git-relink

git-relink [--force] [--dry-run] [--verbose] [--list] [--relative] [<path>...]

--force or -f
    Force relinking, potentially recreating symlinks even if they appear valid, or overwriting existing ones without prompt.

--dry-run or -n
    Perform a trial run with no changes made. This option will print what actions `git-relink` would take.

--verbose or -v
    Provide more detailed output, showing which symbolic links are being processed and their old/new targets.

<path>...
    Limit the relinking operation to symbolic links located within the specified paths or directories. If no paths are given, the entire Git working tree is scanned.

--list or -l
    List all symbolic links tracked by Git in the current repository, along with their resolved targets, without attempting to modify them.

--relative or -r
    Attempt to convert all symbolic link targets to paths relative to the symlink's location, which is generally preferred for portability within Git repositories. This is often the default behavior or a primary objective of the command.

`git-relink` is an an external utility designed to manage and correct symbolic links within a Git repository. When a Git repository containing symbolic links is cloned, moved, or accessed from different environments, the target paths of these symlinks can become invalid or "broken." This often occurs if symlinks were originally created with absolute paths, or if relative paths become incorrect due to changes in the repository's base directory.

The `git-relink` command typically scans the Git index for symbolic link entries, evaluates their current targets, and attempts to resolve and recreate them with correct, often repository-relative, paths. This ensures that the codebase remains functional and that symbolic links point to their intended targets, irrespective of the repository's physical location on the filesystem. It is particularly useful in CI/CD pipelines or development setups involving shared repositories across multiple machines.

`git-relink` is not a standard Git command; its functionality and options may vary significantly depending on the specific implementation (user script, third-party tool).

Improper use, especially without first using `--dry-run`, can lead to unintended modification of symbolic links, potentially breaking build processes or application logic.

It might not correctly resolve complex symlink chains or symlinks pointing outside the repository root unless explicitly configured.

It primarily operates on symbolic links tracked by Git; untracked symbolic links are typically ignored.

When working with Git, it is generally recommended to use relative paths for symbolic links whenever possible. Absolute paths cause issues when the repository is moved or cloned to a different location. `git-relink` attempts to enforce this best practice by converting absolute paths to relative ones, improving the portability of the repository.

The behavior of symbolic links can differ significantly across operating systems. While Unix-like systems (Linux, macOS) fully support them, Windows requires elevated privileges to create symlinks and older versions might not support them at all. `git-relink` typically operates on Unix-like filesystems and might not be effective or behave as expected in Windows environments without proper setup (e.g., Git Bash with symlink support enabled).

As `git-relink` is not an official Git command, it doesn't have a formal history within the Git project. However, the need for such a utility arose from the challenges of managing symbolic links across different environments when using Git. Developers often commit symbolic links to repositories, but these can break when the repository is cloned to a different path or accessed on different operating systems (e.g., Windows typically handles symlinks differently than Unix-like systems). Consequently, various community-contributed scripts and tools have emerged over time to address this specific problem, aiming to automatically fix or convert symbolic link targets to ensure repository portability and functionality. These utilities typically leverage Git's internal commands and standard filesystem utilities to achieve their goal.

git-ls-files(1), git-update-index(1), ln(1), readlink(1)