wishlist: --dry-run option for all commands

Could a --dry-run option be added to the git annex commands? Or, at least, to the most common ones like git annex add.

Given that there is no undo command, it would be nice to have the ability to simulate what git annex will do.

wontfix, see comments. Instead, options like --want-get and --want-drop can be used to simulate things. --Joey

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comment 1

This would add a lot of complexity; it's not like I could switch off running all external commands, since many external commands are run to query state to decide what to do. And then there's large chunks of code that actually do stuff and would have to all be guarded to not run.

I don't see the benefit to justify this work. git annex add is entirely predictable; it's very similar to git add. Which itself lacks a dry-run option. And like git add, you can certianly undo the effects of git annex add.

Matching options can make commands like git annex find list the same set of files that are acted on by commands like git annex drop (git annex find --in here) and git annex get (git annex find --not --in here).

Comment by joey — Mon Nov 3 16:44:45 2014

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comment 2

Hm, IMHO such a “dry-run” flag would be most beneficial for better understanding the preferred/required content settings and try their effect while working on finding the right expression. Therefore, the “drop”, “get” and “sync --content” commands would benefit from such a flag, especially in combination with flags such as “--auto”. Maybe it's just me, but I am not able to utilize the “find” command in a way that it respects preferred content and numcopies and further settings in the same way as the three commands above would do, and testing preferred content expressions is therefore a blind flight.

Comment by Chris — Sat Oct 20 08:09:40 2018

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get dry-run-ish option

You can find out what would be done by a get (ish), but running something like this:

git annex find --not --in here <path>

..which will show files which are known about but aren't in this annexed copy. I've been using this to see what needs to be 'got' to a location.

It does, however, need an annex repo to have a remote set up if you wish to check against it, as they aren't automatically bi-directional (which makes sense as firewalls and similar may not make this possible).

Comment by git-annex.branchable.com — Fri Jan 11 16:18:13 2019

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comment 4

git annex find --want-get --not --in here should simulate get --auto/sync well

git annex find --want-drop --in here will simulate what drop --auto/sync would try to drop

What would be nice to have is a way to simulate copy --auto --to foo and drop --auto --from foo which are of course also things sync does. That could be something like:

git annex find --want-get-by remote --not --in remote
git annex find --want-drop-by remote --in remote

Comment by joey — Thu Apr 23 20:13:39 2020

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Bump for --want-get/drop-by

Hi Joey,

A million thanks for a fantastic tool.

I came across the need today for the aforementioned --want-get-by/ --want-drop-by REMOTE options. Is this something that has since been developed/worked around, or is it still in the infinite TODO?

In the mean time, some more explicit documentation that --want-get/want-drop only ever applies to . would be good. I'll see if I can make a PR for this since I can write docs (but alas Haskell not so much).