git-skel

git-skel is a git subcommand to apply skeleton repository continuously.

Description

Skeleton repository is a project templete including trivial directories, scripts, configs, and so on. (You can find many skeleton repositories by searching skeleton in GitHub.)

Usually skeleton repository is used at the initial phase of project by cloning the repository. If the skeleton repository is updated after the project is grown, the way to apply the update is carefully file copy or git cherry-pick. Both of them are not easy.

git-skel provides the easy way to apply the update.

Platform

Linux/macOS/Windows

Installation

Download binary

Download from release page, and extract to the directory in PATH.

Cargo

You can install by cargo.

cargo install git-skel

Demo

Usage

Init

Initially you can setup to apply a skeleton repository in any git repository like below:

$ git skel init [URL]

git skel init command clones [URL] to a temporary directory and copies all files to the current repository. The command puts .gitskel.toml to the current repository to record the path and revision of the skeleton repository. You can check the added files by git status and commit if there is no problem.

Update

If the skeleton repository is updated, you can apply the update like below:

$ git skel update

git skel update command clones the skeleton repository saved in .gitskel.toml to a temporary directory and copies all files to the current repository. If there are deleted files between the latest revision and the saved revision in .gitskel.toml, the files will be deleted. If the files which will be changed by the command are modified and not committed, the command will be aborted.

$ git skel update
Detect changes
  !copy  : aaa
Error: aborted bacause some files are not committed ( marked by ! )
       If you will ignore it, use `--force` option.

You can ignore this check by git skel update --force.

Branch / Tag

git skel branch command change the branch to track and update.

$ git skel branch [BRANCK NAME]

git skel tag command change the tag to track and update.

$ git skel tag [TAG NAME]

--force option can be used as the same as update.

Clean

git skel clean command delete .gitskel.toml and all files which copied from the skeleton repository.

$ git skel clean

--force option can be used as the same as update.

.gitskelignore

You can put .gitskelignore to repository root. This has the same syntax as .gitignore. Any file matched with .gitskelignore is ignored by the command.

.gitskelignore can be used at both skeleton repository and project repository. For example, README.md should be added to .gitskelignore of a skeleton repository because README.md shoud not be copied to a project repository. If there are the files modified by project-specific reason, the files should be added to .gitskelignore of a project repository.