git-rsync

Extends git with ability of handling large files.

Syntax:

git rsync init [<storage>]
git rsync push [<dir>]
git rsync pull [<dir>]

What differs git-rsync from other solutions is that large files are not bundled to the commits, but rather to the tags, or user-defined names. Large files are stored under original names, which makes it easy to restore them manually if such need arises. git-rsynch is distributed as compliled executable, which significantly reduces number of dependencies. Finally git-rsync can be used right away, without any configuration. At the same time, tool is configurable to reflect everyone's needs.

Installation

Pre-compiled versions of the application can be found here.

Linux

1. git-rsync executable should be copied to one of the directories listed in system PATH variable. Typically it should go to /usr/bin directory.
2. rsync command must be available in the system.

Windows

1. git-rsync executable should be copied to <git-installation>\usr\bin directory.
2. rsync command must be available. It's location should be added to system PATH variable. git-rsync has been tested with cwRsync which is a suggested solution.

Building

Requirements

git-rsync has been developed in Nimrod programming language. For compiling executable, corresponding compiler needs to be installed in version 0.15.0 or compatible.

Beside the standard library, following libraries should be also installed:

• strfmt~0.8.4
• docopt~0.6.4

nimble package manager can be used to accomplish this task.

Toolchain used in this porject is based on Python 3. Following packages are required:

• path.py~8.1.2
• miscutils~0.20
• doit~0.29.0
• pytest~3.0.5

Toolchain

Following commands are available in the top directory of the project:

doit build  # builds executable and stores it in /bin directory
doit test   # runs unit tests
doit clean  # removes all files and directories not tracked by git

Documentation

Separate documents contain Tutorial and User's Manual and Reference respectively. Check doc directory.

Disclaimer

This software has been created for personal use of the author. It has never been extensively tested. One should use it only on his own responsibility.

Alternatives

There are multiple tools that add support of large files to git:

• lfs - Introduced by GitHub. Requires dedicated server to be running. The only one which is available for free at the time of writing (lfs-test-server) is not intended to be used in production.
• fat - Replaces large files in the repository with small files which contain references to the original ones. Original files are stored in a dedicated directory. Each file is identified by a hash code.
• media - Similar to git-far. Supports automatic synchronization and more protocols.
• annex - Uses symlinks (indirect mode) or hash codes (direct mode) to substitute large files.

Donations

It is absolutely fine if you use this software for free for commercial or non-commercial purposes. On the other hand, if you would like to repay author's efforts you are welcome to use following button: