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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Repository initialisation (Init) - create your own local repository in the current directory (folder).
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Cloning a repository (Clone) - 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 Engee directory.
Create an empty folder in the file browser and navigate to it. Initialise Git by clicking the Init button:
| A remote repository is a repository that you plan to make local changes to from a file browser. For example, your own remote repository from GitLab Engee. Read more about creating it at here. |
Once the local repository is initialised, the Git file browser’s Git management menu will open, where you need to specify a link to the remote repository to which changes will be sent:
If the local repository is not associated with the remote repository, the Status line will display the message: Your branch is not associated with any upstream branch.
After specifying a link to the remote repository and if the connection is successful (if the address is correct and access is granted), a green tick icon will be displayed next to the line:
You can now work with the Git commands implemented in the file browser (see para. Implemented commands).
Cloning a repository
| 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 and paste the address of the remote repository:
Once the remote repository has been cloned, the Git file browser’s Git management menu will open (the same window as during initialisation, Init). The availability of the remote repository will also be marked with a green tick:
Once cloned, you can work with the project as you would with any local repository. All Git commands implemented in the file browser (Implemented commands).
Regardless of the method you choose to create a local repository:
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The files of the remote repository will be automatically added to the file browser, such as a previously created project with a README file:
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The current directory (folder) will become a Git repository and will support 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.
Tracking changes to a remote repository
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If the local repository in Engee does not contain the latest changes from the remote repository, the Status line will show how many updates (commits[1]) are missing. For example: Your branch is behind 'origin/master' by 3 commit(s), and can be fast-forwarded. This means there are new changes to the remote repository. |
For the status to be updated automatically, the Auto Fetch Remote Changes option must be enabled (by default). It is located next to the remote repository setting:
You can also manually click Fetch to check for changes.
To download the latest changes to the file browser, use the Restore and pull command:
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 in 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. -
push- propagates changes made in the local repository to the remote repository.