Gitparator

Gitparator is a command-line tool for comparing the content and structure of two Git repositories. It helps you identify differences between repositories, including files that are identical, different, or exist only in one of the repositories. Gitparator is particularly useful for validating repository synchronization, checking fork differences, and ensuring content consistency across related repositories.

Features

• File-by-File Comparison: Compares files between two repositories, identifying identical files, differing files, and unique files in each repository.
• Respects .gitignore Rules: Optionally respects .gitignore files to exclude irrelevant files from the comparison.
• Exclude Specific Paths: Allows you to specify files or directories to exclude from the comparison.
• Detailed Diffs: Generates detailed diffs for differing files, which are included in the HTML report.
• HTML Report Generation: Produces a visually appealing HTML report with the comparison results.
• Configurable via CLI and Config File: Supports configuration through both command-line flags and an optional configuration file.
• Compare with Local Repositories: Allows comparing with a target repository located on the local filesystem.
• Compare with Zipped Repositories: Supports comparing with a zipped target repository without extracting it.

Installation

go install github.com/adnsv/gitparator@latest

Usage

gitparator [flags]

Basic Example

Compare the current repository with a target repository:

gitparator --target-url https://github.com/username/target-repo.git --branch main --detailed-diff

Compare with a Local Target Repository

gitparator --target-path /path/to/local/target-repo --detailed-diff

Compare with a Zipped Target Repository

gitparator --target-zip /path/to/target-repo.zip --detailed-diff

Using a Configuration File

Create a configuration file named .gitparator.yaml in the current directory:

version: ">=1.0.0"
target_zip: '/path/to/target-repo.zip'
exclude_paths:
  - 'logs/**'
  - '*.tmp'
respect_gitignore: true
detailed_diff: true

Run Gitparator:

gitparator

Configuration File

Gitparator supports an optional configuration file in YAML format. By default, it looks for a file named .gitparator.yaml in the current working directory. You can specify a different configuration file using the --config flag.Important: The configuration file must include a version field specifying the compatible version(s) of Gitparator using semantic versioning constraints.

Configuration Options

• version (string, required): Specifies the minimum required version of Gitparator needed to run with this configuration.

• target_url (string, optional): URL of the target repository to compare with.

• target_path (string, optional): Path to the target repository on the local filesystem.

• target_zip (string, optional): Path to the zipped target repository.

• branch (string, optional): Branch to compare (ignored if target_path or target_zip is specified).

• temp_dir (string, optional): Temporary directory for cloning the target repository. Defaults to .gitparator_temp (ignored if target_path or target_zip is specified).

• output_file (string, optional): Output report file name. Defaults to report.html.

• exclude_paths (list of strings, optional): Paths or patterns to exclude from the comparison. Supports glob patterns.

• respect_gitignore (bool, optional): Whether to respect .gitignore rules. Defaults to true.

• detailed_diff (bool, optional): Whether to generate detailed diffs for differing files. Defaults to false.

Example Configuration File

# .gitparator.yaml
version: "1.0.0"
target_path: '/path/to/local/target-repo'
# target_url: 'https://github.com/username/target-repo.git' # Ignored when target_path is specified
branch: 'develop'  # Ignored when target_path is specified
temp_dir: '.gitparator_temp'  # Ignored when target_path is specified
output_file: 'comparison_report.html'
exclude_paths:
  - 'logs/**'
  - '*.tmp'
  - 'node_modules/**'
respect_gitignore: true
detailed_diff: true

Notes on Configuration Options

• Only one of target_url, target_path, or target_zip should be specified.

• version : Uses semantic versioning constraints to specify compatible versions of Gitparator. For example, ">=1.0.0".

• exclude_paths : Supports glob patterns. For example, logs/** excludes all files and folders within the logs directory.

• respect_gitignore : When set to true, Gitparator will read the .gitignore file and exclude those paths from the comparison.

• detailed_diff : When enabled, Gitparator will generate diffs for files that differ and include them in the HTML report.

Examples

Compare with a Specific Branch

gitparator --target-url https://github.com/username/target-repo.git --branch develop

Compare with a Specific Tag

gitparator --target-url https://github.com/username/target-repo.git --tag v1.2.3

Exclude Specific Paths

gitparator --exclude-paths 'docs/**' --exclude-paths '*.md'

Generate Detailed Diffs

gitparator --detailed-diff

Specify Output File

gitparator --output-file my_report.html

Use a Custom Configuration File

gitparator --config /path/to/myconfig.yaml

View Application Version

gitparator --version

Flags and Options

• -u, --target-url (string): URL of the target repository.

• -p, --target-path (string): Path to the target repository on the local filesystem.

• -z, --target-zip (string): Path to the zipped target repository.

• -b, --branch (string): Branch to compare (default is main, ignored if --target-path or --target-zip is specified).

• -t, --tag (string): Tag to compare (ignored if --target-path or --target-zip is specified).

• --temp-dir (string): Temporary directory for cloning (default is gitparator_temp, ignored if --target-path or --target-zip is specified).

• -o, --output-file (string): Output report file (default is report.html).

• -e, --exclude-paths (string array): Paths to exclude; supports multiple entries.

• --respect-gitignore (bool): Respect .gitignore rules (default is true).

• -d, --detailed-diff (bool): Generate detailed diffs for differing files (default is false).

• -c, --config (string): Path to configuration file (default is .gitparator.yaml in current directory).

• --version: Display application version.

• -h, --help: Display help information.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.

Additional Notes

Version Compatibility

• Version Field in Configuration: The version field in the configuration file is required and specifies the minimum required version of Gitparator needed to run with this configuration.

• Error Handling: If the application version is lower than the version specified in the configuration file, Gitparator will display an error and exit.

• Example: If config specifies version: "1.0.0", then Gitparator version 1.0.0 or higher is required to run with this configuration.