-vcsh(1) - manage and sync config files via git
-==============================================
+vcsh(1) - Version Control System for $HOME - multiple Git repositories in $HOME
+===============================================================================
## SYNOPSIS
-`vcsh` init <foo>
+`vcsh` [<options>] <command>
-`vcsh` clone <url> [<location>]
+`vcsh` clone [-b <branch>] <url> [<repo>]
-`vcsh` run <foo> git command
+`vcsh` delete <repo>
-`vcsh` list
+`vcsh` enter <repo>
-`vcsh` seed-gitignore
+`vcsh` foreach [-g] <git command>
`vcsh` help
+`vcsh` init <repo>
+
+`vcsh` list
+
+`vcsh` list-tracked [<repo>]
+
+`vcsh` list-untracked [<-a>] [<-r>] [<repo>]
+
+`vcsh` pull
+
+`vcsh` push
+
+`vcsh` rename <repo> <newname>
+
+`vcsh` run <repo> <shell command>
+
+`vcsh` status [<repo>]
+
+`vcsh` upgrade <repo>
+
+`vcsh` version
+
+`vcsh` which <substring>
+
+`vcsh` write-gitignore <repo>
+
+`vcsh` <repo> <gitcommand>
+
+`vcsh` <repo>
+
+
## DESCRIPTION
`vcsh` allows you to have several `git`(1) repositories, all maintaining their
can have one repository per config set (zsh, vim, ssh, etc), picking and
choosing which configs you want to use on which machine.
-`vcsh` is using a technique called fake bare git repositories, keeping <$GIT_DIR>
+`vcsh` is using a technique called fake bare Git repositories, keeping <$GIT_DIR>
in a different directory from <$GIT_WORK_TREE> which is pointed to <$HOME>.
The use of symlinks is not needed in this setup, making for a cleaner setup.
vcsh. That being said, you can easily use `vcsh` without `mr` if you prefer.
A sample configuration for `vcsh` and `mr` can be found at
-*https://github.com/RichiH/vcsh_mr_template*
+*https://github.com/RichiH/vcsh_mr_template* and used with `vcsh clone
+https://github.com/RichiH/vcsh_mr_template mr`.
+
+Please note that you can always use a path instead of a name for <repo>.
+This is needed to support mr and other scripts properly and of no concern to
+an interactive user.
## OPTIONS
-* init:
- Initialize an empty repository.
+* -c:
+ Source <file> prior to other configuration files
+
+* -d:
+ Enable debug mode
+
+* -v:
+ Enable verbose mode
+
+## COMMANDS
* clone:
Clone an existing repository.
+ If you need to clone a bundle of repositories, look into the
+ `post-clone-retired` hook.
+
+ You can also use a single git repository with several branches. Use the `-b`
+ option to specify a branch at clone time, the default is `master`.
+
+* commit:
+ Commit in all repositories
+
+* delete:
+ Delete an existing repository.
+
+* enter:
+ Enter repository; spawn new <$SHELL>.
+
+* foreach:
+ Execute git command for every vcsh repository.
+
+ `-g`: Execute in general context.
+
+* help:
+ Display help.
+
+* init:
+ Initialize an empty repository.
+
+* list:
+ List all local vcsh repositories.
+
+* list-tracked:
+ List all files tracked by vcsh.
+
+ If you want to list files tracked by a specific repository, simply
+ append the repository's name last.
+
+* list-tracked-by:
+ List files tracked by a repository.
+
+ This is a legacy command; you should use `list-tracked <repo>` instead.
+
+* list-untracked:
+ List all files NOT tracked by vcsh.
+
+ `-a`: Show all files.
+ By default, the `git ls-files --exclude-standard` is called.
+
+ `-r`: Recursive mode.
+ By default, the file list is shallow and stops at directory levels where
+ possible.
+
+ `$repo`: List files not tracked by this specific repository.
+
+* pull:
+ Pull from all vcsh remotes.
+
+* push:
+ Push to all vcsh remotes.
+
+* rename:
+ Rename a repository.
+
* run:
Run command with <$GIT_DIR> and <$GIT_WORK_TREE> set. Allows you to run any
and all commands without any restrictions. Use with care.
-* list:
- List all local vcsh repositories.
+ Please note that there is a somewhat magic feature for run. Instead of <repo>
+ it accepts <path>, as well. Anything that has a slash in it will be assumed to
+ be a path. `vcsh run` will then operate on this directory instead of the one
+ normally generated from the repository's name.
+ This is needed to support mr and other scripts properly and of no concern to
+ an interactive user.
-* seed-gitignore:
- Seed .gitignore.d/<repo> from git ls-files.
+* status:
+ Show statuses of all/one vcsh repositories.
-* help:
- Display help.
+* upgrade:
+ Upgrade repository to currently recommended settings.
+
+* version:
+ Print version information.
+
+* which <substring>:
+ Find <substring> in name of any tracked file.
+
+* write-gitignore:
+ Write .gitignore.d/<repo> via `git ls-files`.
+
+* <repo> <gitcommand>:
+ Shortcut to run `git` commands on a repo. Will prepend `git` to <gitcommand>.
+
+* <repo>:
+ Shortcut to run `vcsh enter <repo>`.
## ENVIRONMENT
As noted earlier, `vcsh` will set <$GIT_DIR> and <$GIT_WORK_TREE> to the
-appropriate values for fake bare git repositories.
+appropriate values for fake bare Git repositories.
+
+## CONFIG
+
+There are several ways to turn the various knobs on `vcsh`. In order of
+ascending precedence, they are:
+
+* `VARIABLE=foo vcsh`
+* </etc/vcsh/config>
+* <$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/vcsh/config>
+* `vcsh -c <file>`
+
+Please note that those files are sourced. Any and all commands will be
+executed in the context of your shell.
+
+Interesting knobs you can turn:
+
+* <$VCSH_GITATTRIBUTES>:
+ Can be <none>, or any other value.
+
+ <none> will not maintain Git attributes in a special location.
+
+ If set to any other value, repo-specific gitattributes files will be maintained.
+
+ Defaults to <none>.
+
+* <$VCSH_GITIGNORE>:
+ Can be <exact>, <none>, or <recursive>.
+
+ <exact> will seed the repo-specific ignore file with all file and directory
+ names which `git ls-files` returns.
+
+ <none> will not write any ignore file.
+
+ <recursive> will descend through all directories recursively additionally to
+ the above.
+
+ Defaults to <exact>.
+
+* <$VCSH_VCSH_WORKTREE>:
+ Can be <absolute>, or <relative>.
+
+ <absolute> will set an absolute path; defaulting to <$HOME>.
+
+ <relative> will set a path relative to <$GIT_DIR>.
+
+ Defaults to <absolute>.
+
+Less interesting knobs you could turn:
+
+* <$VCSH_DEBUG>:
+ Enter debug mode.
+
+* <$XDG_CONFIG_HOME>:
+ As specified in the 'XDG Base Directory Specification', see
+ <http://standards.freedesktop.org/basedir-spec/basedir-spec-latest.html>
+
+ Defaults to <$HOME/.config>.
+
+* <$VCSH_REPO_D>:
+ The directory where repositories are read from and stored.
+
+ Defaults to <$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/vcsh/repo.d>.
+
+* <$VCSH_HOOK_D>:
+ The directory where hooks are read from.
+
+ Defaults to <$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/vcsh/hooks-enabled>.
+
+* <$VCSH_BASE>:
+ The directory where repositories are checked out to.
+
+ Defaults to <$HOME>.
+
+
+## HOOK SYSTEM
+
+`vcsh` provides a hook system. Hook scripts must be executable and should be
+placed in <$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/vcsh/hooks-available>. From there, they can be
+soft-linked into <$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/vcsh/hooks-enabled>; `vcsh` will only
+execute hooks that are in this directory.
+
+Hooks follow a simple format. <pre-run> will be run before anything is run.
+If you want to have more than one script for a certain hook, just append
+any kind of string to order them. A system of <pre-run>, <pre-run.10>,
+<pre-run.20> etc is suggested; other options would be <pre-run-10> or
+<pre-run.sh>. A dot after the hook name is optional.
+
+If you want to create hooks for a specific <vcsh> repository, simply prepend
+the repository's name, followed by a dot, i.e. <zsh.pre-run>. Otherwise, the
+same rules as above apply. The dot between the repository's name and the hook
+is mandatory, though.
+
+Available hooks are <pre-clone>, <post-clone>, <post-clone-retired>,
+<pre-command>, <post-command>, <pre-enter>, <post-enter>, <pre-init>,
+<post-init>, <pre-pull>, <post-pull>, <pre-push>, <post-push>, <pre-run>,
+<post-run>, <pre-upgrade>, and <post-upgrade>.
+If you need more, vcsh is trivial to patch, but please let upstream know so
+we can ship them by default.
+
+## OVERLAY SYSTEM
+
+`vcsh` also provides an overlay system. Similar to hooks, the recommended
+locations are <$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/vcsh/overlays-available> and
+<$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/vcsh/overlays-enabled>.
+
+Overlays follow the same rules as hooks and you are free to overwrite any
+and all functions. Same as hooks, you can use global or repository-specific
+overlays by using either <$VCSH_OVERLAY_D/$VCSH_COMMAND> or
+<$VCSH_OVERLAY_D/$VCSH_REPO_NAME.$VCSH_COMMAND>.
+
+Please note that nothing stops you from, e.g. overwriting `status()` in
+<$VCSH_OVERLAY_D/commit>. As the overlays will be sourced and you are
+replacing arbitrary functions, any and all features may stop working, or you
+may even lose data.
+
+You have been warned.
+
+## DETAILED HOWTO AND FURTHER READING
+
+Manpages are often short and sometimes useless to glean best practices from.
+While the author tried to avoid this in this case, manpages can not cover
+detailed howtos.
+
+This software also comes with a file called <README.md>. It contains various
+approaches to setting up and using vcsh. You can view the file it as
+plain text or render it into various other formats via Markdown.
+
+On Debian-based systems, this file can be found in </usr/share/doc/vcsh>.
## SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
-`vcsh` allows you to execute arbitrary commands via `vcsh` run. For example,
-speaking, adding a `sudo`(8) rule for `vcsh` would be pretty stupid.
+`vcsh` allows you to execute arbitrary commands via `vcsh run`. For example,
+adding a `sudo`(8) rule for `vcsh` would be pretty stupid.
+
+Additionally, vcsh will source, i.e. execute, all files listed in <CONFIG>.
+You can put any and all commands into these config files and they will be
+executed.
## BUGS
None are known at this time, but reports and/or patches are more than welcome.
+## INTEROPERABILITY
+
+If you rely on `git submodule` use `git` 1.7.12 or later. Earlier versions
+do not clean internal variables properly before descending into submodules,
+resulting in unhappy end users.
+
## HISTORY
Like most people, the author initially made do with a single repository for all
config files, all of which were soft-linked into <$HOME>.
-Martin F. Krafft aka madduck came up with the concept of fake bare git
+Martin F. Krafft aka madduck came up with the concept of fake bare Git
repositories.
vcsh was initally written by madduck. This version is a re-implementation from
## COPYRIGHT
-Copyright 2011 Richard Hartmann <richih.mailinglist@gmail.com>
+Copyright 2011-2015 Richard Hartmann <richih@debian.org>
-Licensed under the GNU GPL version 3 or higher.
+Licensed under the GNU GPL version 2 or higher.
https://github.com/RichiH/vcsh