phorge / src / docs / user / userguide / arcanist_commit_ranges.diviner

@title Arcanist User Guide: Commit Ranges
@group userguide

Explains how commit ranges work in Arcanist.

This is an advanced user guide which covers a complicated topic in detail. If
you're just getting started, you don't need to look at this yet. Instead, start
with the @{article:Arcanist User Guide}.

= Overview =

//In Subversion, `arc` commands always operate on the uncommitted changes in the
working copy. If you use Subversion, this document is not relevant to you.//

In Git and Mercurial, many `arc` commands (notably, `arc diff`) operate on a
range of commits beginning with some commit you specify and ending with the
working copy state.

Since the end of the range is fixed (the working copy state), you only need to
specify the beginning of the range. This is called the "base commit". You can do
this explicitly when you run commands:

  $ arc diff HEAD^ # git: just the most recent commit
  $ arc diff .^    #  hg: just the most recent commit

You can also configure `arc` so it defaults to some base commit, or figures out
the base commit using a (potentially sophisticated) ruleset.

NOTE: This document describes a new mechanism for determining base commits. It
is subject to change. There are currently several other mechanisms available as
well, mentioned in other documents. As this mechanism matures, it should replace
other mechanisms and defaults.

= Configuring Base Commit Rules =

Base commit rule configuration may be more complicated than you expect. This is
because people use many different workflows in Git and Mercurial, and have very
different expectations about what base commit `arc` should pick when run. To
make matters worse, some of the most common ways of thinking about which commits
represent a change are incompatible when selecting defaults.

Historically, we tried to use a number of heuristics and simpler approaches to
determine the base commit, but there is so much diversity in how people think
about version control and what they expect to happen that some users were always
unhappy.

Although ruleset configuration is fairly complex, it's powerful enough that you
should be able to get exactly the behavior you want.

To determine the base commit, `arc` processes //rules// one at a time until it
gets a match (a rule which identifies a valid commit). The first match is the
base commit that is used to determine the beginning of the commit range.

A //rule// looks like this:

  arc:upstream

A rule may //match//, meaning that it identifies some valid commit in the
working copy, or //fail//, meaning that it does not identify a valid commit. For
instance, the rule `arc:upstream` will //match// if the current Git branch
tracks an upstream branch, but //fail// if the current Git branch does not track
an upstream branch, or the working copy isn't a Git working copy. When a rule
fails, processing continues with the next rule. Some rules can never match but
produce useful side effects instead. These are described below.

A //ruleset// is a comma-separated list of rules:

  arc:upstream, arc:prompt

`arc` reads five rulesets:

  # `args`, specified with `--base <ruleset>` on the command line when you run
    a command. This ruleset is processed first.
  # `local`, specified with `arc set-config --local base <ruleset>`. This
    ruleset is local to the working copy where it is set, and is processed
    second.
  # `project`, specified by setting the "base" key in `.arcconfig`. This
    ruleset is bound to the project where it is configured, and is processed
    third.
  # `global`, specified with `arc set-config base <ruleset>`. This ruleset is
    global for the current user, and is processed fourth.
  # `system`, specified in a system-wide configuration file. This ruleset is
    global for all users on the system, and is processed last.

The rules in each ruleset are processed one at a time until a valid base commit
is found. Valid rules are listed below. In this list, "*" means "any string".

  - `git:*` Use the specified symbolic commit, if it exists.
  - `git:merge-base(*)` Use the merge-base of HEAD and the specified symbolic
    commit, if it exists.
  - `git:branch-unique(*)` Attempt to select changes unique to this branch (that
    is, changes between the branch point and HEAD). This rule is complicated and
    has limitations, see below for a detailed description.
  - `hg:*` Use the specified symbolic commit, if it exists.
  - `hg:gca(*)` Use the greatest common ancestor of `.` and the specified
     symbolic commit, if it exists.
  - `arc:upstream` Use the merge-base of the current branch's upstream and
     HEAD, if it exists. (git-only)
  - `arc:outgoing` Use the most recent non-outgoing ancestor of the working
     copy parent. (hg-only)
  - `arc:exec(*)` Execute the specified command. The command should determine
    the base revision to use and print it to stdout, then exit with return code
    `0`. If the command exits with another return code, the rule will fail. The
    command will be executed with the root directory of the working copy as the
    current working directory.
  - `arc:bookmark` Use the most recent non-outgoing ancestor of the working
     copy parent or the most recent bookmark, whichever is more recent. This
     rule is complicated and has limitations, see below for a detailed
     description.
  - `arc:amended` Use the current commit (`HEAD` in Git, or `.` in Mercurial) if
    it has been amended to include a "Differential Revision:" field. Otherwise,
    fail.
  - `arc:prompt` Prompt the user to provide a commit.
  - `arc:empty` Use the empty state (as though the repository were completely
    empty, the range will include every commit that is an ancestor of the
    working copy).
  - `arc:this` Use the current commit. This means `.` under Mercurial and HEAD
    under Git.

Rules are also available which change the processing order of rulesets:

  - `arc:args`, `arc:local`, `arc:project`, `arc:global`, `arc:system` Stop
    processing the current ruleset and begin processing the specified ruleset.
    The current ruleset will resume processing after the specified ruleset is
    exhausted.
  - `arc:yield` Stop processing the current ruleset and begin processing the
    next ruleset. The current ruleset will resume processing after other
    rulesets have processed or when it next appears in the processing order,
    whichever comes first.
  - `arc:halt` Stops processing all rules. This will cause the command you ran
    to fail, but can be used to avoid running rules which would otherwise
    be processed later.

Additionally, there are some rules which are probably useful mostly for testing
or debugging rulesets:

  - `arc:verbose` Turns on verbose logging of rule processing.
  - `arc:skip` This rule has no effect.
  - `literal:*` Use the specified commit literally. Almost certainly wrong in
    production rules.

= Examples =

Diff against `origin/master` if it exists, and prompt if it doesn't:

  git:merge-base(origin/master), arc:prompt

Diff against the upstream if it exists, or just use the last commit if it
doesn't:

  arc:upstream, git:HEAD^

As a user, ignore project rules and always use my rules:

  (local) arc:global, arc:halt

As a project maintainer, respect user rules over project rules:

  (project) arc:yield, <defaults>

Debug your rules:

  $ arc diff --base arc:verbose

Understand rules processing:

  $ arc which
  $ arc which --base '<ruleset>'
  $ arc which --base 'arc:verbose, <ruleset>'

= Detailed Rule Descriptions =

Some rules have complex operation, described here in more detail. These rules
are advanced features for expert users wishing to optimize their workflow and
save a little typing. You do not need to understand the behavior of these rules
to use `arc` (you can always specify a base commit explicitly).

== git:branch-unique(*) ==

This rule only works in Git.

This rule tries to find commits that are unique to the current branch. It is
most likely to be useful if you develop using one branch per feature, update
changes by amending commits (instead of stacking commits) and merge changes by
rebasing (instead of merging).

The rule operates by first determining the merge-base of the specified commit
and HEAD, if it exists. If no such commit exists, the rule fails. If such a
commit exists, the rule counts how many branches contain HEAD, then walks from
HEAD to the merge-base commit, counting how many branches contain each commit.
It stops when it finds a commit which appears on more branches than HEAD,
or when it reaches the merge-base commit.

This rule works well for trees that look like this:

```
  |   *  Commit B1, on branch "subfeature" (HEAD)
  |  /
  | *    Commit A1, on branch "feature"
  |/
  *      Commit M1, on branch "master"
  |
```

This tree represents using feature branches to develop one feature ("feature"),
and then creating a sub-branch to develop a dependent feature ("subfeature").

Normally, if you run `arc diff` on branch "subfeature" (with HEAD at `B1`), a
rule like  `arc:merge-base(master)` will select `M1` as the base commit and thus
incorrectly include `A1` in the commit range.

For trees like this, `git:branch-unique(master)` will instead select `A1` as the
base commit (because it is the first commit between `B1` and `M1` which appears
on more branches than `B1` -- `B1` appears on only "subfeature" while `A1`
appears on "subfeature" and "feature") and include only `B1` in the commit
range.

The rule will also do the right thing when run from "feature" in this case.

However, this rule will select the wrong commit range in some cases. For
instance, it will do the wrong thing in this tree:

```
  |
  | *    Commit A2, on branch "feature" (HEAD)
  | |
  | | *  Commit B1, on branch "subfeature"
  | |/
  | *    Commit A1, on branch "feature"
  |/
  *      Commit M1, on branch "master"
  |
```

This tree represents making another commit (`A2`) on "feature", on top of `A1`.

Here, when `arc diff` is run from branch "feature" (with HEAD at `A2`), this
rule will incorrectly select only `A2` because `A2` (which is HEAD) appears on
one branch ("feature") while `A1` appears on two branches ("feature",
"subfeature").

You can avoid this problem by amending changes into `A1` instead of adding new
commits, or by rebasing "subfeature" before running `arc diff`.

This rule will also select the wrong commit range in a tree like this:

```
  |
  | *    Commit A1', on branch "feature", created by amending A1
  | |
  | | *  Commit B1, on branch "subfeature" (HEAD)
  | |/
  | o    Commit A1, no longer on "feature" but still on "subfeature"
  |/
  *      Commit M1, on branch "master"
  |
```

This tree represents amending `A1` without rebasing "subfeature", so that `A1`
is no longer on "feature" (replaced with `A1'`) but still on "subfeature". In
this case, running `arc diff` from "subfeature" will incorrectly select both
`B1` and `A1`, because they now are contained by the same number of branches.

You can avoid this problem by rebasing sub-branches before running `arc diff`,
or by using a rule like `arc:amended` before `git:branch-unique(*)`.

== arc:bookmark ==

This rule only works in Mercurial.

This rule finds outgoing changes, but stops when it encounters a bookmark. It is
most likely to be useful if you use one bookmark per feature.

This rule operates like `arc:outgoing`, but then walks the commits between
`.` and the selected base commit. It stops when it encounters a bookmark. For
example, if you have a tree like this:

```
  |
  | *  C4 (outgoing, bookmark: stripes)
  | |
  | *  C3 (outgoing, bookmark: zebra)
  | |
  | *  C2 (outgoing, no bookmark)
  |/
  *    C1 (pushed, no bookmark)
  |
```

When run from `C4`, this rule will select just `C4`, stopping on `C3` because
it has a different bookmark. When run from `C3`, it will select `C2` and `C3`.

However, this rule will select the wrong commit range in some cases (for
example, if the "zebra" bookmark has moved on, the rule will no longer stop on
`C3` and will select `C2`, `C3` and `C4` when run from `C4`).

== arc:exec(*) ==

This rule runs some external script or shell command. It is intended for
advanced users who want specialized behavior that can't be expressed with other
rules.

To use this rule, provide some script or shell command. For example:

  arc:exec(git merge-base origin/master HEAD)
  arc:exec(/path/to/some/script.sh)

The command will be executed with the working copy as its working directory,
and passed no arguments. To //match//, it should print the name of a base commit
on stdout and then exit with return code 0. To //fail//, it should exit with
any other return code.

= Next Steps =

Continue by:

  - learning about `arc diff` in more detail with
    @{article:Arcanist User Guide: arc diff}; or
  - returning to @{article:Arcanist User Guide}.