GitLite

🗂️ Overview

A minimal Git-like version control system for learning purposes.

This project is designed to help understand the core internal mechanics of version control systems like Git — how files are tracked, staged, committed, branched, and merged.
It is built step by step, focusing on clarity and conceptual learning rather than performance or completeness.

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🧩 Project structure

project/
│
├── mygit.py             # Main Python script implementing all commands
├── docs/                # Step-by-step explanations of each feature
├── README.md            # Project documentation (this file)
└── .mygit/              # Hidden folder automatically created by init()
    ├── objects/         # Stores file contents (blobs) and commits
    ├── refs/            # Contains branch references (e.g. master, dev)
    └── HEAD             # Points to the current branch or commit

🚀 Getting started

1. Clone or download this repository.
2. Open a terminal in the project folder.
3. Run the initialization command:

python mygit.py

By default, it will:

• Initialize a new .mygit/ repository
• Create and stage example files
• Perform a first commit
• Create a new branch (dev)
• Switch branches
• Display repository status and commit history.

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🧠 Core Concepts

GitLite mimics Git’s main internal components:

Concept	Description
Blob	A file snapshot stored as a hashed object in .mygit/objects/.
Index	The staging area, containing file hashes ready to be committed.
Commit	A snapshot of the project at a given moment, storing a tree, parent, timestamp, and message.
Branch	A movable pointer to a specific commit (e.g. refs/master).
HEAD	Reference to the current branch or commit.
Fast-forward merge	A simple merge where the target branch moves its pointer forward to the latest commit.

⚙️ Implemented Commands

Command	Description
init()	Initializes a new repository structure.
add()	Stages files by hashing and saving them as blob objects.
commit()	Creates a new commit object and updates the current branch.
log()	Prints the commit history (from latest to oldest).
branch()	Creates new branches.
checkout()	Switches between branches.
status()	Shows staged and modified files.
merge()	Performs a fast-forward merge when possible.

🧪 Example Flow

# Initialize a new repo
init()

# Add and commit files
add("file1.txt")
add("file2.txt")
commit(["file1.txt", "file2.txt"], "Initial commit")

# Create and switch to a new branch
create_branch("dev")
checkout("dev")

# Modify files, stage, and commit again
add("file1.txt")
commit(["file1.txt"], "Update file1 on dev branch")

# Merge dev into master
checkout("master")
merge("dev")

# View commit history and status
log()
status()

🧭 Next Steps

GitLite currently supports the core workflow of Git (init → add → commit → branch → merge).
Planned or possible extensions include:

• 🧱 Non–fast-forward merge (handling divergent histories)
• ⏪ Reset / Revert (undo commits)
• 💾 Stash (temporary storage for uncommitted changes)
• 🏷️ Tag (marking important commits)
• 🌐 Remote / Push / Pull (multi-repository synchronization)
• 🔍 Diff (compare file states)

👤 Author

Developed by Rino Di Paola
Created as an educational project to explore how Git works under the hood.