diff --git a/src/main/kotlin/app/git/RepositoryManager.kt b/src/main/kotlin/app/git/RepositoryManager.kt
index e4cd7a8..5555269 100644
--- a/src/main/kotlin/app/git/RepositoryManager.kt
+++ b/src/main/kotlin/app/git/RepositoryManager.kt
@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@ import org.eclipse.jgit.storage.file.FileRepositoryBuilder
 import java.io.File
 import javax.inject.Inject
 
+private const val INITIAL_BRANCH_NAME = "main"
+
 class RepositoryManager @Inject constructor() {
     suspend fun getRepositoryState(git: Git) = withContext(Dispatchers.IO) {
         return@withContext git.repository.repositoryState
@@ -30,4 +32,11 @@ class RepositoryManager @Inject constructor() {
             .findGitDir() // scan up the file system tree
             .build()
     }
+
+    suspend fun initLocalRepo(repoDir: File): Unit = withContext(Dispatchers.IO) {
+        Git.init()
+            .setInitialBranch(INITIAL_BRANCH_NAME)
+            .setDirectory(repoDir)
+            .call()
+    }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/main/kotlin/app/ui/SystemDialogs.kt b/src/main/kotlin/app/ui/SystemDialogs.kt
index 4a26d35..c592c21 100644
--- a/src/main/kotlin/app/ui/SystemDialogs.kt
+++ b/src/main/kotlin/app/ui/SystemDialogs.kt
@@ -1,14 +1,38 @@
 import app.extensions.runCommand
 import app.viewmodels.TabViewModel
+import java.io.File
 import javax.swing.JFileChooser
 import javax.swing.UIManager
 
 
+fun openDirectoryDialog(): String? {
+    val os = System.getProperty("os.name")
+    var dirToOpen: String? = null
+
+    if (os.lowercase() == "linux") {
+        val checkZenityInstalled = runCommand("which zenity 2>/dev/null")
+        val isZenityInstalled = !checkZenityInstalled.isNullOrEmpty()
+
+        if (isZenityInstalled) {
+            val openDirectory = runCommand(
+                "zenity --file-selection --title=Open --directory"
+            )?.replace("\n", "")
+
+            if (!openDirectory.isNullOrEmpty())
+                dirToOpen = openDirectory
+        } else
+            dirToOpen = openJvmDialog("", true)
+    } else {
+        dirToOpen = openJvmDialog("", false)
+    }
+
+    return dirToOpen
+}
 fun openRepositoryDialog(tabViewModel: TabViewModel) {
     val os = System.getProperty("os.name")
     val appStateManager = tabViewModel.appStateManager
     val latestDirectoryOpened = appStateManager.latestOpenedRepositoryPath
-
+    var dirToOpen: String? = null
 
     if (os.lowercase() == "linux") {
         val checkZenityInstalled = runCommand("which zenity 2>/dev/null")
@@ -20,20 +44,21 @@ fun openRepositoryDialog(tabViewModel: TabViewModel) {
             )?.replace("\n", "")
 
             if (!openDirectory.isNullOrEmpty())
-                tabViewModel.openRepository(openDirectory)
+                dirToOpen = openDirectory
         } else
-            openRepositoryDialog(tabViewModel, latestDirectoryOpened, true)
+            dirToOpen = openJvmDialog(latestDirectoryOpened, true)
     } else {
-        openRepositoryDialog(tabViewModel, latestDirectoryOpened, false)
+        dirToOpen = openJvmDialog(latestDirectoryOpened, false)
     }
 
+    if(dirToOpen != null)
+        tabViewModel.openRepository(dirToOpen)
 }
 
-private fun openRepositoryDialog(
-    tabViewModel: TabViewModel,
+private fun openJvmDialog(
     latestDirectoryOpened: String,
     isLinux: Boolean,
-) {
+) : String? {
     if (!isLinux) {
         UIManager.setLookAndFeel(UIManager.getSystemLookAndFeelClassName())
     }
@@ -46,6 +71,8 @@ private fun openRepositoryDialog(
     fileChooser.fileSelectionMode = JFileChooser.DIRECTORIES_ONLY
     fileChooser.showSaveDialog(null)
 
-    if (fileChooser.selectedFile != null)
-        tabViewModel.openRepository(fileChooser.selectedFile)
+    return if (fileChooser.selectedFile != null)
+        fileChooser.selectedFile.absolutePath
+    else 
+        null
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/main/kotlin/app/ui/WelcomePage.kt b/src/main/kotlin/app/ui/WelcomePage.kt
index a27b8c2..28ad4b1 100644
--- a/src/main/kotlin/app/ui/WelcomePage.kt
+++ b/src/main/kotlin/app/ui/WelcomePage.kt
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ import app.theme.secondaryTextColor
 import app.ui.dialogs.CloneDialog
 import app.ui.dialogs.MaterialDialog
 import app.viewmodels.TabViewModel
+import openDirectoryDialog
 import openRepositoryDialog
 import java.awt.Desktop
 import java.net.URI
@@ -87,7 +88,11 @@ fun WelcomePage(
                     .padding(bottom = 8.dp),
                 title = "Start a local repository",
                 painter = painterResource("open.svg"),
-                onClick = { }
+                onClick = {
+                    val dir = openDirectoryDialog()
+                    if(dir != null)
+                        tabViewModel.initLocalRepository(dir)
+                }
             )
 
             Text(
diff --git a/src/main/kotlin/app/viewmodels/TabViewModel.kt b/src/main/kotlin/app/viewmodels/TabViewModel.kt
index 4d5dd02..8bbd163 100644
--- a/src/main/kotlin/app/viewmodels/TabViewModel.kt
+++ b/src/main/kotlin/app/viewmodels/TabViewModel.kt
@@ -254,6 +254,12 @@ class TabViewModel @Inject constructor(
             diffViewModel.updateDiff(diffSelected)
         }
     }
+
+    fun initLocalRepository(dir: String) = tabState.managerScope.launch(Dispatchers.IO){
+        val repoDir = File(dir)
+        repositoryManager.initLocalRepo(repoDir)
+        openRepository(repoDir)
+    }
 }