Git in the Engee file browser
The file browser supports working with remote and local repositories using Git. The Engee file browser uses two approaches to create a repository:
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Initialise a local repository - create your own local repository in the current directory (folder).
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Clone a remote repository - create a copy of an existing remote repository and work with it as a local repository.
Repository initialisation
| To send changes from an initialised local repository to a remote repository, a link to a specific remote repository is required. Read more at Remote repository. |
Initialisation is the process of creating a new local repository in the current directory.
Create an empty folder in the file browser and navigate to it. Initialise Git by clicking the Init button:
After your repository is initialised locally, the Git file browser’s Git management menu will appear, where you should add a link to the remote repository:
If the remote repository is accessible and the address is entered correctly, a green tick mark will appear next to the link:
You can now work with the Git commands implemented in the file browser (Implemented commands).
| Remote repository - a repository that you plan to make local changes to from the file browser. For example, your own remote repository from GitLab Engee. Read more about creating it at here. |
Repository cloning
| To send changes from a cloned local repository to a remote repository, a link to the specific remote repository is required. Read more at Remote repository. |
Cloning is the process of downloading a public (remote) repository from a hosted repository to the current directory. You can clone the Engee public repository and its associated projects, as well as any other repositories to which you have access.
To clone a remote repository, click the Clone button:
This will open a window to insert the address of the remote repository:
If the remote repository is accessible and the address is entered correctly, the link will be displayed with a green tick mark:
After cloning, you can work with the project as you would with any local repository. All Git commands implemented in the file browser (Implemented commands).
Files from the remote repository will be added to the file browser automatically, e.g. a previously created project with a README file:
Regardless of the method you choose to create a local repository:
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The current directory (folder) will become a Git repository and will support the basic Git commands implemented in the file browser.
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If the Git column is hidden, click on the dot sign in the upper right corner of the file browser, select hide/show from the context menu and click on Git. In the Git column, you can add a file or folder to the index with Add for further work in Git, or remove it from the index with Remove.
Implemented commands
The following Git commands are implemented in the file browser using buttons:
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init- initialises an empty repository in the current directory (folder). -
clone- clones an existing remote repository into the current directory (folder). -
add- adds the specified file to the tracking. If it is a folder, it adds all files of the local repository to the index. Theadd allcommand is also available to add all files to the index. -
remove- removes the specified file from tracking. -
commit- saves the changes to the working directory of the local repository. The command fixes the project state at a certain point in time and saves the history of changes. -
fetch- used to download changes from a remote or local repository to your local repository. -
restore and pull- used to update your local copy of the repository to the latest version. This allows you to have an up-to-date copy of your code and avoid conflicts when merging changes. -
pull- retrieves and loads content from a remote repository into your local repository and updates it with that content.
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push- transfers changes made in the local repository to the remote repository.