Microsoft/vscode

Git - Support for gitdir

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#77,215 opened on Jul 11, 2019

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 (19 comments) (33 reactions) (1 assignee)TypeScript (74,848 stars) (10,221 forks)batch import
feature-requestgithelp wanted

Description

I use two git repositories within project folder - one is .git and second is .git_dev. First is for project and second is to track my local config files. I used to work with second via alias git dev which stands for git --git-dir=.git_dev, but for now I explore ways to list changes within both repos in git sideview.

What I did:

  1. I create folder aside the main project folder(consider it project) and call it project_dev
  2. Initialize new repo in new folder with git init --separate-git-dir ../project/.git_dev. It creates file project_dev/.git with related line.
  3. Then create new file within project_dev folder and open it in Code. Now I'm able to view changes for both repos, but one called project_dev tracks the project_dev folder, not the project
  4. So my next step is to add setting worktree=/path/to/project in .git_dev/cofig. Now git sideview perfectly represents current changes for project_dev aside to main project.

And here I run into two issues:

  1. if I try to click on changed file in project_dev section of sideview, an error occurs with message: Unable to open 'filename (Working Tree)': Unable to read file (Error: File not found (/path/to/project_dev/filename)). like it doen't respect setting worktree at all.
  2. If I reload Code, even if I open file from project_dev folder, second repo is not shown. If I remove worktree setting, project_dev repo is shown again and I have to add worktree setting again to get changes properly.

Example repo: https://github.com/deitry/vscode-two-git-repos-issues

So, on the one hand I consider current behaviour as buggy. On the other hand, I make a request to add option to pass as many --git-dirs as I want by making it a list:

"git.gitdirs: [ ".git", ".git_dev"]

Contributor guide

Tech stack
typescript
Domain
developer experience
Issue type
feature
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-2 days
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
stale
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
mostly clear
Prerequisites
Understanding of Git internalsVS Code extension APITypeScriptSource Control API
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
20
Research direction
Explore the VS Code Git extension source code (extensions/git) to understand how it currently handles a single git directory. Investigate the source control view model and how it registers repositories. The feature request asks for a setting like 'git.gitdirs' to support multiple git directories. Look for existing handling of gitdir options in the extension's configuration and propose a minimal implementation that respects the 'worktree' config. Consider reviewing the sample repository provided to reproduce the issue.