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I'm trying to git add and commit a Mac OS X executable application. I know that in OS X applications are a folder with the extension .app

Git see this OS X executable as a folder so it adds a subfolder

 /usr/local/git/bin/git add -u MyApp/dist/MyApp.app/Contents/Frameworks/QtCore.framework/Versions/4.0/QtCore

The problem is that encounter a symbolic link and it return error:

returned exit status 128: fatal: 'MyApp/dist/MyApp.app/Contents/Frameworks/QtCore.framework/Versions/4.0/QtCore' is beyond a symbolic link

How can I add it with git?

Edd
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paganotti
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1 Answers1

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Generally you don't want to be storing the application itself within your version control system. Your build process should be suitably consistent that so long as you have all of your source and config files under version control it's possible to regenerate any intermediate or executable files to be exactly the same in the future as they are in the present. See this question for more ideas of what should and shouldn't be stored in a VCS.

I believe in this instance the reason that your git add is failing is because rather than copying the QT Frameworks into the application bundle, you're referencing them which results in a symbolic link being made to the system-wide copy of the framework on whatever machine the application is executed on. This is a good thing, as you don't want to have to have a separate copy of each major framework for every single application you have installed on your computer.

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Edd
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  • ok but I'm building an application that use git, and I need to store also mac os x executable, so also symbolic link. Isn't really possible add this kind of file?? – paganotti Mar 15 '12 at 20:29
  • I don't think I fully understand the situation that you're trying to describe, but if you have two separate things under git I'd look at storing them in separate repositories, with one being a submodule of the other: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/7328449/add-symlinks-to-git-repository – Edd Mar 15 '12 at 20:34