diff --git a/src/lay/lay/lay.pro b/src/lay/lay/lay.pro
index 3500502b8..23295c1f8 100644
--- a/src/lay/lay/lay.pro
+++ b/src/lay/lay/lay.pro
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ HEADERS = \
     layResourceHelpProvider.h \
     layRuntimeErrorForm.h \
     layReaderErrorForm.h \
+    laySaltParsedURL.h \
     laySearchReplaceConfigPage.h \
     laySearchReplaceDialog.h \
     laySearchReplacePropertiesWidgets.h \
@@ -144,6 +145,7 @@ SOURCES = \
     layResourceHelpProvider.cc \
     layRuntimeErrorForm.cc \
     layReaderErrorForm.cc \
+    laySaltParsedURL.cc \
     laySearchReplaceConfigPage.cc \
     laySearchReplaceDialog.cc \
     laySearchReplacePlugin.cc \
diff --git a/src/lay/lay/laySaltParsedURL.cc b/src/lay/lay/laySaltParsedURL.cc
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8df57de5f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lay/lay/laySaltParsedURL.cc
@@ -0,0 +1,149 @@
+
+/*
+
+  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 "laySaltParsedURL.h"
+#include "laySaltGrain.h"
+#include "tlString.h"
+
+namespace lay
+{
+
+static void
+parse_git_url (tl::Extractor &ex, std::string &url, std::string &branch, std::string &subfolder)
+{
+  const char *org_str = ex.get ();
+
+  std::string w;
+  // protocol (http:)
+  ex.try_read_word (w, "") && ex.test (":");
+  while (! ex.at_end () && ex.test ("/")) {
+    ;
+  }
+  // server ("www.klayout.de")
+  while (! ex.at_end () && (*ex != '/' && *ex != '+')) {
+    ++ex;
+  }
+
+  while (! ex.at_end ()) {
+
+    ++ex;
+
+    const char *c1 = ex.get ();
+    while (! ex.at_end () && (*ex != '/' && *ex != '+' && *ex != '[')) {
+      ++ex;
+    }
+    const char *c2 = ex.get ();
+
+    std::string comp (c1, c2 - c1);
+
+    if ((! ex.at_end () && *ex == '+') || comp.find (".git") == comp.size () - 4) {
+      //  subfolder starts here
+      break;
+    }
+
+  }
+
+  url = std::string (org_str, ex.get () - org_str);
+
+  if (ex.at_end ()) {
+    return;
+  }
+
+  if (*ex == '/') {
+    while (! ex.at_end () && *ex == '/') {
+      ++ex;
+    }
+  } else if (*ex == '+') {
+    ++ex;
+  }
+
+  {
+    const char *c1 = ex.get ();
+    while (! ex.at_end () && *ex != '[') {
+      ++ex;
+    }
+    const char *c2 = ex.get ();
+    subfolder = std::string (c1, c2 - c1);
+  }
+
+  if (! ex.at_end () && *ex == '[') {
+
+    //  explicit branch
+    ++ex;
+    const char *c1 = ex.get ();
+    while (! ex.at_end () && *ex != ']') {
+      ++ex;
+    }
+    const char *c2 = ex.get ();
+    branch = std::string (c1, c2 - c1);
+
+  } else if (! subfolder.empty ()) {
+
+    //  SVN emulation
+
+    auto parts = tl::split (subfolder, "/");
+    if (parts.size () >= 1 && parts.back () == "trunk") {
+
+      branch = "HEAD";
+      parts.pop_back ();
+      subfolder = tl::join (parts, "/");
+
+    } else if (parts.size () >= 2 && parts[parts.size () - 2] == "tags") {
+
+      branch = "refs/tags/" + parts.back ();
+      parts.pop_back ();
+      parts.pop_back ();
+      subfolder = tl::join (parts, "/");
+
+    } else if (parts.size () >= 2 && parts[parts.size () - 2] == "branches") {
+
+      branch = "refs/heads/" + parts.back ();
+      parts.pop_back ();
+      parts.pop_back ();
+      subfolder = tl::join (parts, "/");
+
+    }
+
+  }
+}
+
+SaltParsedURL::SaltParsedURL (const std::string &url)
+  : m_protocol (lay::DefaultProtocol)
+{
+  tl::Extractor ex (url.c_str ());
+  if (ex.test ("svn") && ex.test ("+")) {
+    m_protocol = lay::WebDAV;
+    m_url = ex.get ();
+    return;
+  }
+
+  ex = tl::Extractor (url.c_str ());
+  if (ex.test ("git") && ex.test ("+")) {
+    m_protocol = lay::Git;
+    parse_git_url (ex, m_url, m_branch, m_subfolder);
+    return;
+  }
+
+  m_url = url;
+}
+
+}
diff --git a/src/lay/lay/laySaltParsedURL.h b/src/lay/lay/laySaltParsedURL.h
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..bc076f76b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lay/lay/laySaltParsedURL.h
@@ -0,0 +1,106 @@
+
+/*
+
+  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_laySaltParsedURL
+#define HDR_laySaltParsedURL
+
+#include "layCommon.h"
+#include "laySaltGrain.h"
+
+namespace lay
+{
+
+/**
+ *  @brief A class representing a SaltGrain URL
+ *
+ *  The URL is parsed into protocol, branch, URL and subfolder if applicable.
+ *  Some heuristics is applied to decompose parts.
+ *
+ *  SVN URLs:
+ *    https://server.com/repo/trunk                               -> protocol=DefaultProtocol, url="https://server.com/repo/trunk", branch="", subfolder=""
+ *    svn+https://server.com/repo/trunk                           -> protocol=WebDAV, url="https://server.com/repo/trunk", branch="", subfolder=""
+ *
+ *  Git URL heuristics:
+ *    git+https://server.com/repo.git                             -> protocol=Git, url="https://server.com/repo.git", branch="", subfolder=""
+ *    git+https://server.com/repo.git/sub/folder                  -> protocol=Git, url="https://server.com/repo.git", branch="", subfolder="sub/folder"
+ *    git+https://server.com/repo+sub/folder                      -> protocol=Git, url="https://server.com/repo", branch="", subfolder="sub/folder"
+ *    git+https://server.com/repo.git[v1.0]                       -> protocol=Git, url="https://server.com/repo.git", branch="v1.0", subfolder=""
+ *    git+https://server.com/repo.git/sub/folder[refs/tags/1.0]   -> protocol=Git, url="https://server.com/repo.git", branch="refs/tags/1.0", subfolder="sub/folder"
+ *    git+https://server.com/repo.git/trunk                       -> protocol=Git, url="https://server.com/repo.git", branch="HEAD", subfolder=""
+ *    git+https://server.com/repo.git/sub/folder/trunk            -> protocol=Git, url="https://server.com/repo.git", branch="HEAD", subfolder="sub/folder"
+ *    git+https://server.com/repo.git/branches/release            -> protocol=Git, url="https://server.com/repo.git", branch="refs/heads/release", subfolder=""
+ *    git+https://server.com/repo.git/tags/1.9                    -> protocol=Git, url="https://server.com/repo.git", branch="refs/tags/1.9", subfolder=""
+ *    git+https://server.com/repo.git/sub/folder/tags/1.9         -> protocol=Git, url="https://server.com/repo.git", branch="refs/tags/1.9", subfolder="sub/folder"
+ */
+
+class LAY_PUBLIC SaltParsedURL
+{
+public:
+  /**
+   *  @brief Constructor: creates an URL from the given generic URL string
+   *
+   *  This will decompose the URL into the parts and fill protocol, branch and subfolder fields.
+   */
+  SaltParsedURL (const std::string &url);
+
+  /**
+   *  @brief Gets the basic URL
+   */
+  const std::string &url () const
+  {
+    return m_url;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   *  @brief Gets the subfolder string
+   */
+  const std::string &subfolder () const
+  {
+    return m_subfolder;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   *  @brief Gets the branch string
+   */
+  const std::string &branch () const
+  {
+    return m_branch;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   *  @brief Gets the protocol
+   */
+  lay::Protocol protocol () const
+  {
+    return m_protocol;
+  }
+
+private:
+  std::string m_url;
+  std::string m_branch;
+  std::string m_subfolder;
+  lay::Protocol m_protocol;
+};
+
+}
+
+#endif
diff --git a/src/lay/unit_tests/laySaltParsedURLTests.cc b/src/lay/unit_tests/laySaltParsedURLTests.cc
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3b4985d88
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lay/unit_tests/laySaltParsedURLTests.cc
@@ -0,0 +1,132 @@
+
+/*
+
+  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 "laySaltParsedURL.h"
+#include "tlUnitTest.h"
+
+TEST (1_Basic)
+{
+  lay::SaltParsedURL purl ("https://server.com/repo/trunk");
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.protocol () == lay::DefaultProtocol, true);
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.url (), "https://server.com/repo/trunk");
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.branch (), "");
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.subfolder (), "");
+}
+
+TEST (2_SVN)
+{
+  lay::SaltParsedURL purl ("svn+https://server.com/repo/trunk");
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.protocol () == lay::WebDAV, true);
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.url (), "https://server.com/repo/trunk");
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.branch (), "");
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.subfolder (), "");
+}
+
+TEST (10_GitBasic)
+{
+  lay::SaltParsedURL purl ("git+https://server.com/repo.git");
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.protocol () == lay::Git, true);
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.url (), "https://server.com/repo.git");
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.branch (), "");
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.subfolder (), "");
+}
+
+TEST (11_GitSubFolder)
+{
+  lay::SaltParsedURL purl ("git+https://server.com/repo.git/sub/folder");
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.protocol () == lay::Git, true);
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.url (), "https://server.com/repo.git");
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.branch (), "");
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.subfolder (), "sub/folder");
+}
+
+TEST (12_GitExplicitBranch)
+{
+  lay::SaltParsedURL purl ("git+https://server.com/repo.git[v1.0]");
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.protocol () == lay::Git, true);
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.url (), "https://server.com/repo.git");
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.branch (), "v1.0");
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.subfolder (), "");
+}
+
+TEST (13_GitExplicitBranchAndSubFolder)
+{
+  lay::SaltParsedURL purl ("git+https://server.com/repo.git/sub/folder[refs/tags/1.0]");
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.protocol () == lay::Git, true);
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.url (), "https://server.com/repo.git");
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.branch (), "refs/tags/1.0");
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.subfolder (), "sub/folder");
+}
+
+TEST (14_GitExplicitBranchAndExplicitSubFolder)
+{
+  lay::SaltParsedURL purl ("git+https://server.com/repo+sub/folder[refs/tags/1.0]");
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.protocol () == lay::Git, true);
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.url (), "https://server.com/repo");
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.branch (), "refs/tags/1.0");
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.subfolder (), "sub/folder");
+}
+
+TEST (15_GitSVNEmulationTrunk)
+{
+  lay::SaltParsedURL purl ("git+https://server.com/repo.git/trunk");
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.protocol () == lay::Git, true);
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.url (), "https://server.com/repo.git");
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.branch (), "HEAD");
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.subfolder (), "");
+}
+
+TEST (16_GitSVNEmulationTrunkWithSubFolder)
+{
+  lay::SaltParsedURL purl ("git+https://server.com/repo.git/sub/folder/trunk");
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.protocol () == lay::Git, true);
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.url (), "https://server.com/repo.git");
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.branch (), "HEAD");
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.subfolder (), "sub/folder");
+}
+
+TEST (17_GitSVNEmulationBranch)
+{
+  lay::SaltParsedURL purl ("git+https://server.com/repo.git/branches/xyz");
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.protocol () == lay::Git, true);
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.url (), "https://server.com/repo.git");
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.branch (), "refs/heads/xyz");
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.subfolder (), "");
+}
+
+TEST (18_GitSVNEmulationTag)
+{
+  lay::SaltParsedURL purl ("git+https://server.com/repo.git/tags/1.9");
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.protocol () == lay::Git, true);
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.url (), "https://server.com/repo.git");
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.branch (), "refs/tags/1.9");
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.subfolder (), "");
+}
+
+TEST (19_GitSVNEmulationTagWithSubFolder)
+{
+  lay::SaltParsedURL purl ("git+https://server.com/repo.git/sub/folder/tags/1.9");
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.protocol () == lay::Git, true);
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.url (), "https://server.com/repo.git");
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.branch (), "refs/tags/1.9");
+  EXPECT_EQ (purl.subfolder (), "sub/folder");
+}
diff --git a/src/lay/unit_tests/unit_tests.pro b/src/lay/unit_tests/unit_tests.pro
index bd437bdbb..adf955966 100644
--- a/src/lay/unit_tests/unit_tests.pro
+++ b/src/lay/unit_tests/unit_tests.pro
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ include($$PWD/../../lib_ut.pri)
 SOURCES = \
   laySalt.cc \
   layHelpIndexTest.cc \
+  laySaltParsedURLTests.cc \
   laySessionTests.cc
 
 INCLUDEPATH += $$LAY_INC $$TL_INC $$LAYBASIC_INC $$LAYUI_INC $$LAYVIEW_INC $$DB_INC $$GSI_INC $$ANT_INC $$IMG_INC $$RDB_INC