Overview / Install
GitPython is a python library used to interact with git repositories, high-level like git-porcelain, or low-level like git-plumbing.
It provides abstractions of git objects for easy access of repository data, and additionally allows you to access the git repository more directly using either a pure python implementation, or the faster, but more resource intensive git command implementation.
The object database implementation is optimized for handling large quantities of objects and large datasets, which is achieved by using low-level structures and data streaming.
Requirements
Python >= 3.7
- Git 1.7.0 or newer
It should also work with older versions, but it may be that some operations involving remotes will not work as expected.
GitDB - a pure python git database implementation
typing_extensions >= 3.7.3.4 (if python < 3.10)
Installing GitPython
Installing GitPython is easily done using pip. Assuming it is installed, just run the following from the command-line:
# pip install GitPython
This command will download the latest version of GitPython from the
Python Package Index and install it
to your system. More information about pip and pypi can be found
here:
Alternatively, you can install from the distribution using the setup.py
script:
# python setup.py install
Note
In this case, you have to manually install GitDB as well. It would be recommended to use the git source repository in that case.
Limitations
Leakage of System Resources
GitPython is not suited for long-running processes (like daemons) as it tends to leak system resources. It was written in a time where destructors (as implemented in the __del__ method) still ran deterministically.
In case you still want to use it in such a context, you will want to search the codebase for __del__ implementations and call these yourself when you see fit.
Another way assure proper cleanup of resources is to factor out GitPython into a separate process which can be dropped periodically.
Getting Started
GitPython Tutorial - This tutorial provides a walk-through of some of the basic functionality and concepts used in GitPython. It, however, is not exhaustive so you are encouraged to spend some time in the API Reference.
API Reference
An organized section of the GitPython API is at API Reference.
Source Code
GitPython’s git repo is available on GitHub, which can be browsed at:
and cloned using:
$ git clone https://github.com/gitpython-developers/GitPython git-python
Initialize all submodules to obtain the required dependencies with:
$ cd git-python
$ git submodule update --init --recursive
Finally verify the installation by running unit tests:
$ python -m unittest
Questions and Answers
Please use stackoverflow for questions, and don’t forget to tag it with gitpython to assure the right people see the question in a timely manner.
Issue Tracker
The issue tracker is hosted by GitHub:
License Information
GitPython is licensed under the New BSD License. See the LICENSE file for more information.