unexpected file deletion after using git rebase --abort

Hello!

I lost a previously untracked file that I added to the index in the middle of a git rebase --interactive session after a git rebase --abort. This was unexpected.

    $ ls forgotten_file
    forgotten_file
    $ git rebase --interactive HEAD~3 
      [change first rebase command from pick to  edit]
    $ git add forgotten_file
    $ git rebase --abort
    $ ls forgotten_file
    ls: cannot access forgotten_file: No such file or directory
    $

I was (of course) able to find the SHA-1 of the dangling blob using 'git fsck', and then retrieve the file using 'git cat-file -p SHA1'

Should this behaviour be considered a bug? That is, should the contents of the working directory (including untracked files) before the git rebase invocation be returned (as if preserved by a git stash --include-untracked)?

If we don't expect this, should we update the documentation for the --abort heading in the git rebase man page to indicate that newly staged content will be lost after a git rebase --abort?

This is for git version 1.8.3

Paul

-- Paul A. Kennedy pakenned@pobox.com