threads / discuss / 19116

adding arbitary folders to the git index, from outside of the repository

Subject: adding arbitary folders to the git index, from outside of the repository

## tl;dr

3 messages between Apr 28, 2009 and Apr 29, 2009.

replies: 2people: 3as markdown or json

Andrew Bush· Apr 28, 2009, 22:54 UTC · lore

Hi all,

I have a desire to have a single git repository that tracks the content of an array of folders located in various places across my file system.

this doesn't *appear* to be supported in any way, I found some stuff about using shortcuts but that was apparently removed in version 1.6 because of the problem of deciding when to follow them and when to index them.

Ideally what I would like is a way to specify in the git config file for a repository an arbitary list of folders that it should index, instead of only having the choice of indexing the folder the repository is stored in.

this *feels* like it might be possible with a little hacking,depending on how git is designed, but before I plunge into the Cold Depths Of Unknown Code I was wondering whether anyone else has any knowledge of an existing git solution for this kind of problem, or maybe some suggestions for where I should start looking in the code or how I should approach it?

I am also interested in whether anyone else has an interest in this feature?

thanks for any suggestions or insights at all.

- Andrew

Robin Rosenberg· Apr 29, 2009, 00:06 UTC · re: Andrew Bush · lore

Re: adding arbitary folders to the git index, from outside of the repository

onsdag 29 april 2009 00:54:54 skrev Andrew Bush:

Show 16 quoted lines

> Hi all,
> 
> I have a desire to have a single git repository that tracks the  
> content of an array of folders located in various places across my  
> file system.
> 
> this doesn't *appear* to be supported in any way, I found some stuff  
> about using shortcuts but that was apparently removed in version 1.6  
> because of the problem of deciding when to follow them and when to  
> index them.
> 
> 
> Ideally what I would like is a way to specify in the git config file  
> for a repository an arbitary list of folders that it should index,  
> instead of only having the choice of indexing the folder the  
> repository is stored in.

What I do sometimes is set GIT_DIR and then add paths relative to / and adding excludes for some paths. That way I can cover /etc and selected parts of /var and other interesting areas. You cannot however have different roots for your trees, unless you make the tree using e.g symbolic links to the different directories.

-- robin

Mike Ralphson· Apr 29, 2009, 07:44 UTC · re: Robin Rosenberg · lore

Re: adding arbitary folders to the git index, from outside of the repository

2009/4/29 Robin Rosenberg <robin.rosenberg.lists@dewire.com>:

> onsdag 29 april 2009 00:54:54 skrev Andrew Bush:
>> I have a desire to have a single git repository that tracks the
>> content of an array of folders located in various places across my
>> file system.

Show 5 quoted lines

> What I do sometimes is set GIT_DIR and then add paths relative to
> / and adding excludes for some paths. That way I can cover /etc and
> selected parts of /var and other interesting areas. You cannot
> however have different roots for your trees, unless you make
> the tree using e.g symbolic links to the different directories.

You can also support having different roots for your trees if you commit them to distinct branches. You would need to remember which root applies to each branch, but you could name the branches var, etc, usr/local/etc, home/andrew etc.

Mike