Thursday, October 29, 2026 · Ubuntu 24.04 (Linux 6.12)

Dogfood on linux-cloud: Git power user switching over

5 repos · 37 commands · 5 broken · 5 slow · 5 filed

Played a git power user on a Linux cloud VM: git-built repos (commit-graph with changed-paths, MIDX+bitmaps, split index, packed refs, worktrees, LFS, config includes, bare, separate-git-dir), alternating git and grit through a day of work, hook/reflog/history-edit/rebase/stash interop, kill -9 and concurrency, and cargo + git/git perf. On-disk interop is very solid (git fsck --strict stayed clean after every mixed session, git continued a grit-stopped rebase and vice versa), but path-limited log/revs is badly broken for cwd-relative and wildcard pathspecs, plus several config/rev-syntax compat gaps. 5 of 6 'fixed' issues verified; #2230 still reproduces with the default page limit.

os: Ubuntu 24.04 (Linux 6.12) · x86_64
machine: Cursor cloud VM, 4 vCPU Intel Xeon, 15 GB RAM
versions: grit 0.5.24 · main e84d7c9d · 2.43.0

repositories5

repo	files	commits	.git	notes
rust-lang/cargo	3,078	23,596	81 MB
git/git	4,857	82,616	330 MB	with commit-graph --changed-paths
octocat/Hello-World	1	3	1 MB	cloned, not used
scratch/adv (cargo clone with bitmap+MIDX+split index+commit-graph)	3,082	23,612	86 MB
scratch/hist, xop, st, pg, r2, slash, rt, attr, crlf, fn, lfsrepo, super, s256, wtm, hk (small scenario repos)	8	75	2 MB

commandsgrit vs. system git, wall time

command	repo	grit	git	grit/git	result	notes
grit status (clean)	git/git	8.2 ms	6.9 ms	1.2×	ok
grit log -n 100000 --oneline	git/git	714 ms	654 ms	1.1×	ok	1.75x RSS
grit revs --count HEAD	git/git	27 ms	47 ms	0.6×	ok
grit blame -L 1,50 builtin/log.c	git/git	181 ms	221 ms	0.8×	ok
grit blame builtin/log.c	git/git	330 ms	312 ms	1.1×	ok
grit diff HEAD~100..HEAD --stat	git/git	102 ms	204 ms	0.5×	ok
grit show --stat HEAD~5	git/git	3.3 ms	2.6 ms	1.3×	ok
grit log -S blame_entry -n 20 --oneline	git/git	8.44 s	12.93 s	0.7×	ok
grit merge-base HEAD~5000 HEAD~3000	git/git	6.6 ms	31 ms	0.2×	ok
grit log --since=2025-06-01 --author=nomatch --oneline (default page)	git/git	648 ms	52 ms	13×	slow	#2230 not fixed; with -n 100000: 44.5 ms
grit log --since=2026-10-01 --oneline -- Makefile (default page)	git/git	251 ms	3.4 ms	74×	slow	#2230
grit log --since=2025-01-01 --oneline -- builtin/log.c	git/git	127 ms	12 ms	11×	slow	#2230 (10x)
grit log --oneline -- builtin/log.c	git/git	134 ms	117 ms	1.1×	ok
grit log -- '*/log.c' (wildcard pathspec)	git/git	—	—	—	wrong	No commits yet.; git lists commits (#2299)
grit log -- log.c (from builtin/)	git/git	—	—	—	wrong	No commits yet. (#2298)
grit switch --detach HEAD~20000	git/git	380 ms	300 ms	1.3×	ok
grit switch master (back, 20000 commits)	git/git	820 ms	340 ms	2.4×	ok	2.4x slower, 1.7x RSS; below the 3x bar
grit reset --hard HEAD~3000	git/git	420 ms	350 ms	1.2×	ok
grit merge (c1ab07b^2 into c1ab07b^1, 4850 files)	git/git	700 ms	990 ms	0.7×	ok	identical result tree
grit add + commit (986 modified .c/.h files)	git/git	150 ms	270 ms	0.6×	ok	add 80 ms + commit 70 ms vs git add 260 ms + commit 10 ms; tree identical
grit clone --depth 50 file://	git/git	8.16 s	8.07 s	1.0×	ok
grit clone --blobs none file://	git/git	7.56 s	8.78 s	0.9×	ok
grit status (clean)	rust-lang/cargo	14 ms	12 ms	1.2×	ok	2.9x RSS but absolute 18 MB
grit log -n 100000 --oneline	rust-lang/cargo	198 ms	172 ms	1.1×	memory	2.6x RSS
grit revs --count --all	rust-lang/cargo	188 ms	148 ms	1.3×	ok
grit diff HEAD~1000..HEAD --stat	rust-lang/cargo	200 ms	312 ms	0.6×	ok
grit fsck (vs git fsck --connectivity-only)	rust-lang/cargo	1.56 s	469 ms	3.3×	slow	3.3x; grit fsck does a fuller check (vs git fsck --strict 5.7 s on adv, grit 1.6 s) so not filed
grit log -S Workspace -n 10	rust-lang/cargo	113 ms	188 ms	0.6×	ok
grit gc (--shared clone)	rust-lang/cargo	580 ms	720 ms	0.8×	ok	#2223 fixed
grit gc (all-into-one with loose objects)	rust-lang/cargo	1.90 s	—	—	ok	ignores pack.writeBitmaps/gc.writeCommitGraph/gc.packRefs (#2301)
grit clone https://github.com/rust-lang/cargo	rust-lang/cargo	2.54 s	4.09 s	0.6×	ok	fsck --strict clean, refs identical
grit history reword/drop/squash/fixup/split/absorb/undo	scratch/hist	80 ms	—	—	ok	fsck --strict clean, incl. rewriting below a merge commit
grit rebase (conflict) then git rebase --continue	scratch/xop	—	—	—	ok
grit status during git bisect / cherry-pick on detached HEAD	rust-lang/cargo	—	—	—	wrong	empty branch name, operation unnamed (UX; not filed, cap reached)
grit worktree add <path> master (bare repo)	scratch/bare	—	—	—	error	#2305
grit resolve ':/feature'	scratch/slash	—	—	—	wrong	#2300
grit commit with commit.gpgsign=true via ssh signing helper	scratch/hist	—	—	—	ok	environment's signing helper intermittently took 4-20 s; grit holds index.lock while signing (git does not stall here since its commits were unsigned in this env); not a grit bug per se

worked11

›git fsck --strict, commit-graph verify and multi-pack-index verify stay clean after mixed git/grit sessions on repos with split index, packed refs, bitmaps, MIDX
›grit writes a fresh sharedindex for split-index repos; git reads it
›git rebase stopped by conflict is detected and protected by grit; a grit rebase stopped on conflict is finished by git rebase --continue (git's rebase-merge format)
›grit history reword/drop/squash/fixup/split/absorb/undo, including below merge commits, give fsck-clean graphs and sensible reflog entries
›reference-transaction, post-checkout (worktree add), post-rewrite, pre-push, prepare-commit-msg, commit-msg and merge hooks fire in git's order
›CRLF/autocrlf/eol/ident/filter attributes, gitignore rules (45 paths vs check-ignore), config include/includeIf, per-worktree config, odd/unicode filenames and symlinks match git byte for byte
›git-lfs pointers produced by grit commit pass git lfs fsck
›kill -9 during grit commit and grit gc never corrupts the repo; stale locks name the dead pid
›git stash <-> grit stash push/pop/show interop including untracked files
›sha256 repos: commit/gc/clone/push/bundle round-trip with git
›clone over HTTPS of cargo is faster than git (2.5 s vs 4.1 s)

problems11

›#2298 grit log/revs -- <path> from any subdirectory finds nothing (double cwd resolution; regression of #1218)
›#2299 grit log/revs wildcard/:(glob)/:(icase) pathspecs that must descend into directories return nothing
›#2300 :/text picks first matching ref, not the youngest commit across refs
›#2301 grit gc ignores gc.writeCommitGraph=false, gc.packRefs=false and pack.writeBitmaps; also removes an empty .git/refs/heads dir
›#2305 worktree add of a bare repo's HEAD branch refused; human worktree list lacks (bare)
›#2230 reopened: --since + filter still scans all history under the default page limit
›NOT FILED (report cap reached): grit-lib API: RevWalkListOptions::paths are silently cwd-relative (depends on process cwd captured at Repository::discover), undocumented, root-relative only via ':(top)'; resolve done inside RevWalk so already-resolved paths get re-prefixed (cause of #2298); suggest a typed ResolvedPathspecs
›NOT FILED: grit status prints 'On · operation in progress' with an empty branch name (markdown: On **``**) when HEAD is detached during bisect or cherry-pick/revert; human output never names the operation (JSON has in_progress). `grit log --author=nomatch` in a repo with history prints 'No commits yet.' (misleading; --json is fine)
›NOT FILED (nit): vetoed grit commit sends reference-transaction 'prepared' but never 'aborted'; Already-up-to-date merge writes ORIG_HEAD through a transaction, and when vetoed prints 'the merge is still in progress: run grit merge --continue' though no merge state exists
›NOT FILED (nit): grit baseline RSS is ~10-13 MB above git on tiny commands (status 18 MB vs 6 MB, tag 13 MB vs 4.8 MB), log --oneline 1.75-2.6x git
›NOT FILED (nit): grit fsck on cargo is 3.3x git fsck --connectivity-only but it does a full check; grit add -A / grit commit -qm not accepted (add takes no -A; fine by design)

bugs filed5

#2298 #2299 #2300 #2301 #2305already reported: #1218 #2191 #2201 #1876 #1909

next time

›Re-verify #2298/#2299 once fixed with the whole pathspec magic matrix (:(glob), :(icase), :(attr), :(exclude)) in log, revs, blame, show, diff, add, restore, stash push -- <paths> from root and from nested subdirectories
›Real HTTPS push to GitHub with a credential helper and the receiving-side hook matrix (not possible without credentials in this session)
›Reftable repositories once system git >= 2.45 is available (this VM has 2.43); reference-transaction for symref HEAD updates
›MIDX with several packs and millions of objects: memory for status/log; git gc --auto racing grit commit at git/git scale with kill -9 and strict fsck
›git lfs locks/verify during grit push and git lfs migrate/prune after grit history rewrites; real LFS server over HTTP
›Signing: grit commit/history/rebase with ssh and gpg signatures verified by git log --show-signature; check grit does not hold index.lock while the signer runs
›gc config coverage: gc.pruneExpire, gc.reflogExpire*, gc.bigPackThreshold, gc.cruftPacks, pack.window/depth/threads, core.bigFileThreshold, repack.writeBitmaps with MIDX
›log --author -n 5000 and path-limited log on git/git with a Bloom-filter commit-graph vs git (this session: path log 134 vs 117 ms, ok), plus clean-status memory with sparse index on a big monorepo