git patch patch

git-patch-patch is an attempt a making a not-too-bright not-too-stupid script to review Git commit history.

Using it, you could, for instance, have the ground matter to make a real git-mv with history.

Ruby 1.9.2 is required.

It is packaged as a gem, so :

Install it with rubygems:

gem install git-patch-patch

With bundler, add it to your Gemfile:

gem "git-patch-patch"

ruby bin/git-patch-patch --repo /home/me/my_repo \
     --pattern pattern_to_replace --replacement replacement \
     --patch_dir '/tmp' --branch master --patch_patch --dont_ask

I hope most of the options will be crystal clear without explanation. Yet :

• patch dir is temp' directory where work files (patches) will be stored
• patch_patch asks the script to perform replacement not only on filenames
• dont_ask enters interactive mode only in case of a Git error

It works on a dedicated branch with a barbaric name, trying the script should be completely harmful, if not useful.

The script relies on two classes, a controller that manages some sort of workflow, and a model attempting to represent the patch shrewdly.

I am not going to document this any further though.

If you have the kind of need falling in the scope of the script, you should be, by far, able to modify the script, and understand what the underlying lib's are doing.

Well, here's what the script does :

• creates a specific work branch
• iterates over all the commits of the designated branch
• apply pattern replacement on patch file
  • only on filenames (default and pretty safe, and conflict-proof)
  • on patch content if asked
• apply patch to working directory reusing the commit information (date, author, message), hence creating a new sha
• let's you review the patch if not only on filenames (patch edition through vim)
• let's you review the patch if an error on patch application occurred

In the end, you have a whole new set of commits, keeping track of the project history, integrating the changes you want to see in your file tree or file contents.

So, if all that's of any help to you, yeah, use it.

It's safe, because it's Git (rollback should be easy), and because it's operating on its own branch (revert being then a childlike git branch -D work_branch). And there's a ludicrous amount of spec's to ensure the script does what it says it does.

• use cherry-pick instead of making a new commit when no modification was made
• checkout -b new_branch to a specific commit to reduce the amount of reviewed commits
• add path delimiter to review history only on a subset of the repo' file, again to reduce the amount of reviewed commits
• have an idea when i'll do all the above-mentionned

I was tempted by the WTFPL, but i have to take time to read it. So far see LICENSE.