
+
+/*
+
+  KLayout Layout Viewer
+  Copyright (C) 2006-2023 Matthias Koefferlein
+
+  This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
+  it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+  the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
+  (at your option) any later version.
+
+  This program 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 General Public License for more details.
+
+  You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+  along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
+  Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA  02110-1301  USA
+
+*/
+
+
+#include "tlGit.h"
+#include "tlFileUtils.h"
+#include "tlProgress.h"
+#include "tlStaticObjects.h"
+
+#include <git2.h>
+#include <cstdio>
+
+namespace tl
+{
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------
+//  Library initialization helper
+
+namespace {
+
+class InitHelper
+{
+public:
+  InitHelper ()
+  {
+    git_libgit2_init ();
+  }
+
+  ~InitHelper ()
+  {
+    git_libgit2_shutdown ();
+  }
+
+  static void ensure_initialized ()
+  {
+    if (ms_init) {
+      return;
+    }
+
+    ms_init = new InitHelper ();
+    tl::StaticObjects::reg (&ms_init);
+  }
+
+private:
+  static InitHelper *ms_init;
+};
+
+InitHelper *InitHelper::ms_init = 0;
+
+}
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------
+//  GitCollection implementation
+
+GitObject::GitObject (const std::string &local_path)
+  : m_local_path (local_path), m_is_temp (false)
+{
+  InitHelper::ensure_initialized ();
+
+  if (local_path.empty ()) {
+    //  @@@ generic tempnam on Windows/Posix ...
+    char tmp[] = "git2klayoutXXXXXX";
+    mkstemp (tmp);
+    m_local_path = tmp;
+    m_is_temp = true;
+  }
+
+  tl::mkpath (m_local_path);
+
+  //  ensures the directory is clean
+  tl::rm_dir_recursive (m_local_path); // @@@ TODO: error handling?
+  tl::mkpath (m_local_path);
+}
+
+GitObject::~GitObject ()
+{
+  if (m_is_temp) {
+    tl::rm_dir_recursive (m_local_path);
+  }
+}
+
+static int
+fetch_progress (const git_indexer_progress *stats, void *payload)
+{
+  tl::RelativeProgress *progress = reinterpret_cast<tl::RelativeProgress *> (payload);
+
+  //  first half of progress
+  size_t count = size_t (5000.0 * double (stats->received_objects) / double (std::max (1u, stats->total_objects)) + 1e-10);
+  progress->set (count);
+
+  return 0;
+}
+
+static void
+checkout_progress(const char * /*path*/, size_t cur, size_t tot, void *payload)
+{
+  tl::RelativeProgress *progress = reinterpret_cast<tl::RelativeProgress *> (payload);
+
+  //  first half of progress
+  size_t count = size_t (5000.0 * double (cur) / double (std::max (size_t (1), tot)) + 1e-10);
+  progress->set (count + 5000u);
+}
+
+
+void
+GitObject::read (const std::string &url, const std::string &filter, const std::string &branch, double timeout, tl::InputHttpStreamCallback *callback)
+{
+  //  @@@ use callback, timeout?
+  tl::RelativeProgress progress (tl::to_string (tr ("Download progress")), 10000, 1 /*yield always*/);
+
+  git_checkout_options checkout_opts = GIT_CHECKOUT_OPTIONS_INIT;
+
+  const char *paths_cstr[1];
+  paths_cstr[0] = filter.c_str ();
+  if (! filter.empty ()) {
+    checkout_opts.paths.count = 1;
+    checkout_opts.paths.strings = (char **) &paths_cstr;
+  }
+
+  checkout_opts.checkout_strategy = GIT_CHECKOUT_FORCE |
+                                    GIT_CHECKOUT_DISABLE_PATHSPEC_MATCH;
+  checkout_opts.progress_cb = &checkout_progress;
+  checkout_opts.progress_payload = (void *) &progress;
+
+  git_clone_options clone_opts = GIT_CLONE_OPTIONS_INIT;
+
+  clone_opts.checkout_opts = checkout_opts;
+
+  //  NOTE: really has to be a branch! Tags won't work.
+  if (! branch.empty ()) {
+    clone_opts.checkout_branch = branch.c_str ();
+  }
+
+#if LIBGIT2_VER_MAJOR > 1 || (LIBGIT2_VER_MAJOR == 1 && LIBGIT2_VER_MINOR >= 7)
+  clone_opts.fetch_opts.depth = 1;  // shallow (single commit)
+#endif
+  clone_opts.fetch_opts.callbacks.transfer_progress = &fetch_progress;
+  clone_opts.fetch_opts.callbacks.payload = (void *) &progress;
+
+  //  Do the clone
+  git_repository *cloned_repo = NULL;
+  int error = git_clone (&cloned_repo, url.c_str (), m_local_path.c_str (), &clone_opts);
+  if (error != 0) {
+    const git_error *err = git_error_last ();
+    throw tl::Exception (tl::to_string (tr ("Error cloning Git repo (%d): %s")), err->klass, (const char *) err->message);
+  }
+
+  if (cloned_repo) {
+    git_repository_free (cloned_repo);
+    //  remove the worktree we don't need
+    tl::rm_dir_recursive (tl::combine_path (m_local_path, ".git"));
+  }
+}
+
+bool
+GitObject::download (const std::string &url, const std::string &target, const std::string &branch, double timeout, tl::InputHttpStreamCallback *callback)
+{
+  GitObject obj (target);
+  obj.read (url, std::string (), branch, timeout, callback);
+  return false;
+}
+
+tl::InputStream *
+GitObject::download_item (const std::string &url, const std::string &file, const std::string &branch, double timeout, tl::InputHttpStreamCallback *callback)
+{
+  GitObject obj;
+  obj.read (url, file, branch, timeout, callback);
+
+  //  extract the file and return a memory blob, so we can delete the temp folder
+
+  tl::InputStream file_stream (tl::combine_path (obj.local_path (), file));
+  std::string data = file_stream.read_all ();
+
+  char *data_copy = new char [data.size ()];
+  memcpy (data_copy, data.c_str (), data.size ());
+  return new tl::InputStream (new tl::InputMemoryStream (data_copy, data.size (), true));
+}
+
+}
diff --git a/src/tl/tl/tlGit.h b/src/tl/tl/tlGit.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..cbc11bda93
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/tl/tl/tlGit.h
@@ -0,0 +1,108 @@
+
+/*
+
+  KLayout Layout Viewer
+  Copyright (C) 2006-2023 Matthias Koefferlein
+
+  This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
+  it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+  the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
+  (at your option) any later version.
+
+  This program 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 General Public License for more details.
+
+  You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+  along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
+  Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA  02110-1301  USA
+
+*/
+
+
+#ifndef HDR_tlGit
+#define HDR_tlGit
+
+#include "tlCommon.h"
+#include "tlStream.h"
+
+#include <string>
+#include <vector>
+
+#if !defined(HAVE_GIT2)
+#  error "tlGit.h can only be used with libgit2 enabled"
+#endif
+
+namespace tl
+{
+
+class InputHttpStreamCallback;
+
+/**
+ *  @brief Represents an object from a Git URL
+ *  This object can be a file or collection
+ */
+class TL_PUBLIC GitObject
+{
+public:
+  /**
+   *  @brief Open a stream with the given URL
+   *
+   *  The local_path is the path where to store the files.
+   *  If empty, a temporary folder is created and destroyed once the "GitObject" goes out of scope.
+   */
+  GitObject (const std::string &local_path = std::string ());
+
+  /**
+   *  @brief Destructor
+   */
+  ~GitObject ();
+
+  /**
+   *  @brief Populates the collection from the given URL
+   *
+   *  "filter" can be a top-level file to download. If filter is non-empty,
+   *  sparse mode is chosen.
+   */
+  void read (const std::string &url, const std::string &filter, const std::string &branch, double timeout = 60.0, tl::InputHttpStreamCallback *callback = 0);
+
+  /**
+   *  @brief Downloads the collection or file with the given URL
+   *
+   *  This method will download the Git object from url to the file path
+   *  given in "target".
+   *
+   *  For file download, the target must be the path of the target file.
+   *  For collection download, the target must be a directory path. In this
+   *  case, the target directory must exist already.
+   *
+   *  Sub-directories are created if required.
+   *
+   *  This method throws an exception if the directory structure could
+   *  not be obtained or downloading of one file failed.
+   */
+  static bool download (const std::string &url, const std::string &target, const std::string &branch, double timeout = 60.0, tl::InputHttpStreamCallback *callback = 0);
+
+  /**
+   *  @brief Gets a stream object for downloading the single item of the given URL
+   *
+   *  The file needs to be a top-level object.
+   *  The stream object returned needs to be deleted by the caller.
+   */
+  static tl::InputStream *download_item (const std::string &url, const std::string &file, const std::string &branch, double timeout = 60.0, tl::InputHttpStreamCallback *callback = 0);
+
+private:
+  std::string m_local_path;
+  bool m_is_temp;
+
+  const std::string &local_path () const
+  {
+    return m_local_path;
+  }
+};
+
+}
+
+#endif
+
diff --git a/src/tl/unit_tests/tlGitTests.cc b/src/tl/unit_tests/tlGitTests.cc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e7e3c1544c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/tl/unit_tests/tlGitTests.cc
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+
+/*
+
+  KLayout Layout Viewer
+  Copyright (C) 2006-2023 Matthias Koefferlein
+
+  This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
+  it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+  the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
+  (at your option) any later version.
+
+  This program 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 General Public License for more details.
+
+  You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+  along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
+  Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA  02110-1301  USA
+
+*/
+
+#if defined(HAVE_GIT2)
+
+#include "tlGit.h"
+#include "tlUnitTest.h"
+
+// @@@
+static std::string test_url ("https://github.com/klayoutmatthias/xsection.git");
+
+TEST(1)
+{
+  std::string path = tl::TestBase::tmp_file ("repo");
+  tl::GitObject repo (path);
+  repo.read (test_url, std::string (), std::string ());
+
+  printf("@@@ done: %s\n", path.c_str ());
+}
+
+TEST(2)
+{
+  std::string path = tl::TestBase::tmp_file ("repo");
+  tl::GitObject repo (path);
+  repo.read (test_url, std::string ("LICENSE"), std::string ());
+
+  printf("@@@ done: %s\n", path.c_str ());
+}
+
+TEST(3)
+{
+  std::string path = tl::TestBase::tmp_file ("repo");
+  tl::GitObject repo (path);
+  repo.read (test_url, std::string (), std::string ("brxxx"));
+
+  printf("@@@ done: %s\n", path.c_str ());
+}
+
+#endif
+
diff --git a/src/tl/unit_tests/unit_tests.pro b/src/tl/unit_tests/unit_tests.pro
index c648dcb1b6..2e0bab9099 100644
--- a/src/tl/unit_tests/unit_tests.pro
+++ b/src/tl/unit_tests/unit_tests.pro
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ SOURCES = \
   tlExpressionTests.cc \
   tlFileSystemWatcherTests.cc \
   tlFileUtilsTests.cc \
+  tlGitTests.cc \
   tlHttpStreamTests.cc \
   tlIncludeTests.cc \
   tlInt128SupportTests.cc \