X-Git-Url: https://git.madduck.net/code/vcsh.git/blobdiff_plain/2a00efaf0694408a3579fb2ac6595f5151dfd2c1..4f6ad732e3d62523eef96dedf63179cdaf54f3ed:/README.md diff --git a/README.md b/README.md index 4f7c27a..41167e7 100644 --- a/README.md +++ b/README.md @@ -1,17 +1,17 @@ -vcsh - Version Control System for $HOME (based on git) +vcsh - Version Control System for $HOME - multiple Git repositories in $HOME -# Index # +# Index 1. [30 second howto](#30-second-howto) 2. [Introduction](#introduction) -3. [Overview](#overview) -4. [Getting Started](#getting-started) -5. [Usage](#usage) +3. [Usage Exmaples](#usage-examples) +4. [Overview](#overview) +5. [Getting Started](#getting-started) 6. [Contact](#contact) -# 30 second howto # +# 30 second howto While it may appear that there's an overwhelming amount of documentation and while the explanation of the concepts behind `vcsh` needs to touch a few gory @@ -23,23 +23,23 @@ Let's say you want to version control your `vim` configuration: vcsh vim add ~/.vimrc ~/.vim vcsh vim commit -m 'Initial commit of my Vim configuration' # optionally push your files to a remote - vcsh vim remote add origin REMOTE - vcsh vim push origin master:master + vcsh vim remote add origin + vcsh vim push -u origin master + # from now on you can push additional commits like this + vcsh vim push If all that looks a _lot_ like standard `git`, that's no coincidence; it's a design feature. -Once you get familiar with `vcsh`, it's strongly suggested that you look -into more advanced usage scenarios, especially on how to manage your -`vcsh` and other repositories with [mr][mr]. +# Introduction -# Introduction # - -[vcsh][vcsh] allows you to maintain several git repositories in one single +[vcsh][vcsh] allows you to maintain several Git repositories in one single directory. They all maintain their working trees without clobbering each other -or interfering otherwise. By default, all git repositories maintained via -`vcsh` are stored in `$HOME` but you can override this setting if you want to. +or interfering otherwise. By default, all Git repositories maintained via +`vcsh` store the actual files in `$HOME` but you can override this setting if +you want to. + All this means that you can have one repository per application or application family, i.e. `zsh`, `vim`, `ssh`, etc. This, in turn, allows you to clone custom sets of configurations onto different machines or even for different @@ -48,23 +48,53 @@ For example, you may not need to have your `mplayer` configuration on a server or available to root and you may want to maintain different configuration for `ssh` on your personal and your work machines. -`vcsh` was designed with [mr][mr] in mind so you might want to install that, as -well. +A lot of modern UNIX-based systems offer packages for `vcsh`. In case yours +does not read `INSTALL.md` for install instructions or `PACKAGING.md` to create +a package, yourself. If you do end up packaging `vcsh` please let us know so we +can give you your own packaging branch in the upstream repository. -Read `INSTALL.md` and `PACKAGING.md` for instructions specific to your operating -system. +## Talks +Some people found it useful to look at slides and videos explaining how `vcsh` +works instead of working through the docs. +All slides, videos, and further information can be found +[on the author's talk page][talks]. -## Talks ## -Some people found it useful to look at slides and videos explaining how `vcsh` -works instead of working through the docs, first. -They can all be found [on the author's talk page][talks]. +# Usage Examples + +There are three different ways to interact with `vcsh` repositories; this +section will only show the simplest and easiest way. + +Certain more advanced use cases require the other two ways, but don't worry +about this for now. If you never even bother playing with the other two +modes you will still be fine. + +`vcsh enter` and `vcsh run` will be covered in later sections. + + +| Task | Command | +| ----------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------- | +| _Initialize a new repository called "vim"_ | `vcsh init vim` | +| _Clone an existing repository_ | `vcsh clone ` | +| _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 ` | +| | `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` | +| _Show status of changed files in all repositories_ | `vcsh status` | +| _Pull from all repositories_ | `vcsh pull` | +| _Push to all repositories_ | `vcsh push` | # 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) @@ -77,17 +107,33 @@ 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`. - -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. - -## Default Directory Layout ## +`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 `$HOME`, you will end up with a lot of repositories very quickly. + +`vcsh` was designed with [myrepos][myrepos], a tool to manage Multiple +Repositories, in mind and the two integrate very nicely. The myrepos tool +(`mr`) has native support for `vcsh` repositories and the configuration for +myrepos is just another set of files that you cat track with `vcsh` like any +other. This makes setting up any new machine a breeze. It can take literally +less than five minutes to go from standard installation to fully set up system. + +We suggest using [myrepos][myrepos] to manage both `vcsh` and other +repositories. The `mr` utility takes care of pulling in and pushing +out new data for a variety of version control systems. While the use +of myrepos is technically optional, it will be an integral part of the +proposed system that follows. For instance, you can use +[myrepos][myrepos] to track repositories in home such as `.emacs.d`, +which `mr` can clone and update for you automatically. To do this, +just add a `mr` configuration file to `availabile.d` with a `checkout` +command to clone the repo, and set the [title] to the desired +location, e.g. `$HOME/.emacs.d`. Try the `mr register` command in an +existing repository, then view `~/.mrconfig` for an example. + +## Default Directory Layout To illustrate, this is what a possible directory structure looks like. @@ -123,82 +169,81 @@ To illustrate, this is what a possible directory structure looks like. |-- .mrconfig `-- .mrtrust -### available.d ### +### available.d -The files you see in $XDG\_CONFIG\_HOME/mr/available.d are mr configuration files -that contain the commands to manage (checkout, update etc.) a single -repository. vcsh repo configs end in .vcsh, git configs end in .git, etc. This -is optional and your preference. For example, this is what a zsh.vcsh -with read-only access to my zshrc repo looks likes. I.e. in this specific -example, push can not work as you will be using the author's repository. This -is for demonstration, only. Of course, you are more than welcome to clone from -this repository and fork your own. +The files you see in $XDG\_CONFIG\_HOME/mr/available.d are myrepos +configuration files that contain the commands to manage (checkout, update +etc.) a single repository. vcsh repo configs end in .vcsh, git configs end +in .git, etc. This is optional and your preference. For example, this is +what a zsh.vcsh with read-only access to my zshrc repo looks likes. I.e. in +this specific example, push can not work as you will be using the author's +repository. This is for demonstration, only. Of course, you are more than +welcome to clone from this repository and fork your own. [$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/vcsh/repo.d/zsh.git] - checkout = vcsh clone 'git://github.com/RichiH/zshrc.git' zsh - update = vcsh run zsh git pull - push = vcsh run zsh git push - status = vcsh run zsh git status - gc = vcsh run zsh git gc + checkout = vcsh clone 'git://github.com/RichiH/zshrc.git' 'zsh' + update = vcsh zsh pull + push = vcsh zsh push + status = vcsh zsh status + gc = vcsh zsh gc + + [$HOME/.emacs.d] + checkout = vcsh clone 'git://github.com/andschwa/emacs.git' '.emacs.d' -### config.d ### +### config.d $XDG\_CONFIG\_HOME/mr/available.d contains *all available* repositories. Only -files/links present in mr/config.d, however, will be used by mr. That means +files/links present in mr/config.d, however, will be used by myrepos. That means that in this example, only the zsh, gitconfigs, tmux and vim repositories will be checked out. A simple `mr update` run in $HOME will clone or update those four repositories listed in config.d. -### ~/.mrconfig ### +### ~/.mrconfig Finally, ~/.mrconfig will tie together all those single files which will allow you to conveniently run `mr up` etc. to manage all repositories. It looks like this: [DEFAULT] - jobs = 5 - # Use if your mr does not have vcsh support in mainline, yet - include = cat /usr/share/mr/vcsh include = cat ${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}/mr/config.d/* -### repo.d ### +### repo.d $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 -document (see above). + +Of course, [myrepos][myrepos] 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 will throw a warning and exit. Move away your old config and try again. Optionally, merge your local and your global configs afterwards and push with -`vcsh run foo git push`. +`vcsh foo push`. -## Moving into a New Host ## +## Moving into a New Host To illustrate further, the following steps could move your desired configuration to a new host. -1. Clone the mr repository (containing available.d, config.d etc.); for +1. Clone the myrepos repository (containing available.d, config.d etc.); for example: `vcsh clone git://github.com/RichiH/vcsh_mr_template.git mr` 2. Choose your repositories by linking them in config.d (or go with the default you may have already configured by adding symlinks to git). -3. Make sure the line 'include = cat /usr/share/mr/vcsh' in .mrconfig points - to an existing file -4. Run mr to clone the repositories: `cd; mr update`. -5. Done. +3. Run myrepos to clone the repositories: `cd; mr update`. +4. Done. Hopefully the above could help explain how this approach saves time by 1. making it easy to manage, clone and update a large number of repositories - (thanks to mr) and + (thanks to myrepos) and 2. making it unnecessary to create symbolic links in $HOME (thanks to vcsh). If you want to give vcsh a try, follow the instructions below. -# Getting Started # +# Getting Started Below, you will find a few different methods for setting up vcsh: @@ -206,67 +251,89 @@ Below, you will find a few different methods for setting up vcsh: 2. The Steal-from-Template Way 3. The Manual Way -### The Template Way ### +### The Template Way -#### Prerequisites #### +#### Prerequisites Make sure none of the following files and directories exist for your test (user). If they do, move them away for now: -* ~/.gitignore.d -* ~/.mrconfig -* $XDG\_CONFIG\_HOME/mr/available.d/mr.vcsh -* $XDG\_CONFIG\_HOME/mr/available.d/zsh.vcsh -* $XDG\_CONFIG\_HOME/mr/config.d/mr.vcsh -* $XDG\_CONFIG\_HOME/vcsh/repo.d/mr.git/ +* `~/.gitignore.d` +* `~/.mrconfig` +* `$XDG\_CONFIG\_HOME/mr/available.d/mr.vcsh` +* `$XDG\_CONFIG\_HOME/mr/available.d/zsh.vcsh` +* `$XDG\_CONFIG\_HOME/mr/config.d/mr.vcsh` +* `$XDG\_CONFIG\_HOME/vcsh/repo.d/mr.git/` All of the files are part of the template repository, the directory is where the template will be stored. - apt-get install mr +### Install vcsh + +#### Debian + +If you are using Debian Squeeze, you will need to enable backports and the +package name for myrepos will be 'mr'. + +From Wheezy onwards, you can install both directly: + + apt-get install myrepos vcsh + +#### Gentoo + +To install vcsh in Gentoo Linux just give the following command as root: -#### Install vcsh #### + emerge dev-vcs/vcsh -#### Debian #### +Note the portage package for myrepos still has the old project name: -If you are using Debian Squeeze, you will need to enable backports + emerge dev-vcs/mr - apt-get install vcsh +#### Arch Linux -#### Arch Linux #### +vcsh is available via this [AUR](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/vcsh/) +package. Likewise myrepos is available [here](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/myrepos/). +You may install both useing your favorite AUR helper. e.g. with yaourt: -vcsh is availabe via [AUR](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages.php?ID=54164) -and further documentation about the use of AUR is available -[on Arch's wiki](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Arch_User_Repository). + yaourt -Sya myrepos vcsh - cd /var/abs/local/ - wget https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/vc/vcsh-git/vcsh-git.tar.gz - tar xfz vcsh-git.tar.gz - cd vcsh-git - makepkg -s - pacman -U vcsh*.pkg.tar.xz +Or you can do it yourself manually using the documentation on installing AUR packages +[on Arch's wiki](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Arch_User_Repository#Installing_packages). -#### From source #### +If you prefer to use the devel package that installs the git HEAD version it +is available [here](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/vcsh-git/). -If your version of mr is older than version 1.07, make sure to put +#### Mac OS X - include = cat /usr/share/mr/vcsh +Formulas are available for vcsh as well as git and myrepos through [homebrew](http://brew.sh). The +vcsh formula is set to depend on myrepos, so you only need one install command: -into your .mrconfig . + brew install vcsh + +#### From source + +To install the latest version from git: # choose a location for your checkout - cd $HOME mkdir -p ~/work/git + cd ~/work/git git clone git://github.com/RichiH/vcsh.git cd vcsh - ln -s vcsh /usr/local/bin # or add it to your PATH - cd + sudo ln -s vcsh /usr/local/bin # or add it to your PATH -#### Clone the Template #### +For myrepos: + + # use checkout location from above + cd ~/work/git + git clone git://myrepos.branchable.com/ myrepos + cd myrepos + make install + +#### Clone the Template vcsh clone git://github.com/RichiH/vcsh_mr_template.git mr -#### Enable Your Test Repository #### +#### Enable Your Test Repository mv ~/.zsh ~/zsh.bak mv ~/.zshrc ~/zshrc.bak @@ -275,7 +342,7 @@ into your .mrconfig . cd mr up -#### Set Up Your Own Repositories #### +#### Set Up Your Own Repositories Now, it's time to edit the template config and fill it with your own remotes: @@ -285,17 +352,17 @@ Now, it's time to edit the template config and fill it with your own remotes: And then create your own stuff: vcsh init foo - vcsh run foo git add -f bar baz quux - vcsh run foo git remote add origin git://quuux - vcsh run foo git commit - vcsh run foo git push + vcsh foo add bar baz quux + vcsh foo remote add origin git://quuux + vcsh foo commit + vcsh foo push cp $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mr/available.d/mr.vcsh $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mr/available.d/foo.vcsh vim $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mr/available.d/foo.vcsh # add your own repo Done! -### The Steal-from-Template Way ### +### The Steal-from-Template Way You're welcome to clone the example repository: @@ -307,7 +374,7 @@ Look around in the clone. It should be reasonably simple to understand. If not, poke me, RichiH, on Freenode (query) or OFTC (#vcs-home). -### The Manual Way ### +### The Manual Way This is how my old setup procedure looked like. Adapt it to your own style or copy mine verbatim, either is fine. @@ -321,19 +388,17 @@ copy mine verbatim, either is fine. sudo ln -s ~/work/git/vcsh/vcsh /usr/bin/local hash -r -Grab my mr config. see below for details on how I set this up +Grab my myrepos config. see below for details on how I set this up vcsh clone ssh:///mr.git cd $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mr/config.d/ ln -s ../available.d/* . -mr is used to actually retrieve configs, etc +[myrepos][myrepos] is used to actually retrieve configs, etc. ~ % cat ~/.mrconfig [DEFAULT] - # adapt /usr/share/mr/vcsh to your system if needed - include = cat /usr/share/mr/vcsh include = cat $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mr/config.d/* ~ % echo $XDG_CONFIG_HOME /home/richih/.config @@ -346,9 +411,9 @@ mr is used to actually retrieve configs, etc ~ % mr -j 5 up -# Usage # +# myrepos usage ; will be factored out & rewritten -### Keeping repositories Up-to-Date ### +### Keeping repositories Up-to-Date This is the beauty of it all. Once you are set up, just run: @@ -357,27 +422,22 @@ This is the beauty of it all. Once you are set up, just run: Neat. -### Making Changes ### +### Making Changes After you have made some changes, for which you would normally use `git add` and `git commit`, use the vcsh wrapper (like above): - vcsh run foo git add -f bar baz quux - vcsh run foo git commit - vcsh run foo git push - -By the way, you'll have to use -f/--force flag with git-add because all files -will be ignored by default. This is to show you only useful output when running -git-status. A fix for this problem is being worked on. + vcsh foo add bar baz quux + vcsh foo commit + vcsh foo push -### Using vcsh without mr ### +### Using vcsh without myrepos -vcsh encourages you to use [mr] [1]. It helps you manage a large number of +vcsh encourages you to use [myrepos][myrepos]. 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 +to use myrepos, 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` @@ -386,11 +446,11 @@ To clone a repository: `vcsh clone ssh:///zsh.git` To interact with a repository, use the regular Git commands, but prepend them with `vcsh run $repository_name`. For example: - vcsh run zsh git status - vcsh run zsh git add -f .zshrc - vcsh run zsh git commit + vcsh zsh status + vcsh zsh add .zshrc + vcsh zsh commit -Obviously, without mr keeping repositories up-to-date, it will have to be done +Obviously, without myrepos keeping repositories up-to-date, it will have to be done manually. Alternatively, you could try something like this: for repo in `vcsh list`; do @@ -398,7 +458,7 @@ manually. Alternatively, you could try something like this: done -# Contact # +# Contact There are several ways to get in touch with the author and a small but committed community around the general idea of version controlling your (digital) life. @@ -410,7 +470,7 @@ community around the general idea of version controlling your (digital) life. * Pull requests or issues on [https://github.com/RichiH/vcsh][vcsh] -[mr]: http://kitenet.net/~joey/code/mr/ +[myrepos]: http://myrepos.branchable.com/ [talks]: http://richardhartmann.de/talks/ [vcsh]: https://github.com/RichiH/vcsh [vcs-home-list]: http://lists.madduck.net/listinfo/vcs-home