In-Depth Series

Introduction to Git

SparkleShare - klaatu | 2018-08-02

Clacke mentioned SparkleShare in episode 2542, and it occurred to me that not everyone knows what Sparkleshare is. So here's a show about it.

To setup SparkleShare, refer to SparkleShare.org. It's available for Linux, Windows, and Mac; great for cross-platform collaboration.

The Linux installer uses FlatPak, so you do need to install that.

Once installed, launch SparkleShare in the usual way. If you have no usual way, you can use this command:

$ flatpak run org.sparkleshare.SparkleShare

The first screen asks for your name and email. This doesn't have to be your real name and email, but it is what SparkleShare will use when making commits on your behalf. This name and email will be visible to anyone who can see your online Git repository.

The next screen displays the Sync Remote Project screen. You use this screen any time you want to add another share to your sparkle.

In this episode, I set up two projects: one brand new one using my home server as host, and one that mirrors an existing project on Gitlab.com.

Adding a project from Gitlab

The first thing you must do is give SparkleShare permission to access Gitlab. To do this, click on the SparkleShare icon in your system tray > SparkleShare > Client ID and copy your ID to your clipboard.

Now go to your online Git host and add this "Client ID" to your approved SSH Keys. Where this is located depends on your Git host, but in Gitlab, it's located in the left column of the Settings screen. When your SSH Key has been added, Gitlab displays a key fingerprint (actually just a string of numbers) as confirmation.

The path to your remote Git repository is the part of an URL after the host. It usually starts with your username. For example, if I have a project on Gitlab located at gitlab.com/notklaatu/foo.git then the path that SparkleShare needs is notklaatu/foo.git

Click the Add button to add the project to your local SparkleShare folder.

Adding a project hosted on your own server

There are a lot more variables if you're hosting a Git repository on your own server. These are the things that you may need to account for:

• Is your local .ssh/config file setting some "invisible" defaults for when you SSH to your server? If so, you may need to modify or add an entry for SparkleShare.

• Your SparkleShare auto-generated "Client ID" is located in $HOME/.config/org.sparkleshare.SparkleShare/ssh

• Is your SparkleShare SSH key (the "Client ID" in SparkleShare lingo) in your authorized_hosts file?

• Does a Git repository exist on your remote server in the location you think it exists?

Using SparkleShare

Use SparkleShare exactly as you would DropBox or the NextCloud Desktop Client: drag-and-drop a file to add it, drag it to the Trash to delete it. All SparkleShare folders sync'd with any given project syncs automatically through the magickalfulness of Git hooks.

Get ahead with git HEAD - klaatu | 2018-05-16

This episode is light on actual commands, and mostly a narrative analysis of what git HEAD is and why it matters to you.

Some commands you can try:

$ cat ~/path/to/git/repo/.git/HEAD

and

$ ls ~/path/to/git/repo/.git/refs
$ cat ~/path/to/git/repo/.git/refs/master

Intro to git branch - klaatu | 2018-03-26

These are all the commands covered in this episode. This is not a sequence, it's just all the commands in the episode, listed one after another.

Get changes from the remote repo:

$ git fetch

See all branches:

$ git branch --all

View a remote branch after you have fetched it:

$ git checkout origin/dev

Create a copy of a fetched remote branch in your local repo:

$ git checkout dev

Merge changes from remote origin/master into your local master branch:

$ git merge master origin/master

Fetch and merge automatically:

$ git pull

Create a new branch, and change to it:

$ git checkout -b dev

Merge dev into master:

$ git checkout master
$ git merge master dev

Merge master into dev

$ git checkout dev
$ git merge dev master

Delete the dev branch:

$ git branch -d dev

Intro to git remote - klaatu | 2018-03-20

Instantiate a git repo:

$ mkdir alice
$ cd !$
$ git init

Add a remote:

$ git remote add origin URI_OF_REMOTE

Change a remote:

$ git remote set-url origin NEW_URI

A remote can be a server, it can be a local directory, an NFS share, pretty much whatever you want.

It is a Git convention that the primary remote is called origin. You don't have to call it that, but it's pretty common.

Intro to Git with pen and paper - klaatu | 2018-03-08

git add

git commit -m "some useful message"

git push origin HEAD