20 Years of Syntevo – An Interview with Founders Marc Strapetz and Thomas Singer.
20 years of Syntevo – what a milestone! Since 2001, Marc Strapetz and Thomas Singer have been developing developer tools “made in Germany” used by thousands of developers around the world. In this interview they talk about the early days, key milestones, and what’s next for Syntevo.
How did it all begin?
Thomas:
The foundation of what would later become Syntevo actually began around 2000 or 2001 – I don’t remember the exact year. At the time, I was working full-time at another company where Marc was freelancing alongside his computer science studies. In my spare time, I started developing SmartCVS. Not long after, Marc joined in and contributed, among other things, the File Compare feature which resulted in SmartSynchronize.
Marc:
That’s right. Our first official product was SmartCVS, a tool for CVS repositories.
In 2005 we started the successor, SmartSVN for Subversion repositories.
As we had good experience in SmartCVS with a Java-based implementation of the local database, we started with JavaSVN from TMate software as the SVN core logic.
SmartSVN quickly gained traction among professional teams.
Thomas:
At the end of the first 2000 decade, Git and Mercurial became more and more popular.
Initially, we were unsure which to use, but then decided for the more complex one - Git.
We used the JGit library for quickly reading the local repository data, but Git command line for performing Git commands.
This was a good decision, because reading was fast and if a command did not work as the user expected it, they easily could reproduce with Git command line.
SmartGit is your most well-known product today. What makes you proud when you look back?
Thomas:
That SmartGit has been used by hundreds of thousands of developers worldwide – from individuals to large organizations.
And that continues working on a project allows to build up something large which one could not have imagined upfront.
Marc:
I’m proud SmartGit wasn’t a quick shot.
From day one we’ve focused on quality, stability, and listening to users.
The result is a rock-solid Git client that many customers have trusted for more than a decade – uncommon in the software world.
Fun fact: that same obsession with debugging pushed me to build DeepGit in 2016 to streamline file history exploration.
Which milestones have been the most defining for you?
Marc:
Definitely the launch of SmartGit in 2009. Around that time, it wasn’t yet clear which system would become the successor to SVN – Git or Mercurial. We decided to go with the more complex Git, because we saw the greatest potential for a really good client there. Later, we added Mercurial support, but eventually removed it again due to lack of user interest.
Thomas:
A particularly memorable moment was the sale of SmartSVN to WANdisco in the summer of 2012 which we got back in spring 2015, as WANdisco had shifted its focus. One of WANdisco’s biggest achievements during its ownership was replacing the Java-based SVN interface with JavaHL, a library developed by the SVN core team – implemented mainly by a Slovenian software team.
Though not financially important in comparison with SmartGit, I also liked to add an orthdox file manager to SmartSynchronize in 2019 as there was no cross-platform file manager available at this time that I liked. Unfortunately, my beloved file manager Altap Salamander was only available on Windows.
Marc: And of course, the integrations with GitHub, Bitbucket, and GitLab were important milestones too – those opened the doors to many more teams.
What has changed most over 20 years of Syntevo?
Thomas:
The software landscape, of course – from centralized systems to distributed repositories, from desktop tools to cloud integrations. But our philosophy has remained the same: we build tools for developers like us, not for markets.
We had to learn that not each improvement is honored by the users, because a noticable part of them is scared by too significant changes.
Hence, improving a mature product is not easy, because there is always potential for frustrating users.
Marc:
And our way of working hasn’t changed much either. We’re still a small, well-coordinated team that values direct communication and quality above all. That’s one of the reasons we’ve been able to grow steadily for 20 years.
Thomas:
Our philosophy can be summed up in three words: exact, cool, and serious.
Exact – we offer reliable software you can depend on.
Cool – our software meets the expectations of our diverse clients.
Serious – we are loyal, authentic, and honest in everything we do.
Marc:
And when it comes to quality, you could say it almost causes us physical pains when users finds a bug. Not because they found it – but because we didn’t.
And where do you see Syntevo heading next?
Marc:
We’re continuously improving SmartGit (and our other products) to make it even more intuitive and high-performing. We’re also exploring new technologies around AI-assisted developer support – but always with a focus on real benefit, not just hype.
Thomas:
Our goal remains the same: to provide developers around the world with a tool they truly enjoy using. We’re excited to keep doing just that for the next 20 years – and beyond.
Thank you, Marc and Thomas – and congratulations on 20 years of Syntevo!
Syntevo Milestones at a Glance
A 20-year journey of innovation, independence, and reliability
Congratulations from the Syntevo Team
Peter, Managing Director:
“Congratulations, Marc and Thomas! Your dedication and long-term vision have shaped Syntevo into what it is today – a company built on quality and integrity.”
Daniel, Project Manager:
“It’s inspiring to work with founders who truly understand both the technical and human side of software development.”
Cornelia, Marketing Manager:
“Happy anniversary! Your commitment to precision and honesty makes Syntevo something special – and I’m proud to be part of this story.”
Willi, Software Engineer:
“Congrats! Here’s to the next 20 years of clean code, great teamwork, and awesome tools.”