git-lock

Disable the ability to commit changes of a local file

$ git lock [path/to/file]

git-lock { lock|unlock|status|list|info } [options] [path]

-h, --help
    Show help message

-v, --version
    Display version info

-r, --repo <PATH>
    Specify Git repo path (default: current dir)

-m, --message <TEXT>
    Lock message/description

-u, --user <USER>
    Override lock owner username

--steal
    lock only: Steal existing lock

--force, -f
    Force unlock (ignores ownership)

--break
    unlock: Break lock even if active

git-lock is a third-party Python-based command-line tool that adds file locking capabilities to Git repositories.

Unlike centralized VCS like SVN, Git is distributed and lacks built-in locking to prevent concurrent edits on shared files (e.g., binary assets or docs in team workflows).

git-lock stores locks as refs in .git/refs/locks/, visible via git ls-remote or git show-ref. It supports subcommands like lock, unlock, status, list, ensuring collaborative safety.

Install via pip install git-lock; integrates seamlessly with Git. Locks include owner, message, timestamp; breakable with force options.

Ideal for monorepos or teams editing lockable files without merge conflicts. (148 words)

Third-party tool, not official Git; requires git >= 2.0 and Python 3.
Locks are advisory—enforced by convention.
Not for production without testing; potential ref namespace conflicts.

pip install git-lock
Or clone: git clone https://github.com/bgrewell/git-lock

git lock -m 'Reviewing' assets/model.obj
git status assets/model.obj → shows owner/message.
git unlock assets/model.obj

Developed by Brandon Grewell (2017); initial GitHub release v0.1.0.
Active maintenance; v1.0+ added subcommands, steal/force. Widely used in game dev/monorepos for binary locking.

git(1), flock(1), lockfile(1)