Don't checkin modified file in repo

Question

Is it possible to set up something in git so modification to a file would be ignored?

This would be like having .gitignore but for modified files instead of only newly added files. So cloning of repo gives you the file but if you modify it then it doesn't get checked-in by default.

Scenario

I have a repo for Unreal engine project. They have this large .umap binary file that gets modified all the time when user clicks something on map. This causes git to checkin this binary file and blow up the history. The .umap file must exist for project to function but I don't want people to checkin the modified file all the time. I would want people to actually go through hoops before they can submit change in this large binary file.

Delete the file, then add it to `.gitignore`. If it needs to exist in some initial state, add a build step to copy it from a versioned template. — Ry-, May 06 '17 at 06:57
Thanks. I am hoping for some built-in way to turn off tracking however. — Shital Shah, May 09 '17 at 09:42

score 0 · Answer 1 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:26

0

.gitignore wouldn't help, since the file is already tracked.

You can try using git update-index:

git update-index --assume-unchanged -- <file>

That being said, storing that file outside of a git repo, or storing only a reference to a file storage backend with git lfs (as commented by CantSleepNow) is preferable (even though the assume-unchanged would still be needed)

edited May 23 '17 at 12:26

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answered May 06 '17 at 09:02

VonC

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Don't checkin modified file in repo

1 Answers1