Re: [PATCH 0/3] extend --ignore-other-worktrees to 'rebase', add hints

From: Phillip Wood <phillip.wood123@gmail.com>
Date: Sep 15, 2025, 10:09 UTC
Message-ID: <c7f9da8f-61ae-4ebe-b09e-a0c72f84a334@gmail.com>
In-Reply-To: <20250913141327.2775228-1-gabriel.scherer@inria.fr>

Hi Gabriel

On 13/09/2025 15:13, Gabriel Scherer wrote:

Show 22 quoted lines

> The old 'workdir' contribution script was removed from git upstream in May
> 2025, as it is largely superseded by the 'worktree' command.
> 
> One significant difference between the old script and the command is that
> 'git' refuses to checkout or rebase branches that are already checked out in
> another worktree. My understanding of the reasoning is that users may be
> surprised when a clean worktree becomes dirty as its index is changed from
> another worktree. However, this safety net adds a mental burden to worktree
> users, as they have to keep the other worktrees in mind when moving
> branches. Old goats like me who are used to the old 'workdir' script find
> this restriction somewhat painful.
> 
> See the discussion thread
>    https://lore.kernel.org/git/5580aa89-09f1-426e-8483-c99481c998ab@gmail.com/
> about this transition.
> 
> The present patch series tries to provide a smoother migration path for
> supporters of worktree independence:
> 
>   - when 'checkout' refuses because the branch is used in another worktree,
>     display a 'hint' that mentions the possibility of using '--detach'
>     instead, and the '--ignore-other-worktrees' option to proceed anyway.

I think this is a good idea, though I agree with Junio that we want the hint to be a bit more explicit about where using --detach or --ignore-other-worktrees are appropriate.

>   - add support for '--ignore-other-worktrees' in 'rebase' as well, with
>     a similar hint.

I'm less convinced this is a good idea as the rebase command updates the branch which is going to be confusing if the branch is checked out elsewhere.

Thanks

Phillip

Show 28 quoted lines

> In the future I would be interested in adding an option
> 'branch.ignoreOtherWorktrees' to be able to ignore other worktrees globally.
> 
> Note: this is my first experience submitting a patch to the Git project, so
> I apologize in advance for any mishap and welcome beginner-level feedback.
> 
> Cc: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
> Cc: D. Ben Knoble <ben.knoble@gmail.com>
> Cc: Phillip Wood <phillip.wood@dunelm.org.uk>
> 
> Signed-off-by: Gabriel Scherer <gabriel.scherer@inria.fr>
> 
> Gabriel.Scherer (3):
>    checkout: provide hint when failing due to another worktree
>    rebase: support --ignore-other-worktrees
>    rebase: hint when failing on branch used by another worktree
> 
>   Documentation/config/advice.adoc |  3 +++
>   Documentation/git-rebase.adoc    |  6 ++++++
>   advice.c                         |  1 +
>   advice.h                         |  1 +
>   branch.c                         | 13 +++++++++++--
>   branch.h                         |  4 ++++
>   builtin/checkout.c               | 12 ++++++++++--
>   builtin/rebase.c                 | 19 ++++++++++++++++++-
>   t/t3400-rebase.sh                |  4 +++-
>   9 files changed, 57 insertions(+), 6 deletions(-)
>