OXYGENHUB
# e8e6e0cac26a oxygen / docs / guide.md
29.5 KiB · Markdown · last changed pull: bring a working copy that fell behind up to its bookmark 26 days ago renderedsource blame history raw
ee06a6c5 Andy McCall ↶ 1
# Oxygen user guide
2
3
This guide is organised by task. It assumes the `oxy` binary is on your
4
path (`cargo build --release` puts it in `target/release/`). The design
5
behind every command is in [spec.md]spec.md; this guide only tells you
6
what to type and what to expect.
7
8
Oxygen tracks *changes* rather than snapshots: a change is the set of
9
edits you made, it commutes with unrelated changes, and conflicts are
10
recorded in history instead of blocking you. Two ideas recur below:
11
12
- A **bookmark** (default `main`) names a *state*: the set of changes it
13
  contains. A state can have several **heads** when independent changes
14
  have not been related to each other; that is normal, not a problem.
15
- The **working copy** is itself a change that Oxygen rewrites every time
16
  it looks at your files. `oxy commit` turns it into a real change.
17
18
Output uses colour and glyphs on a terminal; pipe it, pass `--plain`, or set
19
`NO_COLOR` for plain ASCII.
20
21
## 1. Set yourself up
22
23
```
24
oxy identity create --name "Ada Lovelace" --email [email protected]
25
oxy config --user core.sign change
26
```
27
28
`identity create` generates a composite Ed25519 + ML-DSA-65 key pair, keeps
29
the secret in `~/.config/oxy/keys/`, and records you as the default author
30
in `~/.config/oxy/config.toml`. With `core.sign = change` every commit is
31
signed; without it, changes are sealed in batches when you push (also
32
authenticated, just later). Use `--local` to record the identity in one
33
repository only.
34
35
`oxy identity show` prints the key, its expiry, delegates, and whether the
36
secret is available. `oxy identity export` writes the public identity to a
37
file to hand to whoever manages a trust policy (section 8).
38
39
## 2. Start a repository
40
41
```
42
mkdir project && cd project
43
oxy init
44
oxy status
45
```
46
9ac1fbe2 Andy McCall ↶ 47
`oxy init` creates `.oxy/`. Add `.oxyignore` (gitignore syntax, per
48
directory, negations with `!`) for files that should never be tracked;
49
`/target` and `*.tmp` are typical entries. As in Git, ignore rules only
50
affect untracked files: a file already in history stays tracked until you
d4dbab97 Andy McCall ↶ 51
delete it. A project's `.gitignore` files are honoured too, so moving a Git
52
project to Oxygen does not commit its build output; `.oxyignore` comes
53
first, and a `!` rule there brings back what `.gitignore` leaves out.
ee06a6c5 Andy McCall ↶ 54
55
To take over an existing Git project, see section 12.
56
57
## 3. Everyday work
58
59
```
60
oxy status                 # what changed since the last commit
61
oxy diff                   # the edits, file by file
62
oxy commit -m "Add retry loop"
63
oxy log                    # newest first; -n 10, -v for full messages
47ce8b8e Andy McCall ↶ 64
oxy log -r 'main.. & touches("src/**")'   # a revset (docs/revset_query_language.md)
ee06a6c5 Andy McCall ↶ 65
oxy show 658990aa          # one change by ChangeId prefix, #hash prefix, or @
66
```
67
2bf22305 Andy McCall ↶ 68
`oxy log` draws the history as a graph, newest first, two lines per change:
69
70
```
71
◉  2f8518c0 Andy McCall just now
33472ccc Andy McCall ↶ 72
│  (working copy)
2bf22305 Andy McCall ↶ 73
●  1b5888b1 Andy McCall 2 minutes ago main #cc23b999 ✔ signed
74
│  Edit b
75
│ ●  d6f52eca Andy McCall 3 minutes ago main #ec6a7dc4 ✔ signed
76
├─╯  Edit a
77
○  c0593116 Andy McCall 5 minutes ago #eeac7940 ✔ signed
78
   Both files
79
```
80
81
The bright start of each ID is the shortest prefix that names it. `●` marks
82
a head, `◉` the working copy. Bookmarks and tags show beside their heads,
83
unless they have more than three. A lane follows the change each one most
84
directly builds on, its newest dependency. Two edits that build on the same
85
change take two lanes, which join above it, so independent work shows side
86
by side. `~` means the change builds on something further down than the
87
graph draws, or not shown; `-v` lists every dependency.
88
957fee30 Andy McCall ↶ 89
Commit part of what changed with `oxy commit PATH.. -m "..."` (only those
90
paths; the rest stays as uncommitted work) or `oxy commit -i -m "..."`, which
91
offers each hunk in turn like `git add -p`; a hunk that another chosen hunk
92
needs, such as the directory a new file lives in, comes along by itself.
93
50a046e4 Andy McCall ↶ 94
`status --json` prints the same for tools, with every conflict's kind, path and
95
contributing ChangeIds. On a terminal, `status` lists each path with a mark: `✚ added`, `✎ modified`, `✖ removed`,
ee06a6c5 Andy McCall ↶ 96
`➜ renamed`, `⚙ mode`. Renames are detected: a removed file and an added
97
file of the same kind whose contents are at least half alike are recorded
98
as a move of the same file, so identity survives a rename.
99
100
Files containing NUL bytes are stored whole ("opaque"); text files are
101
stored line by line and merge line by line. `.oxyattributes` overrides the
102
guess (section 14).
103
104
Every change has two names: a **ChangeId** (`658990aa…`) that survives
105
rewrites, and a content hash (`#7469d16c…`) that changes when the change is
106
edited. Use whichever you have; prefixes work.
107
fbda43e7 Andy McCall ↶ 108
## 3a. Bookmarks: branches without merges
109
110
A bookmark names a state; each workspace works on one (`main` to begin
111
with). Because changes commute, "merging" is the union of two bookmarks'
112
heads, with no merge change and any real conflict recorded as in section 6.
113
114
```
115
oxy bookmark create feature        # at the working copy's base
116
oxy bookmark switch feature        # check it out; commits now go here
117
oxy commit -m "Feature work"
118
oxy bookmark switch main
119
oxy merge feature                  # main now holds both; working copy follows if clean
120
oxy bookmark list                  # ● current, heads, ↑n/↓n against origin
bf3a6781 Andy McCall ↶ 121
oxy bookmark show feature          # each head, newest first (list -v: every bookmark's)
fbda43e7 Andy McCall ↶ 122
oxy push -b feature                # publish a bookmark other than the current one
123
oxy bookmark set feature 658990aa  # move it; oxy bookmark delete feature to drop it
124
```
125
126
`oxy checkout feature` materialises a bookmark without switching to it, and
127
a bookmark name works wherever a change is expected when it has one head.
bf3a6781 Andy McCall ↶ 128
In a revset it means the bookmark's heads (`oxy log -r feature`);
129
`bookmark(feature)` means only the bookmark, never a tag or change prefix.
fbda43e7 Andy McCall ↶ 130
Each workspace remembers its own bookmark, so two directories can sit on
131
two bookmarks of one repository.
132
4fe7d604 Andy McCall ↶ 133
**A state is its heads, not a history.** If you are coming from Git, this
134
is the one thing to know. A bookmark holds its heads and what they depend
135
on, and a change depends only on the changes it builds on (the files it
136
touched), not on everything recorded before it. So on a bookmark with
137
several heads, a new bookmark at one change can be a much older-looking
138
tree. `oxy bookmark create NAME CHANGE` refuses when that would leave out
139
earlier work and lists what it would lack. Then pick one:
140
141
```
142
oxy bookmark create logo 745307b4 --upto  # everything here up to that change, as a Git branch would be
143
oxy bookmark create logo 745307b4 --only  # just that change and what it depends on
144
oxy bookmark create logo                  # the whole current state, usually what you want
145
```
146
06d16dc2 Andy McCall ↶ 147
`oxy bookmark set NAME CHANGE` asks the same when the move would lose
148
changes the bookmark holds that were recorded before CHANGE, and takes
149
`--upto` and `--only` too. After merging a proposal's target into its
150
bookmark to resolve conflicts, `oxy bookmark set NAME CHANGE --upto`
151
keeps everything the bookmark held.
152
4fe7d604 Andy McCall ↶ 153
`oxy bookmark switch` says when the bookmark you switch to lacks changes
154
that the one you left has.
155
14edbaaf Andy McCall ↶ 156
**A remote's bookmarks.** A clone fetches every change, checks out the
157
remote's default bookmark, and names the others `origin/NAME`: use them
158
anywhere a bookmark is expected (`oxy log origin/develop`,
159
`oxy diff main origin/develop`). `oxy bookmark list --all` shows them.
160
`oxy bookmark switch develop` makes a local `develop` from `origin/develop`
161
when there is none, and `oxy pull` then keeps every local bookmark up to
162
date with the remote's of the same name, not only the current one. Pulling
72484195 Andy McCall ↶ 163
is a union, so this never loses work. A local bookmark that is only behind
164
its remote (`-3` in `bookmark list`) is caught up when you switch to it.
14edbaaf Andy McCall ↶ 165
166
```
167
oxy clone https://oxygenhub.io/owner/game --recursive   # subrepos too
168
oxy bookmark list --all
169
oxy bookmark switch develop        # from origin/develop
170
oxy pull                           # updates develop, main and the rest
171
```
172
314db9b4 Andy McCall ↶ 173
### A develop / feature flow
174
175
Names with `/` work everywhere, pushing included:
176
177
```
178
oxy bookmark create feature/42-login          # at the working copy's base
179
oxy bookmark switch feature/42-login --carry  # started already? take the edits along
180
oxy commit -F msg.txt                         # a long message from a file
181
oxy push -b feature/42-login
182
oxy bookmark switch develop
183
oxy merge feature/42-login                    # the working copy follows when it was clean
184
oxy push                                      # develop, with the feature in it
185
oxy bookmark delete feature/42-login          # oxy push --delete feature/42-login on the remote
186
```
187
188
`bookmark switch` stops when the working copy has uncommitted edits, so
189
nothing is lost by accident. There are two ways past it:
190
- `--carry` takes the edits along. It is refused only when the target
191
  bookmark has other versions of the files they touch.
192
- `--discard` drops the edits.
193
194
`oxy describe` names what the working copy holds, for build stamps:
195
- a tag, when a tag holds exactly this state;
196
- otherwise the nearest tag with the distance from it and the change;
197
- or, with no tag behind it, the bookmark and the change;
198
- with `-dirty` added when there are uncommitted edits.
199
ee06a6c5 Andy McCall ↶ 200
## 4. Fix up history
201
202
Oxygen keeps its own record of every operation, so all of these are safe to
203
try and to undo.
204
205
```
206
oxy describe -m "Better message"        # reword the head the working copy sits on
207
oxy describe 658990aa -m "..."          # reword any change; dependents are rewritten
208
oxy amend                               # fold the working copy into the head
209
oxy amend --into 658990aa               # fold it into an older change
210
oxy split 658990aa src/parser.rs        # split a head: those paths become a separate first change
211
oxy abandon 658990aa                    # drop a change; its content stays on disk
728da0f9 Andy McCall ↶ 212
oxy squash 658990aa --into 9df9ac29     # fold a change into one it depends on
213
oxy rebase 658990aa --onto feature      # re-express a change against another base
e266b7d4 Andy McCall ↶ 214
oxy rebase 658990aa --onto develop --into-working-copy   # conflicted? resolve it here, then commit
ee06a6c5 Andy McCall ↶ 215
oxy undo                                # undo the last operation, whatever it was
98a1620a Andy McCall ↶ 216
oxy op log                              # every operation, what it changed, and its command
ee06a6c5 Andy McCall ↶ 217
```
218
98a1620a Andy McCall ↶ 219
### The operation log
220
221
Every command that changes the repository records an operation: the
222
bookmarks, tags and working copy as they were after it. `oxy op log` lists
223
them newest first, each with what it changed and the command that did it;
224
working-copy snapshots fold into one row.
225
226
```
227
@  13adb0d0b8bf just now
228
│  main: 1 → 2 heads; working copy now 91ab4d50
229
│  oxy commit -m "Third"
230
○  fa21727d70da just now
231
│  created bookmark test (1 head)
232
│  oxy bookmark create test
233
○  2d15930afdef … 830168a3ddcd just now
234
│  2 working-copy snapshots
235
```
236
237
Any operation can be looked at, gone back to, or undone alone:
238
239
```
240
oxy --at-op fa21727d log                # the log as it was after that operation; any read-only command works
241
oxy op restore fa21727d                 # bookmarks and working copy as they were then
242
oxy op revert fa21727d                  # undo just that operation, keeping everything after it
243
oxy undo                                # takes back the last command, a restore included
244
```
245
246
`op restore` and `op revert` are operations themselves, so `oxy undo` takes
247
them back. `op revert` puts back each bookmark the operation moved, unless
248
it has moved again since. Tags and the trust policy never go backwards.
249
`undo` brings the files back as well when nothing uncommitted would be
250
lost; an undone commit's edits stay on disk as uncommitted work.
251
252
Commands that move the working copy end by saying where it is:
253
254
```
255
* Committed 95245a21 #35bbf5097e0c  Third
256
  Working copy  91ab4d50
257
  Bookmark      main: 2 heads, newest 95245a21 Third
258
```
259
ee06a6c5 Andy McCall ↶ 260
Rewriting a change that others depend on rewrites them too, keeping their
728da0f9 Andy McCall ↶ 261
ChangeIds. Because unrelated changes already coexist, `rebase` is rarely
262
needed; its job is to change what a change is said to build on, for instance
263
to drop a dependency on something you are about to abandon. Where a dependent referred to a line that no longer exists, the
ee06a6c5 Andy McCall ↶ 264
reference is re-anchored to the nearest surviving line and `oxy abandon`
265
prints a note about it.
266
957fee30 Andy McCall ↶ 267
## 4a. Who wrote this, and what broke it
268
269
```
270
oxy blame src/parser.rs          # every line: the change that introduced it, author, age
271
oxy blame src/parser.rs --json
272
```
273
274
Blame is exact: each line is an atom that remembers the change that
275
introduced it, so renames cost nothing and there is no heuristic.
276
277
```
278
oxy bisect start
279
oxy bisect good v1.2             # a change, bookmark or tag known to be fine
280
oxy bisect bad main              # and one known to be broken
281
oxy bisect run make test         # exit 0 good, 125 skip, anything else bad
282
oxy bisect reset                 # back to where you were
283
```
284
285
Without `run`, each step checks out a state to test and you answer with
286
`oxy bisect good`, `bad`, or `skip`. The candidates are the changes the bad
287
state has that the good one lacks, ordered so every tested state is
288
well-formed; the answer is the first change whose inclusion breaks things.
289
ee06a6c5 Andy McCall ↶ 290
## 5. Move around
291
292
```
293
oxy checkout                    # the bookmark's heads
294
oxy checkout 658990aa           # the state of one change and its dependencies
295
oxy checkout v1.2               # a tag
296
oxy checkout --discard ...      # throw away uncommitted work first
297
```
298
299
Checking out a single older change gives you the files that change and its
300
dependencies touch, not a full snapshot from that date: in Oxygen a change
301
depends only on what it actually builds on.
302
303
## 6. Conflicts
304
305
A conflict never stops a commit, fetch, or pull. It is recorded in the
306
state and shown by `oxy status`, which exits with status 2 while any
307
conflict remains. Conflicted text files are written with markers:
308
309
```
310
<<<<<<< oxy conflict 1 of 2, side 1: change k7m2p9 "Add retry loop"
311
... lines ...
312
======= oxy conflict 1 of 2, side 2: change q3x8w1 "Refactor client"
313
... lines ...
314
>>>>>>> oxy conflict 1 of 2 end
315
```
316
317
Edit the file to what it should be (keep one side, both, or neither) and
318
remove the markers. Tree conflicts, such as two files wanting the same
319
name, appear as `<name>.oxy-conflict-<n>` candidates: keep the one you
320
want under the right name and delete the rest.
321
322
```
323
oxy resolve      # which conflicts your edits resolve, which still have markers
324
oxy commit -m "Resolve retry vs refactor"
325
```
326
327
The commit is recorded as a *resolution*, a change that depends on every
328
side of the conflict; anyone who fetches it gets the conflict resolved.
329
330
## 7. Work with others
331
332
Run a server (any machine with the repositories under one directory):
333
334
```
335
oxy serve --root /srv/oxy --bind 0.0.0.0:8890 --token SECRET \
336
          --tls-cert cert.pem --tls-key key.pem
337
```
338
339
Without `--tls-*` the server speaks plain HTTP; keep that on a loopback
340
address or behind a TLS terminator. `--token` makes pushes require a bearer
341
token; reads stay open.
342
343
On your machine:
344
345
```
ff1f62fe Andy McCall ↶ 346
echo SECRET | oxy auth login https://host:8890 --with-token --ca my-ca.pem
ee06a6c5 Andy McCall ↶ 347
oxy clone https://host:8890/project
348
cd project
349
oxy push
350
oxy pull
351
```
352
ff1f62fe Andy McCall ↶ 353
`--ca` is only for a server with a self-signed certificate. On a hub such as
354
OxygenHub, `oxy auth login https://oxygenhub.io` signs in through the
355
browser instead: it shows a code to approve on the hub, and the hub issues a
356
token that lasts 90 days past its last use.
357
358
### Signing in
359
360
`oxy auth login HUB` keeps one token per hub (scheme, host and port) in
361
`~/.config/oxy/credentials.toml`, readable by you only, and every repository
362
on that hub uses it: clone, fetch, push and subrepos alike. Nothing secret is
363
written into a checkout. `oxy auth status` lists the hubs you are signed in
364
to and checks each token with its hub; `oxy auth logout HUB` forgets the token
365
and revokes it on the hub.
366
367
To keep tokens in the system keyring instead, name a Git credential helper:
368
`oxy config --user auth.helper libsecret` (Linux), `osxkeychain` (macOS) or
369
`manager` (Windows). The file then keeps only the account and CA.
370
371
A token is found in this order: the remote's own `remote.<name>.token`, then
372
`$OXY_TOKEN` (for CI), then the store, then a remote on the same hub in an
373
enclosing checkout (so a subrepo uses its parent's). oxy sends a token over
374
`https` only, or over plain `http` to this machine; it is never sent to
375
another host after a redirect, and a credentials file that others can read
376
is ignored.
377
ee06a6c5 Andy McCall ↶ 378
- `oxy fetch` updates `origin/main` without touching your bookmark.
14edbaaf Andy McCall ↶ 379
- `oxy pull` fetches, then makes your bookmark, and every other local
380
  bookmark the remote also has, the union of both sides.
ee06a6c5 Andy McCall ↶ 381
  There is no merge commit; unrelated changes simply coexist, and a real
72484195 Andy McCall ↶ 382
  conflict is recorded as in section 6. The working copy follows, taking
383
  uncommitted work along when the pulled changes leave its files alone;
f6dccc45 Andy McCall ↶ 384
  otherwise it stays and `oxy checkout` updates it. A working copy that had
385
  fallen behind its bookmark catches up on the next pull too, and `oxy
386
  status` says when it is behind.
ee06a6c5 Andy McCall ↶ 387
- `oxy push` sends your changes and moves the remote bookmark. If the remote
388
  moved since you last fetched, the push is refused: pull and push again.
389
  `--force` overrides the compare-and-swap.
390
- `oxy remote add|remove|list` manages remotes; the clone source is `origin`.
42ccf504 Andy McCall ↶ 391
  Commands that take a remote use `origin`, or the only remote there is; with
392
  several and none named `origin`, name one or set `oxy config core.remote
393
  NAME`. `bookmark list` compares each bookmark with a remote that has it,
394
  and names the remote when there is more than one.
ee06a6c5 Andy McCall ↶ 395
396
A repository can also be cloned from a local path, which is handy for tests
397
and for a bare "hub" on a shared disk.
398
399
## 8. Decide who may publish: the trust policy
400
401
Without a policy a repository is *unverified*: everything is accepted and
402
every remote command says so. A policy names root keys and the keys allowed
403
to update each bookmark; servers and clients enforce it.
404
405
```
406
oxy policy init                    # your key becomes the only root; push publishes it
407
oxy policy show
408
oxy policy grant alice.identity    # alice.identity came from her `oxy identity export`
409
oxy policy grant ci.identity --pattern 'release/*'
410
oxy policy revoke 9458b656         # by KeyId prefix
411
oxy verify                         # signature status of every change in the log
412
```
413
414
Several people can hold root keys:
415
416
```
417
oxy policy root add bob.identity
418
oxy policy root threshold 2        # future updates need two root signatures
419
```
420
421
Once the threshold is above one, an update you make alone becomes a
422
*proposal file* (`policy-<serial>.proposal`, or `--out`). Send it to another
423
root holder, who runs `oxy policy sign policy-7.proposal`; whoever completes
424
the threshold applies it, and the next push publishes it. Everyone else
425
picks it up on fetch, verifying each step from the policy they already
426
trust.
427
428
## 9. Keys over time
429
430
```
431
oxy identity rotate                   # fresh key pair; old signatures stay valid
432
oxy identity renew --expires 365      # same keys, new expiry in days (0 = never)
7ba155f2 Andy McCall ↶ 433
oxy identity delegate add agent.identity --expires 8h       # sign changes for me today
434
oxy identity delegate add ci.identity --scope changes,refs  # sign and push for me
ee06a6c5 Andy McCall ↶ 435
oxy identity delegate remove 3f2a…
7ba155f2 Andy McCall ↶ 436
oxy identity revoke 3f2a… --reason "agent host compromised" # a key you delegated to
445ce913 Andy McCall ↶ 437
```
438
439
Setting an agent up takes a home of its own, so it never holds your
440
secret key. In the agent's shell, inside any checkout:
441
442
```
443
export OXY_HOME=~/.oxy-agents/claude
444
oxy identity create --name "Claude Code on my laptop" --email [email protected]
445
#   prints the agent's KeyId; its identity file is keys/<KeyId>.identity in that home
446
oxy config --user author.name  "Your Name"      # the agent authors as you…
447
oxy config --user author.email "[email protected]"
448
oxy config --user author.key    <YOUR KeyId>
449
oxy config --user author.signer <THE AGENT's KeyId>   # …and signs as itself
450
oxy config --user core.sign     change
451
```
452
453
Then, in your own shell, in the repository: `oxy identity delegate add
454
~/.oxy-agents/claude/keys/<KeyId>.identity --scope changes --expires 8h`
614f55e1 Andy McCall ↶ 455
(several files at once are one rotation). This rotates your identity:
456
the new key is written to your user config, and to this repository's
457
file too if it pinned the old one, so other checkouts follow; put the
458
new KeyId in each agent's `author.key`, and re-link it on your hub.
459
`oxy identity show` warns if a repository still pins an older key
460
(`oxy config --unset author.key` there). Every commit the agent makes
445ce913 Andy McCall ↶ 461
carries you as author and its signature: `oxy log -r 'delegated()'`
462
lists them, `oxy verify` names the agent, and its own `oxy push` is
463
refused under any policy, so you land its work.
464
465
```
ee06a6c5 Andy McCall ↶ 466
oxy identity revoke                   # retire your own key
467
oxy identity revoke 3f2a… --reason "laptop stolen"   # any key, if you hold a root
468
```
469
470
Rotation, renewal, and delegation all issue a successor identity that names
471
the previous one. If a policy names your key, it is updated to the successor
472
in the same step (as a proposal when more root signatures are needed).
473
Changes signed before the rotation remain authorised; a revoked key
474
authorises nothing. `oxy verify` shows signatures by revoked keys as valid
475
but revoked.
476
477
## 10. Tags and workspaces
478
479
```
480
oxy tag create v1.2 -m "First release"   # the current heads; or name changes
481
oxy tag list
482
oxy workspace add ../project-hotfix      # a second checkout sharing the repository
483
oxy workspace list
484
oxy workspace forget ../project-hotfix
485
```
486
487
A tag is an immutable state, signed when you have a key, and travels with
488
push and fetch. Workspaces have their own working copy and bookmark
489
(`workspace.bookmark`) but share objects and history.
490
fc1a466a Andy McCall ↶ 491
### Receipts from CI
492
493
A runner such as OxygenFlow signs a receipt for every job it runs: what ran,
494
in what environment, on which files, and the result. Receipts are kept with
495
the state they ran on.
496
497
```
498
oxy receipt list                         # receipts for the bookmark's state
499
oxy receipt show 3f2a9c                  # one in full, with its signature checked
500
oxy receipt export 3f2a9c build.receipt  # hand it to someone
501
oxy receipt verify build.receipt         # check one without keeping it
502
oxy receipt import build.receipt         # verify and keep it
503
```
504
ee06a6c5 Andy McCall ↶ 505
## 11. Big repositories: partial, sparse, shallow
506
507
```
508
oxy clone URL --max-blob 1M          # files above 1 MiB are fetched on first read
509
oxy clone URL --sparse src --sparse docs   # materialise only these subtrees
510
oxy clone URL --depth 50             # only the last 50 levels of history
511
oxy sparse src docs tests            # change the filter later
512
oxy deepen 100                       # fetch more history below the boundary
513
```
514
515
Lazy blobs and sparse trees do not affect commits: what you do not have is
516
left exactly as it was. A shallow clone starts from a *checkpoint* of the
517
state, so status and commit work at full speed from the first minute.
518
4dee277c Andy McCall ↶ 519
## 11a. Nested repositories (submodules)
520
521
A subrepo is another repository checked out at a path and pinned to a state,
522
Oxygen or Git. The pin is versioned like a file, so two people pinning
523
different states get an ordinary conflict.
524
525
```
526
oxy submodule add https://host/lib.git libs/lib     # Git or Oxygen URL; records .oxymodules
527
oxy commit -m "Add lib"                              # the pin is committed with the parent
528
oxy submodule status                                 # pin vs what is on disk
529
oxy submodule update --init                          # after a clone: fetch nested repositories
530
oxy submodule remove libs/lib                        # drop the node; the directory stays
531
```
532
533
Committing the parent records whatever the nested repository is at, and
534
checking out an older parent state moves the nested repository back, unless
535
it has uncommitted changes, which are never overwritten. An absent nested
7993d465 Andy McCall ↶ 536
repository keeps its pin until you run `update --init`. A `.oxymodules`
537
section written by hand has no pin until `oxy submodule add` clones it;
538
`status` and `update` name such entries, and `update` exits non-zero. Git
539
submodules survive `oxy git import` as Git pins and go back out as gitlinks
540
on export.
4dee277c Andy McCall ↶ 541
ee06a6c5 Andy McCall ↶ 542
## 12. Git interoperability
543
544
```
545
oxy git import ../project.git ./project-oxy --branch main   # convert a Git history
546
oxy git fetch https://github.com/you/project.git            # bring new Git commits in
547
oxy git push  https://github.com/you/project.git            # publish your changes to Git
548
oxy git export ../mirror.git                                # a plain Git mirror of the bookmark
549
```
550
551
Import turns each commit into one change (merge commits become
552
resolutions), keeps authors and hashes as `Git-Author`/`Git-Commit`
553
trailers, detects renames, and skips submodules. `git fetch`/`git push` keep
554
a bare mirror under `.oxy/git/`; a push is refused until the remote's tip
555
has been fetched, so it always fast-forwards. Exported commits carry
556
`Change-Id` and `Oxy-Hash` trailers.
557
558
## 13. Automate: hooks
559
560
Executables in `.oxy/hooks/<event>` (never cloned) receive one JSON object
561
on stdin. `pre-commit`, `pre-push` and other `pre-*` hooks veto by exiting
562
non-zero, and their stderr becomes the error message. Events:
563
`pre-commit`, `post-commit`, `pre-push`, `post-fetch`, `post-checkout`, and
564
`semantic-deps`, which runs at commit when `hooks.semantic-deps = true` and
565
answers `{"deps": ["<hash>", …]}` to make the change depend on more than it
566
textually references.
567
568
## 14. Per-path attributes, ignores, locks
569
570
`.oxyattributes` uses gitattributes syntax:
571
572
```
573
*.png     binary
574
*.txt     text eol=lf
575
*.psd     lockable nocompress
576
```
577
578
`binary`/`text` override content sniffing, `eol=lf|crlf` normalises line
579
endings in the store and on checkout, `nocompress` stores chunks raw, and
580
`lockable` files are checked out read-only until you take the local lock:
581
582
```
583
oxy lock assets/logo.psd
584
oxy unlock assets/logo.psd
585
```
586
587
Locks are advisory and local; server-side locks are planned.
588
589
## 15. Configuration
590
591
Two files, both `key = "value"` lines: `~/.config/oxy/config.toml`
592
(`oxy config --user KEY VALUE`) and `.oxy/config` (`oxy config KEY VALUE`).
d443639b Andy McCall ↶ 593
The repository file wins. `OXY_HOME` relocates the user directory. `OXY_TIMINGS=1` prints how long each phase of a snapshot takes (loading the base state, rendering it, reading the working copy, building the change) to standard error, for finding out where a slow command spends its time. Built with `cargo build --release --features alloc-stats`, oxy also reports each phase's live and peak memory and what it allocated, and a summary at the end.
ee06a6c5 Andy McCall ↶ 594
595
| Key | Meaning |
596
|---|---|
597
| `author.name`, `author.email`, `author.key` | who you are; `key` is set by `identity create` |
ff1a64f8 Andy McCall ↶ 598
| `author.signer` | the key that signs instead of `author.key`: an agent's own key, which your identity lists as a delegate (also `$OXY_SIGNER`) |
ee06a6c5 Andy McCall ↶ 599
| `core.sign` | `change` to sign every commit; otherwise seals at push |
600
| `core.op-retention` | days for which old operations keep their states alive (90) |
601
| `core.gc-grace` | days an unreachable object survives (14) |
602
| `core.checkpoint-interval` | changes between automatic checkpoints (256) |
603
| `filter.max-blob`, `filter.paths` | lazy blobs and sparse subtrees (section 11) |
604
| `hooks.semantic-deps` | run the semantic-deps hook at commit |
605
| `workspace.bookmark` | this workspace's bookmark (`main`) |
ff1f62fe Andy McCall ↶ 606
| `remote.<name>.url`, `.token`, `.ca` | remotes; token and CA fall back to `OXY_TOKEN` and `OXY_CA`, then `oxy auth login`'s store |
607
| `auth.helper` (user file) | a Git credential helper to keep `oxy auth` tokens in, such as `libsecret` |
ee06a6c5 Andy McCall ↶ 608
609
## 16. Shell prompt
610
611
`oxy prompt` prints `main 658990aa*+2` (bookmark, working copy, `*` dirty,
612
`!` conflicted, ahead/behind origin) in a few milliseconds and records
613
nothing. See [prompt.md]prompt.md for bash, oh-my-bash, zsh, and fish
614
snippets and the `--format` placeholders.
615
616
## 17. Housekeeping
617
618
```
da652d63 Andy McCall ↶ 619
oxy gc              # prune unreachable objects past the grace period, repack into one pack
ee06a6c5 Andy McCall ↶ 620
oxy gc --now        # ignore the grace period (only when nothing else is writing)
387335ff Andy McCall ↶ 621
oxy fsck            # check every object, the op log, references, signatures, checkpoints
3e5772cc Andy McCall ↶ 622
oxy doctor          # check identity, config and remotes, with what to do about each problem
ee06a6c5 Andy McCall ↶ 623
oxy checkpoint      # serialise the bookmark's state so large histories load instantly
624
```
625
626
Both run automatically: packing when loose objects pile up, checkpoints
627
every `core.checkpoint-interval` changes.
628
c6aa5bd9 Andy McCall ↶ 629
## 17a. Scripting and editors
630
631
Every reporting command takes `--json` (`status`, `log --path`, `show`,
632
`diff`, `hunks`, `blame`, `resolve`, `op log`, `bookmark list`, `remote list`,
633
`fetch`, `pull`, `push`, `submodule status`, `bisect status`, `verify`,
634
`policy show`, `root`, `version`). `oxy cat PATH -r CHANGE` prints a file as
635
it was, `oxy discard PATH..` restores files to the base, and `oxy hunks`
636
numbers the working copy's hunks for `commit --hunks` and `discard --hunks`.
637
ee06a6c5 Andy McCall ↶ 638
## 18. If something looks wrong
639
640
- **"the remote has change … which you do not; pull first"**: someone
641
  pushed since your last fetch. `oxy pull`, then push.
642
- **"policy needs N root signature(s)"** on fetch: the server's policy was
643
  updated in a way your copy cannot verify. Ask a root holder whether the
644
  chain of updates was published; a fresh clone trusts the current policy.
645
- **`oxy status` exits 2**: conflicts remain; see section 6.
646
- **Many heads on `main`**: independent changes that do not reference one
647
  another. Nothing to fix; the state is their union.
648
- **Undo anything**: `oxy undo` reverts the last operation, including
649
  pulls, checkouts, and rewrites.
d42369ab Andy McCall 650
651
## Shell completions and man pages
652
653
```sh
654
oxy completions bash > ~/.local/share/bash-completion/completions/oxy   # bash
655
oxy completions zsh > "${fpath[1]}/_oxy"                                 # zsh
656
oxy completions fish > ~/.config/fish/completions/oxy.fish               # fish
657
oxy man --dir ~/.local/share/man/man1                                    # then: man oxy-commit
658
```
659
660
The oh-my-bash plugin in `contrib/oh-my-bash` loads the bash completions itself.