=head1 GIT CONFIGURATION
-git-debrebase does not yet support using B<git merge> to merge
+git-debrebase(1) does not yet support using B<git merge> to merge
divergent branches of development (see "OTHER MERGES" in
git-debrebase(5)). You should configure git such that B<git pull>
does not try to merge:
Note that each time you conclude a debrebase you introduce a
pseudomerge into your git history, which may make it harder to read.
Try to do all of the editing of the delta queue that you think will be
-needed for this upload in a single debrebase, so that there is a
-single debrebase stitch.
+needed for this editing session in a single debrebase, so that there
+is a single debrebase stitch.
=head1 BUILDING AND UPLOADING
=head1 HANDLING DFSG-NON-FREE MATERIAL
-This covers only DFSG-non-free material. Material which is legally
-dangerous (for example, files which are actually illegal) cannot be
-handled this way.
+=head2 Illegal material
+
+Here we explain how to handle material that is merely DFSG-non-free.
+Material which is legally dangerous (for example, files which are
+actually illegal) cannot be handled this way.
If you encounter possibly-legally-dangerous material in the upstream
source code you should seek advice. It is often best not to make a
email your archive administrators. For Debian that is
To: dgit-owner@debian.org, ftpmaster@ftp-master.debian.org
-=head2 When upstream tags releases in git
+=head2 DFSG-non-free: When upstream tags releases in git
+
+Our approach is to maintain a DFSG-clean upstream branch, and create
+tags on this branch for each release that we want to import. We then
+import those tags per "Importing the release", above.
-We create a DFSG-clean tag to import to master:
+For the first upstream release that requires DFSG filtering:
=over 4
- % git checkout -b pre-dfsg 1.2.3
+ % git checkout -b upstream-dfsg 1.2.3
% git rm evil.bin
% git commit -m "upstream version 1.2.3 DFSG-cleaned"
% git tag -s 1.2.3+dfsg
% git checkout master
- % git branch -D pre-dfsg
+ % # proceed with "Importing the release"
=back
-=head2 When upstream releases only tarballs
+And for subsequent releases (whether or not they require filtering):
+
+=over 4
+
+ % git checkout upstream-dfsg
+ % git merge 1.2.4
+ % git rm further-evil.bin # if needed
+ % git commit -m "upstream version 1.2.4 DFSG-cleaned" # if needed
+ % git tag -s 1.2.4+dfsg
+ % git checkout master
+ % # proceed with "Importing the release"
+
+=back
+
+Our upstream-dfsg branch cannot be pushed to B<dgit-repos>, but since
+we will need it whenever we import a new upstream version, we must
+push it somewhere. Assuming that you have already set up an origin
+remote per the above,
+
+=over 4
+
+ % git push --follow-tags -u origin master upstream-dfsg
+
+=back
+
+=head2 DFSG-non-free: When upstream releases only tarballs
The easiest way to handle this is to add a B<Files-Excluded> field to
I<debian/copyright>, and a B<uversionmangle> setting in
divergent branches of development, you have a number of options. Here
we describe the two simplest.
+Note that you should not try to resolve the divergent branches by
+editing files in I<debian/patches>. Changes there would either cause
+trouble, or be overwritten by git-debrebase(1).
+
=head2 Rebasing your work onto the NMU
=over 4
probably want to debrebase before your next upload to tidy those up.
For example, the NMUer might have used git-revert(1) to unapply one of
-your patches. A debrebase will strip both the patch and the reversion
-from the delta queue.
+your patches. A debrebase can be used to strip both the patch and the
+reversion from the delta queue.
=head2 Manually applying the debdiff
Above we noted that each time you conclude a debrebase, you introduce
a pseudomerge into your git history, which may make it harder to read.
-A convention you can use to minimise the number of pseudomerges is to
-debrebase only right before you upload.
+A simple convention you can use to minimise the number of pseudomerges
+is to B<git debrebase conclude> only right before you upload or push
+to B<salsa.debian.org>.
+
+It is possible, though much less convenient, to reduce the number of
+pseudomerges yet further. We debrebase only (i) when importing a new
+release, and (ii) right before uploading. Instead of editing the
+existing delta queue, you append fixup commits (and reversions of
+commits) that alter the upstream source to the required state. You
+can push and pull to and from B<salsa.debian.org> during this. Just
+before uploading, you debrebase, once, to tidy everything up.
+
+=head2 The debian/patches directory
+
+In this workflow, I<debian/patches> is purely an output of
+git-debrebase(1). You should not make changes there. They will
+either cause trouble, or be ignored and overwritten by
+git-debrebase(1).
-Before that point, instead of editing the existing delta queue, you
-append fixup commits (and reversions of commits) that alter the
-upstream source to the required state. You can freely push and pull
-from B<salsa.debian.org> during this. Just before uploading, you
-debrebase, once, to tidy everything up.
+I<debian/patches> will often be out-of-date because git-debrebase(1)
+will only regenerate it when it needs to. So you should not rely on
+the information in that directory. When preparing patches to forward
+upstream, you should use git-format-patch(1) on git commits, rather
+than sending files from I<debian/patches>.
=head2 Upstream branches
-Except in the case where upstream releases only tarballs, we do not
-maintain a separate 'upstream' branch (unless you also happen to be
-involved in upstream development). We work with upstream tags rather
-than any branches, except temporary branches used to prepare patches
-for forwarding upstream, for example.
+Except in the case where upstream releases only tarballs, or we
+require DFSG filtering, we do not maintain a separate 'upstream'
+branch (unless you also happen to be involved in upstream
+development). We work with upstream tags rather than any branches
+(except temporary branches used to prepare patches for forwarding
+upstream, for example).
-The thought behind this is that from Debian's point of view, upstream
-releases are immutable points in history, better represented by tags.
+The idea here is that from Debian's point of view, upstream releases
+are immutable points in history, and so better represented by tags.
=head2 The first ever dgit push
~ianmdlvl / dgit.git / blobdiff