## GitPython

GitPython is a python library used to interact with git repositories, high-level like git-porcelain, or low-level like git-plumbing.

It provides abstractions of git objects for easy access of repository data, and additionally allows you to access the git repository more directly using either a pure python implementation, or the faster, but more resource intensive git command implementation.

The object database implementation is optimized for handling large quantities of objects and large datasets, which is achieved by using low-level structures and data streaming.


### REQUIREMENTS

GitPython needs the `git` executable to be installed on the system and available in your `PATH` for most operations. If it is not in your `PATH`, you can help GitPython find it by setting the `GIT_PYTHON_GIT_EXECUTABLE=<path/to/git>` environment variable.

* Git (1.7.x or newer)
* Python 2.7 to 3.5, while python 2.6 is supported on a *best-effort basis*.

The list of dependencies are listed in `./requirements.txt` and `./test-requirements.txt`. The installer takes care of installing them for you.

### INSTALL

If you have downloaded the source code:

    python setup.py install

or if you want to obtain a copy from the Pypi repository:

    pip install gitpython

Both commands will install the required package dependencies.

A distribution package can be obtained for manual installation at:

    http://pypi.python.org/pypi/GitPython
    
If you like to clone from source, you can do it like so:

```bash
git clone https://github.com/gitpython-developers/GitPython
git submodule update --init --recursive
./init-tests-after-clone.sh
```

### Limitations

#### Leakage of System Resources

GitPython is not suited for long-running processes (like daemons) as it tends to
leak system resources. It was written in a time where destructors (as implemented 
in the `__del__` method) still ran deterministically.

In case you still want to use it in such a context, you will want to search the
codebase for `__del__` implementations and call these yourself when you see fit.

Another way assure proper cleanup of resources is to factor out GitPython into a
separate process which can be dropped periodically.

### RUNNING TESTS

*Important*: Right after cloning this repository, please be sure to have executed the `init-tests-after-clone.sh` script in the repository root. Otherwise you will encounter test failures.

The easiest way to run test is by using [tox](https://pypi.python.org/pypi/tox) a wrapper around virtualenv. It will take care of setting up environnements with the proper dependencies installed and execute test commands. To install it simply:

    pip install tox

Then run:

    tox
    
    
For more fine-grained control, you can use `nose`.

### Contributions

Please have a look at the [contributions file][contributing].

### INFRASTRUCTURE

* [User Documentation](http://gitpython.readthedocs.org)
* [Questions and Answers](http://stackexchange.com/filters/167317/gitpython)
 * Please post on stackoverflow and use the `gitpython` tag
* [Issue Tracker](https://github.com/gitpython-developers/GitPython/issues)
  * Post reproducible bugs and feature requests as a new issue. Please be sure to provide the following information if posting bugs:
    * GitPython version (e.g. `import git; git.__version__`)
    * Python version (e.g. `python --version`)
    * The encountered stack-trace, if applicable
    * Enough information to allow reproducing the issue

### How to make a new release

* Update/verify the version in the `VERSION` file
* Update/verify that the changelog has been updated
* Commit everything
* Run `git tag <version>` to tag the version in Git
* Run `make release`
* Finally, set the upcoming version in the `VERSION` file, usually be
  incrementing the patch level, and possibly by appending `-dev`. Probably you
  want to `git push` once more.
  
### LICENSE

New BSD License.  See the LICENSE file.

### DEVELOPMENT STATUS

[![Build Status](https://travis-ci.org/gitpython-developers/GitPython.svg)](https://travis-ci.org/gitpython-developers/GitPython)
[![Code Climate](https://codeclimate.com/github/gitpython-developers/GitPython/badges/gpa.svg)](https://codeclimate.com/github/gitpython-developers/GitPython)
[![Documentation Status](https://readthedocs.org/projects/gitpython/badge/?version=stable)](https://readthedocs.org/projects/gitpython/?badge=stable)

Now that there seems to be a massive user base, this should be motivation enough to let git-python return to a proper state, which means

* no open pull requests
* no open issues describing bugs

[contributing]: https://github.com/gitpython-developers/GitPython/blob/master/README.md