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-rw-r--r--Documentation/git-sparse-checkout.txt120
1 files changed, 75 insertions, 45 deletions
diff --git a/Documentation/git-sparse-checkout.txt b/Documentation/git-sparse-checkout.txt
index fdcf43f87c..94dad137b9 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-sparse-checkout.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git-sparse-checkout.txt
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ given by a list of patterns.
SYNOPSIS
--------
[verse]
-'git sparse-checkout <subcommand> [options]'
+'git sparse-checkout <subcommand> [<options>]'
DESCRIPTION
@@ -30,28 +30,44 @@ COMMANDS
'list'::
Describe the patterns in the sparse-checkout file.
-'init'::
- Enable the `core.sparseCheckout` setting. If the
- sparse-checkout file does not exist, then populate it with
- patterns that match every file in the root directory and
- no other directories, then will remove all directories tracked
- by Git. Add patterns to the sparse-checkout file to
- repopulate the working directory.
+'set'::
+ Enable the necessary sparse-checkout config settings
+ (`core.sparseCheckout`, `core.sparseCheckoutCone`, and
+ `index.sparse`) if they are not already set to the desired values,
+ and write a set of patterns to the sparse-checkout file from the
+ list of arguments following the 'set' subcommand. Update the
+ working directory to match the new patterns.
++
+To ensure that adjusting the sparse-checkout settings within a worktree
+does not alter the sparse-checkout settings in other worktrees, the 'set'
+subcommand will upgrade your repository config to use worktree-specific
+config if not already present. The sparsity defined by the arguments to
+the 'set' subcommand are stored in the worktree-specific sparse-checkout
+file. See linkgit:git-worktree[1] and the documentation of
+`extensions.worktreeConfig` in linkgit:git-config[1] for more details.
+
-To avoid interfering with other worktrees, it first enables the
-`extensions.worktreeConfig` setting and makes sure to set the
-`core.sparseCheckout` setting in the worktree-specific config file.
+When the `--stdin` option is provided, the patterns are read from
+standard in as a newline-delimited list instead of from the arguments.
+
-When `--cone` is provided, the `core.sparseCheckoutCone` setting is
-also set, allowing for better performance with a limited set of
-patterns (see 'CONE PATTERN SET' below).
+When `--cone` is passed or `core.sparseCheckoutCone` is enabled, the
+input list is considered a list of directories instead of
+sparse-checkout patterns. This allows for better performance with a
+limited set of patterns (see 'CONE PATTERN SET' below). Note that the
+set command will write patterns to the sparse-checkout file to include
+all files contained in those directories (recursively) as well as
+files that are siblings of ancestor directories. The input format
+matches the output of `git ls-tree --name-only`. This includes
+interpreting pathnames that begin with a double quote (") as C-style
+quoted strings. This may become the default in the future; --no-cone
+can be passed to request non-cone mode.
+
-Use the `--[no-]sparse-index` option to toggle the use of the sparse
-index format. This reduces the size of the index to be more closely
-aligned with your sparse-checkout definition. This can have significant
-performance advantages for commands such as `git status` or `git add`.
-This feature is still experimental. Some commands might be slower with
-a sparse index until they are properly integrated with the feature.
+Use the `--[no-]sparse-index` option to use a sparse index (the
+default is to not use it). A sparse index reduces the size of the
+index to be more closely aligned with your sparse-checkout
+definition. This can have significant performance advantages for
+commands such as `git status` or `git add`. This feature is still
+experimental. Some commands might be slower with a sparse index until
+they are properly integrated with the feature.
+
**WARNING:** Using a sparse index requires modifying the index in a way
that is not completely understood by external tools. If you have trouble
@@ -60,23 +76,6 @@ to rewrite your index to not be sparse. Older versions of Git will not
understand the sparse directory entries index extension and may fail to
interact with your repository until it is disabled.
-'set'::
- Write a set of patterns to the sparse-checkout file, as given as
- a list of arguments following the 'set' subcommand. Update the
- working directory to match the new patterns. Enable the
- core.sparseCheckout config setting if it is not already enabled.
-+
-When the `--stdin` option is provided, the patterns are read from
-standard in as a newline-delimited list instead of from the arguments.
-+
-When `core.sparseCheckoutCone` is enabled, the input list is considered a
-list of directories instead of sparse-checkout patterns. The command writes
-patterns to the sparse-checkout file to include all files contained in those
-directories (recursively) as well as files that are siblings of ancestor
-directories. The input format matches the output of `git ls-tree --name-only`.
-This includes interpreting pathnames that begin with a double quote (") as
-C-style quoted strings.
-
'add'::
Update the sparse-checkout file to include additional patterns.
By default, these patterns are read from the command-line arguments,
@@ -93,12 +92,35 @@ C-style quoted strings.
cases, it can make sense to run `git sparse-checkout reapply` later
after cleaning up affected paths (e.g. resolving conflicts, undoing
or committing changes, etc.).
++
+The `reapply` command can also take `--[no-]cone` and `--[no-]sparse-index`
+flags, with the same meaning as the flags from the `set` command, in order
+to change which sparsity mode you are using without needing to also respecify
+all sparsity paths.
'disable'::
Disable the `core.sparseCheckout` config setting, and restore the
- working directory to include all files. Leaves the sparse-checkout
- file intact so a later 'git sparse-checkout init' command may
- return the working directory to the same state.
+ working directory to include all files.
+
+'init'::
+ Deprecated command that behaves like `set` with no specified paths.
+ May be removed in the future.
++
+Historically, `set` did not handle all the necessary config settings,
+which meant that both `init` and `set` had to be called. Invoking
+both meant the `init` step would first remove nearly all tracked files
+(and in cone mode, ignored files too), then the `set` step would add
+many of the tracked files (but not ignored files) back. In addition
+to the lost files, the performance and UI of this combination was
+poor.
++
+Also, historically, `init` would not actually initialize the
+sparse-checkout file if it already existed. This meant it was
+possible to return to a sparse-checkout without remembering which
+paths to pass to a subsequent 'set' or 'add' command. However,
+`--cone` and `--sparse-index` options would not be remembered across
+the disable command, so the easy restore of calling a plain `init`
+decreased in utility.
SPARSE CHECKOUT
---------------
@@ -107,7 +129,7 @@ SPARSE CHECKOUT
It uses the skip-worktree bit (see linkgit:git-update-index[1]) to tell
Git whether a file in the working directory is worth looking at. If
the skip-worktree bit is set, then the file is ignored in the working
-directory. Git will not populate the contents of those files, which
+directory. Git will avoid populating the contents of those files, which
makes a sparse checkout helpful when working in a repository with many
files, but only a few are important to the current user.
@@ -117,10 +139,8 @@ directory, it updates the skip-worktree bits in the index based
on this file. The files matching the patterns in the file will
appear in the working directory, and the rest will not.
-To enable the sparse-checkout feature, run `git sparse-checkout init` to
-initialize a simple sparse-checkout file and enable the `core.sparseCheckout`
-config setting. Then, run `git sparse-checkout set` to modify the patterns in
-the sparse-checkout file.
+To enable the sparse-checkout feature, run `git sparse-checkout set` to
+set the patterns you want to use.
To repopulate the working directory with all files, use the
`git sparse-checkout disable` command.
@@ -210,6 +230,16 @@ case-insensitive check. This corrects for case mismatched filenames in the
'git sparse-checkout set' command to reflect the expected cone in the working
directory.
+When changing the sparse-checkout patterns in cone mode, Git will inspect each
+tracked directory that is not within the sparse-checkout cone to see if it
+contains any untracked files. If all of those files are ignored due to the
+`.gitignore` patterns, then the directory will be deleted. If any of the
+untracked files within that directory is not ignored, then no deletions will
+occur within that directory and a warning message will appear. If these files
+are important, then reset your sparse-checkout definition so they are included,
+use `git add` and `git commit` to store them, then remove any remaining files
+manually to ensure Git can behave optimally.
+
SUBMODULES
----------