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Show HN: Gita – a CLI tool to manage multiple Git repos

79 points by nosarthur 8y ago

mav3rick 8y ago
Isn't this what repo does ?
la6470 8y ago
It’s like naming your software bible ...
guessmyname 8y ago
Isn’t this what “repo” [1] does? [1] https://source.android.com/setup/develop/repo https://source.android.com/setup/develop/repo
- nosarthur 8y ago
  didn't know this tool before. I will give it a try. Thanks!
googlemike 8y ago
Or just have a monorepo :)
- kingosticks 8y ago
  Operations on monorepos can be so slow that having multiple copies checked out (e.g. different branches) is a thing (ideally using worktrees).
  - giancarlostoro 8y ago
    I hate to say it but because I don't feel comfortable with git enough whenever I am about to do anything outside of my comfort zone I make a hard copy of my whole directory just to be sure if I get myself into a FUBAR state I can delete the FUBAR'd directory and copy it again. This has saved me many a headache. Also gives me a fresh state from which to ask for help from. Anytime the word rebase is mentioned my coworkers shriek.
    - the_duke 8y ago
      You should really work through some Git tutorials. I haven't done that since using SVN 10 years ago. `git {branch,diff,stash}` should be all you need for this. Especially working with the stash will be a big productivity boost for you.
      - giancarlostoro 8y ago
        Most of what I do is handled by my tooling for me. It's when I have to do more than just the basics that UI tools somewhat fall short. I prefer the UI that JetBrains IDE's give because I can see visually what I am about to commit. I've made a lot less mistakes than my colleagues who either don't pay attention to the UI or swear by the command line but still miss simple things quite often, the worse I do is a typo here or there which a command line approach would of never saved me from either. To be fair I don't even remember anymore when I've had to do anything extensive, it's been quite a while. I'm even able to handle merge conflicts right away from within my editor.
    - kingosticks 8y ago
      Have you ever had a look at the combination of 'git reflog' and 'git reset --hard <ident>'? You can find the point before you did the uncomfortable operation and restore your state to exactly then. Saves having to make that backup copy (which, again, can be slow for a big repo).
      - pjc50 8y ago
        Neither of those saves the working directory, though. So uncommitted work "feels" at risk while typing unfamiliar git commands. (I now consider myself pretty good with git as a result of being forced to learn gerrit, but I also still remember the early painful days)
        kingosticks 8y ago
        True, that's a good point.
  - pjc50 8y ago
    This is one remaining huge advantage of centralised VCS systems which has been overlooked in the fad for git.
    - kingosticks 8y ago
      I don't follow, what's the specific advantage here? And just for context, we use both git and a cvs (yes, it's still going!) at day job. Both are pretty slow.
      - pjc50 8y ago
        Since a centralised system doesn't carry all the history with every checkout, the checkouts are smaller and there's less risk of running out of SSD space with a large monorepo. It's also quicker to make a new one. svn/p4 will let you checkout a subtree of a "monorepo". p4 in particular is pretty fast, although as a closed source CASE tool its days must be numbered. (re: carrying all the history, I used to work somewhere where they checked the build artefacts in to svn on every release build. A naive "git svn" import was in the 10s of gigabytes.)
        kingosticks 8y ago
        We don't have space issues on our machines but you are right, you don't need multiple copies of the entire history and that's why I suggested the worktree feature.
        pjc50 8y ago
        Thanks for suggesting that, I'd not realised it was possible.
    - nindalf 8y ago
      Did you just call git a fad? The vast majority of software in version control is in git, including some of the largest and most important open source projects. What else do you think is a fad? Linux? C?
pabs3 8y ago
Another similar tool is myrepos (it supports other VCSen too). There are several other similar tools, see the related software section of the myrepos website: https://myrepos.branchable.com/ https://myrepos.branchable.com/
- noir_lord 8y ago
  I use myrepos and I like it a great deal. mr register in the root of a git dir. then `mr status` from home will show the state of all repo's registered, it's handy at the eod to see what repos you've touched but not committed.
- nosarthur 8y ago
  thanks for referencing gita!
- nosarthur 8y ago
  Now I have referred myrepos on gita's homepage too
puzz 8y ago
I wrote a similar tool (along with some other git helpers) a while ago: https://github.com/tkrajina/git-plus https://github.com/tkrajina/git-plus. Note that there is another (more popular) git-plus repository used in Atom. My own has nothing to do with it (but it's older).
Davidbrcz 8y ago
wstool (https://github.com/vcstools/wstool https://github.com/vcstools/wstool) is a tool for managing a workspace of multiple heterogenous SCM repositories. Very convenient. I have used it for ROS projects with multiples SCM
fyhn 8y ago
One thing this project does really well is to start the readme with a screenshot. I open the link, scroll down to the readme, and I immediately see what sort of user interface/experience I will get. Some commenters have noted that Gita is similar to other multi-repo tools, but both Repo and wstool are more effort to evaluate, because their readmes don't have pictures.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
asutekku 8y ago
Great tool! It’s nice we have one more tool to choose from. Each program has their own UX so I don’t see a new contender as a bad thing.
stinos 8y ago
Nice, but is there a way to just run any command? I.e. just `gita <optional repo names/paths> <pass entire command line git -C repodir>`. This has advantages in that you don't have to go round via a command file, don't have to keep it synced across machines, don't have to remember what you put in the file etc, and can just use the git syntax which already took long enough to learn by heart :P I've used multiple multiple repository tools and in the end all I happen to use is one (usually versioned) file to store a list of repositories and then a command which just loops over all repos and applies anything to it. If I need custom commands I use git aliases so that works both for normal git and whatever tool used.
- nosarthur 8y ago
  This is an interesting idea. I never thought about it before. My previous thinking is that if something really complex needs to be done, then I will go to that directory. But I do see the convenience in your proposal
- joshka 8y ago
  → cat ~/bin/git-all #!/bin/bash # Exit on error. Append "|| true" if you expect an error. set -o errexit # Exit on error inside any functions or subshells. set -o errtrace # Do not allow use of undefined vars. Use ${VAR:-} to use an undefined VAR set -o nounset # Catch the error in case command1 fails (but command2 succeeds) in `command1 |command2` set -o pipefail # Turn on traces, useful while debugging but commented out by default # set -o xtrace help() { cat <<EOF usage: git all <any-git-command> Runs the git command for all repositories in the current directory. Examples: What just happened? git all log -1 --oneline What am I doing now? git all status --short --branch What is everything I'm working on? git all branch -vv EOF } banner() { echo -e "\\033[1m=== $1 ===\\033[0m" } main() { if (( $# < 1 )); then help exit 1 fi folders=$(find . -maxdepth 2 -name .git -print0 | xargs -0 -n1 dirname) for folder in $folders; do banner "$folder" git -C "$folder" "$@" || true done } main "$@"
  - 8y ago
1337shadow 8y ago
Can you put up an asciinema demo pls
j1elo 8y ago
Cool, new tooling! I currently use a mix of mu-repo [1] and uncommitted [2] [1]: http://fabioz.github.io/mu-repo/ http://fabioz.github.io/mu-repo/ [2]: https://github.com/brandon-rhodes/uncommitted https://github.com/brandon-rhodes/uncommitted
amelius 8y ago
The biggest problem with multiple repositories is to manage consistent versions (commits). For example, let's say that I have a release 1.0, which consists of a bunch of commit IDs of various repositories. How do I go back to that release without manually checking out the specific commit ID in each repo?
- stinos 8y ago
  We use tags for that. Upon each release all repos get the same tag. Alternatively with tools like mr [1] you can for each release keep a .mrconfig somewhere which keeps the commit SHA for each repo (not 100% sure if mr can create such file by itself, but it's not really hard) so that if you do a fresh clone it checks out each repo at the correct commit. [1] https://linux.die.net/man/1/mr https://linux.die.net/man/1/mr
  - pabs3 8y ago
    There is a mr/myrepos plugin that adds some automation for remembering the currently checked out commit: https://bitbucket.org/mforbes/mmfhg#rst-header-mr-un-freeze https://bitbucket.org/mforbes/mmfhg#rst-header-mr-un-freeze

79 points by nosarthur 8y ago

mav3rick 8y ago

Isn't this what repo does ?

la6470 8y ago

It’s like naming your software bible ...

guessmyname 8y ago

Isn’t this what “repo” [1] does? [1] https://source.android.com/setup/develop/repo https://source.android.com/setup/develop/repo

nosarthur 8y ago
didn't know this tool before. I will give it a try. Thanks!

googlemike 8y ago

Or just have a monorepo :)

kingosticks 8y ago
Operations on monorepos can be so slow that having multiple copies checked out (e.g. different branches) is a thing (ideally using worktrees).
- giancarlostoro 8y ago
  I hate to say it but because I don't feel comfortable with git enough whenever I am about to do anything outside of my comfort zone I make a hard copy of my whole directory just to be sure if I get myself into a FUBAR state I can delete the FUBAR'd directory and copy it again. This has saved me many a headache. Also gives me a fresh state from which to ask for help from. Anytime the word rebase is mentioned my coworkers shriek.
  - the_duke 8y ago
    You should really work through some Git tutorials. I haven't done that since using SVN 10 years ago. `git {branch,diff,stash}` should be all you need for this. Especially working with the stash will be a big productivity boost for you.
    - giancarlostoro 8y ago
      Most of what I do is handled by my tooling for me. It's when I have to do more than just the basics that UI tools somewhat fall short. I prefer the UI that JetBrains IDE's give because I can see visually what I am about to commit. I've made a lot less mistakes than my colleagues who either don't pay attention to the UI or swear by the command line but still miss simple things quite often, the worse I do is a typo here or there which a command line approach would of never saved me from either. To be fair I don't even remember anymore when I've had to do anything extensive, it's been quite a while. I'm even able to handle merge conflicts right away from within my editor.
  - kingosticks 8y ago
    Have you ever had a look at the combination of 'git reflog' and 'git reset --hard <ident>'? You can find the point before you did the uncomfortable operation and restore your state to exactly then. Saves having to make that backup copy (which, again, can be slow for a big repo).
    - pjc50 8y ago
      Neither of those saves the working directory, though. So uncommitted work "feels" at risk while typing unfamiliar git commands. (I now consider myself pretty good with git as a result of being forced to learn gerrit, but I also still remember the early painful days)
      - kingosticks 8y ago
        True, that's a good point.
- pjc50 8y ago
  This is one remaining huge advantage of centralised VCS systems which has been overlooked in the fad for git.
  - kingosticks 8y ago
    I don't follow, what's the specific advantage here? And just for context, we use both git and a cvs (yes, it's still going!) at day job. Both are pretty slow.
    - pjc50 8y ago
      Since a centralised system doesn't carry all the history with every checkout, the checkouts are smaller and there's less risk of running out of SSD space with a large monorepo. It's also quicker to make a new one. svn/p4 will let you checkout a subtree of a "monorepo". p4 in particular is pretty fast, although as a closed source CASE tool its days must be numbered. (re: carrying all the history, I used to work somewhere where they checked the build artefacts in to svn on every release build. A naive "git svn" import was in the 10s of gigabytes.)
      - kingosticks 8y ago
        We don't have space issues on our machines but you are right, you don't need multiple copies of the entire history and that's why I suggested the worktree feature.
        pjc50 8y ago
        Thanks for suggesting that, I'd not realised it was possible.
  - nindalf 8y ago
    Did you just call git a fad? The vast majority of software in version control is in git, including some of the largest and most important open source projects. What else do you think is a fad? Linux? C?

pabs3 8y ago

Another similar tool is myrepos (it supports other VCSen too). There are several other similar tools, see the related software section of the myrepos website: https://myrepos.branchable.com/ https://myrepos.branchable.com/

noir_lord 8y ago
I use myrepos and I like it a great deal. mr register in the root of a git dir. then `mr status` from home will show the state of all repo's registered, it's handy at the eod to see what repos you've touched but not committed.
nosarthur 8y ago
thanks for referencing gita!
nosarthur 8y ago
Now I have referred myrepos on gita's homepage too

puzz 8y ago

I wrote a similar tool (along with some other git helpers) a while ago: https://github.com/tkrajina/git-plus https://github.com/tkrajina/git-plus. Note that there is another (more popular) git-plus repository used in Atom. My own has nothing to do with it (but it's older).

Davidbrcz 8y ago

wstool (https://github.com/vcstools/wstool https://github.com/vcstools/wstool) is a tool for managing a workspace of multiple heterogenous SCM repositories. Very convenient. I have used it for ROS projects with multiples SCM

fyhn 8y ago

One thing this project does really well is to start the readme with a screenshot. I open the link, scroll down to the readme, and I immediately see what sort of user interface/experience I will get. Some commenters have noted that Gita is similar to other multi-repo tools, but both Repo and wstool are more effort to evaluate, because their readmes don't have pictures.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

asutekku 8y ago

Great tool! It’s nice we have one more tool to choose from. Each program has their own UX so I don’t see a new contender as a bad thing.

stinos 8y ago

Nice, but is there a way to just run any command? I.e. just `gita <optional repo names/paths> <pass entire command line git -C repodir>`. This has advantages in that you don't have to go round via a command file, don't have to keep it synced across machines, don't have to remember what you put in the file etc, and can just use the git syntax which already took long enough to learn by heart :P I've used multiple multiple repository tools and in the end all I happen to use is one (usually versioned) file to store a list of repositories and then a command which just loops over all repos and applies anything to it. If I need custom commands I use git aliases so that works both for normal git and whatever tool used.

nosarthur 8y ago
This is an interesting idea. I never thought about it before. My previous thinking is that if something really complex needs to be done, then I will go to that directory. But I do see the convenience in your proposal
joshka 8y ago
→ cat ~/bin/git-all #!/bin/bash # Exit on error. Append "|| true" if you expect an error. set -o errexit # Exit on error inside any functions or subshells. set -o errtrace # Do not allow use of undefined vars. Use ${VAR:-} to use an undefined VAR set -o nounset # Catch the error in case command1 fails (but command2 succeeds) in `command1 |command2` set -o pipefail # Turn on traces, useful while debugging but commented out by default # set -o xtrace help() { cat <<EOF usage: git all <any-git-command> Runs the git command for all repositories in the current directory. Examples: What just happened? git all log -1 --oneline What am I doing now? git all status --short --branch What is everything I'm working on? git all branch -vv EOF } banner() { echo -e "\\033[1m=== $1 ===\\033[0m" } main() { if (( $# < 1 )); then help exit 1 fi folders=$(find . -maxdepth 2 -name .git -print0 | xargs -0 -n1 dirname) for folder in $folders; do banner "$folder" git -C "$folder" "$@" || true done } main "$@"
- 8y ago

1337shadow 8y ago

Can you put up an asciinema demo pls

j1elo 8y ago

Cool, new tooling! I currently use a mix of mu-repo [1] and uncommitted [2] [1]: http://fabioz.github.io/mu-repo/ http://fabioz.github.io/mu-repo/ [2]: https://github.com/brandon-rhodes/uncommitted https://github.com/brandon-rhodes/uncommitted

amelius 8y ago

The biggest problem with multiple repositories is to manage consistent versions (commits). For example, let's say that I have a release 1.0, which consists of a bunch of commit IDs of various repositories. How do I go back to that release without manually checking out the specific commit ID in each repo?

stinos 8y ago
We use tags for that. Upon each release all repos get the same tag. Alternatively with tools like mr [1] you can for each release keep a .mrconfig somewhere which keeps the commit SHA for each repo (not 100% sure if mr can create such file by itself, but it's not really hard) so that if you do a fresh clone it checks out each repo at the correct commit. [1] https://linux.die.net/man/1/mr https://linux.die.net/man/1/mr
- pabs3 8y ago
  There is a mr/myrepos plugin that adds some automation for remembering the currently checked out commit: https://bitbucket.org/mforbes/mmfhg#rst-header-mr-un-freeze https://bitbucket.org/mforbes/mmfhg#rst-header-mr-un-freeze