diff --git a/pkg/app/app.go b/pkg/app/app.go
index d4e3e15f7..9fae9e2d0 100644
--- a/pkg/app/app.go
+++ b/pkg/app/app.go
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/commands"
 	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/commands/git_config"
 	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/commands/oscommands"
+	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/common"
 	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/config"
 	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/env"
 	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/gui"
@@ -27,14 +28,12 @@ import (
 
 // App struct
 type App struct {
-	closers []io.Closer
-
+	*common.Common
+	closers       []io.Closer
 	Config        config.AppConfigurer
-	Log           *logrus.Entry
 	OSCommand     *oscommands.OSCommand
 	GitCommand    *commands.GitCommand
 	Gui           *gui.Gui
-	Tr            *i18n.TranslationSet
 	Updater       *updates.Updater // may only need this on the Gui
 	ClientContext string
 }
@@ -97,27 +96,33 @@ func newLogger(config config.AppConfigurer) *logrus.Entry {
 
 // NewApp bootstrap a new application
 func NewApp(config config.AppConfigurer, filterPath string) (*App, error) {
-
 	app := &App{
 		closers: []io.Closer{},
 		Config:  config,
 	}
 	var err error
-	app.Log = newLogger(config)
-	app.Tr, err = i18n.NewTranslationSetFromConfig(app.Log, config.GetUserConfig().Gui.Language)
+	log := newLogger(config)
+	tr, err := i18n.NewTranslationSetFromConfig(log, config.GetUserConfig().Gui.Language)
 	if err != nil {
 		return app, err
 	}
 
+	app.Common = &common.Common{
+		Log:        log,
+		Tr:         tr,
+		UserConfig: config.GetUserConfig(),
+		Debug:      config.GetDebug(),
+	}
+
 	// if we are being called in 'demon' mode, we can just return here
 	app.ClientContext = os.Getenv("LAZYGIT_CLIENT_COMMAND")
 	if app.ClientContext != "" {
 		return app, nil
 	}
 
-	app.OSCommand = oscommands.NewOSCommand(app.Log, config)
+	app.OSCommand = oscommands.NewOSCommand(app.Common)
 
-	app.Updater, err = updates.NewUpdater(app.Log, config, app.OSCommand, app.Tr)
+	app.Updater, err = updates.NewUpdater(log, config, app.OSCommand, app.Tr)
 	if err != nil {
 		return app, err
 	}
@@ -128,9 +133,8 @@ func NewApp(config config.AppConfigurer, filterPath string) (*App, error) {
 	}
 
 	app.GitCommand, err = commands.NewGitCommand(
-		app.Log,
+		app.Common,
 		app.OSCommand,
-		app.Tr,
 		app.Config,
 		git_config.NewStdCachedGitConfig(app.Log),
 	)
@@ -138,7 +142,7 @@ func NewApp(config config.AppConfigurer, filterPath string) (*App, error) {
 		return app, err
 	}
 
-	app.Gui, err = gui.NewGui(app.Log, app.GitCommand, app.OSCommand, app.Tr, config, app.Updater, filterPath, showRecentRepos)
+	app.Gui, err = gui.NewGui(app.Common, app.GitCommand, app.OSCommand, config, app.Updater, filterPath, showRecentRepos)
 	if err != nil {
 		return app, err
 	}
diff --git a/pkg/commands/branches.go b/pkg/commands/branches.go
index cc513a974..20938621d 100644
--- a/pkg/commands/branches.go
+++ b/pkg/commands/branches.go
@@ -165,3 +165,7 @@ func (c *GitCommand) ResetMixed(ref string) error {
 func (c *GitCommand) RenameBranch(oldName string, newName string) error {
 	return c.Run(c.NewCmdObj(fmt.Sprintf("git branch --move %s %s", c.OSCommand.Quote(oldName), c.OSCommand.Quote(newName))))
 }
+
+func (c *GitCommand) GetRawBranches() (string, error) {
+	return c.RunWithOutput(c.NewCmdObj(`git for-each-ref --sort=-committerdate --format="%(HEAD)|%(refname:short)|%(upstream:short)|%(upstream:track)" refs/heads`))
+}
diff --git a/pkg/commands/dummies.go b/pkg/commands/dummies.go
index ba052fe9b..2e74dbc12 100644
--- a/pkg/commands/dummies.go
+++ b/pkg/commands/dummies.go
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/commands/git_config"
 	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/commands/oscommands"
 	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/config"
-	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/i18n"
 	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/utils"
 )
 
@@ -20,9 +19,8 @@ func NewDummyGitCommand() *GitCommand {
 func NewDummyGitCommandWithOSCommand(osCommand *oscommands.OSCommand) *GitCommand {
 	newAppConfig := config.NewDummyAppConfig()
 	return &GitCommand{
-		Log:          utils.NewDummyLog(),
+		Common:       utils.NewDummyCommon(),
 		OSCommand:    osCommand,
-		Tr:           i18n.NewTranslationSet(utils.NewDummyLog(), newAppConfig.GetUserConfig().Gui.Language),
 		Config:       newAppConfig,
 		GitConfig:    git_config.NewFakeGitConfig(map[string]string{}),
 		GetCmdWriter: func() io.Writer { return ioutil.Discard },
diff --git a/pkg/commands/git.go b/pkg/commands/git.go
index 7d4cc6c86..a29f519d6 100644
--- a/pkg/commands/git.go
+++ b/pkg/commands/git.go
@@ -14,11 +14,10 @@ import (
 	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/commands/git_config"
 	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/commands/oscommands"
 	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/commands/patch"
+	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/common"
 	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/config"
 	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/env"
-	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/i18n"
 	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/utils"
-	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 )
 
 // this takes something like:
@@ -29,10 +28,9 @@ const CurrentBranchNameRegex = `(?m)^\*.*?([^ ]*?)\)?$`
 
 // GitCommand is our main git interface
 type GitCommand struct {
-	Log                  *logrus.Entry
+	*common.Common
 	OSCommand            *oscommands.OSCommand
 	Repo                 *gogit.Repository
-	Tr                   *i18n.TranslationSet
 	Config               config.AppConfigurer
 	DotGitDir            string
 	onSuccessfulContinue func() error
@@ -50,9 +48,8 @@ type GitCommand struct {
 
 // NewGitCommand it runs git commands
 func NewGitCommand(
-	log *logrus.Entry,
+	cmn *common.Common,
 	osCommand *oscommands.OSCommand,
-	tr *i18n.TranslationSet,
 	config config.AppConfigurer,
 	gitConfig git_config.IGitConfig,
 ) (*GitCommand, error) {
@@ -65,7 +62,7 @@ func NewGitCommand(
 	}
 
 	var err error
-	if repo, err = setupRepository(gogit.PlainOpen, tr.GitconfigParseErr); err != nil {
+	if repo, err = setupRepository(gogit.PlainOpen, cmn.Tr.GitconfigParseErr); err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 
@@ -75,9 +72,8 @@ func NewGitCommand(
 	}
 
 	gitCommand := &GitCommand{
-		Log:           log,
+		Common:        cmn,
 		OSCommand:     osCommand,
-		Tr:            tr,
 		Repo:          repo,
 		Config:        config,
 		DotGitDir:     dotGitDir,
@@ -86,7 +82,7 @@ func NewGitCommand(
 		GetCmdWriter:  func() io.Writer { return ioutil.Discard },
 	}
 
-	gitCommand.PatchManager = patch.NewPatchManager(log, gitCommand.ApplyPatch, gitCommand.ShowFileDiff)
+	gitCommand.PatchManager = patch.NewPatchManager(gitCommand.Log, gitCommand.ApplyPatch, gitCommand.ShowFileDiff)
 
 	return gitCommand, nil
 }
diff --git a/pkg/commands/loading_branches.go b/pkg/commands/loading_branches.go
index 5453db2de..b79fd5640 100644
--- a/pkg/commands/loading_branches.go
+++ b/pkg/commands/loading_branches.go
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 
 	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/commands/models"
+	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/common"
 	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/utils"
 	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 )
@@ -22,23 +23,31 @@ import (
 
 // BranchListBuilder returns a list of Branch objects for the current repo
 type BranchListBuilder struct {
-	Log           *logrus.Entry
-	GitCommand    *GitCommand
-	ReflogCommits []*models.Commit
+	*common.Common
+	log                  *logrus.Entry
+	getRawBranches       func() (string, error)
+	getCurrentBranchName func() (string, string, error)
+	reflogCommits        []*models.Commit
 }
 
-// NewBranchListBuilder builds a new branch list builder
-func NewBranchListBuilder(log *logrus.Entry, gitCommand *GitCommand, reflogCommits []*models.Commit) (*BranchListBuilder, error) {
+// common things: log, user config, Tr.
+
+func NewBranchListBuilder(
+	cmn *common.Common,
+	getRawBranches func() (string, error),
+	getCurrentBranchName func() (string, string, error),
+	reflogCommits []*models.Commit,
+) *BranchListBuilder {
 	return &BranchListBuilder{
-		Log:           log,
-		GitCommand:    gitCommand,
-		ReflogCommits: reflogCommits,
-	}, nil
+		Common:               cmn,
+		getRawBranches:       getRawBranches,
+		getCurrentBranchName: getCurrentBranchName,
+		reflogCommits:        reflogCommits,
+	}
 }
 
 func (b *BranchListBuilder) obtainBranches() []*models.Branch {
-	cmdStr := `git for-each-ref --sort=-committerdate --format="%(HEAD)|%(refname:short)|%(upstream:short)|%(upstream:track)" refs/heads`
-	output, err := b.GitCommand.RunWithOutput(b.GitCommand.NewCmdObj(cmdStr))
+	output, err := b.getRawBranches()
 	if err != nil {
 		panic(err)
 	}
@@ -134,7 +143,7 @@ outer:
 		}
 	}
 	if !foundHead {
-		currentBranchName, currentBranchDisplayName, err := b.GitCommand.CurrentBranchName()
+		currentBranchName, currentBranchDisplayName, err := b.getCurrentBranchName()
 		if err != nil {
 			panic(err)
 		}
@@ -148,8 +157,8 @@ outer:
 func (b *BranchListBuilder) obtainReflogBranches() []*models.Branch {
 	foundBranchesMap := map[string]bool{}
 	re := regexp.MustCompile(`checkout: moving from ([\S]+) to ([\S]+)`)
-	reflogBranches := make([]*models.Branch, 0, len(b.ReflogCommits))
-	for _, commit := range b.ReflogCommits {
+	reflogBranches := make([]*models.Branch, 0, len(b.reflogCommits))
+	for _, commit := range b.reflogCommits {
 		if match := re.FindStringSubmatch(commit.Name); len(match) == 3 {
 			recency := utils.UnixToTimeAgo(commit.UnixTimestamp)
 			for _, branchName := range match[1:] {
diff --git a/pkg/commands/oscommands/dummies.go b/pkg/commands/oscommands/dummies.go
index bb6f741f1..cd2e4eca3 100644
--- a/pkg/commands/oscommands/dummies.go
+++ b/pkg/commands/oscommands/dummies.go
@@ -1,11 +1,10 @@
 package oscommands
 
 import (
-	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/config"
 	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/utils"
 )
 
 // NewDummyOSCommand creates a new dummy OSCommand for testing
 func NewDummyOSCommand() *OSCommand {
-	return NewOSCommand(utils.NewDummyLog(), config.NewDummyAppConfig())
+	return NewOSCommand(utils.NewDummyCommon())
 }
diff --git a/pkg/commands/oscommands/os.go b/pkg/commands/oscommands/os.go
index 15e551133..f28f28c06 100644
--- a/pkg/commands/oscommands/os.go
+++ b/pkg/commands/oscommands/os.go
@@ -9,16 +9,14 @@ import (
 	"path/filepath"
 	"strings"
 	"sync"
-	"testing"
 
 	"github.com/go-errors/errors"
 
 	"github.com/atotto/clipboard"
-	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/config"
+	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/common"
 	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/secureexec"
 	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/utils"
 	"github.com/mgutz/str"
-	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 )
 
 // Platform stores the os state
@@ -44,9 +42,8 @@ func (self *RealCommander) Run(cmdObj ICmdObj) error {
 
 // OSCommand holds all the os commands
 type OSCommand struct {
-	Log      *logrus.Entry
+	*common.Common
 	Platform *Platform
-	Config   config.AppConfigurer
 	Command  func(string, ...string) *exec.Cmd
 	Getenv   func(string) string
 
@@ -92,11 +89,10 @@ func NewCmdLogEntry(cmdStr string, span string, commandLine bool) CmdLogEntry {
 }
 
 // NewOSCommand os command runner
-func NewOSCommand(log *logrus.Entry, config config.AppConfigurer) *OSCommand {
+func NewOSCommand(common *common.Common) *OSCommand {
 	c := &OSCommand{
-		Log:        log,
+		Common:     common,
 		Platform:   getPlatform(),
-		Config:     config,
 		Command:    secureexec.Command,
 		Getenv:     os.Getenv,
 		removeFile: os.RemoveAll,
@@ -161,7 +157,7 @@ func (c *OSCommand) FileType(path string) string {
 
 // OpenFile opens a file with the given
 func (c *OSCommand) OpenFile(filename string) error {
-	commandTemplate := c.Config.GetUserConfig().OS.OpenCommand
+	commandTemplate := c.UserConfig.OS.OpenCommand
 	templateValues := map[string]string{
 		"filename": c.Quote(filename),
 	}
@@ -173,7 +169,7 @@ func (c *OSCommand) OpenFile(filename string) error {
 // OpenLink opens a file with the given
 func (c *OSCommand) OpenLink(link string) error {
 	c.LogCommand(fmt.Sprintf("Opening link '%s'", link), false)
-	commandTemplate := c.Config.GetUserConfig().OS.OpenLinkCommand
+	commandTemplate := c.UserConfig.OS.OpenLinkCommand
 	templateValues := map[string]string{
 		"link": c.Quote(link),
 	}
@@ -429,14 +425,6 @@ type IRunner interface {
 
 type RunExpectation func(ICmdObj) (string, error)
 
-type FakeRunner struct {
-	expectations []RunExpectation
-}
-
-func (self *RealRunner) Run(cmdObj ICmdObj) error {
-
-}
-
 type RealRunner struct {
 	c *OSCommand
 }
diff --git a/pkg/commands/rebasing.go b/pkg/commands/rebasing.go
index 8e00f4283..eb1db85cb 100644
--- a/pkg/commands/rebasing.go
+++ b/pkg/commands/rebasing.go
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ func (c *GitCommand) PrepareInteractiveRebaseCommand(baseSha string, todo string
 	ex := c.OSCommand.GetLazygitPath()
 
 	debug := "FALSE"
-	if c.OSCommand.Config.GetDebug() {
+	if c.Debug {
 		debug = "TRUE"
 	}
 
diff --git a/pkg/commands/tags.go b/pkg/commands/tags.go
index bd1f55c65..b4728d68c 100644
--- a/pkg/commands/tags.go
+++ b/pkg/commands/tags.go
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ func (c *GitCommand) CreateLightweightTag(tagName string, commitSha string) erro
 }
 
 func (c *GitCommand) CreateAnnotatedTag(tagName, commitSha, msg string) error {
-	return c.RunCommand("git tag %s %s -m %s", tagName, commitSha, c.OSCommand.Quote(msg))
+	return c.Run(c.NewCmdObj(fmt.Sprintf("git tag %s %s -m %s", tagName, commitSha, c.OSCommand.Quote(msg))))
 }
 
 func (c *GitCommand) DeleteTag(tagName string) error {
diff --git a/pkg/common/common.go b/pkg/common/common.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e8251a85d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/common/common.go
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+package common
+
+import (
+	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/config"
+	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/i18n"
+	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
+)
+
+// Commonly used things wrapped into one struct for convenience when passing it around
+type Common struct {
+	Log        *logrus.Entry
+	Tr         *i18n.TranslationSet
+	UserConfig *config.UserConfig
+	Debug      bool
+}
diff --git a/pkg/gui/branches_panel.go b/pkg/gui/branches_panel.go
index 7b712b2ba..8dff14ac1 100644
--- a/pkg/gui/branches_panel.go
+++ b/pkg/gui/branches_panel.go
@@ -61,10 +61,12 @@ func (gui *Gui) refreshBranches() {
 		}
 	}
 
-	builder, err := commands.NewBranchListBuilder(gui.Log, gui.GitCommand, reflogCommits)
-	if err != nil {
-		_ = gui.surfaceError(err)
-	}
+	builder := commands.NewBranchListBuilder(
+		gui.Common,
+		gui.GitCommand.GetRawBranches,
+		gui.GitCommand.CurrentBranchName,
+		reflogCommits,
+	)
 	gui.State.Branches = builder.Build()
 
 	if err := gui.postRefreshUpdate(gui.State.Contexts.Branches); err != nil {
diff --git a/pkg/gui/dummies.go b/pkg/gui/dummies.go
index 3c993836a..92a9c4d25 100644
--- a/pkg/gui/dummies.go
+++ b/pkg/gui/dummies.go
@@ -18,6 +18,6 @@ func NewDummyUpdater() *updates.Updater {
 
 func NewDummyGui() *Gui {
 	newAppConfig := config.NewDummyAppConfig()
-	dummyGui, _ := NewGui(utils.NewDummyLog(), commands.NewDummyGitCommand(), oscommands.NewDummyOSCommand(), i18n.NewTranslationSet(utils.NewDummyLog(), newAppConfig.GetUserConfig().Gui.Language), newAppConfig, NewDummyUpdater(), "", false)
+	dummyGui, _ := NewGui(utils.NewDummyCommon(), commands.NewDummyGitCommand(), oscommands.NewDummyOSCommand(), newAppConfig, NewDummyUpdater(), "", false)
 	return dummyGui
 }
diff --git a/pkg/gui/gui.go b/pkg/gui/gui.go
index 39d2a9763..259bfb411 100644
--- a/pkg/gui/gui.go
+++ b/pkg/gui/gui.go
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/commands"
 	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/commands/models"
 	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/commands/oscommands"
+	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/common"
 	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/config"
 	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/gui/filetree"
 	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/gui/lbl"
@@ -25,12 +26,10 @@ import (
 	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/gui/presentation/graph"
 	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/gui/style"
 	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/gui/types"
-	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/i18n"
 	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/tasks"
 	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/theme"
 	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/updates"
 	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/utils"
-	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 	"gopkg.in/ozeidan/fuzzy-patricia.v3/patricia"
 )
 
@@ -67,8 +66,8 @@ type Repo string
 
 // Gui wraps the gocui Gui object which handles rendering and events
 type Gui struct {
+	*common.Common
 	g          *gocui.Gui
-	Log        *logrus.Entry
 	GitCommand *commands.GitCommand
 	OSCommand  *oscommands.OSCommand
 
@@ -79,7 +78,6 @@ type Gui struct {
 	// gui state when returning from a subrepo
 	RepoStateMap         map[Repo]*guiState
 	Config               config.AppConfigurer
-	Tr                   *i18n.TranslationSet
 	Updater              *updates.Updater
 	statusManager        *statusManager
 	credentials          credentials
@@ -431,13 +429,12 @@ func (gui *Gui) resetState(filterPath string, reuseState bool) {
 
 // for now the split view will always be on
 // NewGui builds a new gui handler
-func NewGui(log *logrus.Entry, gitCommand *commands.GitCommand, oSCommand *oscommands.OSCommand, tr *i18n.TranslationSet, config config.AppConfigurer, updater *updates.Updater, filterPath string, showRecentRepos bool) (*Gui, error) {
+func NewGui(cmn *common.Common, gitCommand *commands.GitCommand, oSCommand *oscommands.OSCommand, config config.AppConfigurer, updater *updates.Updater, filterPath string, showRecentRepos bool) (*Gui, error) {
 	gui := &Gui{
-		Log:                     log,
+		Common:                  cmn,
 		GitCommand:              gitCommand,
 		OSCommand:               oSCommand,
 		Config:                  config,
-		Tr:                      tr,
 		Updater:                 updater,
 		statusManager:           &statusManager{},
 		viewBufferManagerMap:    map[string]*tasks.ViewBufferManager{},
diff --git a/pkg/gui/recent_repos_panel.go b/pkg/gui/recent_repos_panel.go
index ae5d35948..2019af461 100644
--- a/pkg/gui/recent_repos_panel.go
+++ b/pkg/gui/recent_repos_panel.go
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ func (gui *Gui) dispatchSwitchToRepo(path string, reuse bool) error {
 		return err
 	}
 
-	newGitCommand, err := commands.NewGitCommand(gui.Log, gui.OSCommand, gui.Tr, gui.Config, git_config.NewStdCachedGitConfig(gui.Log))
+	newGitCommand, err := commands.NewGitCommand(gui.Common, gui.OSCommand, gui.Config, git_config.NewStdCachedGitConfig(gui.Log))
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
diff --git a/pkg/utils/dummies.go b/pkg/utils/dummies.go
index ab6d041dd..b05f444b4 100644
--- a/pkg/utils/dummies.go
+++ b/pkg/utils/dummies.go
@@ -3,6 +3,9 @@ package utils
 import (
 	"io/ioutil"
 
+	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/common"
+	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/config"
+	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/i18n"
 	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 )
 
@@ -12,3 +15,13 @@ func NewDummyLog() *logrus.Entry {
 	log.Out = ioutil.Discard
 	return log.WithField("test", "test")
 }
+
+func NewDummyCommon() *common.Common {
+	tr := i18n.EnglishTranslationSet()
+	newAppConfig := config.NewDummyAppConfig()
+	return &common.Common{
+		Log:        NewDummyLog(),
+		Tr:         &tr,
+		UserConfig: newAppConfig.GetUserConfig(),
+	}
+}