GoGitty: A Git-Like Version Control System in Go

Article - Write yourself a git

GoGitty is a simplified, Git-inspired version control system built from scratch in Go. This project serves as a learning tool to understand Git internals by re-implementing essential Git commands. By using the Cobra CLI framework, GoGitty provides a command-line interface that mimics the basic functionality of Git, such as initializing repositories, adding and committing changes, and viewing logs.

Table of Contents

• Features
• Installation
• Usage
• Folder Structure
• Commands
• Contributing

Features

GoGitty currently will supports the following Git-inspired commands:

• init: Initialize a new repository
• add: Stage files to be committed
• commit: Commit staged changes to the repository
• log: View commit history
• checkout: Switch branches or restore working tree files
• tag: Tag commits with meaningful names
• status: Show the working directory and staging area status
• ...and more!

Installation

Prerequisites

• Go 1.16 or higher
• Cobra CLI for generating CLI commands

Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/gogitty.git
cd gogitty

Install Dependencies

Make sure Cobra CLI is installed for command generation, if you plan on adding new commands:

go install github.com/spf13/cobra-cli@latest

Build the Project

Compile the project into an executable:

go build -o gogitty main.go

This creates a gogitty executable in your project directory.

Usage

Initialize a GoGitty repository in any directory by running:

./gogitty init

From here, you can stage files, commit changes, view the log, and explore other commands.

./gogitty add <file>
./gogitty commit -m "Commit message"
./gogitty log

Folder Structure

Here's a breakdown of the project structure for easy navigation and contribution:

gogitty/
├── cmd/                # CLI command definitions
│   ├── root.go         # Root command
│   ├── add.go          # 'add' command implementation
│   ├── init.go         # 'init' command implementation
│   └── ...             # Other command files
├── internal/           # Internal packages for core functionality
│   ├── core/           # Core Git logic (repo, objects, etc.)
│   ├── storage/        # Storage and encoding/decoding logic
│   ├── refs/           # References (branches, tags) management
│   └── common/         # Shared utilities and constants
├── pkg/                # Exported packages, like custom logger (optional)
├── scripts/            # Setup and test scripts
├── main.go             # Entry point of the application
└── README.md           # Project documentation

Commands

Init

./gogitty init

Initializes a new GoGitty repository in the current directory.

Add

./gogitty add <file>

Stages a file for the next commit. The file is added to the staging area.

Commit

./gogitty commit -m "Commit message"

Commits staged files to the repository with a commit message.

Log

./gogitty log

Displays the commit history of the repository.

Other Commands

• cat-file: Shows the content of an object by its hash.
• status: Shows the status of files in the repository.
• tag: Tags a specific commit with a label.

Refer to individual command help for more options:

./gogitty <command> --help