git-bz: command line integration for bugzilla

Was filling out the Git user's survey today, and noticed that my git-bz tool wasn't on the long list of "Git interfaces, implementations, frontends and tools" - but then again, I've never really advertised it beyond GNOME IRC. So, I was reminded to mention it here...

The Pitch =========

Do you use git? You wouldn't be reading this list if you didn't. Do you use Bugzilla? No? You can stop here.

Since you use Git and you use Bugzilla, you want to use git-bz.

Setup:

  git config --global bz.default-tracker bugzilla.example.com
  # in some module
  git config bz.default-product TiddlyWinks
  git config bz.default-component AI-Engine

File a new bug with a commit attached as a patch, rewrite the commit message to include the URL of the newly filed bug:

  git bz file -u HEAD

Attach a series of commits to an existing bug, bringing each up in an editor to allow editing the comment and picking old patches to obsolete:

  git bz attach -e 43215 HEAD~3..

Apply patches already attached to an existing bug to a local branch:

  git bz apply http://bugzilla.example.com/show_bug.cgi?34132

Getting It ==========

 The script: http://git.fishsoup.net/cgit/git-bz/plain/git-bz
 CGIT:       http://git.fishsoup.net/cgit/git-bz
 clone:      git://git.fishsoup.net/git-bz

It's a standalone Python script, no dependencies, so you can just copy it or symlink it somewhere in your path.

Notes =====

 * Yes, it's in Python.

 * It should work with most Bugzilla installations

 * There are some nice things that could be added - support for automatically
   creating a branch when applying patches from a bug locally, 'git bz close'
   to push patches and close the corresponding Bugzilla bugs, and so forth.

   It's pretty good as is.

 * The utility of attaching patches to Bugzilla is probably greatest 
   in a shared-central repository workflow. If all contributors already 
   are publishing all changes to personal public repositories, then attaching 
   them to Bugzilla in addition may not make sense.

   Tracking merge requests would require a quite different form of Bugzilla
   integration (probably server side)

 * It used to be command-line compatible with git-format-patch for the handling
   of 'git bz file <revision>' - but I switched it at some point so you didn't
   need to add '-1' to file a single commit. Still undecided if it's better
   to be obvious or to be compatible.

Owen Taylor <otaylor@redhat.com> writes:

Well, you can always add it in "Other (please specify)" in survey

Could you please add (short) information about this tool to Git Wiki:
  http://git.or.cz/gitwiki/InterfacesFrontendsAndTools

On Sat, 2009-08-29 at 01:07 -0700, Jakub Narebski wrote:

Certainly. It was not meant as a real complaint - git has a large and varied ecosystem.

One step ahead of you there, added:

http://git.or.cz/gitwiki/InterfacesFrontendsAndTools#git-bz

yesterday.

- Owen