Re: [PATCH] init: show absolute path of (re)initialized repository

[Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>]

On Tue, Oct 20, 2026 at 01:38:47AM -0400, Matt Hunter wrote:
> Since 20e38cba3926 (setup: split up concerns of `init_db()`,
> 2026-09-10), git-init produces the message:
> 
>     Initialized empty Git repository in .git/
> 
> instead of the previous
> 
>     Initialized empty Git repository in /full/path/to/repo/.git/
> 
> Prior to 20e38cba3926, the code producing this message was in function
> init_db (renamed at the time to create_repository).  In that context,
> the git_dir variable was updated by 'git_dir = repo_get_git_dir(repo);'
> earlier in the function, to set the value used in printf.
> 
> None of the discussion [1] around the original patch indicates that this
> change was intentional, so address the regression by similarly using
> repo_get_git_dir in this code's new location.

This indeed wasn't an intentional change. I also confirmed that with
v2.55 we print the full path.

> In this case, git_dir is referencing owned memory that is later freed,
> so declare a new variable to hold the used string.

This sentence doesn't add any value as it simply explains parts that are
obvious when reading the patch. I'd just drop it.

> diff --git a/builtin/init-db.c b/builtin/init-db.c
> index 374ed3a74706..a2628568ff6a 100644
> --- a/builtin/init-db.c
> +++ b/builtin/init-db.c
> @@ -248,18 +248,19 @@ int cmd_init_db(int argc,
>  	create_object_database(the_repository, NULL);
>  
>  	if (!quiet) {
> -		int len = strlen(git_dir);
> +		const char *full_git_dir = repo_get_git_dir(the_repository);

Previously, in `init_db()` we always assigned `git_dir =
repo_get_git_dir(repo)`, so it's clear that this change here does the
equivalent.

> +		int len = strlen(full_git_dir);

I was wondering whether we want to fix the variable type to be a
`size_t` while at it. But maybe we should just keep it as-is.

>  		if (reinit)
>  			printf(repo_settings_get_shared_repository(the_repository)
>  			       ? _("Reinitialized existing shared Git repository in %s%s\n")
>  			       : _("Reinitialized existing Git repository in %s%s\n"),
> -			       git_dir, len && git_dir[len-1] != '/' ? "/" : "");
> +			       full_git_dir, len && full_git_dir[len-1] != '/' ? "/" : "");
>  		else
>  			printf(repo_settings_get_shared_repository(the_repository)
>  			       ? _("Initialized empty shared Git repository in %s%s\n")
>  			       : _("Initialized empty Git repository in %s%s\n"),
> -			       git_dir, len && git_dir[len-1] != '/' ? "/" : "");
> +			       full_git_dir, len && full_git_dir[len-1] != '/' ? "/" : "");
>  	}

The changes look obviously good to me.

I'm a bit on the fence about whether we want to have a regression test
or not. It feels like a very specific thing in the user-facing output,
so it's a bit dubious whether it's really worth it. But on the other
hand, folks like you seem to care enough to make the test worthwhile, so
maybe we should have one?

Thanks!

Patrick