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🔪 Git Surgeon

Because some git operations require surgical precision

Build Status PyPI version Python Versions License Code style: ruff Type Checking: mypy

Git Surgeon is a powerful command-line tool for safely performing complex and potentially destructive operations on git repositories. Think of it as a precise scalpel for your git history! 🔪

✨ Features

  • 🧹 File Purging: Remove sensitive files or patterns from entire git history
  • ✂️ History Truncation: Safely truncate repository history while preserving state
  • 🧰 Repository Cleanup: Remove large files and sensitive data
  • 👥 Author Rewriting: Update author and committer information across history
  • 🔒 Safety First: Automatic backups and dry-run capabilities
  • 🎯 Precise Control: Fine-grained control over operations

🚀 Installation

Git Surgeon requires Python 3.10 or higher and depends on the git-filter-repo tool for some operations. You can install it using either pip or Poetry.

Using pip

For most users, installing via pip is the recommended method:

pip install git-surgeon

Using Poetry (Development)

For developers who want to contribute or modify the code, Poetry provides better dependency management and isolation:

git clone https://github.com/hyperb1iss/git-surgeon
cd git-surgeon
poetry install

🎯 Quick Start

Git Surgeon provides several core operations for managing your repository's history. Here are some common use cases:

# Remove all .env files from history
git-surgeon remove "**/.env" --backup

# Truncate history to keep only recent commits
git-surgeon truncate --keep-recent 100

# Clean up large files
git-surgeon clean --size-threshold 50MB

🔧 Commands

File Operations

Remove Files

The remove command helps you permanently delete files from your repository's history. This is particularly useful for removing sensitive data that was accidentally committed:

# Remove specific files from history
git-surgeon remove "path/to/file" --backup

# Remove using glob patterns
git-surgeon remove "**/*.log" --preserve-recent

# Remove from specific branches
git-surgeon remove "secrets.json" --branches main,develop

History Truncation

The truncate command allows you to manage your repository's history by keeping only the commits you need. This can help reduce repository size and simplify history:

# Keep only recent history
git-surgeon truncate --keep-recent 50

# Truncate before a date
git-surgeon truncate --before "2023-01-01"

# Truncate after a specific commit
git-surgeon truncate --after abc123

Repository Cleanup

The cleanup command helps you maintain a healthy repository by removing large files and cleaning up sensitive data:

# Remove large files
git-surgeon clean --size-threshold 50MB

# Clean sensitive data
git-surgeon clean --sensitive-data

# Cleanup with custom patterns
git-surgeon clean --patterns "**/*.zip,**/*.jar"

Author Rewriting

The author rewriting feature uses git-filter-repo to safely update author and committer information across your repository's history:

# Rewrite a single author
git-surgeon rewrite-authors --old "Old Name <old@email.com>" --new "New Name <new@email.com>"

# Rewrite multiple authors using a mapping file
git-surgeon rewrite-authors --mapping-file authors.json

# Update both author and committer information
git-surgeon rewrite-authors --mapping-file authors.json --update-committer

# Example authors.json format:
[
  {
    "old": "Old Name <old@email.com>",
    "new": "New Name <new@email.com>"
  },
  {
    "old": "Another Old <another@old.com>",
    "new": "Another New <another@new.com>"
  }
]

🛡️ Safety Features

Git Surgeon prioritizes the safety of your repository by implementing several protective measures:

Automatic Backups

Before performing any destructive operation, Git Surgeon automatically creates a timestamped backup of your repository:

# Operations create timestamped backups
my_repo_backup_20240125_120130/

Dry Run Mode

All operations support a dry-run mode that shows you exactly what would happen without making any changes:

# See what would be removed
git-surgeon remove "*.log" --dry-run

# Preview truncation impact
git-surgeon truncate --before 2023-01-01 --dry-run

State Validation

Before performing any operation, Git Surgeon performs comprehensive safety checks:

  • Verifies repository state
  • Checks for uncommitted changes
  • Validates branch states
  • Ensures backup creation
  • Validates the integrity of the git repository
  • Detects detached HEAD state
  • Checks for untracked files

🎯 Use Cases

Removing Sensitive Data

When sensitive data like API keys or credentials accidentally make it into your repository, Git Surgeon can help remove them completely:

# Remove all .env files
git-surgeon remove "**/.env"

# Clean up API keys and tokens
git-surgeon clean --sensitive-data

Repository Maintenance

Keep your repository clean and efficient by removing unnecessary files and optimizing history:

# Remove old logs and temp files
git-surgeon remove "**/*.log,**/*.tmp"

# Clean up large build artifacts
git-surgeon clean --size-threshold 100MB

History Management

Manage your repository's history to keep it focused and relevant:

# Keep only recent history
git-surgeon truncate --keep-recent 100

# Remove history before specific date
git-surgeon truncate --before "2023-01-01"

🔧 Configuration

Git Surgeon can be configured through command-line options or configuration files:

Command Line Options

# General options
--backup           Create backup before operation
--dry-run         Show what would be done
--force           Skip confirmation prompts

# Pattern options
--preserve-recent  Keep files in most recent commit
--branches        Specify branches to process

🤝 Contributing

Yes please! Contributions are welcome:

  1. Fork the repository
  2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature)
  3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature')
  4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature)
  5. Open a Pull Request

Development Setup

The project uses Poetry for dependency management and includes several development tools:

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/hyperb1iss/git-surgeon
cd git-surgeon

# Install dependencies
poetry install

# Run tests
poetry run pytest

# Run type checking
poetry run mypy git_surgeon

# Run linting
poetry run ruff check git_surgeon

📄 License

This project is licensed under the GNU General Public License 2.0 - see the LICENSE file for details.

Created by Stefanie Jane 🌠

If you find ChromaCat useful, buy me a Monster Ultra Violet! ⚡️