modern-git-patterns

Files (8)

• SKILL.md
• CHANGELOG.md · references/
• COMMAND_QUICK_REFERENCE.md · references/
• DETAILED_PATTERNS.md · references/
• LESSONS_LEARNED.md · references/
• SOURCES.md · references/
• VERSION_FEATURE_MAP.md · references/
• reject-internal-dirs.sh · scripts/

SKILL.md (first lines)

# Modern Git Patterns, Commands & Approaches

Version-aware git guidance grounded in git 2.50–2.54 release notes, expert talks, and real-world practice.

## Version Detection

Before advising on any git command, check the available version:

```bash
git --version
```

If version < 2.50, note that many patterns below are unavailable or behave differently.
Feature availability annotations use `[2.XX+]` to indicate minimum git version.
## Section Index

| Section | Focus |
|---------|-------|
| [History Rewriting](#history-rewriting) | reword, split, replay, rebase |
| [Safety Patterns](#safety-patterns) | force-with-lease, reflog, rerere |
| [Maintenance & Performance](#maintenance--performance) | geometric repack, commit-graph, fsmonitor |
| [Sparse & Partial Operations](#sparse--partial-operations) | sparse-checkout, partial clone, backfill |
| [Config-Based Hooks](#config-based-hooks) | declarative hooks in gitconfig |
| [Signing & Verification](#signing--verification) | SSH signing, expired key handling |
| [Blame & History Investigation](#blame--history-investigation) | blame -C, -L, --diff-algorithm, log -L |
| [Diff & Merge Patterns](#diff--merge-patterns) | word-diff, histogram, rerere, merge-conflict recording |
| [Worktree & Multi-Branch](#worktree--multi-branch) | worktree, virtual branches |
| [Stash Patterns](#stash-patterns) | stash --index, import/export |
| [Submodules & Alternatives](#submodules--alternatives) | submodule, subtree, package managers |
| [Status & Comparison](#status--comparison) | status.compareBranches, column UI |
| [Alias & Config Patterns](#alias--config-patterns) | includeIf, non-ASCII aliases, column.ui |
| [Bisect & Debugging](#bisect--debugging) | binary search for regressions |
| [HTTP & Remote Patterns](#http--remote-patterns) | 429 retry, prefetch, bundle URIs |
| [Deprecation Warnings (Git 3.0)](#deprecation-warnings-git-30) | upcoming breaking changes |

---
## History Rewriting

### `git history` (experimental) [2.54+]

Targeted history rewriting without the complexity of interactive rebase.

**Reword a commit message** without touching working tree or index:

```bash
git history reword <commit>
```

**Split a commit** into two by selecting hunks (uses `add -p` style interface):

```bash
git history split <commit>
```

Limitations: No merge commit support. Refuses operations that would cause conflicts.
Works in bare repositories. Built on `git replay` machinery.

### `git replay` (experimental) [2.53+]

Replay commits onto a new base without touching working tree. Safer than rebase for
scripting.

```bash
# Replay range onto new base
git replay --onto <new-base> <upstream>..<branch>

# Revert mode [2.54+]
git replay --revert <upstream>..<branch>

# Now performs atomic ref updates by default [2.53+]
# (instead of printing update-ref commands to stdout)

# Drop commits that become empty during replay [2.54+]
```

Can replay down to root commit [2.54+].

### `git rebase` with trailers [2.54+]

```bash
git rebase --trailer "Reviewed-by: A U Thor <author@example.com>"
```

Appends a trailer to every rebased commit via `interpret-trailers` machinery.

---

## Safety Patterns

### `--force-with-lease`

**Always prefer** `--force-with-lease` over `--force`. Checks that remote ref hasn't
changed since your last fetch before force-pushing.

```bash
git push --force-with-lease
```

If someone else pushed to the same branch, the push is rejected. Much safer than
blind `--force`. Works by comparing your local remote-tracking ref with the actual
remote ref.

### Reflog: Your Safety Net

Reflog records every HEAD movement (commit, checkout, merge, reset, rebase).
Entirely local — not shared with remotes.

```bash
# View reflog with dates
git reflog --date=relative

# Pretty format
git reflog --pretty=format:'%h %gd %gs %ci'

# Recover a "lost" commit
git checkout <reflog-hash>
# or create a branch from it
git branch recovered-work <reflog-hash>
```

From kvithayathil/agent-resources, Apache-2.0.

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