git paravendor

An external git subcommand that allows one to store git dependencies inside of their git repositories.

The idea here is that instead of vendoring snapshots (lost history) or relying on external repositories, one can carry all these independent git histories inside of their projects.

This helps with workflows in absence of a good internet connection, and ensures that dependencies that are gone are not going to have an immediate disrupting impact on your project.

Workflow

Initialize

git paravendor init

Vendoring

git paravendor add <name> <git repo url>

Syncing dependencies

git paravendor sync [<name>]...

If URL is not provided, it will sync all repostories.

Listing dependencies

git paravendor list

Checking out dependencies

ref=$(git paravendor show-ref <name> <ref/branch/tag name>)
git clone . --no-checkout <dependency> && cd <dependecy>
git checkout $ref