# Git doesn't support symlinks 4 messages from 2020-03-25 to 2020-03-26. Participants: Daniel Malendez, Bryan Turner, Danh Doan. Thread: https://gitlist.dev/t/53100 ## Daniel Malendez, 2020-03-25 23:38 Subject: Git doesn't support symlinks Message-ID: URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/CA8EDABA-A41C-4177-A149-51DCD07C319C%40googlemail.com ``` Hi everyone, I use `Ubuntu 18.04` with filesystem `ext` and `git 2.26.0`. I want to add a macOS Framework to my git repo, which fails with the following error message: $ git add -f /var/opt/project1/Foo.framework/Headers/Interior.h fatal: pathspec '/var/opt/project1/Foo.framework/Headers/Interior.h' is beyond a symbolic link If I use `$ git add .` it works fine. Is this a bug? This is what `ls` returns Foo.framework $ ls -l lrwxr-xr-x Headers -> Versions/Current/Headers lrwxr-xr-x Resources -> Versions/Current/Resources drwxr-xr-x Versions This sounds like a bug, correct? If not, I am thankful for any advice! Thanks! Best Regards, Daniel ``` ## Bryan Turner, 2020-03-26 00:23 Subject: Re: Git doesn't support symlinks Message-ID: URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/CAGyf7-FF0aEEiRGjZ_%2BRuyYnSV5cYn%2B-Hp5q7dZRADj_VL034g%40mail.gmail.com In-Reply-To: ``` On Wed, Mar 25, 2020 at 4:38 PM Daniel Malendez wrote: > > Hi everyone, > > I use `Ubuntu 18.04` with filesystem `ext` and `git 2.26.0`. I want to add a macOS Framework to my git repo, which fails with the following error message: > > $ git add -f /var/opt/project1/Foo.framework/Headers/Interior.h > fatal: pathspec '/var/opt/project1/Foo.framework/Headers/Interior.h' is beyond a symbolic link > > If I use `$ git add .` it works fine. Is this a bug? This is what `ls` returns > > Foo.framework $ ls -l > lrwxr-xr-x Headers -> Versions/Current/Headers > lrwxr-xr-x Resources -> Versions/Current/Resources > drwxr-xr-x Versions This didn't add the same thing. What does a "git status" show at this point? I'd expect it would show "Versions/Current/Headers/interior.h" as added to the index, not "Headers/interior.h". > > This sounds like a bug, correct? If not, I am thankful for any advice! Thanks! > It doesn't necessarily seem like a bug, to me; more like a case where Git could potentially be "smarter" to try and determine that, while "Headers/interior.h" is beyond a symlink, the target of that symlink is still in the repository. (Versions/Current _is_ in the same repository, right?) > > > > Best Regards, > Daniel ``` ## Daniel Malendez, 2020-03-26 00:37 Subject: Re: Git doesn't support symlinks Message-ID: URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/F9453040-2E7D-4CAB-AA7F-0C6C04E2FC99%40googlemail.com In-Reply-To: ``` Thanks for your feedback! > On Mar 25, 2020, at 8:23 PM, Bryan Turner wrote: > > This didn't add the same thing. What does a "git status" show at this > point? I'd expect it would show "Versions/Current/Headers/interior.h" > as added to the index, not "Headers/interior.h". $ git add . $ git status Changes to be committed: (use "git rm --cached ..." to unstage) new file: Foo.framework/Headers new file: Foo.framework/Versions/A/Headers/Interior.h > It doesn't necessarily seem like a bug, to me; more like a case where > Git could potentially be "smarter" to try and determine that, while > "Headers/interior.h" is beyond a symlink, the target of that symlink > is still in the repository. (Versions/Current _is_ in the same > repository, right?) Agree, makes sense! I think what happens here is that `git add .` adds the Foo.framework/Headers directory first, to circumvent this check failing here? https://github.com/git/git/blob/master/pathspec.c#L596 Whereas a single “git add path/to/file” would fail here ``` ## Danh Doan, 2020-03-26 00:50 Subject: Re: Git doesn't support symlinks Message-ID: <20200326005037.GA5398@danh.dev> URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/20200326005037.GA5398%40danh.dev In-Reply-To: ``` On 2020-03-25 20:37:30-0400, Daniel Malendez wrote: > Thanks for your feedback! > > > On Mar 25, 2020, at 8:23 PM, Bryan Turner wrote: > > > > This didn't add the same thing. What does a "git status" show at this > > point? I'd expect it would show "Versions/Current/Headers/interior.h" > > as added to the index, not "Headers/interior.h". > > $ git add . > $ git status > Changes to be committed: > (use "git rm --cached ..." to unstage) > new file: Foo.framework/Headers > new file: Foo.framework/Versions/A/Headers/Interior.h > > > It doesn't necessarily seem like a bug, to me; more like a case where > > Git could potentially be "smarter" to try and determine that, while > > "Headers/interior.h" is beyond a symlink, the target of that symlink > > is still in the repository. (Versions/Current _is_ in the same > > repository, right?) > > Agree, makes sense! > > I think what happens here is that `git add .` adds the > Foo.framework/Headers directory first, to circumvent this check > failing here? "Foo.framework/Headers" is a symlinks, and git simply adds that, without caring where it's linked to. To git, there's nothing inside "Foo.framework/Headers", it's a blob, which happends to be type: symlink. IOW, you can: $ git add Foo.framework/Headers # without add the target $ ln -s /usr/bin bin $ git add bin # git won't write to index anything from /usr/bin > https://github.com/git/git/blob/master/pathspec.c#L596 > Whereas a single “git add path/to/file” would fail here -- Danh ```