NAME¶

git-debrebase - tool to maintain series of Debian changes to upstream source

SYNOPSYS¶

 git-debrebase [<options...>] [-- <git-rebase options...>]
 git-debrebase [<options...>] <operation> [<operation options...>

QUICK REFERENCE¶

These are most of the commands you will regularly need:

 git debrebase -i                           # edit the patch queue
 git debrebase conclude && git push         # push to eg salsa
 git debrebase conclude && dgit push-source # source-only upload
 git debrebase new-upstream 1.2.3-1 [-i]    # uses tag, eg "v1.2.3"
 dpkg-buildpackage -uc -b                   # get test debs, at any time

To add patches, or edit the packaging, just make git commits. Ignore anything that may appear in debian/patches. Avoid using "git pull" and "git merge" without "--ff-only".

When sharing branches, you should usually share a fast-forwarding branch (ie, use "git-debrebase conclude" (or "prepush") before pushing.

git-debrebase has a special branch format, so see "CONVERTING AN EXISTING PACKAGE" in dgit-maint-debrebase(7).

GUIDE TO DOCUMENTATION¶

This is the command line reference. There is also a detailed workflow tutorial at dgit-maint-debrebase(7) (on which the above "QUICK REFERENCE" is based). For background, theory of operation, and definitions see git-debrebase(5).

You should read this manpage in conjunction with "TERMINOLOGY" in git-debrebase(5), which defines many important terms used here.

PRINCIPAL OPERATIONS¶

git-debrebase [-- <git-rebase options...>]

git-debrebase [-i <further git-rebase options...>]

Unstitches and launders the branch. (See "UNSTITCHING AND LAUNDERING" below.)

Then, if any git-rebase options were supplied, edits the Debian delta queue, using git-rebase, by running

    git rebase <git-rebase options> <breakwater-tip>
    

Do not pass a base branch argument: git-debrebase will supply that. Do not use --onto, or --fork-point. Useful git-rebase options include -i and --autosquash.

If git-rebase stops for any reason, you may git-rebase --abort, --continue, or --skip, as usual. If you abort the git-rebase, the branch will still have been laundered, but everything in the rebase will be undone.

The options for git-rebase must either start with "-i", or be prececded by "--", to distinguish them from options for git-debrebase.

It is hazardous to use plain git-rebase on a git-debrebase branch, because git-rebase has a tendency to start the rebase too far back in history, and then drop important commits. See "ILLEGAL OPERATIONS" in git-debrebase(5)

git-debrebase status

Analyses the current branch, both in terms of its contents, and the refs which are relevant to git-debrebase, and prints a human-readable summary.

Please do not attempt to parse the output; it may be reformatted or reorganised in the future. Instead, use one of the "UNDERLYING AND SUPPLEMENTARY OPERATIONS" described below.

git-debrebase conclude

Finishes a git-debrebase session, tidying up the branch and making it fast forward again.

Specifically: if the branch is unstitched, launders and restitches it, making a new pseudomerge. Otherwise, it is an error, unless --noop-ok.

git-debrebase quick

Unconditionally launders and restitches the branch, consuming any ffq-prev and making a new pseudomerge.

If the branch is already laundered and stitched, does nothing.

git-debrebase prepush [--prose=<for commit message>]

If the branch is unstitched, stitches it, consuming ffq-prev.

This is a good command to run before pushing to a git server. You should consider using conclude instead, because that launders the branch too.

git-debrebase stitch [--prose=<for commit message>]

Stitches the branch, consuming ffq-prev.

If there is no ffq-prev, it is an error, unless --noop-ok.

You should consider using prepush or conclude instead.

git-debrebase scrap

Throws away all the work since the branch was last stitched. This is done by resetting you to ffq-prev and discarding all working tree changes.

If you are in the middle of a git-rebase, will abort that too.

git-debrebase new-upstream <new-version> [<upstream-details>...] [--|-i <git-rebase options...>]

Rebases the delta queue onto a new upstream version. In detail:

Firstly, checks that the proposed rebase seems to make sense: It is a snag unless the new upstream(s) are fast forward from the previous upstream(s) as found in the current breakwater anchor. And, in the case of a multi-piece upstream (a multi-component upstream, in dpkg-source terminology), if the pieces are not in the same order, with the same names.

If all seems well, unstitches and launders the branch.

Then, generates (in a private working area) a new anchor merge commit, on top of the breakwater tip, and on top of that a commit to update the version number in debian/changelog.

Finally, starts a git-rebase of the delta queue onto these new commits.

That git-rebase may complete successfully, or it may require your assistance, just like a normal git-rebase.

If you git-rebase --abort, the whole new upstream operation is aborted, except for the laundering.

<new-version> may be a whole new Debian version, including revision, or just the upstream part, in which case -1 will be appended to make the new Debian version.

The <upstream-details> are, optionally, in order:

git-debrebase make-patches [--quiet-would-amend]

Generate patches in debian/patches/ representing the changes made to upstream files.

It is not normally necessary to run this command explicitly. When uploading to Debian, dgit and git-debrebase will cooperate to regenerate patches as necessary. When working with pure git remotes, the patches are not needed.

Normally git-debrebase make-patches will require a laundered branch. (A laundered branch does not contain any patches.) But if there are already some patches made by git-debrebase make-patches, and all that has happened is that more changes to upstream files have been committed, running it again can add the missing patches.

If the patches implied by the current branch are not a simple superset of those already in debian/patches, make-patches will fail with exit status 7, and an error message. (The message can be suppressed with --quiet-would-amend.) If the problem is simply that the existing patches were not made by git-debrebase, using dgit quilt-fixup instead should succeed.

git-debrebase convert-from-unapplied [<upstream-commit-ish>]

git-debrebase convert-from-gbp [<upstream-commit-ish>]

Converts any of the following into a git-debrebase interchange branch:

UNDERLYING AND SUPPLEMENTARY OPERATIONS¶

git-debrebase breakwater

Prints the breakwater tip commitid. If your HEAD branch is not fully laundered, prints the tip of the so-far-laundered breakwater.

git-debrebase anchor

Prints the breakwater anchor commitid.

git-debrebase analyse

Walks the history of the current branch, most recent commit first, back until the most recent anchor, printing the commit object id, and commit type and info (ie the semantics in the git-debrebase model) for each commit.

git-debrebase record-ffq-prev

Establishes the current branch's ffq-prev, as discussed in "UNSTITCHING AND LAUNDERING", but does not launder the branch or move HEAD.

It is an error if the ffq-prev could not be recorded. It is also an error if an ffq-prev has already been recorded, unless --noop-ok.

git-debrebase convert-to-gbp

Converts a laundered branch into a gbp patches-unapplied branch containing quilt patches. The result is not fast forward from the interchange branch, and any ffq-prev is deleted.

This is provided mostly for the test suite and for unusual situations. It should only be used with care and with a proper understanding of the underlying theory.

Be sure to not accidentally treat the result as a git-debrebase branch, or you will drop all the patches!

git-debrebase convert-from-dgit-view [<convert-options>] [upstream]

Converts any dgit-compatible git branch corresponding to a (possibly hypothetical) 3.0 quilt dsc source package into a git-debrebase-compatible branch.

This operation should not be used if the branch is already in git-debrebase form. Normally git-debrebase will refuse to continue in this case (or silently do nothing if the global --noop-ok option is used).

Some representation of the original upstream source code will be needed. If upstream is supplied, that must be a suitable upstream commit. By default, git-debrebase will look first for git tags (as for new-upstream), and then for orig tarballs which it will ask dgit to process.

The upstream source must be exactly right and all the patches in debian/patches must be up to date. Applying the patches from debian/patches to the upstream source must result in exactly your HEAD.

The output is laundered and stitched. The resulting history is not particularly pretty, especially if orig tarball(s) were imported to produce a synthetic upstream commit.

The available convert-options are as follows. (These must come after convert-from-dgit-view.)

git-debrebase forget-was-ever-debrebase

Deletes the ffq-prev and debrebase-last refs associated with this branch, that git-debrebase and dgit use to determine whether this branch is managed by git-debrebase, and what previous head may need to be stitched back in.

This can be useful if you were just playing with git-debrebase, and have used git-reset --hard to go back to a commit before your experiments.

Do not use this if you expect to run git-debrebase on the branch again.

OPTIONS¶

This section documents the general options to git-debrebase (ie, the ones which immediately follow git-debrebase or git debrebase on the command line). Individual operations may have their own options which are docuented under each operation.

-f<snag-id>

Turns snag(s) with id <snag-id> into warnings.

Some troublesome things which git-debrebase encounters are snags. (The specific instances are discussed in the text for the relevant operation.)

When a snag is detected, a message is printed to stderr containing the snag id (in the form "-f<snag-id>"), along with some prose.

If snags are detected, git-debrebase does not continue, unless the relevant -f<snag-id> is specified, or --force is specified.

--force

Turns all snags into warnings. See the -f<snag-id> option.

Do not invoke git-debrebase --force in scripts and aliases; instead, specify the particular -f<snag-id> for expected snags.

--noop-ok

Suppresses the error in some situations where git-debrebase does nothing, because there is nothing to do.

The specific instances are discussed in the text for the relvant operation.

--anchor=<commit-ish>

Treats <commit-ish> as an anchor. This overrides the usual logic which automatically classifies commits as anchors, pseudomerges, delta queue commits, etc.

It also disables some coherency checks which depend on metadata extracted from its commit message, so it is a snag ("-fanchor-treated") if <commit-ish> is the anchor for the previous upstream version in git-debrebase new-upstream operations. You have to check yourself that the new upstream is fast forward from the old one, and has the right components (as if applicable).

--dgit=<program>

Run <program>, instead of dgit from PATH, when invocation of dgit is necessary. This is provided mostly for the benefit of the test suite.

-D

Requests (more) debugging. May be repeated.

--experimental-merge-resolution

Enable experimental code for handling general merges (see "General merges" in git-debrebase(5)).

If using this option succeeds, the output is likely to be correct, although it would be a good idea to check that it seems sane.

If it fails, your tree should be left where it was.

However, there may be lossage of various kinds, including misleading error messages, and references to nonexistent documentation. On merge failure, it might invite you to delve into an incomprehensible pile of multidimensional merge wreckage, which is supposed to be left in special refs invented for the purpose (so, not your working tree, or HEAD).

UNSTITCHING AND LAUNDERING¶

Several operations unstitch and launder the branch first. In detail this means:

SEE ALSO¶

git-debrebase(1), dgit-maint-debrebase(7), dgit(1), gitglossary(7)