githide

git hide is a simple tool to hide files in a git repository when the idea of adding them to a public .gitignore is unsavory. githide allows you to manipulate the .git/info/exclude file from the command line, which bypasses the .gitignore shared by the repo.

introduction

why githide exists

• too lazy to manually adjust .git/info/exclude manually.

usecases

• write a note in the context of your current working directory:
  • in an open source project
  • a note to future you
  • personal documentation about a repo you are exploring.
  • spicy code, for your eyes only
• another (albiet unnessesary) git stash

other resons it might be useful

• i suppose you could hide anyhting you want from git.
  • an entire file worth of sensitive information? it is probably not a good idea to hide passwords, secrets, or API keys in plain text, but you sure could hide it from the prying eyes of the git history. this is especially relevant if you are too cool for a proper secrets management tool.
  • perhaps you are working on a project with a team and you want to hide files from your team because you are up to some hyjinks. the rascal that you are, you githide those forbidden fruits. you get it, ya scallywag.
• any other reason you don't want to commit a file.

under the hood

githide uses .git/info/exclude to hide files. groundbreaking, i know. if you didn't alreay know, or didn't read the introduction, it is a git feature that allows you to ignore files without adding them to .gitignore.

features, installation, and usage

features

• hide files from the git history using a simple command
• a private .gitignore: create a secondary --local gitignore file: .gitignore.local that you can easily manage from the root of the project
• unhide files
• list hidden files

installation and initialization

install via pip

pip install githide

initialize githide.

githide init

This command will create a secondary gitignore file: .gitignore.local at the root of the git repository. It will also execute git config core.excludesfile .gitignore.local and add .gitignore.local to the .git/info/exclude file. This will ensure that the .gitignore.local file, and each file added to it, is not tracked by git.

usage

hide a file or directory

githide add <file>

unhide/remove a file or directory from the hidden list

githide remove <file>

list hidden files

githide list

undo the last hidden file

githide undo

or

githide pop

note

• githide does not encrypt files. It simply hides them from the git history.
• githide is a simple tool and does not provide any security. It is a convenience tool to hide files from the git history.
• the hidden files are stored in a secondary gitignore file: .gitignore.local
• the hidden files are not tracked by git. They are ignored by git.
• githide is not a replacement for a proper secrets management tool. It is a simple tool for hiding files.
• did i mention that you can use githide to hide files from the git history?

that's all. have a nice day.