Merge branch 'feature--vcsh-status'

[code/vcsh.git] / README.md

diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index fec7aa1b27cf58aa3653e1fdb9630b1c7295c8d7..a83325d979ee4482a828111802d7882a4dbe141c 100644 (file)
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-vcsh - Version Control System for $HOME (based on git)
+vcsh - Version Control System for $HOME - multiple Git repositories in $HOME
 
 
 # Index
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ vcsh - Version Control System for $HOME (based on git)
 2. [30 second howto](#30-second-howto)
 3. [Overview](#overview)
 4. [Getting Started](#getting-started)
-5. [Usage](#usage)
+5. [Usage Exmaples](#usage-examples)
 6. [Contact](#contact)
 
 
@@ -55,8 +55,10 @@ Let's say you want to version control your `vim` configuration:
     vcsh vim add ~/.vimrc ~/.vim
     vcsh vim commit -m 'Initial commit of my Vim configuration'
     # optionally push your files to a remote
-    vcsh vim <remote> add origin REMOTE
-    vcsh vim push origin master:master
+    vcsh vim remote add origin <remote>
+    vcsh vim push -u origin master
+    # from now on you can push additional commits like this
+    vcsh vim push
 
 If all that looks a _lot_ like standard `git`, that's no coincidence; it's
 a design feature.
@@ -64,7 +66,10 @@ a design feature.
 
 # Overview
 
-## Comparison to Other Solutions
+## From zero to vcsh
+
+You put a lot of effort into your configuration and want to both protect and
+distribute this configuration.
 
 Most people who decide to put their dotfiles under version control start with a
 single repository in `$HOME`, adding all their dotfiles (and possibly more)
@@ -77,15 +82,22 @@ flexibility to check out only certain repositories on different hosts. The
 downsides of this approach are the necessary manual steps of cloning and
 symlinking the individual repositories.
 
-`vcsh` takes this second approach one step further. It expects
-single-purpose repositories and stores them in a hidden directory (similar
-to `~/.dotfiles`). However, it does not create symbolic links in `$HOME`; it
-puts the actual files right into `$HOME`.
+`vcsh` takes this approach one step further. It enables single-purpose
+repositories and stores them in a hidden directory. However, it does not create
+symbolic links in `$HOME`; it puts the actual files right into `$HOME`.
+
+As `vcsh` allows you to put an arbitrary number of distinct repositories into
+your `$HOME`, you will end up with a lot of repositories very quickly.
 
-Furthermore, by making use of [mr][mr], it makes it very easy to enable/disable
-and clone a large number of repositories. The use of `mr` is technically
-optional (see section 4.3), but it will be an integral part of the proposed
-system that follows.
+To manage both `vcsh` and other repositories, we suggest using [mr](mr). `mr`
+takes care of pulling in and pushing out new data for a variety of version
+control systems.
+
+
+The last logical step is to maintain all those new repositores with an automated
+tool instead of tracking them by hand.
+This is where `mr` comes in. While the use of `mr` is technically
+optional, but it will be an integral part of the proposed system that follows.
 
 ## Default Directory Layout
 
@@ -167,7 +179,7 @@ $XDG\_CONFIG\_HOME/vcsh/repo.d is the directory where all git repositories which
 are under vcsh's control are located. Since their working trees are configured
 to be in $HOME, the files contained in those repositories will be put in $HOME
 directly.
-Of course, [mr] [1] will work with this layout if configured according to this
+Of course, [mr] [mr] will work with this layout if configured according to this
 document (see above).
 
 vcsh will check if any file it would want to create exists. If it exists, vcsh
@@ -346,7 +358,41 @@ mr is used to actually retrieve configs, etc
     ~ % mr -j 5 up
 
 
-# Usage
+# Usage Examples
+
+All examples in this section will use the short form of `vcsh` which is the
+simplest way to interface with it. If you don't know what that means simply
+ignore this fact for now and follow the examples.
+
+## Initialize a new repository "vim"
+
+    vcsh init vim
+
+## Clone an existing repository
+
+    vcsh clone <remote> <repository_name>
+
+## Add files to repository "vim"
+
+    vcsh vim add ~/.vimrc ~/.vim
+    vcsh vim commit -m 'Update Vim configuration'
+
+## Add a remote for repository "vim"
+
+    vcsh vim remote add origin <remote>
+    vcsh vim push origin master:master
+    vcsh vim branch --track master origin/master
+
+## Push to remote of repository "vim"
+
+    vcsh vim push
+
+## Pull from remote of repository "vim"
+
+    vcsh vim pull
+
+
+# mr usage ; will be factored out & rewritten
 
 ### Keeping repositories Up-to-Date
 
@@ -372,12 +418,11 @@ git-status. A fix for this problem is being worked on.
 
 ### Using vcsh without mr
 
-vcsh encourages you to use [mr] [1]. It helps you manage a large number of
+vcsh encourages you to use [mr][mr]. It helps you manage a large number of
 repositories by running the necessary vcsh commands for you. You may choose not
 to use mr, in which case you will have to run those commands manually or by
 other means.
 
-#### A Few Examples
 
 To initialize a new repository: `vcsh init zsh`