How to make git mark a deleted and a new file as a file move?

I've moved a file manually and then I've modified it. According to Git, it is a new file and a removed file. Is there any way to force Git into treating it as a file move?

Solution 1:

Git will automatically detect the move/rename if your modification is not too severe. Just git add the new file, and git rm the old file. git status will then show whether it has detected the rename.

additionally, for moves around directories, you may need to:

1. cd to the top of that directory structure.
2. Run git add -A .
3. Run git status to verify that the "new file" is now a "renamed" file

If git status still shows "new file" and not "renamed" you need to follow Hank Gay’s advice and do the move and modify in two separate commits.

Solution 2:

Do the move and the modify in separate commits.

Solution 3:

git diff -M or git log -M should automatically detect such changes as a rename with minor changes as long as they indeed are. If your minor changes are not minor, you can reduce the similarity threashold, e.g.

$ git log -M20 -p --stat

to reduce it from the default 50% to 20%.

Solution 4:

It's all a perceptual thing. Git is generally rather good at recognising moves, because GIT is a content tracker

All that really depends is how your "stat" displays it. The only difference here is the -M flag.

git log --stat -M

commit 9c034a76d394352134ee2f4ede8a209ebec96288
Author: Kent Fredric
Date:   Fri Jan 9 22:13:51 2009 +1300


        Category Restructure

     lib/Gentoo/Repository.pm                |   10 +++++-----
     lib/Gentoo/{ => Repository}/Base.pm     |    2 +-
     lib/Gentoo/{ => Repository}/Category.pm |   12 ++++++------
     lib/Gentoo/{ => Repository}/Package.pm  |   10 +++++-----
     lib/Gentoo/{ => Repository}/Types.pm    |   10 +++++-----
     5 files changed, 22 insertions(+), 22 deletions(-)

git log --stat

commit 9c034a76d394352134ee2f4ede8a209ebec96288
Author: Kent Fredric
Date:   Fri Jan 9 22:13:51 2009 +1300

    Category Restructure

 lib/Gentoo/Base.pm                |   36 ------------------------
 lib/Gentoo/Category.pm            |   51 ----------------------------------
 lib/Gentoo/Package.pm             |   41 ---------------------------
 lib/Gentoo/Repository.pm          |   10 +++---
 lib/Gentoo/Repository/Base.pm     |   36 ++++++++++++++++++++++++
 lib/Gentoo/Repository/Category.pm |   51 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 lib/Gentoo/Repository/Package.pm  |   41 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 lib/Gentoo/Repository/Types.pm    |   55 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 lib/Gentoo/Types.pm               |   55 -------------------------------------
 9 files changed, 188 insertions(+), 188 deletions(-)

git help log

   -M
       Detect renames.

   -C
       Detect copies as well as renames. See also --find-copies-harder.

Solution 5:

Here's a quick and dirty solution for one, or a few, renamed and modified files that are uncommitted.

Let's say the file was named foo and now it's named bar:

1. Rename bar to a temp name:

   mv bar side
   

2. Checkout foo:

   git checkout HEAD foo
   

3. Rename foo to bar with Git:

   git mv foo bar
   

4. Now rename your temporary file back to bar.

   mv side bar
   

This last step is what gets your changed content back into the file.

While this can work, if the moved file is too different in content from the original git will consider it more efficient to decide this is a new object. Let me demonstrate:

$ git status
On branch workit
Changes to be committed:
  (use "git reset HEAD <file>..." to unstage)

    new file:   .gitignore
    renamed:    README -> README.md

Changes not staged for commit:
  (use "git add <file>..." to update what will be committed)
  (use "git checkout -- <file>..." to discard changes in working directory)

    modified:   README.md
    modified:   work.js

$ git add README.md work.js # why are the changes unstaged, let's add them.
$ git status
On branch workit
Changes to be committed:
  (use "git reset HEAD <file>..." to unstage)

    new file:   .gitignore
    deleted:    README
    new file:   README.md
    modified:   work.js

$ git stash # what? let's go back a bit
Saved working directory and index state WIP on dir: f7a8685 update
HEAD is now at f7a8685 update
$ git status
On branch workit
Untracked files:
  (use "git add <file>..." to include in what will be committed)

    .idea/

nothing added to commit but untracked files present (use "git add" to track)
$ git stash pop
Removing README
On branch workit
Changes to be committed:
  (use "git reset HEAD <file>..." to unstage)

    new file:   .gitignore
    new file:   README.md

Changes not staged for commit:
  (use "git add/rm <file>..." to update what will be committed)
  (use "git checkout -- <file>..." to discard changes in working directory)

    deleted:    README
    modified:   work.js

Dropped refs/stash@{0} (1ebca3b02e454a400b9fb834ed473c912a00cd2f)
$ git add work.js
$ git status
On branch workit
Changes to be committed:
  (use "git reset HEAD <file>..." to unstage)

    new file:   .gitignore
    new file:   README.md
    modified:   work.js

Changes not staged for commit:
  (use "git add/rm <file>..." to update what will be committed)
  (use "git checkout -- <file>..." to discard changes in working directory)

    deleted:    README

$ git add README # hang on, I want it removed
$ git status
On branch workit
Changes to be committed:
  (use "git reset HEAD <file>..." to unstage)

    new file:   .gitignore
    deleted:    README
    new file:   README.md
    modified:   work.js

$ mv README.md Rmd # Still? Try the answer I found.
$ git checkout README
error: pathspec 'README' did not match any file(s) known to git.
$ git checkout HEAD README # Ok the answer needed fixing.
$ git status
On branch workit
Changes to be committed:
  (use "git reset HEAD <file>..." to unstage)

    new file:   .gitignore
    new file:   README.md
    modified:   work.js

Changes not staged for commit:
  (use "git add/rm <file>..." to update what will be committed)
  (use "git checkout -- <file>..." to discard changes in working directory)

    deleted:    README.md
    modified:   work.js

Untracked files:
  (use "git add <file>..." to include in what will be committed)

    Rmd

$ git mv README README.md
$ git status
On branch workit
Changes to be committed:
  (use "git reset HEAD <file>..." to unstage)

    new file:   .gitignore
    renamed:    README -> README.md
    modified:   work.js

Changes not staged for commit:
  (use "git add <file>..." to update what will be committed)
  (use "git checkout -- <file>..." to discard changes in working directory)

    modified:   work.js

Untracked files:
  (use "git add <file>..." to include in what will be committed)

    Rmd

$ mv Rmd README.md
$ git status
On branch workit
Changes to be committed:
  (use "git reset HEAD <file>..." to unstage)

    new file:   .gitignore
    renamed:    README -> README.md
    modified:   work.js

Changes not staged for commit:
  (use "git add <file>..." to update what will be committed)
  (use "git checkout -- <file>..." to discard changes in working directory)

    modified:   README.md
    modified:   work.js

$ # actually that's half of what I wanted; \
  # and the js being modified twice? Git prefers it in this case.