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Re: Can we do better than "git checkout/add -p"

From
D. Ben Knoble <ben.knoble@gmail.com>
Date
Aug 7, 2026, 20:12 UTC
Message-ID
<CALnO6CAEbiwRyJD+Uk_Aq0gKy-XB1=9PmOUwW6itOMCr+mBmwg@mail.gmail.com>
In-Reply-To
<xmqqfr0qexps.fsf@gitster.g>
On Fri, Aug 7, 2026 at 11:50 AM Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com> wrote:
Show 30 quoted lines
>
> "D. Ben Knoble" <ben.knoble@gmail.com> writes:
>
> > I raise this as the kind of interface we could learn from: emulating
> > it might be a bit heavier (a full TUI?), but is certainly more
> > convenient to use than the prompt-loop over hunks.
>
> Yes, the 'one hunk at a time' model was easy to implement and start
> using, but its limitations are apparent.  Users want to be able to
> jump around, starting in the middle and returning to the top later,
> for example.
>
> It is more or less orthogonal to the reason I started this
> discussion, though, which is that limiting the direction in which
> modifications flow restricts the workflow, burdens the user, and
> makes the process error-prone.
>
> When I see a hunk, I can immediately tell if it is one of three
> kinds (i.e., those we want to add, those we want to leave in the
> working tree, and those we want to discard from the working tree).
> But with 'git add -p' (especially with the original version of the
> feature, before the 'e' (edit) command was introduced), the third
> kind must be treated the same way as the second.  Then, after I am
> done with 'git add -p', I must go through the remaining hunks, sift
> them into two categories (those we want to keep in the working tree
> and those we want to discard), and run 'git checkout -p' to deal
> with the latter.
>
> We should be able to improve this workflow without deviating from
> the 'one hunk at a time' model.

Perhaps I emphasized the wrong attributes; what initially brought Fugitive to mind is the fact that one set of commands move hunks between staged, unstaged, and reverted.

Whether that's in a more complex interface or not, that seemed like the thrust of what you were after.

-- 
D. Ben Knoble
Previous: Junio C HamanoNext: Junio C Hamano
Message 5 of 15 in “Can we do better than "git checkout/add -p"”
  1. Junio C HamanoAug 7, 2026
  2. Christian CouderAug 7, 2026
  3. D. Ben KnobleAug 7, 2026
  4. Junio C HamanoAug 7, 2026
  5. D. Ben KnobleAug 7, 2026
  6. Junio C HamanoAug 7, 2026
  7. Patrick SteinhardtAug 10, 2026
  8. Stefan HallerAug 10, 2026
  9. Patrick SteinhardtAug 10, 2026
  10. Junio C HamanoAug 10, 2026
  11. Patrick SteinhardtAug 11, 2026
  12. Johannes SchindelinAug 12, 2026
  13. Jeff KingAug 12, 2026
  14. Junio C HamanoAug 12, 2026
  15. Junio C HamanoAug 12, 2026

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