[PATCH 0/2] builtin/history: introduce "drop" subcommand

[PATCH 0/2] builtin/history: introduce "drop" subcommand

[Patrick Steinhardt]

Hi,

this small patch series introduces the new "drop" subcommand for
git-history(1). As a reader might guess, the command does exactly that:
given a commit, it will drop that commit from the commit history and
replay descendant branches on top of it.

Thanks!

Patrick

---
Patrick Steinhardt (2):
      builtin/history: split handling of ref updates into two phases
      builtin/history: implement "drop" subcommand

 Documentation/git-history.adoc |  38 ++-
 builtin/history.c              | 333 +++++++++++++++++++++++---
 t/meson.build                  |   1 +
 t/t3454-history-drop.sh        | 513 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 4 files changed, 846 insertions(+), 39 deletions(-)


---
base-commit: 1666c1265231b0bc5f613fbbf3f0a9896cdef76e
change-id: 20260601-b4-pks-history-drop-28f6c6399e7b

[PATCH 1/2] builtin/history: split handling of ref updates into two phases

[Patrick Steinhardt]

The function `handle_reference_updates()` is used by git-history(1) to
update all references that refer to commits that have been rewritten. As
such, it performs two steps:

  - It gathers the references that need to be updated in the first
    place.

  - It prepares and commits the reference transaction.

In a subsequent commit we'll want to handle those two steps separately.
Prepare for this by splitting up the function into two.

Signed-off-by: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
---
 builtin/history.c | 102 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++--------------------
 1 file changed, 64 insertions(+), 38 deletions(-)

diff --git a/builtin/history.c b/builtin/history.c
index 0fc06fb204..4fadf38c32 100644
--- a/builtin/history.c
+++ b/builtin/history.c
@@ -333,21 +333,17 @@ static int handle_ref_update(struct ref_transaction *transaction,
 				      NULL, NULL, 0, reflog_msg, err);
 }
 
-static int handle_reference_updates(struct rev_info *revs,
-				    enum ref_action action,
-				    struct commit *original,
-				    struct commit *rewritten,
-				    const char *reflog_msg,
-				    int dry_run,
-				    enum replay_empty_commit_action empty)
+static int compute_pending_ref_updates(struct rev_info *revs,
+				       enum ref_action action,
+				       struct commit *original,
+				       struct commit *rewritten,
+				       enum replay_empty_commit_action empty,
+				       struct replay_result *result)
 {
 	const struct name_decoration *decoration;
 	struct replay_revisions_options opts = {
 		.empty = empty,
 	};
-	struct replay_result result = { 0 };
-	struct ref_transaction *transaction = NULL;
-	struct strbuf err = STRBUF_INIT;
 	char hex[GIT_MAX_HEXSZ + 1];
 	bool detached_head;
 	int head_flags = 0;
@@ -359,34 +355,13 @@ static int handle_reference_updates(struct rev_info *revs,
 
 	opts.onto = oid_to_hex_r(hex, &rewritten->object.oid);
 
-	ret = replay_revisions(revs, &opts, &result);
+	ret = replay_revisions(revs, &opts, result);
 	if (ret)
-		goto out;
+		return ret;
 
 	if (action != REF_ACTION_BRANCHES && action != REF_ACTION_HEAD)
 		BUG("unsupported ref action %d", action);
 
-	if (!dry_run) {
-		transaction = ref_store_transaction_begin(get_main_ref_store(revs->repo), 0, &err);
-		if (!transaction) {
-			ret = error(_("failed to begin ref transaction: %s"), err.buf);
-			goto out;
-		}
-	}
-
-	for (size_t i = 0; i < result.updates_nr; i++) {
-		ret = handle_ref_update(transaction,
-					result.updates[i].refname,
-					&result.updates[i].new_oid,
-					&result.updates[i].old_oid,
-					reflog_msg, &err);
-		if (ret) {
-			ret = error(_("failed to update ref '%s': %s"),
-				    result.updates[i].refname, err.buf);
-			goto out;
-		}
-	}
-
 	/*
 	 * `replay_revisions()` only updates references that are
 	 * ancestors of `rewritten`, so we need to manually
@@ -414,14 +389,43 @@ static int handle_reference_updates(struct rev_info *revs,
 		    !detached_head)
 			continue;
 
+		ALLOC_GROW(result->updates, result->updates_nr + 1, result->updates_alloc);
+		result->updates[result->updates_nr].refname = xstrdup(decoration->name);
+		result->updates[result->updates_nr].old_oid = original->object.oid;
+		result->updates[result->updates_nr].new_oid = rewritten->object.oid;
+		result->updates_nr++;
+	}
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+static int apply_pending_ref_updates(struct repository *repo,
+				     const struct replay_result *result,
+				     const char *reflog_msg,
+				     int dry_run)
+{
+	struct ref_transaction *transaction = NULL;
+	struct strbuf err = STRBUF_INIT;
+	int ret;
+
+	if (!dry_run) {
+		transaction = ref_store_transaction_begin(get_main_ref_store(repo),
+							  0, &err);
+		if (!transaction) {
+			ret = error(_("failed to begin ref transaction: %s"), err.buf);
+			goto out;
+		}
+	}
+
+	for (size_t i = 0; i < result->updates_nr; i++) {
 		ret = handle_ref_update(transaction,
-					decoration->name,
-					&rewritten->object.oid,
-					&original->object.oid,
+					result->updates[i].refname,
+					&result->updates[i].new_oid,
+					&result->updates[i].old_oid,
 					reflog_msg, &err);
 		if (ret) {
 			ret = error(_("failed to update ref '%s': %s"),
-				    decoration->name, err.buf);
+				    result->updates[i].refname, err.buf);
 			goto out;
 		}
 	}
@@ -435,11 +439,33 @@ static int handle_reference_updates(struct rev_info *revs,
 
 out:
 	ref_transaction_free(transaction);
-	replay_result_release(&result);
 	strbuf_release(&err);
 	return ret;
 }
 
+static int handle_reference_updates(struct rev_info *revs,
+				    enum ref_action action,
+				    struct commit *original,
+				    struct commit *rewritten,
+				    const char *reflog_msg,
+				    int dry_run,
+				    enum replay_empty_commit_action empty)
+{
+	struct replay_result result = { 0 };
+	int ret;
+
+	ret = compute_pending_ref_updates(revs, action, original, rewritten,
+					  empty, &result);
+	if (ret)
+		goto out;
+
+	ret = apply_pending_ref_updates(revs->repo, &result, reflog_msg, dry_run);
+
+out:
+	replay_result_release(&result);
+	return ret;
+}
+
 static int commit_became_empty(struct repository *repo,
 			       struct commit *original,
 			       struct tree *result)

-- 
2.54.0.926.g75ba10bac6.dirty

[PATCH 2/2] builtin/history: implement "drop" subcommand

[Patrick Steinhardt]

A common operation when editing the commit history is to drop a specific
commit from the history entirely, but this operation is not currently
covered by git-history(1).

A couple of noteworthy bits:

  - This is the first git-history(1) command that will ultimately result
    in changes to both the index and the working tree. We thus have to
    add logic to merge resulting changes into those.

  - It is still not possible to replay merge commits, so this limitation
    is inherited for the new "drop" command.

  - For now we refuse to drop root commits. While we _can_ indeed drop
    root commits in the general case, there are edge cases where the
    resulting history would become completely empty. This is thus left
    to a subsequent patch series.

Other than that, most of the logic is rather straight-forward as we can
continue to build on the preexisting logic in git-history(1) for most of
the part.

Signed-off-by: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
---
 Documentation/git-history.adoc |  38 ++-
 builtin/history.c              | 231 +++++++++++++++++++
 t/meson.build                  |   1 +
 t/t3454-history-drop.sh        | 513 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 4 files changed, 782 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/Documentation/git-history.adoc b/Documentation/git-history.adoc
index 2ba8121795..4eac732fd2 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-history.adoc
+++ b/Documentation/git-history.adoc
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ git-history - EXPERIMENTAL: Rewrite history
 SYNOPSIS
 --------
 [synopsis]
+git history drop <commit> [--dry-run] [--update-refs=(branches|head)] [--empty=(drop|keep|abort)]
 git history fixup <commit> [--dry-run] [--update-refs=(branches|head)] [--reedit-message] [--empty=(drop|keep|abort)]
 git history reword <commit> [--dry-run] [--update-refs=(branches|head)]
 git history split <commit> [--dry-run] [--update-refs=(branches|head)] [--] [<pathspec>...]
@@ -51,13 +52,28 @@ be stateful operations. The limitation can be lifted once (if) Git learns about
 first-class conflicts.
 
 When using `fixup` with `--empty=drop`, dropping the root commit is not yet
-supported.
+supported. Likewise, `drop` cannot remove the root commit or a merge commit.
 
 COMMANDS
 --------
 
 The following commands are available to rewrite history in different ways:
 
+`drop <commit>`::
+	Remove the specified commit from the history. All descendants of the
+	commit are replayed directly onto its parent.
++
+The root commit cannot be dropped as that may lead to edge cases where refs
+end up with no commits anymore. Merge commits cannot be dropped either; see
+LIMITATIONS.
++
+If `HEAD` points at a commit that is to be rewritten, the index and working
+tree are updated to match the new `HEAD`. The command aborts before any
+references are updated in case local modifications would be overwritten.
++
+If replaying any descendant would result in a conflict, the command aborts
+with an error.
+
 `fixup <commit>`::
 	Apply the currently staged changes to the specified commit. This is
 	similar in nature to `git commit --fixup=<commit>` followed by `git
@@ -170,6 +186,26 @@ The staged addition of `unrelated.txt` has been incorporated into the `first`
 commit. All descendant commits have been replayed on top of the rewritten
 history.
 
+Drop a commit
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+----------
+$ git log --oneline
+abc1234 (HEAD -> main) third
+def5678 second
+ghi9012 first
+
+$ git history drop def5678
+
+$ git log --oneline
+jkl3456 (HEAD -> main) third
+ghi9012 first
+----------
+
+The `second` commit has been removed from the history, and `third` has been
+replayed directly on top of `first`. All branches that pointed at the dropped
+commit have been moved to its parent.
+
 Split a commit
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
diff --git a/builtin/history.c b/builtin/history.c
index 4fadf38c32..12c27defbb 100644
--- a/builtin/history.c
+++ b/builtin/history.c
@@ -21,9 +21,12 @@
 #include "sequencer.h"
 #include "strvec.h"
 #include "tree.h"
+#include "tree-walk.h"
 #include "unpack-trees.h"
 #include "wt-status.h"
 
+#define GIT_HISTORY_DROP_USAGE \
+	N_("git history drop <commit> [--dry-run] [--update-refs=(branches|head)] [--empty=(drop|keep|abort)]")
 #define GIT_HISTORY_FIXUP_USAGE \
 	N_("git history fixup <commit> [--dry-run] [--update-refs=(branches|head)] [--reedit-message] [--empty=(drop|keep|abort)]")
 #define GIT_HISTORY_REWORD_USAGE \
@@ -1001,12 +1004,239 @@ static int cmd_history_split(int argc,
 	return ret;
 }
 
+static int update_worktree(struct repository *repo,
+			   const struct commit *old_head,
+			   const struct commit *new_head,
+			   bool dry_run)
+{
+	struct index_state index = INDEX_STATE_INIT(repo);
+	struct unpack_trees_options opts = { 0 };
+	struct lock_file lock = LOCK_INIT;
+	struct tree_desc desc[2] = { 0 };
+	char *desc_buf[2] = { 0 };
+	int ret;
+
+	if (!dry_run &&
+	    repo_hold_locked_index(repo, &lock, LOCK_REPORT_ON_ERROR) < 0)
+		return -1;
+
+	if (read_index_from(&index, repo->index_file, repo->gitdir) < 0) {
+		ret = error(_("unable to read index"));
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	setup_unpack_trees_porcelain(&opts, "history drop");
+	opts.head_idx = 1;
+	opts.src_index = &index;
+	opts.dst_index = &index;
+	opts.fn = twoway_merge;
+	opts.merge = 1;
+	opts.update = !dry_run;
+	opts.dry_run = dry_run;
+	opts.preserve_ignored = 0;
+	init_checkout_metadata(&opts.meta, NULL, &new_head->object.oid, NULL);
+
+	desc_buf[0] = fill_tree_descriptor(repo, &desc[0], &old_head->object.oid);
+	desc_buf[1] = fill_tree_descriptor(repo, &desc[1], &new_head->object.oid);
+
+	if (unpack_trees(2, desc, &opts)) {
+		ret = -1;
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	if (!dry_run) {
+		cache_tree_free(&index.cache_tree);
+
+		if (write_locked_index(&index, &lock, COMMIT_LOCK)) {
+			ret = error(_("could not write index"));
+			goto out;
+		}
+	}
+
+	ret = 0;
+
+out:
+	clear_unpack_trees_porcelain(&opts);
+	rollback_lock_file(&lock);
+	release_index(&index);
+	free(desc_buf[0]);
+	free(desc_buf[1]);
+	return ret;
+}
+
+static int find_head_tree_change(struct repository *repo,
+				 const struct replay_result *result,
+				 struct commit **old_head,
+				 struct commit **new_head,
+				 bool *changed)
+{
+	const struct replay_ref_update *head_update = NULL;
+	struct commit *old_head_commit, *new_head_commit;
+	struct tree *old_head_tree, *new_head_tree;
+	const char *head_target;
+	int head_flags;
+
+	*changed = false;
+
+	head_target = refs_resolve_ref_unsafe(get_main_ref_store(repo),
+					      "HEAD", RESOLVE_REF_NO_RECURSE,
+					      NULL, &head_flags);
+	if (!head_target)
+		return error(_("cannot look up HEAD"));
+	if (!(head_flags & REF_ISSYMREF))
+		head_target = "HEAD";
+
+	for (size_t i = 0; i < result->updates_nr; i++) {
+		if (!strcmp(result->updates[i].refname, head_target)) {
+			head_update = &result->updates[i];
+			break;
+		}
+	}
+
+	if (!head_update)
+		return 0;
+
+	old_head_commit = lookup_commit_reference(repo, &head_update->old_oid);
+	new_head_commit = lookup_commit_reference(repo, &head_update->new_oid);
+	if (!old_head_commit || !new_head_commit)
+		return error(_("cannot resolve HEAD commit"));
+
+	old_head_tree = repo_get_commit_tree(repo, old_head_commit);
+	new_head_tree = repo_get_commit_tree(repo, new_head_commit);
+	if (!old_head_tree || !new_head_tree)
+		return error(_("cannot resolve tree for HEAD"));
+
+	if (oideq(&old_head_tree->object.oid, &new_head_tree->object.oid))
+		return 0;
+
+	*old_head = old_head_commit;
+	*new_head = new_head_commit;
+	*changed = true;
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+static int cmd_history_drop(int argc,
+			    const char **argv,
+			    const char *prefix,
+			    struct repository *repo)
+{
+	const char * const usage[] = {
+		GIT_HISTORY_DROP_USAGE,
+		NULL,
+	};
+	enum replay_empty_commit_action empty = REPLAY_EMPTY_COMMIT_DROP;
+	enum ref_action action = REF_ACTION_DEFAULT;
+	int dry_run = 0;
+	struct option options[] = {
+		OPT_CALLBACK_F(0, "update-refs", &action, "(branches|head)",
+			       N_("control which refs should be updated"),
+			       PARSE_OPT_NONEG, parse_ref_action),
+		OPT_BOOL('n', "dry-run", &dry_run,
+			 N_("perform a dry-run without updating any refs")),
+		OPT_CALLBACK_F(0, "empty", &empty, "(drop|keep|abort)",
+			       N_("how to handle descendants that become empty"),
+			       PARSE_OPT_NONEG, parse_opt_empty),
+		OPT_END(),
+	};
+	struct strbuf reflog_msg = STRBUF_INIT;
+	struct commit *original, *rewritten;
+	struct rev_info revs = { 0 };
+	struct replay_result result = { 0 };
+	struct commit *old_head, *new_head;
+	bool head_moves = false;
+	int ret;
+
+	argc = parse_options(argc, argv, prefix, options, usage, 0);
+	if (argc != 1) {
+		ret = error(_("command expects a single revision"));
+		goto out;
+	}
+	repo_config(repo, git_default_config, NULL);
+
+	if (action == REF_ACTION_DEFAULT)
+		action = REF_ACTION_BRANCHES;
+
+	original = lookup_commit_reference_by_name(argv[0]);
+	if (!original) {
+		ret = error(_("commit cannot be found: %s"), argv[0]);
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	if (!original->parents) {
+		ret = error(_("cannot drop root commit %s: "
+			      "it has no parent to replay onto"),
+			    argv[0]);
+		goto out;
+	} else if (original->parents->next) {
+		ret = error(_("cannot drop merge commit"));
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	ret = setup_revwalk(repo, action, original, &revs);
+	if (ret)
+		goto out;
+
+	rewritten = original->parents->item;
+
+	ret = compute_pending_ref_updates(&revs, action, original, rewritten,
+					  empty, &result);
+	if (ret) {
+		ret = error(_("failed replaying descendants"));
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	/*
+	 * If HEAD will move as a result of the rewrite then we'll have to
+	 * merge in the changes into the worktree and index. This merge can of
+	 * course conflict, which will cause the whole operation to abort.
+	 *
+	 * If we had already updated the refs at that point then we'd have an
+	 * inconsistent repository state. So we first perform a dry-run merge
+	 * here before updating refs.
+	 */
+	if (!dry_run && !is_bare_repository()) {
+		ret = find_head_tree_change(repo, &result, &old_head,
+					    &new_head, &head_moves);
+		if (ret < 0)
+			goto out;
+
+		if (head_moves && update_worktree(repo, old_head, new_head, true) < 0) {
+			ret = error(_("dropping this commit would "
+				      "overwrite local changes; aborting"));
+			goto out;
+		}
+	}
+
+	strbuf_addf(&reflog_msg, "drop: dropping %s", argv[0]);
+	ret = apply_pending_ref_updates(repo, &result, reflog_msg.buf, dry_run);
+	if (ret < 0) {
+		ret = error(_("failed to update references"));
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	if (head_moves && update_worktree(repo, old_head, new_head, false) < 0) {
+		ret = error(_("failed to update working tree; "
+			      "run `git checkout HEAD` to sync"));
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	ret = 0;
+
+out:
+	replay_result_release(&result);
+	strbuf_release(&reflog_msg);
+	release_revisions(&revs);
+	return ret;
+}
+
 int cmd_history(int argc,
 		const char **argv,
 		const char *prefix,
 		struct repository *repo)
 {
 	const char * const usage[] = {
+		GIT_HISTORY_DROP_USAGE,
 		GIT_HISTORY_FIXUP_USAGE,
 		GIT_HISTORY_REWORD_USAGE,
 		GIT_HISTORY_SPLIT_USAGE,
@@ -1014,6 +1244,7 @@ int cmd_history(int argc,
 	};
 	parse_opt_subcommand_fn *fn = NULL;
 	struct option options[] = {
+		OPT_SUBCOMMAND("drop", &fn, cmd_history_drop),
 		OPT_SUBCOMMAND("fixup", &fn, cmd_history_fixup),
 		OPT_SUBCOMMAND("reword", &fn, cmd_history_reword),
 		OPT_SUBCOMMAND("split", &fn, cmd_history_split),
diff --git a/t/meson.build b/t/meson.build
index 2af8d01279..d5e71056b2 100644
--- a/t/meson.build
+++ b/t/meson.build
@@ -399,6 +399,7 @@ integration_tests = [
   't3451-history-reword.sh',
   't3452-history-split.sh',
   't3453-history-fixup.sh',
+  't3454-history-drop.sh',
   't3500-cherry.sh',
   't3501-revert-cherry-pick.sh',
   't3502-cherry-pick-merge.sh',
diff --git a/t/t3454-history-drop.sh b/t/t3454-history-drop.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..b320ff09b3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/t/t3454-history-drop.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,513 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+
+test_description='tests for git-history drop subcommand'
+
+. ./test-lib.sh
+. "$TEST_DIRECTORY/lib-log-graph.sh"
+
+expect_graph () {
+	cat >expect &&
+	lib_test_cmp_graph --graph --format=%s "$@"
+}
+
+expect_log () {
+	git log --format="%s" "$@" >actual &&
+	cat >expect &&
+	test_cmp expect actual
+}
+
+test_expect_success 'errors on missing commit argument' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit initial &&
+		test_must_fail git history drop 2>err &&
+		test_grep "command expects a single revision" err
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'errors on too many arguments' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit initial &&
+		test_must_fail git history drop HEAD HEAD 2>err &&
+		test_grep "command expects a single revision" err
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'errors on unknown revision' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit initial &&
+		test_must_fail git history drop does-not-exist 2>err &&
+		test_grep "commit cannot be found: does-not-exist" err
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'errors with invalid --empty= value' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	test_commit -C repo initial &&
+	test_commit -C repo second &&
+	test_must_fail git -C repo history drop --empty=bogus HEAD 2>err &&
+	test_grep "unrecognized.*--empty.*bogus" err
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'drops a commit in the middle and replays descendants' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit first &&
+		test_commit second &&
+		test_commit third &&
+
+		git symbolic-ref HEAD >expect &&
+		git history drop HEAD~ &&
+		git symbolic-ref HEAD >actual &&
+		test_cmp expect actual &&
+
+		expect_log <<-\EOF &&
+		third
+		first
+		EOF
+
+		test_must_fail git show HEAD:second.t &&
+		test_path_is_missing second.t &&
+
+		git reflog >reflog &&
+		test_grep "drop: dropping HEAD~" reflog
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'drops the HEAD commit' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit first &&
+		test_commit second &&
+
+		git history drop HEAD &&
+
+		expect_log <<-\EOF
+		first
+		EOF
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'drops a commit on detached HEAD' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit first &&
+		test_commit second &&
+		test_commit third &&
+		git checkout --detach HEAD &&
+
+		git history drop HEAD~ &&
+
+		expect_log <<-\EOF
+		third
+		first
+		EOF
+	)
+'
+
+# Note: in this case it would actually be fine to drop the root commit, as we
+# do have a descendant commit, and no reference points to the root commit
+# directly. So this is something that we may relax eventually.
+test_expect_success 'refuses to drop the root commit' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit first &&
+		test_commit second &&
+
+		test_must_fail git history drop HEAD~ 2>err &&
+		test_grep "cannot drop root commit" err
+	)
+'
+
+# In contrast to the above case, we actually don't want to drop the root commit
+# here as that would cause us to end up with an empty commit graph.
+test_expect_success 'refuses to drop the root commit when branch becomes empty' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit first &&
+
+		test_must_fail git history drop HEAD 2>err &&
+		test_grep "cannot drop root commit" err
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'refuses to drop a merge commit' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit base &&
+		git branch branch &&
+		test_commit ours &&
+		git switch branch &&
+		test_commit theirs &&
+		git switch - &&
+		git merge theirs &&
+
+		test_must_fail git history drop HEAD 2>err &&
+		test_grep "cannot drop merge commit" err
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'refuses when descendants contain a merge commit' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit base &&
+		test_commit middle &&
+		git branch branch &&
+		test_commit ours &&
+		git switch branch &&
+		test_commit theirs &&
+		git switch - &&
+		git merge theirs &&
+
+		test_must_fail git history drop middle 2>err &&
+		test_grep "replaying merge commits is not supported yet" err
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'works in a bare repository' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo repo.git" &&
+
+	git init repo &&
+	test_commit -C repo first &&
+	test_commit -C repo second &&
+	test_commit -C repo third &&
+
+	git clone --bare repo repo.git &&
+	(
+		cd repo.git &&
+
+		git history drop HEAD~ &&
+		expect_log <<-\EOF
+		third
+		first
+		EOF
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'updates branches on other lines of descent' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit base &&
+		test_commit target &&
+		git branch theirs &&
+		test_commit ours &&
+		git switch theirs &&
+		test_commit theirs &&
+
+		expect_graph --branches <<-\EOF &&
+		* theirs
+		| * ours
+		|/
+		* target
+		* base
+		EOF
+
+		git history drop target &&
+
+		expect_graph --branches <<-\EOF
+		* ours
+		| * theirs
+		|/
+		* base
+		EOF
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'moves branch pointing at dropped commit to its parent' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo --initial-branch=main &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit first &&
+		test_commit second &&
+		git branch points-at-second &&
+		test_commit third &&
+
+		git rev-parse first >expect &&
+		git history drop second &&
+		git rev-parse points-at-second >actual &&
+		test_cmp expect actual &&
+
+		expect_log --format="%s %D" --branches <<-\EOF
+		third HEAD -> main
+		first tag: first, points-at-second
+		EOF
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success '--dry-run prints ref updates without modifying repo' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo --initial-branch=main &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit base &&
+		git branch branch &&
+		test_commit middle &&
+		test_commit ours &&
+		git switch branch &&
+		test_commit theirs &&
+
+		git refs list >refs-expect &&
+		git history drop --dry-run main~ >updates &&
+		git refs list >refs-actual &&
+		test_cmp refs-expect refs-actual &&
+		test_grep "update refs/heads/main" updates &&
+
+		git update-ref --stdin <updates &&
+		expect_log main <<-\EOF
+		ours
+		base
+		EOF
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success '--update-refs=head updates only HEAD' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo --initial-branch=main &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit base &&
+		test_commit target &&
+		git branch theirs &&
+		test_commit ours &&
+		git switch theirs &&
+		test_commit theirs &&
+
+		# When told to update HEAD only, the command refuses to
+		# rewrite commits that are not an ancestor of HEAD.
+		test_must_fail git history drop --update-refs=head main 2>err &&
+		test_grep "rewritten commit must be an ancestor of HEAD" err &&
+
+		expect_graph --branches <<-\EOF &&
+		* theirs
+		| * ours
+		|/
+		* target
+		* base
+		EOF
+
+		git switch main &&
+		git history drop --update-refs=head target &&
+
+		expect_graph --branches <<-\EOF
+		* ours
+		| * theirs
+		| * target
+		|/
+		* base
+		EOF
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'conflict with replayed commit aborts cleanly' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit base &&
+		test_commit conflict-a file &&
+		test_commit conflict-b file &&
+
+		git refs list >refs-expect &&
+		test_must_fail git history drop HEAD~ 2>err &&
+		test_grep "failed replaying descendants" err &&
+		git refs list >refs-actual &&
+		test_cmp refs-expect refs-actual
+	)
+'
+
+# Build a history where a descendant of the drop target reverts the change
+# introduced by the drop target. After dropping, the descendant's diff applies
+# against a tree that already lacks the change, so it becomes empty.
+setup_empty_descendant_repo () {
+	git init "$1" &&
+	(
+		cd "$1" &&
+		echo C1 >file &&
+		git add file &&
+		git commit -m "base" &&
+		git tag base &&
+		echo C2 >file &&
+		git add file &&
+		git commit -m "drop-me" &&
+		git tag drop-me &&
+		test_commit middle &&
+		echo C1 >file &&
+		git add file &&
+		git commit -m "revert-drop-me" &&
+		git tag revert-drop-me
+	)
+}
+
+test_expect_success '--empty=drop drops descendants that become empty' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	setup_empty_descendant_repo repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+
+		git history drop --empty=drop drop-me &&
+
+		expect_log <<-\EOF
+		middle
+		base
+		EOF
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success '--empty=keep keeps descendants that become empty' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	setup_empty_descendant_repo repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+
+		git history drop --empty=keep drop-me &&
+
+		expect_log <<-\EOF &&
+		revert-drop-me
+		middle
+		base
+		EOF
+		git diff HEAD~ HEAD >diff &&
+		test_must_be_empty diff
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success '--empty=abort errors out when a descendant becomes empty' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	setup_empty_descendant_repo repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+
+		test_must_fail git history drop --empty=abort drop-me 2>err &&
+		test_grep "became empty after replay" err
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'updates index and worktree when HEAD moves' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit first &&
+		test_commit second &&
+		test_commit third &&
+
+		git history drop second &&
+
+		# Worktree should no longer contain second.t.
+		test_path_is_missing second.t &&
+		test_path_is_file first.t &&
+		test_path_is_file third.t &&
+
+		# Index and worktree should both match the new HEAD.
+		git status --porcelain --untracked-files=no >status &&
+		test_must_be_empty status
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'updates worktree when dropping HEAD itself' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit first &&
+		test_commit second &&
+
+		git history drop HEAD &&
+
+		test_path_is_missing second.t &&
+		test_path_is_file first.t &&
+
+		git status --porcelain --untracked-files=no >status &&
+		test_must_be_empty status
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'preserves unrelated unstaged modifications' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit first &&
+		echo first-content >unrelated.txt &&
+		git add unrelated.txt &&
+		git commit -m "add unrelated" &&
+		test_commit second &&
+		test_commit third &&
+
+		echo locally-modified >unrelated.txt &&
+
+		git diff >diff-expect &&
+		git history drop second &&
+		git diff >diff-actual &&
+		test_cmp diff-expect diff-actual &&
+		test_path_is_missing second.t
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'preserves unrelated staged changes' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit first &&
+		echo first-content >unrelated.txt &&
+		git add unrelated.txt &&
+		git commit -m "add unrelated" &&
+		test_commit second &&
+		test_commit third &&
+
+		echo staged-change >unrelated.txt &&
+		git add unrelated.txt &&
+
+		git diff --cached >diff-expect &&
+		git history drop second &&
+		git diff --cached >diff-actual &&
+		test_cmp diff-expect diff-actual &&
+		test_path_is_missing second.t
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'aborts when local modifications would be overwritten' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit base &&
+		test_commit conflict &&
+
+		echo local-edit >conflict.t &&
+		git diff >diff-expect &&
+		test_must_fail git history drop HEAD 2>err &&
+		test_grep "would overwrite local changes" err &&
+		git diff >diff-actual &&
+		test_cmp diff-expect diff-actual
+	)
+'
+
+test_done

-- 
2.54.0.926.g75ba10bac6.dirty

Re: [PATCH 2/2] builtin/history: implement "drop" subcommand

[Junio C Hamano]

Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im> writes:

> A common operation when editing the commit history is to drop a specific
> commit from the history entirely, but this operation is not currently
> covered by git-history(1).
>
> A couple of noteworthy bits:
>
>   - This is the first git-history(1) command that will ultimately result
>     in changes to both the index and the working tree. We thus have to
>     add logic to merge resulting changes into those.
>
>   - It is still not possible to replay merge commits, so this limitation
>     is inherited for the new "drop" command.
>
>   - For now we refuse to drop root commits. While we _can_ indeed drop
>     root commits in the general case, there are edge cases where the
>     resulting history would become completely empty. This is thus left
>     to a subsequent patch series.
>
> Other than that, most of the logic is rather straight-forward as we can
> continue to build on the preexisting logic in git-history(1) for most of
> the part.
>
> Signed-off-by: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
> ---
> ...
> +static int update_worktree(struct repository *repo,
> +			   const struct commit *old_head,
> +			   const struct commit *new_head,
> +			   bool dry_run)
> +{
> +...
> +
> +out:
> +	clear_unpack_trees_porcelain(&opts);
> +	rollback_lock_file(&lock);
> +	release_index(&index);
> +	free(desc_buf[0]);
> +	free(desc_buf[1]);
> +	return ret;
> +}

The function looks very familiar---anybody who wants to perform
"checkout <other-commit>" needs to do exactly the above.  It is a
bit surprising and disappointing that this topic needs to *invent*
its own helper function and carry it as a file-scope static.

> +	if (head_moves && update_worktree(repo, old_head, new_head, false) < 0) {
> +		ret = error(_("failed to update working tree; "
> +			      "run `git checkout HEAD` to sync"));
> +		goto out;
> +	}

This is minor, but unlike in documentation pages written in AsciiDoc, we do
not do backticks for literals in our error messages, I think.

Re: [PATCH 2/2] builtin/history: implement "drop" subcommand

[Patrick Steinhardt]

On Tue, Jun 02, 2026 at 08:43:48AM +0900, Junio C Hamano wrote:
> Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im> writes:
[snip]
> > +static int update_worktree(struct repository *repo,
> > +			   const struct commit *old_head,
> > +			   const struct commit *new_head,
> > +			   bool dry_run)
> > +{
> > +...
> > +
> > +out:
> > +	clear_unpack_trees_porcelain(&opts);
> > +	rollback_lock_file(&lock);
> > +	release_index(&index);
> > +	free(desc_buf[0]);
> > +	free(desc_buf[1]);
> > +	return ret;
> > +}
> 
> The function looks very familiar---anybody who wants to perform
> "checkout <other-commit>" needs to do exactly the above.  It is a
> bit surprising and disappointing that this topic needs to *invent*
> its own helper function and carry it as a file-scope static.

It certainly is. We basically have this whole dance in ~8 different
locations by now, and given the verbosity that is required for the whole
setup it's a good hint that the interface is not exactly great.

One of the functions that we might be able to reuse is `reset_head()`...
goes down the rabbit hole... ugh, this is turning out to be somewhat
painful. I'll send a v2 that does the whole exercise, but I'm not a 100%
convinced it's the right thing to do. There's various assumptions that
we have to break:

  - It assumes that the index is always clean.

  - We don't have a dry-run mode.

  - We need to stop it from updating any refs.

  - We need to introduce another field to let the caller decide which
    commit we're moving from.

So I'm 7 commits deep now adapting the function to our needs. But maybe
the end result is ultimately worth it...? We'll see.

Patrick

Re: [PATCH 2/2] builtin/history: implement "drop" subcommand

[Pablo Sabater]

Hi!

El mar, 2 jun 2026 a las 8:16, Patrick Steinhardt (<ps@pks.im>) escribió:

> +
> +static int cmd_history_drop(int argc,
> +                           const char **argv,
> +                           const char *prefix,
> +                           struct repository *repo)
> +{
> +       const char * const usage[] = {
> +               GIT_HISTORY_DROP_USAGE,
> +               NULL,
> +       };
> +       enum replay_empty_commit_action empty = REPLAY_EMPTY_COMMIT_DROP;
> +       enum ref_action action = REF_ACTION_DEFAULT;
> +       int dry_run = 0;
> +       struct option options[] = {
> +               OPT_CALLBACK_F(0, "update-refs", &action, "(branches|head)",
> +                              N_("control which refs should be updated"),
> +                              PARSE_OPT_NONEG, parse_ref_action),
> +               OPT_BOOL('n', "dry-run", &dry_run,
> +                        N_("perform a dry-run without updating any refs")),
> +               OPT_CALLBACK_F(0, "empty", &empty, "(drop|keep|abort)",
> +                              N_("how to handle descendants that become empty"),
> +                              PARSE_OPT_NONEG, parse_opt_empty),
> +               OPT_END(),
> +       };
> +       struct strbuf reflog_msg = STRBUF_INIT;
> +       struct commit *original, *rewritten;
> +       struct rev_info revs = { 0 };
> +       struct replay_result result = { 0 };
> +       struct commit *old_head, *new_head;
> +       bool head_moves = false;
> +       int ret;
> +
> +       argc = parse_options(argc, argv, prefix, options, usage, 0);
> +       if (argc != 1) {
> +               ret = error(_("command expects a single revision"));
> +               goto out;
> +       }
> +       repo_config(repo, git_default_config, NULL);
> +
> +       if (action == REF_ACTION_DEFAULT)
> +               action = REF_ACTION_BRANCHES;
> +
> +       original = lookup_commit_reference_by_name(argv[0]);
> +       if (!original) {
> +               ret = error(_("commit cannot be found: %s"), argv[0]);
> +               goto out;
> +       }
> +
> +       if (!original->parents) {
> +               ret = error(_("cannot drop root commit %s: "
> +                             "it has no parent to replay onto"),
> +                           argv[0]);
> +               goto out;
> +       } else if (original->parents->next) {
> +               ret = error(_("cannot drop merge commit"));

Why the if block adds which commit context, but not on the else if block?

> +               goto out;
> +       }

> diff --git a/t/t3454-history-drop.sh b/t/t3454-history-drop.sh
> new file mode 100755
> index 0000000000..b320ff09b3
> --- /dev/null
> +++ b/t/t3454-history-drop.sh
> @@ -0,0 +1,513 @@
> +#!/bin/sh
> +
> +test_description='tests for git-history drop subcommand'
> +
> +. ./test-lib.sh
> +. "$TEST_DIRECTORY/lib-log-graph.sh"
> +
> +expect_graph () {
> +       cat >expect &&
> +       lib_test_cmp_graph --graph --format=%s "$@"
> +}

This function appears exactly the same at t6016 and t4215 but named as
check_graph. I was gonna do a cleanup for a commit series I'm working
on to bring that function to `lib-log-graph.sh` because all these test
files share that they import graph functions from `lib-log-graph.c`,
maybe you could do it?

Also:

lib_test_cmp_graph () {
        git log --graph "$@" >output &&
        sed 's/ *$//' >output.sanitized <output &&
        test_cmp expect output.sanitized
}

Already uses `--graph` you can drop it from expect_graph()

I can't say much more, from what I tested it worked fine but I haven't
tested very exhaustively tho,

--
Pablo

Re: [PATCH 2/2] builtin/history: implement "drop" subcommand

[Patrick Steinhardt]

On Tue, Jun 02, 2026 at 09:31:17AM +0200, Pablo Sabater wrote:
> El mar, 2 jun 2026 a las 8:16, Patrick Steinhardt (<ps@pks.im>) escribió:
[snip]
> > +       original = lookup_commit_reference_by_name(argv[0]);
> > +       if (!original) {
> > +               ret = error(_("commit cannot be found: %s"), argv[0]);
> > +               goto out;
> > +       }
> > +
> > +       if (!original->parents) {
> > +               ret = error(_("cannot drop root commit %s: "
> > +                             "it has no parent to replay onto"),
> > +                           argv[0]);
> > +               goto out;
> > +       } else if (original->parents->next) {
> > +               ret = error(_("cannot drop merge commit"));
> 
> Why the if block adds which commit context, but not on the else if block?

True indeed, will adapt.

> > diff --git a/t/t3454-history-drop.sh b/t/t3454-history-drop.sh
> > new file mode 100755
> > index 0000000000..b320ff09b3
> > --- /dev/null
> > +++ b/t/t3454-history-drop.sh
> > @@ -0,0 +1,513 @@
> > +#!/bin/sh
> > +
> > +test_description='tests for git-history drop subcommand'
> > +
> > +. ./test-lib.sh
> > +. "$TEST_DIRECTORY/lib-log-graph.sh"
> > +
> > +expect_graph () {
> > +       cat >expect &&
> > +       lib_test_cmp_graph --graph --format=%s "$@"
> > +}
> 
> This function appears exactly the same at t6016 and t4215 but named as
> check_graph. I was gonna do a cleanup for a commit series I'm working
> on to bring that function to `lib-log-graph.sh` because all these test
> files share that they import graph functions from `lib-log-graph.c`,
> maybe you could do it?

I'd rather keep this series focussed, but I wouldn't mind a follow up
that deduplicates these call sites.

> Also:
> 
> lib_test_cmp_graph () {
>         git log --graph "$@" >output &&
>         sed 's/ *$//' >output.sanitized <output &&
>         test_cmp expect output.sanitized
> }
> 
> Already uses `--graph` you can drop it from expect_graph()

True indeed, dropped the "--graph" argument.

Thanks!

Patrick

[PATCH v2 0/9] builtin/history: introduce "drop" subcommand

[Patrick Steinhardt]

Hi,

this small patch series introduces the new "drop" subcommand for
git-history(1). As a reader might guess, the command does exactly that:
given a commit, it will drop that commit from the commit history and
replay descendant branches on top of it.

Changes in v2:
  - Reworked `update_worktree()` to use `reset_head()`, which required a
    bunch of changes to `reset_head()`.
  - Consistently mention the commit that cannot be dropped as part of
    error messages.
  - Adapt error message to not use backticks anymore.
  - Drop redundant "--graph" flag in a test helper.
  - Link to v1: https://patch.msgid.link/20260601-b4-pks-history-drop-v1-0-643e32340d55@pks.im

Thanks!

Patrick

---
Patrick Steinhardt (9):
      read-cache: split out function to drop unmerged entries to stage 0
      reset: drop `USE_THE_REPOSITORY_VARIABLE`
      reset: modernize flags passed to `reset_head()`
      reset: introduce dry-run mode
      reset: introduce ability to skip reference updates
      reset: allow the caller to specify the current HEAD object
      reset: stop assuming that the caller passes in a clean index
      builtin/history: split handling of ref updates into two phases
      builtin/history: implement "drop" subcommand

 Documentation/git-history.adoc |  38 ++-
 builtin/history.c              | 289 ++++++++++++++++++++---
 builtin/rebase.c               |   2 +-
 read-cache-ll.h                |   1 +
 read-cache.c                   |  12 +-
 reset.c                        |  91 +++++---
 reset.h                        |  44 +++-
 sequencer.c                    |   2 +-
 t/meson.build                  |   1 +
 t/t3454-history-drop.sh        | 513 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 10 files changed, 905 insertions(+), 88 deletions(-)

Range-diff versus v1:

 -:  ---------- >  1:  d6e4f3193d read-cache: split out function to drop unmerged entries to stage 0
 -:  ---------- >  2:  2eef3d77e4 reset: drop `USE_THE_REPOSITORY_VARIABLE`
 -:  ---------- >  3:  cbfd105ca3 reset: modernize flags passed to `reset_head()`
 -:  ---------- >  4:  bbb7f3c61c reset: introduce dry-run mode
 -:  ---------- >  5:  b3d036cea1 reset: introduce ability to skip reference updates
 -:  ---------- >  6:  7df1787049 reset: allow the caller to specify the current HEAD object
 -:  ---------- >  7:  f58254bbb8 reset: stop assuming that the caller passes in a clean index
 1:  2a4b683b8c =  8:  9dee781f0a builtin/history: split handling of ref updates into two phases
 2:  02712e70d3 !  9:  2b4e4075e6 builtin/history: implement "drop" subcommand
    @@ Documentation/git-history.adoc: The staged addition of `unrelated.txt` has been
     
      ## builtin/history.c ##
     @@
    + #include "read-cache.h"
    + #include "refs.h"
    + #include "replay.h"
    ++#include "reset.h"
    + #include "revision.h"
      #include "sequencer.h"
      #include "strvec.h"
      #include "tree.h"
    @@ builtin/history.c: static int cmd_history_split(int argc,
     +			   const struct commit *new_head,
     +			   bool dry_run)
     +{
    -+	struct index_state index = INDEX_STATE_INIT(repo);
    -+	struct unpack_trees_options opts = { 0 };
    -+	struct lock_file lock = LOCK_INIT;
    -+	struct tree_desc desc[2] = { 0 };
    -+	char *desc_buf[2] = { 0 };
    -+	int ret;
    -+
    -+	if (!dry_run &&
    -+	    repo_hold_locked_index(repo, &lock, LOCK_REPORT_ON_ERROR) < 0)
    -+		return -1;
    -+
    -+	if (read_index_from(&index, repo->index_file, repo->gitdir) < 0) {
    -+		ret = error(_("unable to read index"));
    -+		goto out;
    -+	}
    -+
    -+	setup_unpack_trees_porcelain(&opts, "history drop");
    -+	opts.head_idx = 1;
    -+	opts.src_index = &index;
    -+	opts.dst_index = &index;
    -+	opts.fn = twoway_merge;
    -+	opts.merge = 1;
    -+	opts.update = !dry_run;
    -+	opts.dry_run = dry_run;
    -+	opts.preserve_ignored = 0;
    -+	init_checkout_metadata(&opts.meta, NULL, &new_head->object.oid, NULL);
    -+
    -+	desc_buf[0] = fill_tree_descriptor(repo, &desc[0], &old_head->object.oid);
    -+	desc_buf[1] = fill_tree_descriptor(repo, &desc[1], &new_head->object.oid);
    -+
    -+	if (unpack_trees(2, desc, &opts)) {
    -+		ret = -1;
    -+		goto out;
    -+	}
    -+
    -+	if (!dry_run) {
    -+		cache_tree_free(&index.cache_tree);
    -+
    -+		if (write_locked_index(&index, &lock, COMMIT_LOCK)) {
    -+			ret = error(_("could not write index"));
    -+			goto out;
    -+		}
    -+	}
    -+
    -+	ret = 0;
    -+
    -+out:
    -+	clear_unpack_trees_porcelain(&opts);
    -+	rollback_lock_file(&lock);
    -+	release_index(&index);
    -+	free(desc_buf[0]);
    -+	free(desc_buf[1]);
    -+	return ret;
    ++	struct reset_head_opts opts = {
    ++		.oid_from = &old_head->object.oid,
    ++		.oid = &new_head->object.oid,
    ++		.flags = RESET_HEAD_SKIP_REF_UPDATES,
    ++	};
    ++	if (dry_run)
    ++		opts.flags |= RESET_HEAD_DRY_RUN;
    ++	return reset_head(repo, &opts);
     +}
     +
     +static int find_head_tree_change(struct repository *repo,
    @@ builtin/history.c: static int cmd_history_split(int argc,
     +			    argv[0]);
     +		goto out;
     +	} else if (original->parents->next) {
    -+		ret = error(_("cannot drop merge commit"));
    ++		ret = error(_("cannot drop merge commit: %s"), argv[0]);
     +		goto out;
     +	}
     +
    @@ builtin/history.c: static int cmd_history_split(int argc,
     +	}
     +
     +	if (head_moves && update_worktree(repo, old_head, new_head, false) < 0) {
    -+		ret = error(_("failed to update working tree; "
    -+			      "run `git checkout HEAD` to sync"));
    ++		ret = error(_("could not update working tree to new commit %s"),
    ++			    oid_to_hex(&new_head->object.oid));
     +		goto out;
     +	}
     +
    @@ t/t3454-history-drop.sh (new)
     +
     +expect_graph () {
     +	cat >expect &&
    -+	lib_test_cmp_graph --graph --format=%s "$@"
    ++	lib_test_cmp_graph --format=%s "$@"
     +}
     +
     +expect_log () {

---
base-commit: 1666c1265231b0bc5f613fbbf3f0a9896cdef76e
change-id: 20260601-b4-pks-history-drop-28f6c6399e7b

[PATCH v2 1/9] read-cache: split out function to drop unmerged entries to stage 0

[Patrick Steinhardt]

In `repo_read_index_unmerged()` we read the index and then drop any
unmerged entries to stage 0. In a subsequent commit we'll want to
perform this operation on arbitrary indexes, not only the one of the
given repository.

Prepare for this by splitting out the functionality into a new function
that can act on an arbitrary index.

While at it, fix a signedness mismatch when iterating through the index
cache entries.

Signed-off-by: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
---
 read-cache-ll.h |  1 +
 read-cache.c    | 12 +++++++-----
 2 files changed, 8 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-)

diff --git a/read-cache-ll.h b/read-cache-ll.h
index 2c8b4b21b1..71b87615eb 100644
--- a/read-cache-ll.h
+++ b/read-cache-ll.h
@@ -309,6 +309,7 @@ int write_locked_index(struct index_state *, struct lock_file *lock, unsigned fl
 void discard_index(struct index_state *);
 void move_index_extensions(struct index_state *dst, struct index_state *src);
 int unmerged_index(const struct index_state *);
+int index_state_unmerged_to_stage0(struct index_state *istate);
 
 /**
  * Returns 1 if istate differs from tree, 0 otherwise.  If tree is NULL,
diff --git a/read-cache.c b/read-cache.c
index 21829102ae..799a5bc719 100644
--- a/read-cache.c
+++ b/read-cache.c
@@ -3403,13 +3403,15 @@ int write_locked_index(struct index_state *istate, struct lock_file *lock,
  */
 int repo_read_index_unmerged(struct repository *repo)
 {
-	struct index_state *istate;
-	int i;
+	repo_read_index(repo);
+	return index_state_unmerged_to_stage0(repo->index);
+}
+
+int index_state_unmerged_to_stage0(struct index_state *istate)
+{
 	int unmerged = 0;
 
-	repo_read_index(repo);
-	istate = repo->index;
-	for (i = 0; i < istate->cache_nr; i++) {
+	for (unsigned int i = 0; i < istate->cache_nr; i++) {
 		struct cache_entry *ce = istate->cache[i];
 		struct cache_entry *new_ce;
 		int len;

-- 
2.54.0.1064.gd145956f57.dirty

[PATCH v2 2/9] reset: drop `USE_THE_REPOSITORY_VARIABLE`

[Patrick Steinhardt]

In "reset.c" we still have references to `the_repository`, even though
the only entry point into the file already receives a repository as
parameter.

Update all uses of `the_repository` to instead use the passed-in repo
and drop `USE_THE_REPOSITORY_VARIABLE`.

Signed-off-by: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
---
 reset.c | 27 +++++++++++++--------------
 1 file changed, 13 insertions(+), 14 deletions(-)

diff --git a/reset.c b/reset.c
index 46e30e6394..3b3cb74dab 100644
--- a/reset.c
+++ b/reset.c
@@ -1,5 +1,3 @@
-#define USE_THE_REPOSITORY_VARIABLE
-
 #include "git-compat-util.h"
 #include "cache-tree.h"
 #include "gettext.h"
@@ -13,7 +11,8 @@
 #include "unpack-trees.h"
 #include "hook.h"
 
-static int update_refs(const struct reset_head_opts *opts,
+static int update_refs(struct repository *repo,
+		       const struct reset_head_opts *opts,
 		       const struct object_id *oid,
 		       const struct object_id *head)
 {
@@ -42,19 +41,19 @@ static int update_refs(const struct reset_head_opts *opts,
 	prefix_len = msg.len;
 
 	if (update_orig_head) {
-		if (!repo_get_oid(the_repository, "ORIG_HEAD", &oid_old_orig))
+		if (!repo_get_oid(repo, "ORIG_HEAD", &oid_old_orig))
 			old_orig = &oid_old_orig;
 		if (head) {
 			if (!reflog_orig_head) {
 				strbuf_addstr(&msg, "updating ORIG_HEAD");
 				reflog_orig_head = msg.buf;
 			}
-			refs_update_ref(get_main_ref_store(the_repository),
+			refs_update_ref(get_main_ref_store(repo),
 					reflog_orig_head, "ORIG_HEAD",
 					orig_head ? orig_head : head,
 					old_orig, 0, UPDATE_REFS_MSG_ON_ERR);
 		} else if (old_orig)
-			refs_delete_ref(get_main_ref_store(the_repository),
+			refs_delete_ref(get_main_ref_store(repo),
 					NULL, "ORIG_HEAD", old_orig, 0);
 	}
 
@@ -64,23 +63,23 @@ static int update_refs(const struct reset_head_opts *opts,
 		reflog_head = msg.buf;
 	}
 	if (!switch_to_branch)
-		ret = refs_update_ref(get_main_ref_store(the_repository),
+		ret = refs_update_ref(get_main_ref_store(repo),
 				      reflog_head, "HEAD", oid, head,
 				      detach_head ? REF_NO_DEREF : 0,
 				      UPDATE_REFS_MSG_ON_ERR);
 	else {
-		ret = refs_update_ref(get_main_ref_store(the_repository),
+		ret = refs_update_ref(get_main_ref_store(repo),
 				      reflog_branch ? reflog_branch : reflog_head,
 				      switch_to_branch, oid, NULL, 0,
 				      UPDATE_REFS_MSG_ON_ERR);
 		if (!ret)
-			ret = refs_update_symref(get_main_ref_store(the_repository),
+			ret = refs_update_symref(get_main_ref_store(repo),
 						 "HEAD", switch_to_branch,
 						 reflog_head);
 	}
 	if (!ret && run_hook)
-		run_hooks_l(the_repository, "post-checkout",
-			    oid_to_hex(head ? head : null_oid(the_hash_algo)),
+		run_hooks_l(repo, "post-checkout",
+			    oid_to_hex(head ? head : null_oid(repo->hash_algo)),
 			    oid_to_hex(oid), "1", NULL);
 	strbuf_release(&msg);
 	return ret;
@@ -126,7 +125,7 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
 		oid = &head_oid;
 
 	if (refs_only)
-		return update_refs(opts, oid, head);
+		return update_refs(r, opts, oid, head);
 
 	action = reset_hard ? "reset" : "checkout";
 	setup_unpack_trees_porcelain(&unpack_tree_opts, action);
@@ -163,7 +162,7 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
 		goto leave_reset_head;
 	}
 
-	tree = repo_parse_tree_indirect(the_repository, oid);
+	tree = repo_parse_tree_indirect(r, oid);
 	if (!tree) {
 		ret = error(_("unable to read tree (%s)"), oid_to_hex(oid));
 		goto leave_reset_head;
@@ -177,7 +176,7 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
 	}
 
 	if (oid != &head_oid || update_orig_head || switch_to_branch)
-		ret = update_refs(opts, oid, head);
+		ret = update_refs(r, opts, oid, head);
 
 leave_reset_head:
 	rollback_lock_file(&lock);

-- 
2.54.0.1064.gd145956f57.dirty

[PATCH v2 3/9] reset: modernize flags passed to `reset_head()`

[Patrick Steinhardt]

The flags passed to `reset_head()` are declared as defines. This has
fallen a bit out of practice nowadays, where we instead prefer to use
enums.

Modernize the code accordingly.

Signed-off-by: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
---
 builtin/rebase.c |  2 +-
 reset.c          |  4 ++--
 reset.h          | 30 ++++++++++++++++++------------
 sequencer.c      |  2 +-
 4 files changed, 22 insertions(+), 16 deletions(-)

diff --git a/builtin/rebase.c b/builtin/rebase.c
index fa4f5d9306..6351a3aa32 100644
--- a/builtin/rebase.c
+++ b/builtin/rebase.c
@@ -1876,7 +1876,7 @@ int cmd_rebase(int argc,
 		    options.reflog_action, options.onto_name);
 	ropts.oid = &options.onto->object.oid;
 	ropts.orig_head = &options.orig_head->object.oid;
-	ropts.flags = RESET_HEAD_DETACH | RESET_ORIG_HEAD |
+	ropts.flags = RESET_HEAD_DETACH | RESET_HEAD_ORIG_HEAD |
 			RESET_HEAD_RUN_POST_CHECKOUT_HOOK;
 	ropts.head_msg = msg.buf;
 	ropts.default_reflog_action = options.reflog_action;
diff --git a/reset.c b/reset.c
index 3b3cb74dab..9ff14f5ed1 100644
--- a/reset.c
+++ b/reset.c
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ static int update_refs(struct repository *repo,
 {
 	unsigned detach_head = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_DETACH;
 	unsigned run_hook = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_RUN_POST_CHECKOUT_HOOK;
-	unsigned update_orig_head = opts->flags & RESET_ORIG_HEAD;
+	unsigned update_orig_head = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_ORIG_HEAD;
 	const struct object_id *orig_head = opts->orig_head;
 	const char *switch_to_branch = opts->branch;
 	const char *reflog_branch = opts->branch_msg;
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
 	const char *switch_to_branch = opts->branch;
 	unsigned reset_hard = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_HARD;
 	unsigned refs_only = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_REFS_ONLY;
-	unsigned update_orig_head = opts->flags & RESET_ORIG_HEAD;
+	unsigned update_orig_head = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_ORIG_HEAD;
 	struct object_id *head = NULL, head_oid;
 	struct tree_desc desc[2] = { { NULL }, { NULL } };
 	struct lock_file lock = LOCK_INIT;
diff --git a/reset.h b/reset.h
index a28f81829d..97ced2601e 100644
--- a/reset.h
+++ b/reset.h
@@ -6,16 +6,22 @@
 
 #define GIT_REFLOG_ACTION_ENVIRONMENT "GIT_REFLOG_ACTION"
 
-/* Request a detached checkout */
-#define RESET_HEAD_DETACH (1<<0)
-/* Request a reset rather than a checkout */
-#define RESET_HEAD_HARD (1<<1)
-/* Run the post-checkout hook */
-#define RESET_HEAD_RUN_POST_CHECKOUT_HOOK (1<<2)
-/* Only update refs, do not touch the worktree */
-#define RESET_HEAD_REFS_ONLY (1<<3)
-/* Update ORIG_HEAD as well as HEAD */
-#define RESET_ORIG_HEAD (1<<4)
+enum reset_head_flags {
+	/* Request a detached checkout */
+	RESET_HEAD_DETACH = (1 << 0),
+
+	/* Request a reset rather than a checkout */
+	RESET_HEAD_HARD = (1 << 1),
+
+	/* Run the post-checkout hook */
+	RESET_HEAD_RUN_POST_CHECKOUT_HOOK = (1 << 2),
+
+	/* Only update refs, do not touch the worktree */
+	RESET_HEAD_REFS_ONLY = (1 << 3),
+
+	/* Update ORIG_HEAD as well as HEAD */
+	RESET_HEAD_ORIG_HEAD = (1 << 4),
+};
 
 struct reset_head_opts {
 	/*
@@ -33,7 +39,7 @@ struct reset_head_opts {
 	/*
 	 * Flags defined above.
 	 */
-	unsigned flags;
+	enum reset_head_flags flags;
 	/*
 	 * Optional reflog message for branch, defaults to head_msg.
 	 */
@@ -45,7 +51,7 @@ struct reset_head_opts {
 	const char *head_msg;
 	/*
 	 * Optional reflog message for ORIG_HEAD, if this omitted and flags
-	 * contains RESET_ORIG_HEAD then default_reflog_action must be given.
+	 * contains RESET_HEAD_ORIG_HEAD then default_reflog_action must be given.
 	 */
 	const char *orig_head_msg;
 	/*
diff --git a/sequencer.c b/sequencer.c
index 1ee4b2875b..0b89a977b0 100644
--- a/sequencer.c
+++ b/sequencer.c
@@ -4870,7 +4870,7 @@ static int checkout_onto(struct repository *r, struct replay_opts *opts,
 	struct reset_head_opts ropts = {
 		.oid = onto,
 		.orig_head = orig_head,
-		.flags = RESET_HEAD_DETACH | RESET_ORIG_HEAD |
+		.flags = RESET_HEAD_DETACH | RESET_HEAD_ORIG_HEAD |
 				RESET_HEAD_RUN_POST_CHECKOUT_HOOK,
 		.head_msg = reflog_message(opts, "start", "checkout %s",
 					   onto_name),

-- 
2.54.0.1064.gd145956f57.dirty

Re: [PATCH v2 3/9] reset: modernize flags passed to `reset_head()`

[Kristoffer Haugsbakk]

On Wed, Jun 3, 2026, at 18:14, Patrick Steinhardt wrote:
> The flags passed to `reset_head()` are declared as defines. This has
> fallen a bit out of practice nowadays, where we instead prefer to use
> enums.
>
> Modernize the code accordingly.
>
> Signed-off-by: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
> ---

This seems to refer to this from CodingGuidelines (quoting
for reference):

    When a function `F` accepts flags, those flags should be

So this goal makes sense.

>[snip]

Re: [PATCH v2 3/9] reset: modernize flags passed to `reset_head()`

[Phillip Wood]

Hi Patrick

On 03/06/2026 17:14, Patrick Steinhardt wrote:

> -/* Update ORIG_HEAD as well as HEAD */
> -#define RESET_ORIG_HEAD (1<<4)
 > [...]> +	/* Update ORIG_HEAD as well as HEAD */
> +	RESET_HEAD_ORIG_HEAD = (1 << 4),

I'm having a hard time parsing this new name, if we must have a 
"RESET_HEAD_" prefix can we call it something like 
RESET_HEAD_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD?

Thanks

Phillip

> +};
>   
>   struct reset_head_opts {
>   	/*
> @@ -33,7 +39,7 @@ struct reset_head_opts {
>   	/*
>   	 * Flags defined above.
>   	 */
> -	unsigned flags;
> +	enum reset_head_flags flags;
>   	/*
>   	 * Optional reflog message for branch, defaults to head_msg.
>   	 */
> @@ -45,7 +51,7 @@ struct reset_head_opts {
>   	const char *head_msg;
>   	/*
>   	 * Optional reflog message for ORIG_HEAD, if this omitted and flags
> -	 * contains RESET_ORIG_HEAD then default_reflog_action must be given.
> +	 * contains RESET_HEAD_ORIG_HEAD then default_reflog_action must be given.
>   	 */
>   	const char *orig_head_msg;
>   	/*
> diff --git a/sequencer.c b/sequencer.c
> index 1ee4b2875b..0b89a977b0 100644
> --- a/sequencer.c
> +++ b/sequencer.c
> @@ -4870,7 +4870,7 @@ static int checkout_onto(struct repository *r, struct replay_opts *opts,
>   	struct reset_head_opts ropts = {
>   		.oid = onto,
>   		.orig_head = orig_head,
> -		.flags = RESET_HEAD_DETACH | RESET_ORIG_HEAD |
> +		.flags = RESET_HEAD_DETACH | RESET_HEAD_ORIG_HEAD |
>   				RESET_HEAD_RUN_POST_CHECKOUT_HOOK,
>   		.head_msg = reflog_message(opts, "start", "checkout %s",
>   					   onto_name),
> 

Re: [PATCH v2 3/9] reset: modernize flags passed to `reset_head()`

[Patrick Steinhardt]

On Fri, Jun 05, 2026 at 04:08:57PM +0100, Phillip Wood wrote:
> Hi Patrick
> 
> On 03/06/2026 17:14, Patrick Steinhardt wrote:
> 
> > -/* Update ORIG_HEAD as well as HEAD */
> > -#define RESET_ORIG_HEAD (1<<4)
> > [...]> +	/* Update ORIG_HEAD as well as HEAD */
> > +	RESET_HEAD_ORIG_HEAD = (1 << 4),
> 
> I'm having a hard time parsing this new name, if we must have a
> "RESET_HEAD_" prefix can we call it something like
> RESET_HEAD_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD?

Yeah, that reads better indeed. Amended locally, thanks!

Patrick

[PATCH v2 4/9] reset: introduce dry-run mode

[Patrick Steinhardt]

In a subsequent commit we'll add add another caller to `reset_head()`
that wants to perform a dry-run check of whether it would be possible to
udpate the index and working tree when moving to a new commit. Introduce
a new flag that lets the caller perform this operation.

Signed-off-by: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
---
 reset.c | 44 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-----------
 reset.h |  6 ++++++
 2 files changed, 39 insertions(+), 11 deletions(-)

diff --git a/reset.c b/reset.c
index 9ff14f5ed1..a8d7eea4d6 100644
--- a/reset.c
+++ b/reset.c
@@ -92,11 +92,14 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
 	unsigned reset_hard = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_HARD;
 	unsigned refs_only = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_REFS_ONLY;
 	unsigned update_orig_head = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_ORIG_HEAD;
+	unsigned dry_run = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_DRY_RUN;
 	struct object_id *head = NULL, head_oid;
 	struct tree_desc desc[2] = { { NULL }, { NULL } };
 	struct lock_file lock = LOCK_INIT;
 	struct unpack_trees_options unpack_tree_opts = { 0 };
 	struct tree *tree;
+	struct index_state scratch_index = INDEX_STATE_INIT(r);
+	struct index_state *istate;
 	const char *action;
 	int ret = 0, nr = 0;
 
@@ -109,7 +112,7 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
 	if (opts->branch_msg && !opts->branch)
 		BUG("branch reflog message given without a branch");
 
-	if (!refs_only && repo_hold_locked_index(r, &lock, LOCK_REPORT_ON_ERROR) < 0) {
+	if (!refs_only && !dry_run && repo_hold_locked_index(r, &lock, LOCK_REPORT_ON_ERROR) < 0) {
 		ret = -1;
 		goto leave_reset_head;
 	}
@@ -124,16 +127,36 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
 	if (!oid)
 		oid = &head_oid;
 
-	if (refs_only)
-		return update_refs(r, opts, oid, head);
+	if (refs_only) {
+		if (!dry_run)
+			return update_refs(r, opts, oid, head);
+		return 0;
+	}
+
+	if (dry_run) {
+		if (read_index_from(&scratch_index, r->index_file, r->gitdir) < 0 ||
+		    index_state_unmerged_to_stage0(&scratch_index) < 0) {
+			ret = error(_("could not read index"));
+			goto leave_reset_head;
+		}
+
+		istate = &scratch_index;
+	} else {
+		if (repo_read_index_unmerged(r) < 0) {
+			ret = error(_("could not read index"));
+			goto leave_reset_head;
+		}
+		istate = r->index;
+	}
 
 	action = reset_hard ? "reset" : "checkout";
 	setup_unpack_trees_porcelain(&unpack_tree_opts, action);
 	unpack_tree_opts.head_idx = 1;
-	unpack_tree_opts.src_index = r->index;
-	unpack_tree_opts.dst_index = r->index;
+	unpack_tree_opts.src_index = istate;
+	unpack_tree_opts.dst_index = istate;
 	unpack_tree_opts.fn = reset_hard ? oneway_merge : twoway_merge;
-	unpack_tree_opts.update = 1;
+	unpack_tree_opts.update = !dry_run;
+	unpack_tree_opts.dry_run = dry_run;
 	unpack_tree_opts.merge = 1;
 	unpack_tree_opts.preserve_ignored = 0; /* FIXME: !overwrite_ignore */
 	unpack_tree_opts.skip_cache_tree_update = 1;
@@ -141,11 +164,6 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
 	if (reset_hard)
 		unpack_tree_opts.reset = UNPACK_RESET_PROTECT_UNTRACKED;
 
-	if (repo_read_index_unmerged(r) < 0) {
-		ret = error(_("could not read index"));
-		goto leave_reset_head;
-	}
-
 	if (!reset_hard && !fill_tree_descriptor(r, &desc[nr++], &head_oid)) {
 		ret = error(_("failed to find tree of %s"),
 			    oid_to_hex(&head_oid));
@@ -162,6 +180,9 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
 		goto leave_reset_head;
 	}
 
+	if (dry_run)
+		goto leave_reset_head;
+
 	tree = repo_parse_tree_indirect(r, oid);
 	if (!tree) {
 		ret = error(_("unable to read tree (%s)"), oid_to_hex(oid));
@@ -181,6 +202,7 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
 leave_reset_head:
 	rollback_lock_file(&lock);
 	clear_unpack_trees_porcelain(&unpack_tree_opts);
+	release_index(&scratch_index);
 	while (nr)
 		free((void *)desc[--nr].buffer);
 	return ret;
diff --git a/reset.h b/reset.h
index 97ced2601e..9f696382c1 100644
--- a/reset.h
+++ b/reset.h
@@ -21,6 +21,12 @@ enum reset_head_flags {
 
 	/* Update ORIG_HEAD as well as HEAD */
 	RESET_HEAD_ORIG_HEAD = (1 << 4),
+
+	/*
+	 * Perform a dry-run by performing the operation without updating
+	 * any user-visible state.
+	 */
+	RESET_HEAD_DRY_RUN = (1 << 5),
 };
 
 struct reset_head_opts {

-- 
2.54.0.1064.gd145956f57.dirty

Re: [PATCH v2 4/9] reset: introduce dry-run mode

[Kristoffer Haugsbakk]

On Wed, Jun 3, 2026, at 18:14, Patrick Steinhardt wrote:
> In a subsequent commit we'll add add another caller to `reset_head()`

s/add add/add/

> that wants to perform a dry-run check of whether it would be possible to
> udpate the index and working tree when moving to a new commit. Introduce

s/udpate/update/

> a new flag that lets the caller perform this operation.
>
> Signed-off-by: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
> ---
>[snip]

Re: [PATCH v2 4/9] reset: introduce dry-run mode

[Junio C Hamano]

Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im> writes:

> In a subsequent commit we'll add add another caller to `reset_head()`

add add?

> that wants to perform a dry-run check of whether it would be possible to
> udpate the index and working tree when moving to a new commit. Introduce

udpate?

> a new flag that lets the caller perform this operation.
>
> Signed-off-by: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
> ---
>  reset.c | 44 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-----------
>  reset.h |  6 ++++++
>  2 files changed, 39 insertions(+), 11 deletions(-)
>
> diff --git a/reset.c b/reset.c
> index 9ff14f5ed1..a8d7eea4d6 100644
> --- a/reset.c
> +++ b/reset.c
> @@ -92,11 +92,14 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
>  	unsigned reset_hard = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_HARD;
>  	unsigned refs_only = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_REFS_ONLY;
>  	unsigned update_orig_head = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_ORIG_HEAD;
> +	unsigned dry_run = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_DRY_RUN;
>  	struct object_id *head = NULL, head_oid;
>  	struct tree_desc desc[2] = { { NULL }, { NULL } };
>  	struct lock_file lock = LOCK_INIT;
>  	struct unpack_trees_options unpack_tree_opts = { 0 };
>  	struct tree *tree;
> +	struct index_state scratch_index = INDEX_STATE_INIT(r);
> +	struct index_state *istate;
>  	const char *action;
>  	int ret = 0, nr = 0;
>  
> @@ -109,7 +112,7 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
>  	if (opts->branch_msg && !opts->branch)
>  		BUG("branch reflog message given without a branch");
>  
> -	if (!refs_only && repo_hold_locked_index(r, &lock, LOCK_REPORT_ON_ERROR) < 0) {
> +	if (!refs_only && !dry_run && repo_hold_locked_index(r, &lock, LOCK_REPORT_ON_ERROR) < 0) {
>  		ret = -1;
>  		goto leave_reset_head;
>  	}
> @@ -124,16 +127,36 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
>  	if (!oid)
>  		oid = &head_oid;
>  
> -	if (refs_only)
> -		return update_refs(r, opts, oid, head);
> +	if (refs_only) {
> +		if (!dry_run)
> +			return update_refs(r, opts, oid, head);
> +		return 0;
> +	}
> +
> +	if (dry_run) {
> +		if (read_index_from(&scratch_index, r->index_file, r->gitdir) < 0 ||
> +		    index_state_unmerged_to_stage0(&scratch_index) < 0) {
> +			ret = error(_("could not read index"));
> +			goto leave_reset_head;
> +		}
> +
> +		istate = &scratch_index;
> +	} else {
> +		if (repo_read_index_unmerged(r) < 0) {
> +			ret = error(_("could not read index"));
> +			goto leave_reset_head;
> +		}
> +		istate = r->index;
> +	}
>  
>  	action = reset_hard ? "reset" : "checkout";
>  	setup_unpack_trees_porcelain(&unpack_tree_opts, action);
>  	unpack_tree_opts.head_idx = 1;
> -	unpack_tree_opts.src_index = r->index;
> -	unpack_tree_opts.dst_index = r->index;
> +	unpack_tree_opts.src_index = istate;
> +	unpack_tree_opts.dst_index = istate;
>  	unpack_tree_opts.fn = reset_hard ? oneway_merge : twoway_merge;
> -	unpack_tree_opts.update = 1;
> +	unpack_tree_opts.update = !dry_run;
> +	unpack_tree_opts.dry_run = dry_run;
>  	unpack_tree_opts.merge = 1;
>  	unpack_tree_opts.preserve_ignored = 0; /* FIXME: !overwrite_ignore */
>  	unpack_tree_opts.skip_cache_tree_update = 1;
> @@ -141,11 +164,6 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
>  	if (reset_hard)
>  		unpack_tree_opts.reset = UNPACK_RESET_PROTECT_UNTRACKED;
>  
> -	if (repo_read_index_unmerged(r) < 0) {
> -		ret = error(_("could not read index"));
> -		goto leave_reset_head;
> -	}
> -
>  	if (!reset_hard && !fill_tree_descriptor(r, &desc[nr++], &head_oid)) {
>  		ret = error(_("failed to find tree of %s"),
>  			    oid_to_hex(&head_oid));
> @@ -162,6 +180,9 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
>  		goto leave_reset_head;
>  	}
>  
> +	if (dry_run)
> +		goto leave_reset_head;
> +
>  	tree = repo_parse_tree_indirect(r, oid);
>  	if (!tree) {
>  		ret = error(_("unable to read tree (%s)"), oid_to_hex(oid));
> @@ -181,6 +202,7 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
>  leave_reset_head:
>  	rollback_lock_file(&lock);
>  	clear_unpack_trees_porcelain(&unpack_tree_opts);
> +	release_index(&scratch_index);
>  	while (nr)
>  		free((void *)desc[--nr].buffer);
>  	return ret;
> diff --git a/reset.h b/reset.h
> index 97ced2601e..9f696382c1 100644
> --- a/reset.h
> +++ b/reset.h
> @@ -21,6 +21,12 @@ enum reset_head_flags {
>  
>  	/* Update ORIG_HEAD as well as HEAD */
>  	RESET_HEAD_ORIG_HEAD = (1 << 4),
> +
> +	/*
> +	 * Perform a dry-run by performing the operation without updating
> +	 * any user-visible state.
> +	 */
> +	RESET_HEAD_DRY_RUN = (1 << 5),
>  };
>  
>  struct reset_head_opts {

[PATCH v2 5/9] reset: introduce ability to skip reference updates

[Patrick Steinhardt]

In a subsequent commit we'll introduce a new caller to `reset_head()`
that really only wants to update the index and working tree, without
updating any references. Introduce a new flag that lets the caller
perform this operation.

Signed-off-by: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
---
 reset.c | 7 ++++++-
 reset.h | 3 +++
 2 files changed, 9 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/reset.c b/reset.c
index a8d7eea4d6..ed9df6ca5c 100644
--- a/reset.c
+++ b/reset.c
@@ -93,6 +93,7 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
 	unsigned refs_only = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_REFS_ONLY;
 	unsigned update_orig_head = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_ORIG_HEAD;
 	unsigned dry_run = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_DRY_RUN;
+	unsigned skip_ref_updates = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_SKIP_REF_UPDATES;
 	struct object_id *head = NULL, head_oid;
 	struct tree_desc desc[2] = { { NULL }, { NULL } };
 	struct lock_file lock = LOCK_INIT;
@@ -112,6 +113,9 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
 	if (opts->branch_msg && !opts->branch)
 		BUG("branch reflog message given without a branch");
 
+	if (skip_ref_updates && (opts->branch || refs_only))
+		BUG("asked to perform ref updates and skip them at the same time");
+
 	if (!refs_only && !dry_run && repo_hold_locked_index(r, &lock, LOCK_REPORT_ON_ERROR) < 0) {
 		ret = -1;
 		goto leave_reset_head;
@@ -196,7 +200,8 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
 		goto leave_reset_head;
 	}
 
-	if (oid != &head_oid || update_orig_head || switch_to_branch)
+	if (!skip_ref_updates &&
+	    (oid != &head_oid || update_orig_head || switch_to_branch))
 		ret = update_refs(r, opts, oid, head);
 
 leave_reset_head:
diff --git a/reset.h b/reset.h
index 9f696382c1..cb0700ffa7 100644
--- a/reset.h
+++ b/reset.h
@@ -27,6 +27,9 @@ enum reset_head_flags {
 	 * any user-visible state.
 	 */
 	RESET_HEAD_DRY_RUN = (1 << 5),
+
+	/* Skip updating any references, only update the worktree and index. */
+	RESET_HEAD_SKIP_REF_UPDATES = (1 << 6),
 };
 
 struct reset_head_opts {

-- 
2.54.0.1064.gd145956f57.dirty

Re: [PATCH v2 5/9] reset: introduce ability to skip reference updates

[Junio C Hamano]

Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im> writes:

> @@ -112,6 +113,9 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
>  	if (opts->branch_msg && !opts->branch)
>  		BUG("branch reflog message given without a branch");
>  
> +	if (skip_ref_updates && (opts->branch || refs_only))
> +		BUG("asked to perform ref updates and skip them at the same time");

;-)  That's certainly a careful safety valve.

Would we also want to catch skip_ref_updates && update_orig_head
being both set as a bogus request?

>  	if (!refs_only && !dry_run && repo_hold_locked_index(r, &lock, LOCK_REPORT_ON_ERROR) < 0) {
>  		ret = -1;
>  		goto leave_reset_head;
> @@ -196,7 +200,8 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
>  		goto leave_reset_head;
>  	}
>  
> -	if (oid != &head_oid || update_orig_head || switch_to_branch)
> +	if (!skip_ref_updates &&
> +	    (oid != &head_oid || update_orig_head || switch_to_branch))
>  		ret = update_refs(r, opts, oid, head);
>  
>  leave_reset_head:
> diff --git a/reset.h b/reset.h
> index 9f696382c1..cb0700ffa7 100644
> --- a/reset.h
> +++ b/reset.h
> @@ -27,6 +27,9 @@ enum reset_head_flags {
>  	 * any user-visible state.
>  	 */
>  	RESET_HEAD_DRY_RUN = (1 << 5),
> +
> +	/* Skip updating any references, only update the worktree and index. */
> +	RESET_HEAD_SKIP_REF_UPDATES = (1 << 6),
>  };
>  
>  struct reset_head_opts {

Re: [PATCH v2 5/9] reset: introduce ability to skip reference updates

[Patrick Steinhardt]

On Thu, Jun 04, 2026 at 08:51:47AM +0900, Junio C Hamano wrote:
> Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im> writes:
> 
> > @@ -112,6 +113,9 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
> >  	if (opts->branch_msg && !opts->branch)
> >  		BUG("branch reflog message given without a branch");
> >  
> > +	if (skip_ref_updates && (opts->branch || refs_only))
> > +		BUG("asked to perform ref updates and skip them at the same time");
> 
> ;-)  That's certainly a careful safety valve.
> 
> Would we also want to catch skip_ref_updates && update_orig_head
> being both set as a bogus request?

Yeah, I think that's a good idea.

Patrick

Re: [PATCH v2 5/9] reset: introduce ability to skip reference updates

[Phillip Wood]

Hi Patrick

On 03/06/2026 17:14, Patrick Steinhardt wrote:
> In a subsequent commit we'll introduce a new caller to `reset_head()`
> that really only wants to update the index and working tree, without
> updating any references. Introduce a new flag that lets the caller
> perform this operation.

We already have a flag to update ORIG_HEAD so would it make more sense 
to have a flag to update HEAD, rather than adding a flag to disable the 
updates? It would mean updating the existing callers but I think it is a 
clearer api and it avoids the pitfall of

	RESET_HEAD_ORIG_HEAD | RESET_HEAD_SKIP_REF_UPDATES

I wonder about the function name as well if we make updating HEAD 
optional then what does reset_head() mean? Maybe we should rename it 
something along the lines of reset_worktree() or update_working_copy()? 
I'm not really sure what a good name would be.

Thanks

Phillip

> Signed-off-by: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
> ---
>   reset.c | 7 ++++++-
>   reset.h | 3 +++
>   2 files changed, 9 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)
> 
> diff --git a/reset.c b/reset.c
> index a8d7eea4d6..ed9df6ca5c 100644
> --- a/reset.c
> +++ b/reset.c
> @@ -93,6 +93,7 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
>   	unsigned refs_only = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_REFS_ONLY;
>   	unsigned update_orig_head = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_ORIG_HEAD;
>   	unsigned dry_run = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_DRY_RUN;
> +	unsigned skip_ref_updates = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_SKIP_REF_UPDATES;
>   	struct object_id *head = NULL, head_oid;
>   	struct tree_desc desc[2] = { { NULL }, { NULL } };
>   	struct lock_file lock = LOCK_INIT;
> @@ -112,6 +113,9 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
>   	if (opts->branch_msg && !opts->branch)
>   		BUG("branch reflog message given without a branch");
>   
> +	if (skip_ref_updates && (opts->branch || refs_only))
> +		BUG("asked to perform ref updates and skip them at the same time");
> +
>   	if (!refs_only && !dry_run && repo_hold_locked_index(r, &lock, LOCK_REPORT_ON_ERROR) < 0) {
>   		ret = -1;
>   		goto leave_reset_head;
> @@ -196,7 +200,8 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
>   		goto leave_reset_head;
>   	}
>   
> -	if (oid != &head_oid || update_orig_head || switch_to_branch)
> +	if (!skip_ref_updates &&
> +	    (oid != &head_oid || update_orig_head || switch_to_branch))
>   		ret = update_refs(r, opts, oid, head);
>   
>   leave_reset_head:
> diff --git a/reset.h b/reset.h
> index 9f696382c1..cb0700ffa7 100644
> --- a/reset.h
> +++ b/reset.h
> @@ -27,6 +27,9 @@ enum reset_head_flags {
>   	 * any user-visible state.
>   	 */
>   	RESET_HEAD_DRY_RUN = (1 << 5),
> +
> +	/* Skip updating any references, only update the worktree and index. */
> +	RESET_HEAD_SKIP_REF_UPDATES = (1 << 6),
>   };
>   
>   struct reset_head_opts {
> 

Re: [PATCH v2 5/9] reset: introduce ability to skip reference updates

[Patrick Steinhardt]

On Fri, Jun 05, 2026 at 04:12:42PM +0100, Phillip Wood wrote:
> Hi Patrick
> 
> On 03/06/2026 17:14, Patrick Steinhardt wrote:
> > In a subsequent commit we'll introduce a new caller to `reset_head()`
> > that really only wants to update the index and working tree, without
> > updating any references. Introduce a new flag that lets the caller
> > perform this operation.
> 
> We already have a flag to update ORIG_HEAD so would it make more sense to
> have a flag to update HEAD, rather than adding a flag to disable the
> updates? It would mean updating the existing callers but I think it is a
> clearer api and it avoids the pitfall of
> 
> 	RESET_HEAD_ORIG_HEAD | RESET_HEAD_SKIP_REF_UPDATES

Hm. The question is whether it's sensible to have
`!RESET_HEAD_UPDATE_HEAD && RESET_HEAD_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD`. That feels
like a somewhat weird request, too, and we'd have to introduce extra
logic to make that combination work.

> I wonder about the function name as well if we make updating HEAD optional
> then what does reset_head() mean? Maybe we should rename it something along
> the lines of reset_worktree() or update_working_copy()? I'm not really sure
> what a good name would be.

That's a good point, the name does get somewhat awkward. I think we
should keep "reset" in there, but `reset_worktree()` to me reads as it
if was rather related to git-worktree(1) than anything else. Maybe
`reset_working_tree()`?

Patrick

Re: [PATCH v2 5/9] reset: introduce ability to skip reference updates

[Patrick Steinhardt]

On Mon, Jun 08, 2026 at 11:14:08AM +0200, Patrick Steinhardt wrote:
> On Fri, Jun 05, 2026 at 04:12:42PM +0100, Phillip Wood wrote:
> > Hi Patrick
> > 
> > On 03/06/2026 17:14, Patrick Steinhardt wrote:
> > > In a subsequent commit we'll introduce a new caller to `reset_head()`
> > > that really only wants to update the index and working tree, without
> > > updating any references. Introduce a new flag that lets the caller
> > > perform this operation.
> > 
> > We already have a flag to update ORIG_HEAD so would it make more sense to
> > have a flag to update HEAD, rather than adding a flag to disable the
> > updates? It would mean updating the existing callers but I think it is a
> > clearer api and it avoids the pitfall of
> > 
> > 	RESET_HEAD_ORIG_HEAD | RESET_HEAD_SKIP_REF_UPDATES
> 
> Hm. The question is whether it's sensible to have
> `!RESET_HEAD_UPDATE_HEAD && RESET_HEAD_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD`. That feels
> like a somewhat weird request, too, and we'd have to introduce extra
> logic to make that combination work.
> 
> > I wonder about the function name as well if we make updating HEAD optional
> > then what does reset_head() mean? Maybe we should rename it something along
> > the lines of reset_worktree() or update_working_copy()? I'm not really sure
> > what a good name would be.
> 
> That's a good point, the name does get somewhat awkward. I think we
> should keep "reset" in there, but `reset_worktree()` to me reads as it
> if was rather related to git-worktree(1) than anything else. Maybe
> `reset_working_tree()`?

I think I'll skip these changes for the next iteration for now. The
patch series has already exploded quite a bit in its scope due to the
refactorings of `reset_head()`, so I'd prefer to maybe do such changes
as a follow up.

Let me know in case you feel strongly about this though. Thanks!

Patrick

Re: [PATCH v2 5/9] reset: introduce ability to skip reference updates

[Phillip Wood]

Hi Patrick

On 08/06/2026 10:18, Patrick Steinhardt wrote:
> On Mon, Jun 08, 2026 at 11:14:08AM +0200, Patrick Steinhardt wrote:
>> On Fri, Jun 05, 2026 at 04:12:42PM +0100, Phillip Wood wrote:
>>> Hi Patrick
>>>
>>> On 03/06/2026 17:14, Patrick Steinhardt wrote:
>>>> In a subsequent commit we'll introduce a new caller to `reset_head()`
>>>> that really only wants to update the index and working tree, without
>>>> updating any references. Introduce a new flag that lets the caller
>>>> perform this operation.
>>>
>>> We already have a flag to update ORIG_HEAD so would it make more sense to
>>> have a flag to update HEAD, rather than adding a flag to disable the
>>> updates? It would mean updating the existing callers but I think it is a
>>> clearer api and it avoids the pitfall of
>>>
>>> 	RESET_HEAD_ORIG_HEAD | RESET_HEAD_SKIP_REF_UPDATES
>>
>> Hm. The question is whether it's sensible to have
>> `!RESET_HEAD_UPDATE_HEAD && RESET_HEAD_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD`. That feels
>> like a somewhat weird request, too, and we'd have to introduce extra
>> logic to make that combination work.

As there are no users at the moment we could make that a BUG() and 
implement it later if required. At least that way we're not introducing 
conflicting flags, we're just not implementing setting a certain 
combination of refs.

>>> I wonder about the function name as well if we make updating HEAD optional
>>> then what does reset_head() mean? Maybe we should rename it something along
>>> the lines of reset_worktree() or update_working_copy()? I'm not really sure
>>> what a good name would be.
>>
>> That's a good point, the name does get somewhat awkward. I think we
>> should keep "reset" in there, but `reset_worktree()` to me reads as it
>> if was rather related to git-worktree(1) than anything else. Maybe
>> `reset_working_tree()`?
> 
> I think I'll skip these changes for the next iteration for now. The
> patch series has already exploded quite a bit in its scope due to the
> refactorings of `reset_head()`, so I'd prefer to maybe do such changes
> as a follow up.

Renaming the function can certainly wait. I'd quite like to sort out the 
flags though as the new flag is being added in this series.

Thanks

Phillip
> 
> Let me know in case you feel strongly about this though. Thanks!
> 
> Patrick

Re: [PATCH v2 5/9] reset: introduce ability to skip reference updates

[Patrick Steinhardt]

On Tue, Jun 09, 2026 at 11:03:24AM +0100, Phillip Wood wrote:
> Hi Patrick
> 
> On 08/06/2026 10:18, Patrick Steinhardt wrote:
> > On Mon, Jun 08, 2026 at 11:14:08AM +0200, Patrick Steinhardt wrote:
> > > On Fri, Jun 05, 2026 at 04:12:42PM +0100, Phillip Wood wrote:
> > > > Hi Patrick
> > > > 
> > > > On 03/06/2026 17:14, Patrick Steinhardt wrote:
> > > > > In a subsequent commit we'll introduce a new caller to `reset_head()`
> > > > > that really only wants to update the index and working tree, without
> > > > > updating any references. Introduce a new flag that lets the caller
> > > > > perform this operation.
> > > > 
> > > > We already have a flag to update ORIG_HEAD so would it make more sense to
> > > > have a flag to update HEAD, rather than adding a flag to disable the
> > > > updates? It would mean updating the existing callers but I think it is a
> > > > clearer api and it avoids the pitfall of
> > > > 
> > > > 	RESET_HEAD_ORIG_HEAD | RESET_HEAD_SKIP_REF_UPDATES
> > > 
> > > Hm. The question is whether it's sensible to have
> > > `!RESET_HEAD_UPDATE_HEAD && RESET_HEAD_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD`. That feels
> > > like a somewhat weird request, too, and we'd have to introduce extra
> > > logic to make that combination work.
> 
> As there are no users at the moment we could make that a BUG() and implement
> it later if required. At least that way we're not introducing conflicting
> flags, we're just not implementing setting a certain combination of refs.

Hm, okay, I'll have a look at this.

> > > > I wonder about the function name as well if we make updating HEAD optional
> > > > then what does reset_head() mean? Maybe we should rename it something along
> > > > the lines of reset_worktree() or update_working_copy()? I'm not really sure
> > > > what a good name would be.
> > > 
> > > That's a good point, the name does get somewhat awkward. I think we
> > > should keep "reset" in there, but `reset_worktree()` to me reads as it
> > > if was rather related to git-worktree(1) than anything else. Maybe
> > > `reset_working_tree()`?
> > 
> > I think I'll skip these changes for the next iteration for now. The
> > patch series has already exploded quite a bit in its scope due to the
> > refactorings of `reset_head()`, so I'd prefer to maybe do such changes
> > as a follow up.
> 
> Renaming the function can certainly wait. I'd quite like to sort out the
> flags though as the new flag is being added in this series.

If we introduce RESET_HEAD_UPDATE_HEAD I'd also like to rename so that
there's not a silent new caller where we don't have the new flag.

Patrick

[PATCH v2 6/9] reset: allow the caller to specify the current HEAD object

[Patrick Steinhardt]

When calling `reset_head()` we automatically derive the commit that the
callers wants to move from by reading the HEAD commit. Some callers may
already have resolved it, or they may want to move from a different
commit that doesn't match HEAD.

Introduce a new `oid_from` option that lets the caller specify the
commit.

Signed-off-by: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
---
 reset.c | 5 ++++-
 reset.h | 5 +++++
 2 files changed, 9 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/reset.c b/reset.c
index ed9df6ca5c..7ff72de5d2 100644
--- a/reset.c
+++ b/reset.c
@@ -121,7 +121,10 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
 		goto leave_reset_head;
 	}
 
-	if (!repo_get_oid(r, "HEAD", &head_oid)) {
+	if (opts->oid_from) {
+		oidcpy(&head_oid, opts->oid_from);
+		head = &head_oid;
+	} else if (!repo_get_oid(r, "HEAD", &head_oid)) {
 		head = &head_oid;
 	} else if (!oid || !reset_hard) {
 		ret = error(_("could not determine HEAD revision"));
diff --git a/reset.h b/reset.h
index cb0700ffa7..51ce114543 100644
--- a/reset.h
+++ b/reset.h
@@ -37,6 +37,11 @@ struct reset_head_opts {
 	 * The commit to checkout/reset to. Defaults to HEAD.
 	 */
 	const struct object_id *oid;
+	/*
+	 * The commit to checkout/reset from when doing a two-way merge. This
+	 * is used as one of the sides to merge.
+	 */
+	const struct object_id *oid_from;
 	/*
 	 * Optional value to set ORIG_HEAD. Defaults to HEAD.
 	 */

-- 
2.54.0.1064.gd145956f57.dirty

[PATCH v2 7/9] reset: stop assuming that the caller passes in a clean index

[Patrick Steinhardt]

In 652bd0211d (rebase: use 'skip_cache_tree_update' option, 2022-11-10),
we updated `reset_head()` to stop updating the index tree cache. This
was done as a performance optimization: the function is only called by
"sequencer.c" and "rebase.c", both of which assume a clean index before
they perform their operation, so we know that the end result will be a
clean index, too. Consequently, we can skip recomputing the cache as we
can instead use `prime_cache_tree()` directly.

In a subsequent commit we're about to add a new caller though where the
assumption doesn't hold anymore: the index may be dirty before calling
`reset_head()`, and consequently we cannot prime the cache with a given
tree anymore as the index and tree will mismatch.

Adapt the logic so that we only skip the cache tree update in case we're
doing a hard reset. While we could introduce logic that only skips the
update in case the incoming index was dirty already, that doesn't really
feel worth it: after all, the mentioned commit says itself that the
performance improvement was negligible anyway.

Signed-off-by: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
---
 reset.c | 8 +++++---
 1 file changed, 5 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

diff --git a/reset.c b/reset.c
index 7ff72de5d2..05eb80216c 100644
--- a/reset.c
+++ b/reset.c
@@ -166,10 +166,11 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
 	unpack_tree_opts.dry_run = dry_run;
 	unpack_tree_opts.merge = 1;
 	unpack_tree_opts.preserve_ignored = 0; /* FIXME: !overwrite_ignore */
-	unpack_tree_opts.skip_cache_tree_update = 1;
 	init_checkout_metadata(&unpack_tree_opts.meta, switch_to_branch, oid, NULL);
-	if (reset_hard)
+	if (reset_hard) {
+		unpack_tree_opts.skip_cache_tree_update = 1;
 		unpack_tree_opts.reset = UNPACK_RESET_PROTECT_UNTRACKED;
+	}
 
 	if (!reset_hard && !fill_tree_descriptor(r, &desc[nr++], &head_oid)) {
 		ret = error(_("failed to find tree of %s"),
@@ -196,7 +197,8 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
 		goto leave_reset_head;
 	}
 
-	prime_cache_tree(r, r->index, tree);
+	if (reset_hard)
+		prime_cache_tree(r, r->index, tree);
 
 	if (write_locked_index(r->index, &lock, COMMIT_LOCK) < 0) {
 		ret = error(_("could not write index"));

-- 
2.54.0.1064.gd145956f57.dirty

[PATCH v2 8/9] builtin/history: split handling of ref updates into two phases

[Patrick Steinhardt]

The function `handle_reference_updates()` is used by git-history(1) to
update all references that refer to commits that have been rewritten. As
such, it performs two steps:

  - It gathers the references that need to be updated in the first
    place.

  - It prepares and commits the reference transaction.

In a subsequent commit we'll want to handle those two steps separately.
Prepare for this by splitting up the function into two.

Signed-off-by: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
---
 builtin/history.c | 102 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++--------------------
 1 file changed, 64 insertions(+), 38 deletions(-)

diff --git a/builtin/history.c b/builtin/history.c
index 0fc06fb204..4fadf38c32 100644
--- a/builtin/history.c
+++ b/builtin/history.c
@@ -333,21 +333,17 @@ static int handle_ref_update(struct ref_transaction *transaction,
 				      NULL, NULL, 0, reflog_msg, err);
 }
 
-static int handle_reference_updates(struct rev_info *revs,
-				    enum ref_action action,
-				    struct commit *original,
-				    struct commit *rewritten,
-				    const char *reflog_msg,
-				    int dry_run,
-				    enum replay_empty_commit_action empty)
+static int compute_pending_ref_updates(struct rev_info *revs,
+				       enum ref_action action,
+				       struct commit *original,
+				       struct commit *rewritten,
+				       enum replay_empty_commit_action empty,
+				       struct replay_result *result)
 {
 	const struct name_decoration *decoration;
 	struct replay_revisions_options opts = {
 		.empty = empty,
 	};
-	struct replay_result result = { 0 };
-	struct ref_transaction *transaction = NULL;
-	struct strbuf err = STRBUF_INIT;
 	char hex[GIT_MAX_HEXSZ + 1];
 	bool detached_head;
 	int head_flags = 0;
@@ -359,34 +355,13 @@ static int handle_reference_updates(struct rev_info *revs,
 
 	opts.onto = oid_to_hex_r(hex, &rewritten->object.oid);
 
-	ret = replay_revisions(revs, &opts, &result);
+	ret = replay_revisions(revs, &opts, result);
 	if (ret)
-		goto out;
+		return ret;
 
 	if (action != REF_ACTION_BRANCHES && action != REF_ACTION_HEAD)
 		BUG("unsupported ref action %d", action);
 
-	if (!dry_run) {
-		transaction = ref_store_transaction_begin(get_main_ref_store(revs->repo), 0, &err);
-		if (!transaction) {
-			ret = error(_("failed to begin ref transaction: %s"), err.buf);
-			goto out;
-		}
-	}
-
-	for (size_t i = 0; i < result.updates_nr; i++) {
-		ret = handle_ref_update(transaction,
-					result.updates[i].refname,
-					&result.updates[i].new_oid,
-					&result.updates[i].old_oid,
-					reflog_msg, &err);
-		if (ret) {
-			ret = error(_("failed to update ref '%s': %s"),
-				    result.updates[i].refname, err.buf);
-			goto out;
-		}
-	}
-
 	/*
 	 * `replay_revisions()` only updates references that are
 	 * ancestors of `rewritten`, so we need to manually
@@ -414,14 +389,43 @@ static int handle_reference_updates(struct rev_info *revs,
 		    !detached_head)
 			continue;
 
+		ALLOC_GROW(result->updates, result->updates_nr + 1, result->updates_alloc);
+		result->updates[result->updates_nr].refname = xstrdup(decoration->name);
+		result->updates[result->updates_nr].old_oid = original->object.oid;
+		result->updates[result->updates_nr].new_oid = rewritten->object.oid;
+		result->updates_nr++;
+	}
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+static int apply_pending_ref_updates(struct repository *repo,
+				     const struct replay_result *result,
+				     const char *reflog_msg,
+				     int dry_run)
+{
+	struct ref_transaction *transaction = NULL;
+	struct strbuf err = STRBUF_INIT;
+	int ret;
+
+	if (!dry_run) {
+		transaction = ref_store_transaction_begin(get_main_ref_store(repo),
+							  0, &err);
+		if (!transaction) {
+			ret = error(_("failed to begin ref transaction: %s"), err.buf);
+			goto out;
+		}
+	}
+
+	for (size_t i = 0; i < result->updates_nr; i++) {
 		ret = handle_ref_update(transaction,
-					decoration->name,
-					&rewritten->object.oid,
-					&original->object.oid,
+					result->updates[i].refname,
+					&result->updates[i].new_oid,
+					&result->updates[i].old_oid,
 					reflog_msg, &err);
 		if (ret) {
 			ret = error(_("failed to update ref '%s': %s"),
-				    decoration->name, err.buf);
+				    result->updates[i].refname, err.buf);
 			goto out;
 		}
 	}
@@ -435,11 +439,33 @@ static int handle_reference_updates(struct rev_info *revs,
 
 out:
 	ref_transaction_free(transaction);
-	replay_result_release(&result);
 	strbuf_release(&err);
 	return ret;
 }
 
+static int handle_reference_updates(struct rev_info *revs,
+				    enum ref_action action,
+				    struct commit *original,
+				    struct commit *rewritten,
+				    const char *reflog_msg,
+				    int dry_run,
+				    enum replay_empty_commit_action empty)
+{
+	struct replay_result result = { 0 };
+	int ret;
+
+	ret = compute_pending_ref_updates(revs, action, original, rewritten,
+					  empty, &result);
+	if (ret)
+		goto out;
+
+	ret = apply_pending_ref_updates(revs->repo, &result, reflog_msg, dry_run);
+
+out:
+	replay_result_release(&result);
+	return ret;
+}
+
 static int commit_became_empty(struct repository *repo,
 			       struct commit *original,
 			       struct tree *result)

-- 
2.54.0.1064.gd145956f57.dirty

[PATCH v2 9/9] builtin/history: implement "drop" subcommand

[Patrick Steinhardt]

A common operation when editing the commit history is to drop a specific
commit from the history entirely, but this operation is not currently
covered by git-history(1).

A couple of noteworthy bits:

  - This is the first git-history(1) command that will ultimately result
    in changes to both the index and the working tree. We thus have to
    add logic to merge resulting changes into those.

  - It is still not possible to replay merge commits, so this limitation
    is inherited for the new "drop" command.

  - For now we refuse to drop root commits. While we _can_ indeed drop
    root commits in the general case, there are edge cases where the
    resulting history would become completely empty. This is thus left
    to a subsequent patch series.

Other than that, most of the logic is rather straight-forward as we can
continue to build on the preexisting logic in git-history(1) for most of
the part.

Signed-off-by: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
---
 Documentation/git-history.adoc |  38 ++-
 builtin/history.c              | 187 +++++++++++++++
 t/meson.build                  |   1 +
 t/t3454-history-drop.sh        | 513 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 4 files changed, 738 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/Documentation/git-history.adoc b/Documentation/git-history.adoc
index 2ba8121795..4eac732fd2 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-history.adoc
+++ b/Documentation/git-history.adoc
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ git-history - EXPERIMENTAL: Rewrite history
 SYNOPSIS
 --------
 [synopsis]
+git history drop <commit> [--dry-run] [--update-refs=(branches|head)] [--empty=(drop|keep|abort)]
 git history fixup <commit> [--dry-run] [--update-refs=(branches|head)] [--reedit-message] [--empty=(drop|keep|abort)]
 git history reword <commit> [--dry-run] [--update-refs=(branches|head)]
 git history split <commit> [--dry-run] [--update-refs=(branches|head)] [--] [<pathspec>...]
@@ -51,13 +52,28 @@ be stateful operations. The limitation can be lifted once (if) Git learns about
 first-class conflicts.
 
 When using `fixup` with `--empty=drop`, dropping the root commit is not yet
-supported.
+supported. Likewise, `drop` cannot remove the root commit or a merge commit.
 
 COMMANDS
 --------
 
 The following commands are available to rewrite history in different ways:
 
+`drop <commit>`::
+	Remove the specified commit from the history. All descendants of the
+	commit are replayed directly onto its parent.
++
+The root commit cannot be dropped as that may lead to edge cases where refs
+end up with no commits anymore. Merge commits cannot be dropped either; see
+LIMITATIONS.
++
+If `HEAD` points at a commit that is to be rewritten, the index and working
+tree are updated to match the new `HEAD`. The command aborts before any
+references are updated in case local modifications would be overwritten.
++
+If replaying any descendant would result in a conflict, the command aborts
+with an error.
+
 `fixup <commit>`::
 	Apply the currently staged changes to the specified commit. This is
 	similar in nature to `git commit --fixup=<commit>` followed by `git
@@ -170,6 +186,26 @@ The staged addition of `unrelated.txt` has been incorporated into the `first`
 commit. All descendant commits have been replayed on top of the rewritten
 history.
 
+Drop a commit
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+----------
+$ git log --oneline
+abc1234 (HEAD -> main) third
+def5678 second
+ghi9012 first
+
+$ git history drop def5678
+
+$ git log --oneline
+jkl3456 (HEAD -> main) third
+ghi9012 first
+----------
+
+The `second` commit has been removed from the history, and `third` has been
+replayed directly on top of `first`. All branches that pointed at the dropped
+commit have been moved to its parent.
+
 Split a commit
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
diff --git a/builtin/history.c b/builtin/history.c
index 4fadf38c32..fa4f5e24ad 100644
--- a/builtin/history.c
+++ b/builtin/history.c
@@ -17,13 +17,17 @@
 #include "read-cache.h"
 #include "refs.h"
 #include "replay.h"
+#include "reset.h"
 #include "revision.h"
 #include "sequencer.h"
 #include "strvec.h"
 #include "tree.h"
+#include "tree-walk.h"
 #include "unpack-trees.h"
 #include "wt-status.h"
 
+#define GIT_HISTORY_DROP_USAGE \
+	N_("git history drop <commit> [--dry-run] [--update-refs=(branches|head)] [--empty=(drop|keep|abort)]")
 #define GIT_HISTORY_FIXUP_USAGE \
 	N_("git history fixup <commit> [--dry-run] [--update-refs=(branches|head)] [--reedit-message] [--empty=(drop|keep|abort)]")
 #define GIT_HISTORY_REWORD_USAGE \
@@ -1001,12 +1005,194 @@ static int cmd_history_split(int argc,
 	return ret;
 }
 
+static int update_worktree(struct repository *repo,
+			   const struct commit *old_head,
+			   const struct commit *new_head,
+			   bool dry_run)
+{
+	struct reset_head_opts opts = {
+		.oid_from = &old_head->object.oid,
+		.oid = &new_head->object.oid,
+		.flags = RESET_HEAD_SKIP_REF_UPDATES,
+	};
+	if (dry_run)
+		opts.flags |= RESET_HEAD_DRY_RUN;
+	return reset_head(repo, &opts);
+}
+
+static int find_head_tree_change(struct repository *repo,
+				 const struct replay_result *result,
+				 struct commit **old_head,
+				 struct commit **new_head,
+				 bool *changed)
+{
+	const struct replay_ref_update *head_update = NULL;
+	struct commit *old_head_commit, *new_head_commit;
+	struct tree *old_head_tree, *new_head_tree;
+	const char *head_target;
+	int head_flags;
+
+	*changed = false;
+
+	head_target = refs_resolve_ref_unsafe(get_main_ref_store(repo),
+					      "HEAD", RESOLVE_REF_NO_RECURSE,
+					      NULL, &head_flags);
+	if (!head_target)
+		return error(_("cannot look up HEAD"));
+	if (!(head_flags & REF_ISSYMREF))
+		head_target = "HEAD";
+
+	for (size_t i = 0; i < result->updates_nr; i++) {
+		if (!strcmp(result->updates[i].refname, head_target)) {
+			head_update = &result->updates[i];
+			break;
+		}
+	}
+
+	if (!head_update)
+		return 0;
+
+	old_head_commit = lookup_commit_reference(repo, &head_update->old_oid);
+	new_head_commit = lookup_commit_reference(repo, &head_update->new_oid);
+	if (!old_head_commit || !new_head_commit)
+		return error(_("cannot resolve HEAD commit"));
+
+	old_head_tree = repo_get_commit_tree(repo, old_head_commit);
+	new_head_tree = repo_get_commit_tree(repo, new_head_commit);
+	if (!old_head_tree || !new_head_tree)
+		return error(_("cannot resolve tree for HEAD"));
+
+	if (oideq(&old_head_tree->object.oid, &new_head_tree->object.oid))
+		return 0;
+
+	*old_head = old_head_commit;
+	*new_head = new_head_commit;
+	*changed = true;
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+static int cmd_history_drop(int argc,
+			    const char **argv,
+			    const char *prefix,
+			    struct repository *repo)
+{
+	const char * const usage[] = {
+		GIT_HISTORY_DROP_USAGE,
+		NULL,
+	};
+	enum replay_empty_commit_action empty = REPLAY_EMPTY_COMMIT_DROP;
+	enum ref_action action = REF_ACTION_DEFAULT;
+	int dry_run = 0;
+	struct option options[] = {
+		OPT_CALLBACK_F(0, "update-refs", &action, "(branches|head)",
+			       N_("control which refs should be updated"),
+			       PARSE_OPT_NONEG, parse_ref_action),
+		OPT_BOOL('n', "dry-run", &dry_run,
+			 N_("perform a dry-run without updating any refs")),
+		OPT_CALLBACK_F(0, "empty", &empty, "(drop|keep|abort)",
+			       N_("how to handle descendants that become empty"),
+			       PARSE_OPT_NONEG, parse_opt_empty),
+		OPT_END(),
+	};
+	struct strbuf reflog_msg = STRBUF_INIT;
+	struct commit *original, *rewritten;
+	struct rev_info revs = { 0 };
+	struct replay_result result = { 0 };
+	struct commit *old_head, *new_head;
+	bool head_moves = false;
+	int ret;
+
+	argc = parse_options(argc, argv, prefix, options, usage, 0);
+	if (argc != 1) {
+		ret = error(_("command expects a single revision"));
+		goto out;
+	}
+	repo_config(repo, git_default_config, NULL);
+
+	if (action == REF_ACTION_DEFAULT)
+		action = REF_ACTION_BRANCHES;
+
+	original = lookup_commit_reference_by_name(argv[0]);
+	if (!original) {
+		ret = error(_("commit cannot be found: %s"), argv[0]);
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	if (!original->parents) {
+		ret = error(_("cannot drop root commit %s: "
+			      "it has no parent to replay onto"),
+			    argv[0]);
+		goto out;
+	} else if (original->parents->next) {
+		ret = error(_("cannot drop merge commit: %s"), argv[0]);
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	ret = setup_revwalk(repo, action, original, &revs);
+	if (ret)
+		goto out;
+
+	rewritten = original->parents->item;
+
+	ret = compute_pending_ref_updates(&revs, action, original, rewritten,
+					  empty, &result);
+	if (ret) {
+		ret = error(_("failed replaying descendants"));
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	/*
+	 * If HEAD will move as a result of the rewrite then we'll have to
+	 * merge in the changes into the worktree and index. This merge can of
+	 * course conflict, which will cause the whole operation to abort.
+	 *
+	 * If we had already updated the refs at that point then we'd have an
+	 * inconsistent repository state. So we first perform a dry-run merge
+	 * here before updating refs.
+	 */
+	if (!dry_run && !is_bare_repository()) {
+		ret = find_head_tree_change(repo, &result, &old_head,
+					    &new_head, &head_moves);
+		if (ret < 0)
+			goto out;
+
+		if (head_moves && update_worktree(repo, old_head, new_head, true) < 0) {
+			ret = error(_("dropping this commit would "
+				      "overwrite local changes; aborting"));
+			goto out;
+		}
+	}
+
+	strbuf_addf(&reflog_msg, "drop: dropping %s", argv[0]);
+	ret = apply_pending_ref_updates(repo, &result, reflog_msg.buf, dry_run);
+	if (ret < 0) {
+		ret = error(_("failed to update references"));
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	if (head_moves && update_worktree(repo, old_head, new_head, false) < 0) {
+		ret = error(_("could not update working tree to new commit %s"),
+			    oid_to_hex(&new_head->object.oid));
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	ret = 0;
+
+out:
+	replay_result_release(&result);
+	strbuf_release(&reflog_msg);
+	release_revisions(&revs);
+	return ret;
+}
+
 int cmd_history(int argc,
 		const char **argv,
 		const char *prefix,
 		struct repository *repo)
 {
 	const char * const usage[] = {
+		GIT_HISTORY_DROP_USAGE,
 		GIT_HISTORY_FIXUP_USAGE,
 		GIT_HISTORY_REWORD_USAGE,
 		GIT_HISTORY_SPLIT_USAGE,
@@ -1014,6 +1200,7 @@ int cmd_history(int argc,
 	};
 	parse_opt_subcommand_fn *fn = NULL;
 	struct option options[] = {
+		OPT_SUBCOMMAND("drop", &fn, cmd_history_drop),
 		OPT_SUBCOMMAND("fixup", &fn, cmd_history_fixup),
 		OPT_SUBCOMMAND("reword", &fn, cmd_history_reword),
 		OPT_SUBCOMMAND("split", &fn, cmd_history_split),
diff --git a/t/meson.build b/t/meson.build
index 2af8d01279..d5e71056b2 100644
--- a/t/meson.build
+++ b/t/meson.build
@@ -399,6 +399,7 @@ integration_tests = [
   't3451-history-reword.sh',
   't3452-history-split.sh',
   't3453-history-fixup.sh',
+  't3454-history-drop.sh',
   't3500-cherry.sh',
   't3501-revert-cherry-pick.sh',
   't3502-cherry-pick-merge.sh',
diff --git a/t/t3454-history-drop.sh b/t/t3454-history-drop.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..37d8413e7e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/t/t3454-history-drop.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,513 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+
+test_description='tests for git-history drop subcommand'
+
+. ./test-lib.sh
+. "$TEST_DIRECTORY/lib-log-graph.sh"
+
+expect_graph () {
+	cat >expect &&
+	lib_test_cmp_graph --format=%s "$@"
+}
+
+expect_log () {
+	git log --format="%s" "$@" >actual &&
+	cat >expect &&
+	test_cmp expect actual
+}
+
+test_expect_success 'errors on missing commit argument' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit initial &&
+		test_must_fail git history drop 2>err &&
+		test_grep "command expects a single revision" err
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'errors on too many arguments' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit initial &&
+		test_must_fail git history drop HEAD HEAD 2>err &&
+		test_grep "command expects a single revision" err
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'errors on unknown revision' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit initial &&
+		test_must_fail git history drop does-not-exist 2>err &&
+		test_grep "commit cannot be found: does-not-exist" err
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'errors with invalid --empty= value' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	test_commit -C repo initial &&
+	test_commit -C repo second &&
+	test_must_fail git -C repo history drop --empty=bogus HEAD 2>err &&
+	test_grep "unrecognized.*--empty.*bogus" err
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'drops a commit in the middle and replays descendants' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit first &&
+		test_commit second &&
+		test_commit third &&
+
+		git symbolic-ref HEAD >expect &&
+		git history drop HEAD~ &&
+		git symbolic-ref HEAD >actual &&
+		test_cmp expect actual &&
+
+		expect_log <<-\EOF &&
+		third
+		first
+		EOF
+
+		test_must_fail git show HEAD:second.t &&
+		test_path_is_missing second.t &&
+
+		git reflog >reflog &&
+		test_grep "drop: dropping HEAD~" reflog
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'drops the HEAD commit' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit first &&
+		test_commit second &&
+
+		git history drop HEAD &&
+
+		expect_log <<-\EOF
+		first
+		EOF
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'drops a commit on detached HEAD' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit first &&
+		test_commit second &&
+		test_commit third &&
+		git checkout --detach HEAD &&
+
+		git history drop HEAD~ &&
+
+		expect_log <<-\EOF
+		third
+		first
+		EOF
+	)
+'
+
+# Note: in this case it would actually be fine to drop the root commit, as we
+# do have a descendant commit, and no reference points to the root commit
+# directly. So this is something that we may relax eventually.
+test_expect_success 'refuses to drop the root commit' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit first &&
+		test_commit second &&
+
+		test_must_fail git history drop HEAD~ 2>err &&
+		test_grep "cannot drop root commit" err
+	)
+'
+
+# In contrast to the above case, we actually don't want to drop the root commit
+# here as that would cause us to end up with an empty commit graph.
+test_expect_success 'refuses to drop the root commit when branch becomes empty' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit first &&
+
+		test_must_fail git history drop HEAD 2>err &&
+		test_grep "cannot drop root commit" err
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'refuses to drop a merge commit' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit base &&
+		git branch branch &&
+		test_commit ours &&
+		git switch branch &&
+		test_commit theirs &&
+		git switch - &&
+		git merge theirs &&
+
+		test_must_fail git history drop HEAD 2>err &&
+		test_grep "cannot drop merge commit" err
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'refuses when descendants contain a merge commit' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit base &&
+		test_commit middle &&
+		git branch branch &&
+		test_commit ours &&
+		git switch branch &&
+		test_commit theirs &&
+		git switch - &&
+		git merge theirs &&
+
+		test_must_fail git history drop middle 2>err &&
+		test_grep "replaying merge commits is not supported yet" err
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'works in a bare repository' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo repo.git" &&
+
+	git init repo &&
+	test_commit -C repo first &&
+	test_commit -C repo second &&
+	test_commit -C repo third &&
+
+	git clone --bare repo repo.git &&
+	(
+		cd repo.git &&
+
+		git history drop HEAD~ &&
+		expect_log <<-\EOF
+		third
+		first
+		EOF
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'updates branches on other lines of descent' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit base &&
+		test_commit target &&
+		git branch theirs &&
+		test_commit ours &&
+		git switch theirs &&
+		test_commit theirs &&
+
+		expect_graph --branches <<-\EOF &&
+		* theirs
+		| * ours
+		|/
+		* target
+		* base
+		EOF
+
+		git history drop target &&
+
+		expect_graph --branches <<-\EOF
+		* ours
+		| * theirs
+		|/
+		* base
+		EOF
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'moves branch pointing at dropped commit to its parent' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo --initial-branch=main &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit first &&
+		test_commit second &&
+		git branch points-at-second &&
+		test_commit third &&
+
+		git rev-parse first >expect &&
+		git history drop second &&
+		git rev-parse points-at-second >actual &&
+		test_cmp expect actual &&
+
+		expect_log --format="%s %D" --branches <<-\EOF
+		third HEAD -> main
+		first tag: first, points-at-second
+		EOF
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success '--dry-run prints ref updates without modifying repo' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo --initial-branch=main &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit base &&
+		git branch branch &&
+		test_commit middle &&
+		test_commit ours &&
+		git switch branch &&
+		test_commit theirs &&
+
+		git refs list >refs-expect &&
+		git history drop --dry-run main~ >updates &&
+		git refs list >refs-actual &&
+		test_cmp refs-expect refs-actual &&
+		test_grep "update refs/heads/main" updates &&
+
+		git update-ref --stdin <updates &&
+		expect_log main <<-\EOF
+		ours
+		base
+		EOF
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success '--update-refs=head updates only HEAD' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo --initial-branch=main &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit base &&
+		test_commit target &&
+		git branch theirs &&
+		test_commit ours &&
+		git switch theirs &&
+		test_commit theirs &&
+
+		# When told to update HEAD only, the command refuses to
+		# rewrite commits that are not an ancestor of HEAD.
+		test_must_fail git history drop --update-refs=head main 2>err &&
+		test_grep "rewritten commit must be an ancestor of HEAD" err &&
+
+		expect_graph --branches <<-\EOF &&
+		* theirs
+		| * ours
+		|/
+		* target
+		* base
+		EOF
+
+		git switch main &&
+		git history drop --update-refs=head target &&
+
+		expect_graph --branches <<-\EOF
+		* ours
+		| * theirs
+		| * target
+		|/
+		* base
+		EOF
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'conflict with replayed commit aborts cleanly' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit base &&
+		test_commit conflict-a file &&
+		test_commit conflict-b file &&
+
+		git refs list >refs-expect &&
+		test_must_fail git history drop HEAD~ 2>err &&
+		test_grep "failed replaying descendants" err &&
+		git refs list >refs-actual &&
+		test_cmp refs-expect refs-actual
+	)
+'
+
+# Build a history where a descendant of the drop target reverts the change
+# introduced by the drop target. After dropping, the descendant's diff applies
+# against a tree that already lacks the change, so it becomes empty.
+setup_empty_descendant_repo () {
+	git init "$1" &&
+	(
+		cd "$1" &&
+		echo C1 >file &&
+		git add file &&
+		git commit -m "base" &&
+		git tag base &&
+		echo C2 >file &&
+		git add file &&
+		git commit -m "drop-me" &&
+		git tag drop-me &&
+		test_commit middle &&
+		echo C1 >file &&
+		git add file &&
+		git commit -m "revert-drop-me" &&
+		git tag revert-drop-me
+	)
+}
+
+test_expect_success '--empty=drop drops descendants that become empty' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	setup_empty_descendant_repo repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+
+		git history drop --empty=drop drop-me &&
+
+		expect_log <<-\EOF
+		middle
+		base
+		EOF
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success '--empty=keep keeps descendants that become empty' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	setup_empty_descendant_repo repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+
+		git history drop --empty=keep drop-me &&
+
+		expect_log <<-\EOF &&
+		revert-drop-me
+		middle
+		base
+		EOF
+		git diff HEAD~ HEAD >diff &&
+		test_must_be_empty diff
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success '--empty=abort errors out when a descendant becomes empty' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	setup_empty_descendant_repo repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+
+		test_must_fail git history drop --empty=abort drop-me 2>err &&
+		test_grep "became empty after replay" err
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'updates index and worktree when HEAD moves' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit first &&
+		test_commit second &&
+		test_commit third &&
+
+		git history drop second &&
+
+		# Worktree should no longer contain second.t.
+		test_path_is_missing second.t &&
+		test_path_is_file first.t &&
+		test_path_is_file third.t &&
+
+		# Index and worktree should both match the new HEAD.
+		git status --porcelain --untracked-files=no >status &&
+		test_must_be_empty status
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'updates worktree when dropping HEAD itself' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit first &&
+		test_commit second &&
+
+		git history drop HEAD &&
+
+		test_path_is_missing second.t &&
+		test_path_is_file first.t &&
+
+		git status --porcelain --untracked-files=no >status &&
+		test_must_be_empty status
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'preserves unrelated unstaged modifications' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit first &&
+		echo first-content >unrelated.txt &&
+		git add unrelated.txt &&
+		git commit -m "add unrelated" &&
+		test_commit second &&
+		test_commit third &&
+
+		echo locally-modified >unrelated.txt &&
+
+		git diff >diff-expect &&
+		git history drop second &&
+		git diff >diff-actual &&
+		test_cmp diff-expect diff-actual &&
+		test_path_is_missing second.t
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'preserves unrelated staged changes' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit first &&
+		echo first-content >unrelated.txt &&
+		git add unrelated.txt &&
+		git commit -m "add unrelated" &&
+		test_commit second &&
+		test_commit third &&
+
+		echo staged-change >unrelated.txt &&
+		git add unrelated.txt &&
+
+		git diff --cached >diff-expect &&
+		git history drop second &&
+		git diff --cached >diff-actual &&
+		test_cmp diff-expect diff-actual &&
+		test_path_is_missing second.t
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'aborts when local modifications would be overwritten' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit base &&
+		test_commit conflict &&
+
+		echo local-edit >conflict.t &&
+		git diff >diff-expect &&
+		test_must_fail git history drop HEAD 2>err &&
+		test_grep "would overwrite local changes" err &&
+		git diff >diff-actual &&
+		test_cmp diff-expect diff-actual
+	)
+'
+
+test_done

-- 
2.54.0.1064.gd145956f57.dirty

Re: [PATCH v2 9/9] builtin/history: implement "drop" subcommand

[Kristoffer Haugsbakk]

On Wed, Jun 3, 2026, at 18:14, Patrick Steinhardt wrote:
>[snip]
> ---
>  Documentation/git-history.adoc |  38 ++-
>  builtin/history.c              | 187 +++++++++++++++
>  t/meson.build                  |   1 +
>  t/t3454-history-drop.sh        | 513 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>  4 files changed, 738 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)
>
> diff --git a/Documentation/git-history.adoc
> b/Documentation/git-history.adoc
> index 2ba8121795..4eac732fd2 100644
> --- a/Documentation/git-history.adoc
> +++ b/Documentation/git-history.adoc
> @@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ git-history - EXPERIMENTAL: Rewrite history
>  SYNOPSIS
>  --------
>  [synopsis]
> +git history drop <commit> [--dry-run] [--update-refs=(branches|head)]
> [--empty=(drop|keep|abort)]
>  git history fixup <commit> [--dry-run] [--update-refs=(branches|head)]
> [--reedit-message] [--empty=(drop|keep|abort)]
>  git history reword <commit> [--dry-run] [--update-refs=(branches|head)]
>  git history split <commit> [--dry-run] [--update-refs=(branches|head)]
> [--] [<pathspec>...]
> @@ -51,13 +52,28 @@ be stateful operations. The limitation can be
> lifted once (if) Git learns about
>  first-class conflicts.
>
>  When using `fixup` with `--empty=drop`, dropping the root commit is not yet
> -supported.
> +supported. Likewise, `drop` cannot remove the root commit or a merge commit.
>
>  COMMANDS
>  --------
>
>  The following commands are available to rewrite history in different ways:
>
> +`drop <commit>`::
> +	Remove the specified commit from the history. All descendants of the
> +	commit are replayed directly onto its parent.
> ++
> +The root commit cannot be dropped as that may lead to edge cases where refs
> +end up with no commits anymore. Merge commits cannot be dropped either; see
> +LIMITATIONS.

Should section names be “bare” or quoted like "LIMITATIONS"?
I don’t know.

Maybe add “above” since it’s a previous section.

> ++
> +If `HEAD` points at a commit that is to be rewritten, the index and working
>[snip]
> +Drop a commit
> +~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> +
> +----------
> +$ git log --oneline
> +abc1234 (HEAD -> main) third
> +def5678 second
> +ghi9012 first
> +
> +$ git history drop def5678

I know this is only the most simple example. And I might be dragging in
something beyond the scope of this example. But I recall one
demonstration on the first git-history(1) series which used a lot of
revision expressions and someone saying that they couldn’t imagine a
workflow where this would be more interactive than bringing up the
git-rebase(1) todo editor.

(I couldn’t find back to this right now.)

Although it is slower in terms of machine cycles, the keyboard instinct
for dropping a nearby commit might be to do `git rebase -i @~10`
(sufficiently high number) and navigating quickly in the configured
editor, deleting the line or using the keybind for `drop`. This example
which by implication brings up the log in order to paste the abbreviated
hash isn’t as ergonomic in comparison.

But using a revision expression like searching the subject with
`main^{/second}`, while not quicker probably, does distinguish itself
from git-rebase(1) by being a pretty fast ad hoc invocation that can be
done in one command without futzing with some weird sed(1) editor in
order to navigate to the `second` line and deleting it, or
something. And that’s a small win in isolation, but it segues much more
naturally into letting you script, say, dropping the last commit that
starts with the subject `TEMP`.

Or maybe revision expressions is too much in this context?

> +
> +$ git log --oneline
>[snip]
> diff --git a/t/t3454-history-drop.sh b/t/t3454-history-drop.sh
> new file mode 100755
> index 0000000000..37d8413e7e
> --- /dev/null
> +++ b/t/t3454-history-drop.sh
> @@ -0,0 +1,513 @@
> +#!/bin/sh
> +
> +test_description='tests for git-history drop subcommand'
> +
> +. ./test-lib.sh
> +. "$TEST_DIRECTORY/lib-log-graph.sh"
> +
> +expect_graph () {
> +	cat >expect &&
> +	lib_test_cmp_graph --format=%s "$@"
> +}
> +
> +expect_log () {
> +	git log --format="%s" "$@" >actual &&
> +	cat >expect &&
> +	test_cmp expect actual
> +}
> +
> +test_expect_success 'errors on missing commit argument' '
> +	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
> +	git init repo &&
> +	(
> +		cd repo &&
> +		test_commit initial &&
> +		test_must_fail git history drop 2>err &&
> +		test_grep "command expects a single revision" err

Why not `test_cmp` since it’s a fixed error?

Same for a few other tests like `errors on unknown revision`.

> +	)
> +'
>[snip]
> +test_expect_success 'errors with invalid --empty= value' '
> +	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
> +	git init repo &&
> +	test_commit -C repo initial &&
> +	test_commit -C repo second &&
> +	test_must_fail git -C repo history drop --empty=bogus HEAD 2>err &&
> +	test_grep "unrecognized.*--empty.*bogus" err
> +'

Style related I guess. Most tests here use a subshell but this one uses
`git -C`? Why is that?

>[snip]
> +test_expect_success 'updates branches on other lines of descent' '
> +	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
> +	git init repo &&
> +	(
> +		cd repo &&
> +		test_commit base &&
> +		test_commit target &&
> +		git branch theirs &&
> +		test_commit ours &&
> +		git switch theirs &&
> +		test_commit theirs &&
> +
> +		expect_graph --branches <<-\EOF &&
> +		* theirs
> +		| * ours
> +		|/
> +		* target
> +		* base
> +		EOF

Oh, `expect_graph` is a cool tool.

> +
> +		git history drop target &&
> +
> +		expect_graph --branches <<-\EOF
> +		* ours
> +		| * theirs
> +		|/
> +		* base
> +		EOF
> +	)
> +'
>[snip]

Re: [PATCH v2 9/9] builtin/history: implement "drop" subcommand

[Patrick Steinhardt]

On Wed, Jun 03, 2026 at 09:04:33PM +0200, Kristoffer Haugsbakk wrote:
> On Wed, Jun 3, 2026, at 18:14, Patrick Steinhardt wrote:
> > diff --git a/Documentation/git-history.adoc
> > b/Documentation/git-history.adoc
> > index 2ba8121795..4eac732fd2 100644
> > --- a/Documentation/git-history.adoc
> > +++ b/Documentation/git-history.adoc
> > @@ -51,13 +52,28 @@ be stateful operations. The limitation can be
> > lifted once (if) Git learns about
> >  first-class conflicts.
> >
> >  When using `fixup` with `--empty=drop`, dropping the root commit is not yet
> > -supported.
> > +supported. Likewise, `drop` cannot remove the root commit or a merge commit.
> >
> >  COMMANDS
> >  --------
> >
> >  The following commands are available to rewrite history in different ways:
> >
> > +`drop <commit>`::
> > +	Remove the specified commit from the history. All descendants of the
> > +	commit are replayed directly onto its parent.
> > ++
> > +The root commit cannot be dropped as that may lead to edge cases where refs
> > +end up with no commits anymore. Merge commits cannot be dropped either; see
> > +LIMITATIONS.
> 
> Should section names be “bare” or quoted like "LIMITATIONS"?
> I don’t know.
> 
> Maybe add “above” since it’s a previous section.

Hm. I think I'd prefer to keep this as-is, as we already have
preexisting documentation in the same manpage that does it exactly like
the above.

> > ++
> > +If `HEAD` points at a commit that is to be rewritten, the index and working
> >[snip]
> > +Drop a commit
> > +~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> > +
> > +----------
> > +$ git log --oneline
> > +abc1234 (HEAD -> main) third
> > +def5678 second
> > +ghi9012 first
> > +
> > +$ git history drop def5678
> 
> I know this is only the most simple example. And I might be dragging in
> something beyond the scope of this example. But I recall one
> demonstration on the first git-history(1) series which used a lot of
> revision expressions and someone saying that they couldn’t imagine a
> workflow where this would be more interactive than bringing up the
> git-rebase(1) todo editor.
> 
> (I couldn’t find back to this right now.)

Yeah, I remember this discussion.

> Although it is slower in terms of machine cycles, the keyboard instinct
> for dropping a nearby commit might be to do `git rebase -i @~10`
> (sufficiently high number) and navigating quickly in the configured
> editor, deleting the line or using the keybind for `drop`. This example
> which by implication brings up the log in order to paste the abbreviated
> hash isn’t as ergonomic in comparison.
> 
> But using a revision expression like searching the subject with
> `main^{/second}`, while not quicker probably, does distinguish itself
> from git-rebase(1) by being a pretty fast ad hoc invocation that can be
> done in one command without futzing with some weird sed(1) editor in
> order to navigate to the `second` line and deleting it, or
> something. And that’s a small win in isolation, but it segues much more
> naturally into letting you script, say, dropping the last commit that
> starts with the subject `TEMP`.
> 
> Or maybe revision expressions is too much in this context?

No, I think that's actually a good idea to demonstrate how this can be
used without being too unergomonic.

Eventually I still have the idea in my mind to implement a TUI around
git-history(1) that allows to drive its several subcommands without
having to laboriously select the right commits. Ideally, you'd simply
select the commits you care about and then pick specific actions you
want to do on them, with a nice visual graph that updates after the
operation. But that's a bit into the future, I guess :)

> > diff --git a/t/t3454-history-drop.sh b/t/t3454-history-drop.sh
> > new file mode 100755
> > index 0000000000..37d8413e7e
> > --- /dev/null
> > +++ b/t/t3454-history-drop.sh
> > @@ -0,0 +1,513 @@
> > +#!/bin/sh
> > +
> > +test_description='tests for git-history drop subcommand'
> > +
> > +. ./test-lib.sh
> > +. "$TEST_DIRECTORY/lib-log-graph.sh"
> > +
> > +expect_graph () {
> > +	cat >expect &&
> > +	lib_test_cmp_graph --format=%s "$@"
> > +}
> > +
> > +expect_log () {
> > +	git log --format="%s" "$@" >actual &&
> > +	cat >expect &&
> > +	test_cmp expect actual
> > +}
> > +
> > +test_expect_success 'errors on missing commit argument' '
> > +	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
> > +	git init repo &&
> > +	(
> > +		cd repo &&
> > +		test_commit initial &&
> > +		test_must_fail git history drop 2>err &&
> > +		test_grep "command expects a single revision" err
> 
> Why not `test_cmp` since it’s a fixed error?
> 
> Same for a few other tests like `errors on unknown revision`.

We tend to use test_grep for cases like this, even for static error
messages. I haven't really figured out myself when exactly we tend to
use one form over the other, to be honest.

> >[snip]
> > +test_expect_success 'errors with invalid --empty= value' '
> > +	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
> > +	git init repo &&
> > +	test_commit -C repo initial &&
> > +	test_commit -C repo second &&
> > +	test_must_fail git -C repo history drop --empty=bogus HEAD 2>err &&
> > +	test_grep "unrecognized.*--empty.*bogus" err
> > +'
> 
> Style related I guess. Most tests here use a subshell but this one uses
> `git -C`? Why is that?

No good reason, will fix.

Thanks!

Patrick

Re: [PATCH v2 9/9] builtin/history: implement "drop" subcommand

[Junio C Hamano]

Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im> writes:

> +static int update_worktree(struct repository *repo,
> +			   const struct commit *old_head,
> +			   const struct commit *new_head,
> +			   bool dry_run)
> +{
> +	struct reset_head_opts opts = {
> +		.oid_from = &old_head->object.oid,
> +		.oid = &new_head->object.oid,
> +		.flags = RESET_HEAD_SKIP_REF_UPDATES,
> +	};
> +	if (dry_run)
> +		opts.flags |= RESET_HEAD_DRY_RUN;
> +	return reset_head(repo, &opts);
> +}
> + ...
> +	/*
> +	 * If HEAD will move as a result of the rewrite then we'll have to
> +	 * merge in the changes into the worktree and index. This merge can of
> +	 * course conflict, which will cause the whole operation to abort.
> +	 *
> +	 * If we had already updated the refs at that point then we'd have an
> +	 * inconsistent repository state. So we first perform a dry-run merge
> +	 * here before updating refs.
> +	 */
> +	if (!dry_run && !is_bare_repository()) {
> +		ret = find_head_tree_change(repo, &result, &old_head,
> +					    &new_head, &head_moves);
> +		if (ret < 0)
> +			goto out;
> +
> +		if (head_moves && update_worktree(repo, old_head, new_head, true) < 0) {
> +			ret = error(_("dropping this commit would "
> +				      "overwrite local changes; aborting"));
> +			goto out;
> +		}
> +	}

This block is skipped under --dry-run, but update_worktree is
equipped to (and indeed run unconditionally here) run in the dry-run
mode.  Does it mean that "git history drop --dry-run" that user runs
to see which refs may be updated will not get warned about possible
worktree conflicts that would prevent the real run from happening?
Unless there is a compelling reason not to, I think --dry-run should
be a close simulation of what would happen without it.

Thanks.

Re: [PATCH v2 9/9] builtin/history: implement "drop" subcommand

[Patrick Steinhardt]

On Thu, Jun 04, 2026 at 08:58:07AM +0900, Junio C Hamano wrote:
> Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im> writes:
> 
> > +static int update_worktree(struct repository *repo,
> > +			   const struct commit *old_head,
> > +			   const struct commit *new_head,
> > +			   bool dry_run)
> > +{
> > +	struct reset_head_opts opts = {
> > +		.oid_from = &old_head->object.oid,
> > +		.oid = &new_head->object.oid,
> > +		.flags = RESET_HEAD_SKIP_REF_UPDATES,
> > +	};
> > +	if (dry_run)
> > +		opts.flags |= RESET_HEAD_DRY_RUN;
> > +	return reset_head(repo, &opts);
> > +}
> > + ...
> > +	/*
> > +	 * If HEAD will move as a result of the rewrite then we'll have to
> > +	 * merge in the changes into the worktree and index. This merge can of
> > +	 * course conflict, which will cause the whole operation to abort.
> > +	 *
> > +	 * If we had already updated the refs at that point then we'd have an
> > +	 * inconsistent repository state. So we first perform a dry-run merge
> > +	 * here before updating refs.
> > +	 */
> > +	if (!dry_run && !is_bare_repository()) {
> > +		ret = find_head_tree_change(repo, &result, &old_head,
> > +					    &new_head, &head_moves);
> > +		if (ret < 0)
> > +			goto out;
> > +
> > +		if (head_moves && update_worktree(repo, old_head, new_head, true) < 0) {
> > +			ret = error(_("dropping this commit would "
> > +				      "overwrite local changes; aborting"));
> > +			goto out;
> > +		}
> > +	}
> 
> This block is skipped under --dry-run, but update_worktree is
> equipped to (and indeed run unconditionally here) run in the dry-run
> mode.  Does it mean that "git history drop --dry-run" that user runs
> to see which refs may be updated will not get warned about possible
> worktree conflicts that would prevent the real run from happening?
> Unless there is a compelling reason not to, I think --dry-run should
> be a close simulation of what would happen without it.

That's an oversight on my part indeed. We _should_ run this block with
dry-run, and it shows that we're definitely lacking test coverage here.
Will fix, thanks!

Patrick

[PATCH v3 0/9] builtin/history: introduce "drop" subcommand

[Patrick Steinhardt]

Hi,

this small patch series introduces the new "drop" subcommand for
git-history(1). As a reader might guess, the command does exactly that:
given a commit, it will drop that commit from the commit history and
replay descendant branches on top of it.

Changes in v3:
  - Fix commit message typos.
  - Make `update_orig_head` and `skip_ref_updates` mutually exclusive.
  - Use fancy revisions to specify the commit to drop in the example
    section.
  - Detect conflicting changes in the index/working tree in dry-run
    mode.
  - Consistently use a subshell.
  - Rename `RESET_HEAD_ORIG_HEAD` to `RESET_HEAD_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD`.
  - 
  - Link to v2: https://patch.msgid.link/20260603-b4-pks-history-drop-v2-0-742cb5b5176d@pks.im

Changes in v2:
  - Reworked `update_worktree()` to use `reset_head()`, which required a
    bunch of changes to `reset_head()`.
  - Consistently mention the commit that cannot be dropped as part of
    error messages.
  - Adapt error message to not use backticks anymore.
  - Drop redundant "--graph" flag in a test helper.
  - Link to v1: https://patch.msgid.link/20260601-b4-pks-history-drop-v1-0-643e32340d55@pks.im

Thanks!

Patrick

---
Patrick Steinhardt (9):
      read-cache: split out function to drop unmerged entries to stage 0
      reset: drop `USE_THE_REPOSITORY_VARIABLE`
      reset: modernize flags passed to `reset_head()`
      reset: introduce dry-run mode
      reset: introduce ability to skip reference updates
      reset: allow the caller to specify the current HEAD object
      reset: stop assuming that the caller passes in a clean index
      builtin/history: split handling of ref updates into two phases
      builtin/history: implement "drop" subcommand

 Documentation/git-history.adoc |  38 ++-
 builtin/history.c              | 289 +++++++++++++++++++---
 builtin/rebase.c               |   2 +-
 read-cache-ll.h                |   1 +
 read-cache.c                   |  12 +-
 reset.c                        |  91 ++++---
 reset.h                        |  44 +++-
 sequencer.c                    |   2 +-
 t/meson.build                  |   1 +
 t/t3454-history-drop.sh        | 537 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 10 files changed, 929 insertions(+), 88 deletions(-)

Range-diff versus v2:

 1:  a93e804936 =  1:  41a723b3d0 read-cache: split out function to drop unmerged entries to stage 0
 2:  d8f39e7dc4 =  2:  db850730ef reset: drop `USE_THE_REPOSITORY_VARIABLE`
 3:  fdec5a57b4 !  3:  bd18736141 reset: modernize flags passed to `reset_head()`
    @@ builtin/rebase.c: int cmd_rebase(int argc,
      	ropts.oid = &options.onto->object.oid;
      	ropts.orig_head = &options.orig_head->object.oid;
     -	ropts.flags = RESET_HEAD_DETACH | RESET_ORIG_HEAD |
    -+	ropts.flags = RESET_HEAD_DETACH | RESET_HEAD_ORIG_HEAD |
    ++	ropts.flags = RESET_HEAD_DETACH | RESET_HEAD_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD |
      			RESET_HEAD_RUN_POST_CHECKOUT_HOOK;
      	ropts.head_msg = msg.buf;
      	ropts.default_reflog_action = options.reflog_action;
    @@ reset.c: static int update_refs(struct repository *repo,
      	unsigned detach_head = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_DETACH;
      	unsigned run_hook = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_RUN_POST_CHECKOUT_HOOK;
     -	unsigned update_orig_head = opts->flags & RESET_ORIG_HEAD;
    -+	unsigned update_orig_head = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_ORIG_HEAD;
    ++	unsigned update_orig_head = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD;
      	const struct object_id *orig_head = opts->orig_head;
      	const char *switch_to_branch = opts->branch;
      	const char *reflog_branch = opts->branch_msg;
    @@ reset.c: int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts
      	unsigned reset_hard = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_HARD;
      	unsigned refs_only = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_REFS_ONLY;
     -	unsigned update_orig_head = opts->flags & RESET_ORIG_HEAD;
    -+	unsigned update_orig_head = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_ORIG_HEAD;
    ++	unsigned update_orig_head = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD;
      	struct object_id *head = NULL, head_oid;
      	struct tree_desc desc[2] = { { NULL }, { NULL } };
      	struct lock_file lock = LOCK_INIT;
    @@ reset.h
     +	RESET_HEAD_REFS_ONLY = (1 << 3),
     +
     +	/* Update ORIG_HEAD as well as HEAD */
    -+	RESET_HEAD_ORIG_HEAD = (1 << 4),
    ++	RESET_HEAD_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD = (1 << 4),
     +};
      
      struct reset_head_opts {
    @@ reset.h: struct reset_head_opts {
      	/*
      	 * Optional reflog message for ORIG_HEAD, if this omitted and flags
     -	 * contains RESET_ORIG_HEAD then default_reflog_action must be given.
    -+	 * contains RESET_HEAD_ORIG_HEAD then default_reflog_action must be given.
    ++	 * contains RESET_HEAD_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD then default_reflog_action must be given.
      	 */
      	const char *orig_head_msg;
      	/*
    @@ sequencer.c: static int checkout_onto(struct repository *r, struct replay_opts *
      		.oid = onto,
      		.orig_head = orig_head,
     -		.flags = RESET_HEAD_DETACH | RESET_ORIG_HEAD |
    -+		.flags = RESET_HEAD_DETACH | RESET_HEAD_ORIG_HEAD |
    ++		.flags = RESET_HEAD_DETACH | RESET_HEAD_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD |
      				RESET_HEAD_RUN_POST_CHECKOUT_HOOK,
      		.head_msg = reflog_message(opts, "start", "checkout %s",
      					   onto_name),
 4:  3af7c9a4fd !  4:  8c79e56076 reset: introduce dry-run mode
    @@ Metadata
      ## Commit message ##
         reset: introduce dry-run mode
     
    -    In a subsequent commit we'll add add another caller to `reset_head()`
    -    that wants to perform a dry-run check of whether it would be possible to
    -    udpate the index and working tree when moving to a new commit. Introduce
    +    In a subsequent commit we'll add another caller to `reset_head()` that
    +    wants to perform a dry-run check of whether it would be possible to
    +    update the index and working tree when moving to a new commit. Introduce
         a new flag that lets the caller perform this operation.
     
         Signed-off-by: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
    @@ reset.c
     @@ reset.c: int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
      	unsigned reset_hard = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_HARD;
      	unsigned refs_only = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_REFS_ONLY;
    - 	unsigned update_orig_head = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_ORIG_HEAD;
    + 	unsigned update_orig_head = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD;
     +	unsigned dry_run = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_DRY_RUN;
      	struct object_id *head = NULL, head_oid;
      	struct tree_desc desc[2] = { { NULL }, { NULL } };
    @@ reset.h
     @@ reset.h: enum reset_head_flags {
      
      	/* Update ORIG_HEAD as well as HEAD */
    - 	RESET_HEAD_ORIG_HEAD = (1 << 4),
    + 	RESET_HEAD_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD = (1 << 4),
     +
     +	/*
     +	 * Perform a dry-run by performing the operation without updating
 5:  31d1ff1d4c !  5:  c112fbbd14 reset: introduce ability to skip reference updates
    @@ Commit message
      ## reset.c ##
     @@ reset.c: int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
      	unsigned refs_only = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_REFS_ONLY;
    - 	unsigned update_orig_head = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_ORIG_HEAD;
    + 	unsigned update_orig_head = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD;
      	unsigned dry_run = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_DRY_RUN;
     +	unsigned skip_ref_updates = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_SKIP_REF_UPDATES;
      	struct object_id *head = NULL, head_oid;
    @@ reset.c: int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts
      	if (opts->branch_msg && !opts->branch)
      		BUG("branch reflog message given without a branch");
      
    -+	if (skip_ref_updates && (opts->branch || refs_only))
    ++	if (skip_ref_updates && (opts->branch || refs_only || update_orig_head))
     +		BUG("asked to perform ref updates and skip them at the same time");
     +
      	if (!refs_only && !dry_run && repo_hold_locked_index(r, &lock, LOCK_REPORT_ON_ERROR) < 0) {
 6:  21b2d4d281 =  6:  9550257dd1 reset: allow the caller to specify the current HEAD object
 7:  7c032ca1e3 =  7:  8a3d517020 reset: stop assuming that the caller passes in a clean index
 8:  fcd4479178 =  8:  a09be2ffc0 builtin/history: split handling of ref updates into two phases
 9:  6b1c17a8df !  9:  682b11af93 builtin/history: implement "drop" subcommand
    @@ Documentation/git-history.adoc: The staged addition of `unrelated.txt` has been
     +def5678 second
     +ghi9012 first
     +
    -+$ git history drop def5678
    ++$ git history drop 'main^{/second}'
     +
     +$ git log --oneline
     +jkl3456 (HEAD -> main) third
    @@ builtin/history.c: static int cmd_history_split(int argc,
     +	 * inconsistent repository state. So we first perform a dry-run merge
     +	 * here before updating refs.
     +	 */
    -+	if (!dry_run && !is_bare_repository()) {
    ++	if (!is_bare_repository()) {
     +		ret = find_head_tree_change(repo, &result, &old_head,
     +					    &new_head, &head_moves);
     +		if (ret < 0)
    @@ builtin/history.c: static int cmd_history_split(int argc,
     +		goto out;
     +	}
     +
    -+	if (head_moves && update_worktree(repo, old_head, new_head, false) < 0) {
    ++	if (!dry_run && head_moves && update_worktree(repo, old_head, new_head, false) < 0) {
     +		ret = error(_("could not update working tree to new commit %s"),
     +			    oid_to_hex(&new_head->object.oid));
     +		goto out;
    @@ t/t3454-history-drop.sh (new)
     +test_expect_success 'errors with invalid --empty= value' '
     +	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
     +	git init repo &&
    -+	test_commit -C repo initial &&
    -+	test_commit -C repo second &&
    -+	test_must_fail git -C repo history drop --empty=bogus HEAD 2>err &&
    -+	test_grep "unrecognized.*--empty.*bogus" err
    ++	(
    ++		cd repo &&
    ++		test_commit initial &&
    ++		test_commit second &&
    ++		test_must_fail git history drop --empty=bogus HEAD 2>err &&
    ++		test_grep "unrecognized.*--empty.*bogus" err
    ++	)
     +'
     +
     +test_expect_success 'drops a commit in the middle and replays descendants' '
    @@ t/t3454-history-drop.sh (new)
     +	)
     +'
     +
    ++test_expect_success '--dry-run detects conflicts with modified working tree' '
    ++	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
    ++	git init repo --initial-branch=main &&
    ++	(
    ++		cd repo &&
    ++		test_commit first &&
    ++		test_commit second modify-me &&
    ++		echo modified >modify-me &&
    ++
    ++		git refs list >refs-expect &&
    ++		git diff >diff-expect &&
    ++		test_must_fail git history drop --dry-run HEAD 2>err &&
    ++		test_grep "dropping this commit would overwrite local changes" err &&
    ++		git diff >diff-actual &&
    ++		git refs list >refs-actual &&
    ++
    ++		test_cmp diff-expect diff-actual &&
    ++		test_cmp refs-expect refs-actual
    ++	)
    ++'
    ++
     +test_expect_success '--update-refs=head updates only HEAD' '
     +	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
     +	git init repo --initial-branch=main &&

---
base-commit: 1666c1265231b0bc5f613fbbf3f0a9896cdef76e
change-id: 20260601-b4-pks-history-drop-28f6c6399e7b

[PATCH v3 1/9] read-cache: split out function to drop unmerged entries to stage 0

[Patrick Steinhardt]

In `repo_read_index_unmerged()` we read the index and then drop any
unmerged entries to stage 0. In a subsequent commit we'll want to
perform this operation on arbitrary indexes, not only the one of the
given repository.

Prepare for this by splitting out the functionality into a new function
that can act on an arbitrary index.

While at it, fix a signedness mismatch when iterating through the index
cache entries.

Signed-off-by: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
---
 read-cache-ll.h |  1 +
 read-cache.c    | 12 +++++++-----
 2 files changed, 8 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-)

diff --git a/read-cache-ll.h b/read-cache-ll.h
index 2c8b4b21b1..71b87615eb 100644
--- a/read-cache-ll.h
+++ b/read-cache-ll.h
@@ -309,6 +309,7 @@ int write_locked_index(struct index_state *, struct lock_file *lock, unsigned fl
 void discard_index(struct index_state *);
 void move_index_extensions(struct index_state *dst, struct index_state *src);
 int unmerged_index(const struct index_state *);
+int index_state_unmerged_to_stage0(struct index_state *istate);
 
 /**
  * Returns 1 if istate differs from tree, 0 otherwise.  If tree is NULL,
diff --git a/read-cache.c b/read-cache.c
index 21829102ae..799a5bc719 100644
--- a/read-cache.c
+++ b/read-cache.c
@@ -3403,13 +3403,15 @@ int write_locked_index(struct index_state *istate, struct lock_file *lock,
  */
 int repo_read_index_unmerged(struct repository *repo)
 {
-	struct index_state *istate;
-	int i;
+	repo_read_index(repo);
+	return index_state_unmerged_to_stage0(repo->index);
+}
+
+int index_state_unmerged_to_stage0(struct index_state *istate)
+{
 	int unmerged = 0;
 
-	repo_read_index(repo);
-	istate = repo->index;
-	for (i = 0; i < istate->cache_nr; i++) {
+	for (unsigned int i = 0; i < istate->cache_nr; i++) {
 		struct cache_entry *ce = istate->cache[i];
 		struct cache_entry *new_ce;
 		int len;

-- 
2.54.0.1136.gdb2ca164c4.dirty

[PATCH v3 2/9] reset: drop `USE_THE_REPOSITORY_VARIABLE`

[Patrick Steinhardt]

In "reset.c" we still have references to `the_repository`, even though
the only entry point into the file already receives a repository as
parameter.

Update all uses of `the_repository` to instead use the passed-in repo
and drop `USE_THE_REPOSITORY_VARIABLE`.

Signed-off-by: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
---
 reset.c | 27 +++++++++++++--------------
 1 file changed, 13 insertions(+), 14 deletions(-)

diff --git a/reset.c b/reset.c
index 46e30e6394..3b3cb74dab 100644
--- a/reset.c
+++ b/reset.c
@@ -1,5 +1,3 @@
-#define USE_THE_REPOSITORY_VARIABLE
-
 #include "git-compat-util.h"
 #include "cache-tree.h"
 #include "gettext.h"
@@ -13,7 +11,8 @@
 #include "unpack-trees.h"
 #include "hook.h"
 
-static int update_refs(const struct reset_head_opts *opts,
+static int update_refs(struct repository *repo,
+		       const struct reset_head_opts *opts,
 		       const struct object_id *oid,
 		       const struct object_id *head)
 {
@@ -42,19 +41,19 @@ static int update_refs(const struct reset_head_opts *opts,
 	prefix_len = msg.len;
 
 	if (update_orig_head) {
-		if (!repo_get_oid(the_repository, "ORIG_HEAD", &oid_old_orig))
+		if (!repo_get_oid(repo, "ORIG_HEAD", &oid_old_orig))
 			old_orig = &oid_old_orig;
 		if (head) {
 			if (!reflog_orig_head) {
 				strbuf_addstr(&msg, "updating ORIG_HEAD");
 				reflog_orig_head = msg.buf;
 			}
-			refs_update_ref(get_main_ref_store(the_repository),
+			refs_update_ref(get_main_ref_store(repo),
 					reflog_orig_head, "ORIG_HEAD",
 					orig_head ? orig_head : head,
 					old_orig, 0, UPDATE_REFS_MSG_ON_ERR);
 		} else if (old_orig)
-			refs_delete_ref(get_main_ref_store(the_repository),
+			refs_delete_ref(get_main_ref_store(repo),
 					NULL, "ORIG_HEAD", old_orig, 0);
 	}
 
@@ -64,23 +63,23 @@ static int update_refs(const struct reset_head_opts *opts,
 		reflog_head = msg.buf;
 	}
 	if (!switch_to_branch)
-		ret = refs_update_ref(get_main_ref_store(the_repository),
+		ret = refs_update_ref(get_main_ref_store(repo),
 				      reflog_head, "HEAD", oid, head,
 				      detach_head ? REF_NO_DEREF : 0,
 				      UPDATE_REFS_MSG_ON_ERR);
 	else {
-		ret = refs_update_ref(get_main_ref_store(the_repository),
+		ret = refs_update_ref(get_main_ref_store(repo),
 				      reflog_branch ? reflog_branch : reflog_head,
 				      switch_to_branch, oid, NULL, 0,
 				      UPDATE_REFS_MSG_ON_ERR);
 		if (!ret)
-			ret = refs_update_symref(get_main_ref_store(the_repository),
+			ret = refs_update_symref(get_main_ref_store(repo),
 						 "HEAD", switch_to_branch,
 						 reflog_head);
 	}
 	if (!ret && run_hook)
-		run_hooks_l(the_repository, "post-checkout",
-			    oid_to_hex(head ? head : null_oid(the_hash_algo)),
+		run_hooks_l(repo, "post-checkout",
+			    oid_to_hex(head ? head : null_oid(repo->hash_algo)),
 			    oid_to_hex(oid), "1", NULL);
 	strbuf_release(&msg);
 	return ret;
@@ -126,7 +125,7 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
 		oid = &head_oid;
 
 	if (refs_only)
-		return update_refs(opts, oid, head);
+		return update_refs(r, opts, oid, head);
 
 	action = reset_hard ? "reset" : "checkout";
 	setup_unpack_trees_porcelain(&unpack_tree_opts, action);
@@ -163,7 +162,7 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
 		goto leave_reset_head;
 	}
 
-	tree = repo_parse_tree_indirect(the_repository, oid);
+	tree = repo_parse_tree_indirect(r, oid);
 	if (!tree) {
 		ret = error(_("unable to read tree (%s)"), oid_to_hex(oid));
 		goto leave_reset_head;
@@ -177,7 +176,7 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
 	}
 
 	if (oid != &head_oid || update_orig_head || switch_to_branch)
-		ret = update_refs(opts, oid, head);
+		ret = update_refs(r, opts, oid, head);
 
 leave_reset_head:
 	rollback_lock_file(&lock);

-- 
2.54.0.1136.gdb2ca164c4.dirty

[PATCH v3 3/9] reset: modernize flags passed to `reset_head()`

[Patrick Steinhardt]

The flags passed to `reset_head()` are declared as defines. This has
fallen a bit out of practice nowadays, where we instead prefer to use
enums.

Modernize the code accordingly.

Signed-off-by: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
---
 builtin/rebase.c |  2 +-
 reset.c          |  4 ++--
 reset.h          | 30 ++++++++++++++++++------------
 sequencer.c      |  2 +-
 4 files changed, 22 insertions(+), 16 deletions(-)

diff --git a/builtin/rebase.c b/builtin/rebase.c
index fa4f5d9306..4c20bd50cb 100644
--- a/builtin/rebase.c
+++ b/builtin/rebase.c
@@ -1876,7 +1876,7 @@ int cmd_rebase(int argc,
 		    options.reflog_action, options.onto_name);
 	ropts.oid = &options.onto->object.oid;
 	ropts.orig_head = &options.orig_head->object.oid;
-	ropts.flags = RESET_HEAD_DETACH | RESET_ORIG_HEAD |
+	ropts.flags = RESET_HEAD_DETACH | RESET_HEAD_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD |
 			RESET_HEAD_RUN_POST_CHECKOUT_HOOK;
 	ropts.head_msg = msg.buf;
 	ropts.default_reflog_action = options.reflog_action;
diff --git a/reset.c b/reset.c
index 3b3cb74dab..228cad5f42 100644
--- a/reset.c
+++ b/reset.c
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ static int update_refs(struct repository *repo,
 {
 	unsigned detach_head = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_DETACH;
 	unsigned run_hook = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_RUN_POST_CHECKOUT_HOOK;
-	unsigned update_orig_head = opts->flags & RESET_ORIG_HEAD;
+	unsigned update_orig_head = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD;
 	const struct object_id *orig_head = opts->orig_head;
 	const char *switch_to_branch = opts->branch;
 	const char *reflog_branch = opts->branch_msg;
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
 	const char *switch_to_branch = opts->branch;
 	unsigned reset_hard = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_HARD;
 	unsigned refs_only = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_REFS_ONLY;
-	unsigned update_orig_head = opts->flags & RESET_ORIG_HEAD;
+	unsigned update_orig_head = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD;
 	struct object_id *head = NULL, head_oid;
 	struct tree_desc desc[2] = { { NULL }, { NULL } };
 	struct lock_file lock = LOCK_INIT;
diff --git a/reset.h b/reset.h
index a28f81829d..0bf25c51de 100644
--- a/reset.h
+++ b/reset.h
@@ -6,16 +6,22 @@
 
 #define GIT_REFLOG_ACTION_ENVIRONMENT "GIT_REFLOG_ACTION"
 
-/* Request a detached checkout */
-#define RESET_HEAD_DETACH (1<<0)
-/* Request a reset rather than a checkout */
-#define RESET_HEAD_HARD (1<<1)
-/* Run the post-checkout hook */
-#define RESET_HEAD_RUN_POST_CHECKOUT_HOOK (1<<2)
-/* Only update refs, do not touch the worktree */
-#define RESET_HEAD_REFS_ONLY (1<<3)
-/* Update ORIG_HEAD as well as HEAD */
-#define RESET_ORIG_HEAD (1<<4)
+enum reset_head_flags {
+	/* Request a detached checkout */
+	RESET_HEAD_DETACH = (1 << 0),
+
+	/* Request a reset rather than a checkout */
+	RESET_HEAD_HARD = (1 << 1),
+
+	/* Run the post-checkout hook */
+	RESET_HEAD_RUN_POST_CHECKOUT_HOOK = (1 << 2),
+
+	/* Only update refs, do not touch the worktree */
+	RESET_HEAD_REFS_ONLY = (1 << 3),
+
+	/* Update ORIG_HEAD as well as HEAD */
+	RESET_HEAD_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD = (1 << 4),
+};
 
 struct reset_head_opts {
 	/*
@@ -33,7 +39,7 @@ struct reset_head_opts {
 	/*
 	 * Flags defined above.
 	 */
-	unsigned flags;
+	enum reset_head_flags flags;
 	/*
 	 * Optional reflog message for branch, defaults to head_msg.
 	 */
@@ -45,7 +51,7 @@ struct reset_head_opts {
 	const char *head_msg;
 	/*
 	 * Optional reflog message for ORIG_HEAD, if this omitted and flags
-	 * contains RESET_ORIG_HEAD then default_reflog_action must be given.
+	 * contains RESET_HEAD_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD then default_reflog_action must be given.
 	 */
 	const char *orig_head_msg;
 	/*
diff --git a/sequencer.c b/sequencer.c
index 1ee4b2875b..c46c606b3e 100644
--- a/sequencer.c
+++ b/sequencer.c
@@ -4870,7 +4870,7 @@ static int checkout_onto(struct repository *r, struct replay_opts *opts,
 	struct reset_head_opts ropts = {
 		.oid = onto,
 		.orig_head = orig_head,
-		.flags = RESET_HEAD_DETACH | RESET_ORIG_HEAD |
+		.flags = RESET_HEAD_DETACH | RESET_HEAD_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD |
 				RESET_HEAD_RUN_POST_CHECKOUT_HOOK,
 		.head_msg = reflog_message(opts, "start", "checkout %s",
 					   onto_name),

-- 
2.54.0.1136.gdb2ca164c4.dirty

[PATCH v3 4/9] reset: introduce dry-run mode

[Patrick Steinhardt]

In a subsequent commit we'll add another caller to `reset_head()` that
wants to perform a dry-run check of whether it would be possible to
update the index and working tree when moving to a new commit. Introduce
a new flag that lets the caller perform this operation.

Signed-off-by: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
---
 reset.c | 44 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-----------
 reset.h |  6 ++++++
 2 files changed, 39 insertions(+), 11 deletions(-)

diff --git a/reset.c b/reset.c
index 228cad5f42..8fb39d4c51 100644
--- a/reset.c
+++ b/reset.c
@@ -92,11 +92,14 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
 	unsigned reset_hard = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_HARD;
 	unsigned refs_only = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_REFS_ONLY;
 	unsigned update_orig_head = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD;
+	unsigned dry_run = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_DRY_RUN;
 	struct object_id *head = NULL, head_oid;
 	struct tree_desc desc[2] = { { NULL }, { NULL } };
 	struct lock_file lock = LOCK_INIT;
 	struct unpack_trees_options unpack_tree_opts = { 0 };
 	struct tree *tree;
+	struct index_state scratch_index = INDEX_STATE_INIT(r);
+	struct index_state *istate;
 	const char *action;
 	int ret = 0, nr = 0;
 
@@ -109,7 +112,7 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
 	if (opts->branch_msg && !opts->branch)
 		BUG("branch reflog message given without a branch");
 
-	if (!refs_only && repo_hold_locked_index(r, &lock, LOCK_REPORT_ON_ERROR) < 0) {
+	if (!refs_only && !dry_run && repo_hold_locked_index(r, &lock, LOCK_REPORT_ON_ERROR) < 0) {
 		ret = -1;
 		goto leave_reset_head;
 	}
@@ -124,16 +127,36 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
 	if (!oid)
 		oid = &head_oid;
 
-	if (refs_only)
-		return update_refs(r, opts, oid, head);
+	if (refs_only) {
+		if (!dry_run)
+			return update_refs(r, opts, oid, head);
+		return 0;
+	}
+
+	if (dry_run) {
+		if (read_index_from(&scratch_index, r->index_file, r->gitdir) < 0 ||
+		    index_state_unmerged_to_stage0(&scratch_index) < 0) {
+			ret = error(_("could not read index"));
+			goto leave_reset_head;
+		}
+
+		istate = &scratch_index;
+	} else {
+		if (repo_read_index_unmerged(r) < 0) {
+			ret = error(_("could not read index"));
+			goto leave_reset_head;
+		}
+		istate = r->index;
+	}
 
 	action = reset_hard ? "reset" : "checkout";
 	setup_unpack_trees_porcelain(&unpack_tree_opts, action);
 	unpack_tree_opts.head_idx = 1;
-	unpack_tree_opts.src_index = r->index;
-	unpack_tree_opts.dst_index = r->index;
+	unpack_tree_opts.src_index = istate;
+	unpack_tree_opts.dst_index = istate;
 	unpack_tree_opts.fn = reset_hard ? oneway_merge : twoway_merge;
-	unpack_tree_opts.update = 1;
+	unpack_tree_opts.update = !dry_run;
+	unpack_tree_opts.dry_run = dry_run;
 	unpack_tree_opts.merge = 1;
 	unpack_tree_opts.preserve_ignored = 0; /* FIXME: !overwrite_ignore */
 	unpack_tree_opts.skip_cache_tree_update = 1;
@@ -141,11 +164,6 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
 	if (reset_hard)
 		unpack_tree_opts.reset = UNPACK_RESET_PROTECT_UNTRACKED;
 
-	if (repo_read_index_unmerged(r) < 0) {
-		ret = error(_("could not read index"));
-		goto leave_reset_head;
-	}
-
 	if (!reset_hard && !fill_tree_descriptor(r, &desc[nr++], &head_oid)) {
 		ret = error(_("failed to find tree of %s"),
 			    oid_to_hex(&head_oid));
@@ -162,6 +180,9 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
 		goto leave_reset_head;
 	}
 
+	if (dry_run)
+		goto leave_reset_head;
+
 	tree = repo_parse_tree_indirect(r, oid);
 	if (!tree) {
 		ret = error(_("unable to read tree (%s)"), oid_to_hex(oid));
@@ -181,6 +202,7 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
 leave_reset_head:
 	rollback_lock_file(&lock);
 	clear_unpack_trees_porcelain(&unpack_tree_opts);
+	release_index(&scratch_index);
 	while (nr)
 		free((void *)desc[--nr].buffer);
 	return ret;
diff --git a/reset.h b/reset.h
index 0bf25c51de..cc9fd4378a 100644
--- a/reset.h
+++ b/reset.h
@@ -21,6 +21,12 @@ enum reset_head_flags {
 
 	/* Update ORIG_HEAD as well as HEAD */
 	RESET_HEAD_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD = (1 << 4),
+
+	/*
+	 * Perform a dry-run by performing the operation without updating
+	 * any user-visible state.
+	 */
+	RESET_HEAD_DRY_RUN = (1 << 5),
 };
 
 struct reset_head_opts {

-- 
2.54.0.1136.gdb2ca164c4.dirty

[PATCH v3 5/9] reset: introduce ability to skip reference updates

[Patrick Steinhardt]

In a subsequent commit we'll introduce a new caller to `reset_head()`
that really only wants to update the index and working tree, without
updating any references. Introduce a new flag that lets the caller
perform this operation.

Signed-off-by: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
---
 reset.c | 7 ++++++-
 reset.h | 3 +++
 2 files changed, 9 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/reset.c b/reset.c
index 8fb39d4c51..f88f32d563 100644
--- a/reset.c
+++ b/reset.c
@@ -93,6 +93,7 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
 	unsigned refs_only = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_REFS_ONLY;
 	unsigned update_orig_head = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD;
 	unsigned dry_run = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_DRY_RUN;
+	unsigned skip_ref_updates = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_SKIP_REF_UPDATES;
 	struct object_id *head = NULL, head_oid;
 	struct tree_desc desc[2] = { { NULL }, { NULL } };
 	struct lock_file lock = LOCK_INIT;
@@ -112,6 +113,9 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
 	if (opts->branch_msg && !opts->branch)
 		BUG("branch reflog message given without a branch");
 
+	if (skip_ref_updates && (opts->branch || refs_only || update_orig_head))
+		BUG("asked to perform ref updates and skip them at the same time");
+
 	if (!refs_only && !dry_run && repo_hold_locked_index(r, &lock, LOCK_REPORT_ON_ERROR) < 0) {
 		ret = -1;
 		goto leave_reset_head;
@@ -196,7 +200,8 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
 		goto leave_reset_head;
 	}
 
-	if (oid != &head_oid || update_orig_head || switch_to_branch)
+	if (!skip_ref_updates &&
+	    (oid != &head_oid || update_orig_head || switch_to_branch))
 		ret = update_refs(r, opts, oid, head);
 
 leave_reset_head:
diff --git a/reset.h b/reset.h
index cc9fd4378a..d2f8546844 100644
--- a/reset.h
+++ b/reset.h
@@ -27,6 +27,9 @@ enum reset_head_flags {
 	 * any user-visible state.
 	 */
 	RESET_HEAD_DRY_RUN = (1 << 5),
+
+	/* Skip updating any references, only update the worktree and index. */
+	RESET_HEAD_SKIP_REF_UPDATES = (1 << 6),
 };
 
 struct reset_head_opts {

-- 
2.54.0.1136.gdb2ca164c4.dirty

[PATCH v3 6/9] reset: allow the caller to specify the current HEAD object

[Patrick Steinhardt]

When calling `reset_head()` we automatically derive the commit that the
callers wants to move from by reading the HEAD commit. Some callers may
already have resolved it, or they may want to move from a different
commit that doesn't match HEAD.

Introduce a new `oid_from` option that lets the caller specify the
commit.

Signed-off-by: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
---
 reset.c | 5 ++++-
 reset.h | 5 +++++
 2 files changed, 9 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/reset.c b/reset.c
index f88f32d563..5ba9a3a574 100644
--- a/reset.c
+++ b/reset.c
@@ -121,7 +121,10 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
 		goto leave_reset_head;
 	}
 
-	if (!repo_get_oid(r, "HEAD", &head_oid)) {
+	if (opts->oid_from) {
+		oidcpy(&head_oid, opts->oid_from);
+		head = &head_oid;
+	} else if (!repo_get_oid(r, "HEAD", &head_oid)) {
 		head = &head_oid;
 	} else if (!oid || !reset_hard) {
 		ret = error(_("could not determine HEAD revision"));
diff --git a/reset.h b/reset.h
index d2f8546844..9387fc7dce 100644
--- a/reset.h
+++ b/reset.h
@@ -37,6 +37,11 @@ struct reset_head_opts {
 	 * The commit to checkout/reset to. Defaults to HEAD.
 	 */
 	const struct object_id *oid;
+	/*
+	 * The commit to checkout/reset from when doing a two-way merge. This
+	 * is used as one of the sides to merge.
+	 */
+	const struct object_id *oid_from;
 	/*
 	 * Optional value to set ORIG_HEAD. Defaults to HEAD.
 	 */

-- 
2.54.0.1136.gdb2ca164c4.dirty

[PATCH v3 7/9] reset: stop assuming that the caller passes in a clean index

[Patrick Steinhardt]

In 652bd0211d (rebase: use 'skip_cache_tree_update' option, 2022-11-10),
we updated `reset_head()` to stop updating the index tree cache. This
was done as a performance optimization: the function is only called by
"sequencer.c" and "rebase.c", both of which assume a clean index before
they perform their operation, so we know that the end result will be a
clean index, too. Consequently, we can skip recomputing the cache as we
can instead use `prime_cache_tree()` directly.

In a subsequent commit we're about to add a new caller though where the
assumption doesn't hold anymore: the index may be dirty before calling
`reset_head()`, and consequently we cannot prime the cache with a given
tree anymore as the index and tree will mismatch.

Adapt the logic so that we only skip the cache tree update in case we're
doing a hard reset. While we could introduce logic that only skips the
update in case the incoming index was dirty already, that doesn't really
feel worth it: after all, the mentioned commit says itself that the
performance improvement was negligible anyway.

Signed-off-by: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
---
 reset.c | 8 +++++---
 1 file changed, 5 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

diff --git a/reset.c b/reset.c
index 5ba9a3a574..2fabc54d9b 100644
--- a/reset.c
+++ b/reset.c
@@ -166,10 +166,11 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
 	unpack_tree_opts.dry_run = dry_run;
 	unpack_tree_opts.merge = 1;
 	unpack_tree_opts.preserve_ignored = 0; /* FIXME: !overwrite_ignore */
-	unpack_tree_opts.skip_cache_tree_update = 1;
 	init_checkout_metadata(&unpack_tree_opts.meta, switch_to_branch, oid, NULL);
-	if (reset_hard)
+	if (reset_hard) {
+		unpack_tree_opts.skip_cache_tree_update = 1;
 		unpack_tree_opts.reset = UNPACK_RESET_PROTECT_UNTRACKED;
+	}
 
 	if (!reset_hard && !fill_tree_descriptor(r, &desc[nr++], &head_oid)) {
 		ret = error(_("failed to find tree of %s"),
@@ -196,7 +197,8 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
 		goto leave_reset_head;
 	}
 
-	prime_cache_tree(r, r->index, tree);
+	if (reset_hard)
+		prime_cache_tree(r, r->index, tree);
 
 	if (write_locked_index(r->index, &lock, COMMIT_LOCK) < 0) {
 		ret = error(_("could not write index"));

-- 
2.54.0.1136.gdb2ca164c4.dirty

[PATCH v3 8/9] builtin/history: split handling of ref updates into two phases

[Patrick Steinhardt]

The function `handle_reference_updates()` is used by git-history(1) to
update all references that refer to commits that have been rewritten. As
such, it performs two steps:

  - It gathers the references that need to be updated in the first
    place.

  - It prepares and commits the reference transaction.

In a subsequent commit we'll want to handle those two steps separately.
Prepare for this by splitting up the function into two.

Signed-off-by: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
---
 builtin/history.c | 102 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++--------------------
 1 file changed, 64 insertions(+), 38 deletions(-)

diff --git a/builtin/history.c b/builtin/history.c
index 0fc06fb204..4fadf38c32 100644
--- a/builtin/history.c
+++ b/builtin/history.c
@@ -333,21 +333,17 @@ static int handle_ref_update(struct ref_transaction *transaction,
 				      NULL, NULL, 0, reflog_msg, err);
 }
 
-static int handle_reference_updates(struct rev_info *revs,
-				    enum ref_action action,
-				    struct commit *original,
-				    struct commit *rewritten,
-				    const char *reflog_msg,
-				    int dry_run,
-				    enum replay_empty_commit_action empty)
+static int compute_pending_ref_updates(struct rev_info *revs,
+				       enum ref_action action,
+				       struct commit *original,
+				       struct commit *rewritten,
+				       enum replay_empty_commit_action empty,
+				       struct replay_result *result)
 {
 	const struct name_decoration *decoration;
 	struct replay_revisions_options opts = {
 		.empty = empty,
 	};
-	struct replay_result result = { 0 };
-	struct ref_transaction *transaction = NULL;
-	struct strbuf err = STRBUF_INIT;
 	char hex[GIT_MAX_HEXSZ + 1];
 	bool detached_head;
 	int head_flags = 0;
@@ -359,34 +355,13 @@ static int handle_reference_updates(struct rev_info *revs,
 
 	opts.onto = oid_to_hex_r(hex, &rewritten->object.oid);
 
-	ret = replay_revisions(revs, &opts, &result);
+	ret = replay_revisions(revs, &opts, result);
 	if (ret)
-		goto out;
+		return ret;
 
 	if (action != REF_ACTION_BRANCHES && action != REF_ACTION_HEAD)
 		BUG("unsupported ref action %d", action);
 
-	if (!dry_run) {
-		transaction = ref_store_transaction_begin(get_main_ref_store(revs->repo), 0, &err);
-		if (!transaction) {
-			ret = error(_("failed to begin ref transaction: %s"), err.buf);
-			goto out;
-		}
-	}
-
-	for (size_t i = 0; i < result.updates_nr; i++) {
-		ret = handle_ref_update(transaction,
-					result.updates[i].refname,
-					&result.updates[i].new_oid,
-					&result.updates[i].old_oid,
-					reflog_msg, &err);
-		if (ret) {
-			ret = error(_("failed to update ref '%s': %s"),
-				    result.updates[i].refname, err.buf);
-			goto out;
-		}
-	}
-
 	/*
 	 * `replay_revisions()` only updates references that are
 	 * ancestors of `rewritten`, so we need to manually
@@ -414,14 +389,43 @@ static int handle_reference_updates(struct rev_info *revs,
 		    !detached_head)
 			continue;
 
+		ALLOC_GROW(result->updates, result->updates_nr + 1, result->updates_alloc);
+		result->updates[result->updates_nr].refname = xstrdup(decoration->name);
+		result->updates[result->updates_nr].old_oid = original->object.oid;
+		result->updates[result->updates_nr].new_oid = rewritten->object.oid;
+		result->updates_nr++;
+	}
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+static int apply_pending_ref_updates(struct repository *repo,
+				     const struct replay_result *result,
+				     const char *reflog_msg,
+				     int dry_run)
+{
+	struct ref_transaction *transaction = NULL;
+	struct strbuf err = STRBUF_INIT;
+	int ret;
+
+	if (!dry_run) {
+		transaction = ref_store_transaction_begin(get_main_ref_store(repo),
+							  0, &err);
+		if (!transaction) {
+			ret = error(_("failed to begin ref transaction: %s"), err.buf);
+			goto out;
+		}
+	}
+
+	for (size_t i = 0; i < result->updates_nr; i++) {
 		ret = handle_ref_update(transaction,
-					decoration->name,
-					&rewritten->object.oid,
-					&original->object.oid,
+					result->updates[i].refname,
+					&result->updates[i].new_oid,
+					&result->updates[i].old_oid,
 					reflog_msg, &err);
 		if (ret) {
 			ret = error(_("failed to update ref '%s': %s"),
-				    decoration->name, err.buf);
+				    result->updates[i].refname, err.buf);
 			goto out;
 		}
 	}
@@ -435,11 +439,33 @@ static int handle_reference_updates(struct rev_info *revs,
 
 out:
 	ref_transaction_free(transaction);
-	replay_result_release(&result);
 	strbuf_release(&err);
 	return ret;
 }
 
+static int handle_reference_updates(struct rev_info *revs,
+				    enum ref_action action,
+				    struct commit *original,
+				    struct commit *rewritten,
+				    const char *reflog_msg,
+				    int dry_run,
+				    enum replay_empty_commit_action empty)
+{
+	struct replay_result result = { 0 };
+	int ret;
+
+	ret = compute_pending_ref_updates(revs, action, original, rewritten,
+					  empty, &result);
+	if (ret)
+		goto out;
+
+	ret = apply_pending_ref_updates(revs->repo, &result, reflog_msg, dry_run);
+
+out:
+	replay_result_release(&result);
+	return ret;
+}
+
 static int commit_became_empty(struct repository *repo,
 			       struct commit *original,
 			       struct tree *result)

-- 
2.54.0.1136.gdb2ca164c4.dirty

[PATCH v3 9/9] builtin/history: implement "drop" subcommand

[Patrick Steinhardt]

A common operation when editing the commit history is to drop a specific
commit from the history entirely, but this operation is not currently
covered by git-history(1).

A couple of noteworthy bits:

  - This is the first git-history(1) command that will ultimately result
    in changes to both the index and the working tree. We thus have to
    add logic to merge resulting changes into those.

  - It is still not possible to replay merge commits, so this limitation
    is inherited for the new "drop" command.

  - For now we refuse to drop root commits. While we _can_ indeed drop
    root commits in the general case, there are edge cases where the
    resulting history would become completely empty. This is thus left
    to a subsequent patch series.

Other than that, most of the logic is rather straight-forward as we can
continue to build on the preexisting logic in git-history(1) for most of
the part.

Signed-off-by: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
---
 Documentation/git-history.adoc |  38 ++-
 builtin/history.c              | 187 ++++++++++++++
 t/meson.build                  |   1 +
 t/t3454-history-drop.sh        | 537 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 4 files changed, 762 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/Documentation/git-history.adoc b/Documentation/git-history.adoc
index 2ba8121795..28b477cd37 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-history.adoc
+++ b/Documentation/git-history.adoc
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ git-history - EXPERIMENTAL: Rewrite history
 SYNOPSIS
 --------
 [synopsis]
+git history drop <commit> [--dry-run] [--update-refs=(branches|head)] [--empty=(drop|keep|abort)]
 git history fixup <commit> [--dry-run] [--update-refs=(branches|head)] [--reedit-message] [--empty=(drop|keep|abort)]
 git history reword <commit> [--dry-run] [--update-refs=(branches|head)]
 git history split <commit> [--dry-run] [--update-refs=(branches|head)] [--] [<pathspec>...]
@@ -51,13 +52,28 @@ be stateful operations. The limitation can be lifted once (if) Git learns about
 first-class conflicts.
 
 When using `fixup` with `--empty=drop`, dropping the root commit is not yet
-supported.
+supported. Likewise, `drop` cannot remove the root commit or a merge commit.
 
 COMMANDS
 --------
 
 The following commands are available to rewrite history in different ways:
 
+`drop <commit>`::
+	Remove the specified commit from the history. All descendants of the
+	commit are replayed directly onto its parent.
++
+The root commit cannot be dropped as that may lead to edge cases where refs
+end up with no commits anymore. Merge commits cannot be dropped either; see
+LIMITATIONS.
++
+If `HEAD` points at a commit that is to be rewritten, the index and working
+tree are updated to match the new `HEAD`. The command aborts before any
+references are updated in case local modifications would be overwritten.
++
+If replaying any descendant would result in a conflict, the command aborts
+with an error.
+
 `fixup <commit>`::
 	Apply the currently staged changes to the specified commit. This is
 	similar in nature to `git commit --fixup=<commit>` followed by `git
@@ -170,6 +186,26 @@ The staged addition of `unrelated.txt` has been incorporated into the `first`
 commit. All descendant commits have been replayed on top of the rewritten
 history.
 
+Drop a commit
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+----------
+$ git log --oneline
+abc1234 (HEAD -> main) third
+def5678 second
+ghi9012 first
+
+$ git history drop 'main^{/second}'
+
+$ git log --oneline
+jkl3456 (HEAD -> main) third
+ghi9012 first
+----------
+
+The `second` commit has been removed from the history, and `third` has been
+replayed directly on top of `first`. All branches that pointed at the dropped
+commit have been moved to its parent.
+
 Split a commit
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
diff --git a/builtin/history.c b/builtin/history.c
index 4fadf38c32..5c2cdc673b 100644
--- a/builtin/history.c
+++ b/builtin/history.c
@@ -17,13 +17,17 @@
 #include "read-cache.h"
 #include "refs.h"
 #include "replay.h"
+#include "reset.h"
 #include "revision.h"
 #include "sequencer.h"
 #include "strvec.h"
 #include "tree.h"
+#include "tree-walk.h"
 #include "unpack-trees.h"
 #include "wt-status.h"
 
+#define GIT_HISTORY_DROP_USAGE \
+	N_("git history drop <commit> [--dry-run] [--update-refs=(branches|head)] [--empty=(drop|keep|abort)]")
 #define GIT_HISTORY_FIXUP_USAGE \
 	N_("git history fixup <commit> [--dry-run] [--update-refs=(branches|head)] [--reedit-message] [--empty=(drop|keep|abort)]")
 #define GIT_HISTORY_REWORD_USAGE \
@@ -1001,12 +1005,194 @@ static int cmd_history_split(int argc,
 	return ret;
 }
 
+static int update_worktree(struct repository *repo,
+			   const struct commit *old_head,
+			   const struct commit *new_head,
+			   bool dry_run)
+{
+	struct reset_head_opts opts = {
+		.oid_from = &old_head->object.oid,
+		.oid = &new_head->object.oid,
+		.flags = RESET_HEAD_SKIP_REF_UPDATES,
+	};
+	if (dry_run)
+		opts.flags |= RESET_HEAD_DRY_RUN;
+	return reset_head(repo, &opts);
+}
+
+static int find_head_tree_change(struct repository *repo,
+				 const struct replay_result *result,
+				 struct commit **old_head,
+				 struct commit **new_head,
+				 bool *changed)
+{
+	const struct replay_ref_update *head_update = NULL;
+	struct commit *old_head_commit, *new_head_commit;
+	struct tree *old_head_tree, *new_head_tree;
+	const char *head_target;
+	int head_flags;
+
+	*changed = false;
+
+	head_target = refs_resolve_ref_unsafe(get_main_ref_store(repo),
+					      "HEAD", RESOLVE_REF_NO_RECURSE,
+					      NULL, &head_flags);
+	if (!head_target)
+		return error(_("cannot look up HEAD"));
+	if (!(head_flags & REF_ISSYMREF))
+		head_target = "HEAD";
+
+	for (size_t i = 0; i < result->updates_nr; i++) {
+		if (!strcmp(result->updates[i].refname, head_target)) {
+			head_update = &result->updates[i];
+			break;
+		}
+	}
+
+	if (!head_update)
+		return 0;
+
+	old_head_commit = lookup_commit_reference(repo, &head_update->old_oid);
+	new_head_commit = lookup_commit_reference(repo, &head_update->new_oid);
+	if (!old_head_commit || !new_head_commit)
+		return error(_("cannot resolve HEAD commit"));
+
+	old_head_tree = repo_get_commit_tree(repo, old_head_commit);
+	new_head_tree = repo_get_commit_tree(repo, new_head_commit);
+	if (!old_head_tree || !new_head_tree)
+		return error(_("cannot resolve tree for HEAD"));
+
+	if (oideq(&old_head_tree->object.oid, &new_head_tree->object.oid))
+		return 0;
+
+	*old_head = old_head_commit;
+	*new_head = new_head_commit;
+	*changed = true;
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+static int cmd_history_drop(int argc,
+			    const char **argv,
+			    const char *prefix,
+			    struct repository *repo)
+{
+	const char * const usage[] = {
+		GIT_HISTORY_DROP_USAGE,
+		NULL,
+	};
+	enum replay_empty_commit_action empty = REPLAY_EMPTY_COMMIT_DROP;
+	enum ref_action action = REF_ACTION_DEFAULT;
+	int dry_run = 0;
+	struct option options[] = {
+		OPT_CALLBACK_F(0, "update-refs", &action, "(branches|head)",
+			       N_("control which refs should be updated"),
+			       PARSE_OPT_NONEG, parse_ref_action),
+		OPT_BOOL('n', "dry-run", &dry_run,
+			 N_("perform a dry-run without updating any refs")),
+		OPT_CALLBACK_F(0, "empty", &empty, "(drop|keep|abort)",
+			       N_("how to handle descendants that become empty"),
+			       PARSE_OPT_NONEG, parse_opt_empty),
+		OPT_END(),
+	};
+	struct strbuf reflog_msg = STRBUF_INIT;
+	struct commit *original, *rewritten;
+	struct rev_info revs = { 0 };
+	struct replay_result result = { 0 };
+	struct commit *old_head, *new_head;
+	bool head_moves = false;
+	int ret;
+
+	argc = parse_options(argc, argv, prefix, options, usage, 0);
+	if (argc != 1) {
+		ret = error(_("command expects a single revision"));
+		goto out;
+	}
+	repo_config(repo, git_default_config, NULL);
+
+	if (action == REF_ACTION_DEFAULT)
+		action = REF_ACTION_BRANCHES;
+
+	original = lookup_commit_reference_by_name(argv[0]);
+	if (!original) {
+		ret = error(_("commit cannot be found: %s"), argv[0]);
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	if (!original->parents) {
+		ret = error(_("cannot drop root commit %s: "
+			      "it has no parent to replay onto"),
+			    argv[0]);
+		goto out;
+	} else if (original->parents->next) {
+		ret = error(_("cannot drop merge commit: %s"), argv[0]);
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	ret = setup_revwalk(repo, action, original, &revs);
+	if (ret)
+		goto out;
+
+	rewritten = original->parents->item;
+
+	ret = compute_pending_ref_updates(&revs, action, original, rewritten,
+					  empty, &result);
+	if (ret) {
+		ret = error(_("failed replaying descendants"));
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	/*
+	 * If HEAD will move as a result of the rewrite then we'll have to
+	 * merge in the changes into the worktree and index. This merge can of
+	 * course conflict, which will cause the whole operation to abort.
+	 *
+	 * If we had already updated the refs at that point then we'd have an
+	 * inconsistent repository state. So we first perform a dry-run merge
+	 * here before updating refs.
+	 */
+	if (!is_bare_repository()) {
+		ret = find_head_tree_change(repo, &result, &old_head,
+					    &new_head, &head_moves);
+		if (ret < 0)
+			goto out;
+
+		if (head_moves && update_worktree(repo, old_head, new_head, true) < 0) {
+			ret = error(_("dropping this commit would "
+				      "overwrite local changes; aborting"));
+			goto out;
+		}
+	}
+
+	strbuf_addf(&reflog_msg, "drop: dropping %s", argv[0]);
+	ret = apply_pending_ref_updates(repo, &result, reflog_msg.buf, dry_run);
+	if (ret < 0) {
+		ret = error(_("failed to update references"));
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	if (!dry_run && head_moves && update_worktree(repo, old_head, new_head, false) < 0) {
+		ret = error(_("could not update working tree to new commit %s"),
+			    oid_to_hex(&new_head->object.oid));
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	ret = 0;
+
+out:
+	replay_result_release(&result);
+	strbuf_release(&reflog_msg);
+	release_revisions(&revs);
+	return ret;
+}
+
 int cmd_history(int argc,
 		const char **argv,
 		const char *prefix,
 		struct repository *repo)
 {
 	const char * const usage[] = {
+		GIT_HISTORY_DROP_USAGE,
 		GIT_HISTORY_FIXUP_USAGE,
 		GIT_HISTORY_REWORD_USAGE,
 		GIT_HISTORY_SPLIT_USAGE,
@@ -1014,6 +1200,7 @@ int cmd_history(int argc,
 	};
 	parse_opt_subcommand_fn *fn = NULL;
 	struct option options[] = {
+		OPT_SUBCOMMAND("drop", &fn, cmd_history_drop),
 		OPT_SUBCOMMAND("fixup", &fn, cmd_history_fixup),
 		OPT_SUBCOMMAND("reword", &fn, cmd_history_reword),
 		OPT_SUBCOMMAND("split", &fn, cmd_history_split),
diff --git a/t/meson.build b/t/meson.build
index 2af8d01279..d5e71056b2 100644
--- a/t/meson.build
+++ b/t/meson.build
@@ -399,6 +399,7 @@ integration_tests = [
   't3451-history-reword.sh',
   't3452-history-split.sh',
   't3453-history-fixup.sh',
+  't3454-history-drop.sh',
   't3500-cherry.sh',
   't3501-revert-cherry-pick.sh',
   't3502-cherry-pick-merge.sh',
diff --git a/t/t3454-history-drop.sh b/t/t3454-history-drop.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..0f33247212
--- /dev/null
+++ b/t/t3454-history-drop.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,537 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+
+test_description='tests for git-history drop subcommand'
+
+. ./test-lib.sh
+. "$TEST_DIRECTORY/lib-log-graph.sh"
+
+expect_graph () {
+	cat >expect &&
+	lib_test_cmp_graph --format=%s "$@"
+}
+
+expect_log () {
+	git log --format="%s" "$@" >actual &&
+	cat >expect &&
+	test_cmp expect actual
+}
+
+test_expect_success 'errors on missing commit argument' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit initial &&
+		test_must_fail git history drop 2>err &&
+		test_grep "command expects a single revision" err
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'errors on too many arguments' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit initial &&
+		test_must_fail git history drop HEAD HEAD 2>err &&
+		test_grep "command expects a single revision" err
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'errors on unknown revision' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit initial &&
+		test_must_fail git history drop does-not-exist 2>err &&
+		test_grep "commit cannot be found: does-not-exist" err
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'errors with invalid --empty= value' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit initial &&
+		test_commit second &&
+		test_must_fail git history drop --empty=bogus HEAD 2>err &&
+		test_grep "unrecognized.*--empty.*bogus" err
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'drops a commit in the middle and replays descendants' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit first &&
+		test_commit second &&
+		test_commit third &&
+
+		git symbolic-ref HEAD >expect &&
+		git history drop HEAD~ &&
+		git symbolic-ref HEAD >actual &&
+		test_cmp expect actual &&
+
+		expect_log <<-\EOF &&
+		third
+		first
+		EOF
+
+		test_must_fail git show HEAD:second.t &&
+		test_path_is_missing second.t &&
+
+		git reflog >reflog &&
+		test_grep "drop: dropping HEAD~" reflog
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'drops the HEAD commit' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit first &&
+		test_commit second &&
+
+		git history drop HEAD &&
+
+		expect_log <<-\EOF
+		first
+		EOF
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'drops a commit on detached HEAD' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit first &&
+		test_commit second &&
+		test_commit third &&
+		git checkout --detach HEAD &&
+
+		git history drop HEAD~ &&
+
+		expect_log <<-\EOF
+		third
+		first
+		EOF
+	)
+'
+
+# Note: in this case it would actually be fine to drop the root commit, as we
+# do have a descendant commit, and no reference points to the root commit
+# directly. So this is something that we may relax eventually.
+test_expect_success 'refuses to drop the root commit' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit first &&
+		test_commit second &&
+
+		test_must_fail git history drop HEAD~ 2>err &&
+		test_grep "cannot drop root commit" err
+	)
+'
+
+# In contrast to the above case, we actually don't want to drop the root commit
+# here as that would cause us to end up with an empty commit graph.
+test_expect_success 'refuses to drop the root commit when branch becomes empty' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit first &&
+
+		test_must_fail git history drop HEAD 2>err &&
+		test_grep "cannot drop root commit" err
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'refuses to drop a merge commit' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit base &&
+		git branch branch &&
+		test_commit ours &&
+		git switch branch &&
+		test_commit theirs &&
+		git switch - &&
+		git merge theirs &&
+
+		test_must_fail git history drop HEAD 2>err &&
+		test_grep "cannot drop merge commit" err
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'refuses when descendants contain a merge commit' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit base &&
+		test_commit middle &&
+		git branch branch &&
+		test_commit ours &&
+		git switch branch &&
+		test_commit theirs &&
+		git switch - &&
+		git merge theirs &&
+
+		test_must_fail git history drop middle 2>err &&
+		test_grep "replaying merge commits is not supported yet" err
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'works in a bare repository' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo repo.git" &&
+
+	git init repo &&
+	test_commit -C repo first &&
+	test_commit -C repo second &&
+	test_commit -C repo third &&
+
+	git clone --bare repo repo.git &&
+	(
+		cd repo.git &&
+
+		git history drop HEAD~ &&
+		expect_log <<-\EOF
+		third
+		first
+		EOF
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'updates branches on other lines of descent' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit base &&
+		test_commit target &&
+		git branch theirs &&
+		test_commit ours &&
+		git switch theirs &&
+		test_commit theirs &&
+
+		expect_graph --branches <<-\EOF &&
+		* theirs
+		| * ours
+		|/
+		* target
+		* base
+		EOF
+
+		git history drop target &&
+
+		expect_graph --branches <<-\EOF
+		* ours
+		| * theirs
+		|/
+		* base
+		EOF
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'moves branch pointing at dropped commit to its parent' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo --initial-branch=main &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit first &&
+		test_commit second &&
+		git branch points-at-second &&
+		test_commit third &&
+
+		git rev-parse first >expect &&
+		git history drop second &&
+		git rev-parse points-at-second >actual &&
+		test_cmp expect actual &&
+
+		expect_log --format="%s %D" --branches <<-\EOF
+		third HEAD -> main
+		first tag: first, points-at-second
+		EOF
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success '--dry-run prints ref updates without modifying repo' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo --initial-branch=main &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit base &&
+		git branch branch &&
+		test_commit middle &&
+		test_commit ours &&
+		git switch branch &&
+		test_commit theirs &&
+
+		git refs list >refs-expect &&
+		git history drop --dry-run main~ >updates &&
+		git refs list >refs-actual &&
+		test_cmp refs-expect refs-actual &&
+		test_grep "update refs/heads/main" updates &&
+
+		git update-ref --stdin <updates &&
+		expect_log main <<-\EOF
+		ours
+		base
+		EOF
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success '--dry-run detects conflicts with modified working tree' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo --initial-branch=main &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit first &&
+		test_commit second modify-me &&
+		echo modified >modify-me &&
+
+		git refs list >refs-expect &&
+		git diff >diff-expect &&
+		test_must_fail git history drop --dry-run HEAD 2>err &&
+		test_grep "dropping this commit would overwrite local changes" err &&
+		git diff >diff-actual &&
+		git refs list >refs-actual &&
+
+		test_cmp diff-expect diff-actual &&
+		test_cmp refs-expect refs-actual
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success '--update-refs=head updates only HEAD' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo --initial-branch=main &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit base &&
+		test_commit target &&
+		git branch theirs &&
+		test_commit ours &&
+		git switch theirs &&
+		test_commit theirs &&
+
+		# When told to update HEAD only, the command refuses to
+		# rewrite commits that are not an ancestor of HEAD.
+		test_must_fail git history drop --update-refs=head main 2>err &&
+		test_grep "rewritten commit must be an ancestor of HEAD" err &&
+
+		expect_graph --branches <<-\EOF &&
+		* theirs
+		| * ours
+		|/
+		* target
+		* base
+		EOF
+
+		git switch main &&
+		git history drop --update-refs=head target &&
+
+		expect_graph --branches <<-\EOF
+		* ours
+		| * theirs
+		| * target
+		|/
+		* base
+		EOF
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'conflict with replayed commit aborts cleanly' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit base &&
+		test_commit conflict-a file &&
+		test_commit conflict-b file &&
+
+		git refs list >refs-expect &&
+		test_must_fail git history drop HEAD~ 2>err &&
+		test_grep "failed replaying descendants" err &&
+		git refs list >refs-actual &&
+		test_cmp refs-expect refs-actual
+	)
+'
+
+# Build a history where a descendant of the drop target reverts the change
+# introduced by the drop target. After dropping, the descendant's diff applies
+# against a tree that already lacks the change, so it becomes empty.
+setup_empty_descendant_repo () {
+	git init "$1" &&
+	(
+		cd "$1" &&
+		echo C1 >file &&
+		git add file &&
+		git commit -m "base" &&
+		git tag base &&
+		echo C2 >file &&
+		git add file &&
+		git commit -m "drop-me" &&
+		git tag drop-me &&
+		test_commit middle &&
+		echo C1 >file &&
+		git add file &&
+		git commit -m "revert-drop-me" &&
+		git tag revert-drop-me
+	)
+}
+
+test_expect_success '--empty=drop drops descendants that become empty' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	setup_empty_descendant_repo repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+
+		git history drop --empty=drop drop-me &&
+
+		expect_log <<-\EOF
+		middle
+		base
+		EOF
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success '--empty=keep keeps descendants that become empty' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	setup_empty_descendant_repo repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+
+		git history drop --empty=keep drop-me &&
+
+		expect_log <<-\EOF &&
+		revert-drop-me
+		middle
+		base
+		EOF
+		git diff HEAD~ HEAD >diff &&
+		test_must_be_empty diff
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success '--empty=abort errors out when a descendant becomes empty' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	setup_empty_descendant_repo repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+
+		test_must_fail git history drop --empty=abort drop-me 2>err &&
+		test_grep "became empty after replay" err
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'updates index and worktree when HEAD moves' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit first &&
+		test_commit second &&
+		test_commit third &&
+
+		git history drop second &&
+
+		# Worktree should no longer contain second.t.
+		test_path_is_missing second.t &&
+		test_path_is_file first.t &&
+		test_path_is_file third.t &&
+
+		# Index and worktree should both match the new HEAD.
+		git status --porcelain --untracked-files=no >status &&
+		test_must_be_empty status
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'updates worktree when dropping HEAD itself' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit first &&
+		test_commit second &&
+
+		git history drop HEAD &&
+
+		test_path_is_missing second.t &&
+		test_path_is_file first.t &&
+
+		git status --porcelain --untracked-files=no >status &&
+		test_must_be_empty status
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'preserves unrelated unstaged modifications' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit first &&
+		echo first-content >unrelated.txt &&
+		git add unrelated.txt &&
+		git commit -m "add unrelated" &&
+		test_commit second &&
+		test_commit third &&
+
+		echo locally-modified >unrelated.txt &&
+
+		git diff >diff-expect &&
+		git history drop second &&
+		git diff >diff-actual &&
+		test_cmp diff-expect diff-actual &&
+		test_path_is_missing second.t
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'preserves unrelated staged changes' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit first &&
+		echo first-content >unrelated.txt &&
+		git add unrelated.txt &&
+		git commit -m "add unrelated" &&
+		test_commit second &&
+		test_commit third &&
+
+		echo staged-change >unrelated.txt &&
+		git add unrelated.txt &&
+
+		git diff --cached >diff-expect &&
+		git history drop second &&
+		git diff --cached >diff-actual &&
+		test_cmp diff-expect diff-actual &&
+		test_path_is_missing second.t
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'aborts when local modifications would be overwritten' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit base &&
+		test_commit conflict &&
+
+		echo local-edit >conflict.t &&
+		git diff >diff-expect &&
+		test_must_fail git history drop HEAD 2>err &&
+		test_grep "would overwrite local changes" err &&
+		git diff >diff-actual &&
+		test_cmp diff-expect diff-actual
+	)
+'
+
+test_done

-- 
2.54.0.1136.gdb2ca164c4.dirty

[PATCH v4 00/10] builtin/history: introduce "drop" subcommand

[Patrick Steinhardt]

Hi,

this small patch series introduces the new "drop" subcommand for
git-history(1). As a reader might guess, the command does exactly that:
given a commit, it will drop that commit from the commit history and
replay descendant branches on top of it.

Changes in v4:
  - Remove the `SKIP_REF_UPDATES` flag in favor of a new `UPDATE_HEAD`
    flag, as suggested by Phillip.
  - Rename `reset_head()` to `reset_working_tree()`. This better matches
    the new scope of the function, and it helps us to catch any
    in-flight patches that would now have to set the `UPDATE_HEAD` flag.
  - Link to v3: https://patch.msgid.link/20260608-b4-pks-history-drop-v3-0-84ca8e43e937@pks.im

Changes in v3:
  - Fix commit message typos.
  - Make `update_orig_head` and `skip_ref_updates` mutually exclusive.
  - Use fancy revisions to specify the commit to drop in the example
    section.
  - Detect conflicting changes in the index/working tree in dry-run
    mode.
  - Consistently use a subshell.
  - Rename `RESET_HEAD_ORIG_HEAD` to `RESET_HEAD_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD`.
  - 
  - Link to v2: https://patch.msgid.link/20260603-b4-pks-history-drop-v2-0-742cb5b5176d@pks.im

Changes in v2:
  - Reworked `update_worktree()` to use `reset_head()`, which required a
    bunch of changes to `reset_head()`.
  - Consistently mention the commit that cannot be dropped as part of
    error messages.
  - Adapt error message to not use backticks anymore.
  - Drop redundant "--graph" flag in a test helper.
  - Link to v1: https://patch.msgid.link/20260601-b4-pks-history-drop-v1-0-643e32340d55@pks.im

Thanks!

Patrick

---
Patrick Steinhardt (10):
      read-cache: split out function to drop unmerged entries to stage 0
      reset: drop `USE_THE_REPOSITORY_VARIABLE`
      reset: rename `reset_head()`
      reset: modernize flags passed to `reset_working_tree()`
      reset: introduce dry-run mode
      reset: introduce ability to skip updating HEAD
      reset: allow the caller to specify the current HEAD object
      reset: stop assuming that the caller passes in a clean index
      builtin/history: split handling of ref updates into two phases
      builtin/history: implement "drop" subcommand

 Documentation/git-history.adoc |  38 ++-
 builtin/history.c              | 288 +++++++++++++++++++---
 builtin/rebase.c               |  41 ++--
 read-cache-ll.h                |   1 +
 read-cache.c                   |  12 +-
 reset.c                        |  99 +++++---
 reset.h                        |  51 ++--
 sequencer.c                    |  17 +-
 t/meson.build                  |   1 +
 t/t3454-history-drop.sh        | 537 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 10 files changed, 968 insertions(+), 117 deletions(-)

Range-diff versus v3:

 1:  e9291b8592 =  1:  63c1a10ca0 read-cache: split out function to drop unmerged entries to stage 0
 2:  6ae06725ca =  2:  b83e2124e8 reset: drop `USE_THE_REPOSITORY_VARIABLE`
 3:  53bf10c527 <  -:  ---------- reset: modernize flags passed to `reset_head()`
 -:  ---------- >  3:  0488effe71 reset: rename `reset_head()`
 -:  ---------- >  4:  364e71ee9c reset: modernize flags passed to `reset_working_tree()`
 4:  b8e5464d06 !  5:  0fa45bd263 reset: introduce dry-run mode
    @@ Metadata
      ## Commit message ##
         reset: introduce dry-run mode
     
    -    In a subsequent commit we'll add another caller to `reset_head()` that
    -    wants to perform a dry-run check of whether it would be possible to
    +    In a subsequent commit we'll add another caller to `reset_working_tree()`
    +    that wants to perform a dry-run check of whether it would be possible to
         update the index and working tree when moving to a new commit. Introduce
         a new flag that lets the caller perform this operation.
     
         Signed-off-by: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
     
      ## reset.c ##
    -@@ reset.c: int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
    - 	unsigned reset_hard = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_HARD;
    - 	unsigned refs_only = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_REFS_ONLY;
    - 	unsigned update_orig_head = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD;
    -+	unsigned dry_run = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_DRY_RUN;
    +@@ reset.c: int reset_working_tree(struct repository *r,
    + 	unsigned reset_hard = opts->flags & RESET_WORKING_TREE_HARD;
    + 	unsigned refs_only = opts->flags & RESET_WORKING_TREE_REFS_ONLY;
    + 	unsigned update_orig_head = opts->flags & RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD;
    ++	unsigned dry_run = opts->flags & RESET_WORKING_TREE_DRY_RUN;
      	struct object_id *head = NULL, head_oid;
      	struct tree_desc desc[2] = { { NULL }, { NULL } };
      	struct lock_file lock = LOCK_INIT;
    @@ reset.c: int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts
      	const char *action;
      	int ret = 0, nr = 0;
      
    -@@ reset.c: int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
    +@@ reset.c: int reset_working_tree(struct repository *r,
      	if (opts->branch_msg && !opts->branch)
      		BUG("branch reflog message given without a branch");
      
    @@ reset.c: int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts
      		ret = -1;
      		goto leave_reset_head;
      	}
    -@@ reset.c: int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
    +@@ reset.c: int reset_working_tree(struct repository *r,
      	if (!oid)
      		oid = &head_oid;
      
    @@ reset.c: int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts
      	unpack_tree_opts.merge = 1;
      	unpack_tree_opts.preserve_ignored = 0; /* FIXME: !overwrite_ignore */
      	unpack_tree_opts.skip_cache_tree_update = 1;
    -@@ reset.c: int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
    +@@ reset.c: int reset_working_tree(struct repository *r,
      	if (reset_hard)
      		unpack_tree_opts.reset = UNPACK_RESET_PROTECT_UNTRACKED;
      
    @@ reset.c: int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts
      	if (!reset_hard && !fill_tree_descriptor(r, &desc[nr++], &head_oid)) {
      		ret = error(_("failed to find tree of %s"),
      			    oid_to_hex(&head_oid));
    -@@ reset.c: int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
    +@@ reset.c: int reset_working_tree(struct repository *r,
      		goto leave_reset_head;
      	}
      
    @@ reset.c: int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts
      	tree = repo_parse_tree_indirect(r, oid);
      	if (!tree) {
      		ret = error(_("unable to read tree (%s)"), oid_to_hex(oid));
    -@@ reset.c: int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
    +@@ reset.c: int reset_working_tree(struct repository *r,
      leave_reset_head:
      	rollback_lock_file(&lock);
      	clear_unpack_trees_porcelain(&unpack_tree_opts);
    @@ reset.c: int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts
      	return ret;
     
      ## reset.h ##
    -@@ reset.h: enum reset_head_flags {
    +@@ reset.h: enum reset_working_tree_flags {
      
      	/* Update ORIG_HEAD as well as HEAD */
    - 	RESET_HEAD_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD = (1 << 4),
    + 	RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD = (1 << 4),
     +
     +	/*
     +	 * Perform a dry-run by performing the operation without updating
     +	 * any user-visible state.
     +	 */
    -+	RESET_HEAD_DRY_RUN = (1 << 5),
    ++	RESET_WORKING_TREE_DRY_RUN = (1 << 5),
      };
      
    - struct reset_head_opts {
    + struct reset_working_tree_options {
 5:  bbb8b98f8e <  -:  ---------- reset: introduce ability to skip reference updates
 -:  ---------- >  6:  4f844adaa7 reset: introduce ability to skip updating HEAD
 6:  24cccf728f !  7:  28e7dd039e reset: allow the caller to specify the current HEAD object
    @@ Metadata
      ## Commit message ##
         reset: allow the caller to specify the current HEAD object
     
    -    When calling `reset_head()` we automatically derive the commit that the
    -    callers wants to move from by reading the HEAD commit. Some callers may
    -    already have resolved it, or they may want to move from a different
    -    commit that doesn't match HEAD.
    +    When calling `reset_working_tree()` we automatically derive the commit
    +    that the callers wants to move from by reading the HEAD commit. Some
    +    callers may already have resolved it, or they may want to move from a
    +    different commit that doesn't match HEAD.
     
         Introduce a new `oid_from` option that lets the caller specify the
         commit.
    @@ Commit message
         Signed-off-by: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
     
      ## reset.c ##
    -@@ reset.c: int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
    +@@ reset.c: int reset_working_tree(struct repository *r,
      		goto leave_reset_head;
      	}
      
    @@ reset.c: int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts
      		ret = error(_("could not determine HEAD revision"));
     
      ## reset.h ##
    -@@ reset.h: struct reset_head_opts {
    +@@ reset.h: struct reset_working_tree_options {
      	 * The commit to checkout/reset to. Defaults to HEAD.
      	 */
      	const struct object_id *oid;
 7:  4b79437a50 !  8:  6b590da34e reset: stop assuming that the caller passes in a clean index
    @@ Commit message
         reset: stop assuming that the caller passes in a clean index
     
         In 652bd0211d (rebase: use 'skip_cache_tree_update' option, 2022-11-10),
    -    we updated `reset_head()` to stop updating the index tree cache. This
    -    was done as a performance optimization: the function is only called by
    -    "sequencer.c" and "rebase.c", both of which assume a clean index before
    -    they perform their operation, so we know that the end result will be a
    -    clean index, too. Consequently, we can skip recomputing the cache as we
    -    can instead use `prime_cache_tree()` directly.
    +    we updated `reset_working_tree()` to stop updating the index tree cache.
    +    This was done as a performance optimization: the function is only called
    +    by "sequencer.c" and "rebase.c", both of which assume a clean index
    +    before they perform their operation, so we know that the end result will
    +    be a clean index, too. Consequently, we can skip recomputing the cache
    +    as we can instead use `prime_cache_tree()` directly.
     
         In a subsequent commit we're about to add a new caller though where the
         assumption doesn't hold anymore: the index may be dirty before calling
    -    `reset_head()`, and consequently we cannot prime the cache with a given
    -    tree anymore as the index and tree will mismatch.
    +    `reset_working_tree()`, and consequently we cannot prime the cache with
    +    a given tree anymore as the index and tree will mismatch.
     
         Adapt the logic so that we only skip the cache tree update in case we're
         doing a hard reset. While we could introduce logic that only skips the
    @@ Commit message
         Signed-off-by: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
     
      ## reset.c ##
    -@@ reset.c: int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
    +@@ reset.c: int reset_working_tree(struct repository *r,
      	unpack_tree_opts.dry_run = dry_run;
      	unpack_tree_opts.merge = 1;
      	unpack_tree_opts.preserve_ignored = 0; /* FIXME: !overwrite_ignore */
    @@ reset.c: int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts
      
      	if (!reset_hard && !fill_tree_descriptor(r, &desc[nr++], &head_oid)) {
      		ret = error(_("failed to find tree of %s"),
    -@@ reset.c: int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
    +@@ reset.c: int reset_working_tree(struct repository *r,
      		goto leave_reset_head;
      	}
      
 8:  d01c7ffb29 =  9:  fddadbf87f builtin/history: split handling of ref updates into two phases
 9:  c75925f7ed ! 10:  cb09216db3 builtin/history: implement "drop" subcommand
    @@ builtin/history.c: static int cmd_history_split(int argc,
     +			   const struct commit *new_head,
     +			   bool dry_run)
     +{
    -+	struct reset_head_opts opts = {
    ++	struct reset_working_tree_options opts = {
     +		.oid_from = &old_head->object.oid,
     +		.oid = &new_head->object.oid,
    -+		.flags = RESET_HEAD_SKIP_REF_UPDATES,
     +	};
     +	if (dry_run)
    -+		opts.flags |= RESET_HEAD_DRY_RUN;
    -+	return reset_head(repo, &opts);
    ++		opts.flags |= RESET_WORKING_TREE_DRY_RUN;
    ++	return reset_working_tree(repo, &opts);
     +}
     +
     +static int find_head_tree_change(struct repository *repo,

---
base-commit: 1666c1265231b0bc5f613fbbf3f0a9896cdef76e
change-id: 20260601-b4-pks-history-drop-28f6c6399e7b

[PATCH v4 01/10] read-cache: split out function to drop unmerged entries to stage 0

[Patrick Steinhardt]

In `repo_read_index_unmerged()` we read the index and then drop any
unmerged entries to stage 0. In a subsequent commit we'll want to
perform this operation on arbitrary indexes, not only the one of the
given repository.

Prepare for this by splitting out the functionality into a new function
that can act on an arbitrary index.

While at it, fix a signedness mismatch when iterating through the index
cache entries.

Signed-off-by: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
---
 read-cache-ll.h |  1 +
 read-cache.c    | 12 +++++++-----
 2 files changed, 8 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-)

diff --git a/read-cache-ll.h b/read-cache-ll.h
index 2c8b4b21b1..71b87615eb 100644
--- a/read-cache-ll.h
+++ b/read-cache-ll.h
@@ -309,6 +309,7 @@ int write_locked_index(struct index_state *, struct lock_file *lock, unsigned fl
 void discard_index(struct index_state *);
 void move_index_extensions(struct index_state *dst, struct index_state *src);
 int unmerged_index(const struct index_state *);
+int index_state_unmerged_to_stage0(struct index_state *istate);
 
 /**
  * Returns 1 if istate differs from tree, 0 otherwise.  If tree is NULL,
diff --git a/read-cache.c b/read-cache.c
index 21829102ae..799a5bc719 100644
--- a/read-cache.c
+++ b/read-cache.c
@@ -3403,13 +3403,15 @@ int write_locked_index(struct index_state *istate, struct lock_file *lock,
  */
 int repo_read_index_unmerged(struct repository *repo)
 {
-	struct index_state *istate;
-	int i;
+	repo_read_index(repo);
+	return index_state_unmerged_to_stage0(repo->index);
+}
+
+int index_state_unmerged_to_stage0(struct index_state *istate)
+{
 	int unmerged = 0;
 
-	repo_read_index(repo);
-	istate = repo->index;
-	for (i = 0; i < istate->cache_nr; i++) {
+	for (unsigned int i = 0; i < istate->cache_nr; i++) {
 		struct cache_entry *ce = istate->cache[i];
 		struct cache_entry *new_ce;
 		int len;

-- 
2.54.0.1189.g8c84645362.dirty

[PATCH v4 02/10] reset: drop `USE_THE_REPOSITORY_VARIABLE`

[Patrick Steinhardt]

In "reset.c" we still have references to `the_repository`, even though
the only entry point into the file already receives a repository as
parameter.

Update all uses of `the_repository` to instead use the passed-in repo
and drop `USE_THE_REPOSITORY_VARIABLE`.

Signed-off-by: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
---
 reset.c | 27 +++++++++++++--------------
 1 file changed, 13 insertions(+), 14 deletions(-)

diff --git a/reset.c b/reset.c
index 46e30e6394..3b3cb74dab 100644
--- a/reset.c
+++ b/reset.c
@@ -1,5 +1,3 @@
-#define USE_THE_REPOSITORY_VARIABLE
-
 #include "git-compat-util.h"
 #include "cache-tree.h"
 #include "gettext.h"
@@ -13,7 +11,8 @@
 #include "unpack-trees.h"
 #include "hook.h"
 
-static int update_refs(const struct reset_head_opts *opts,
+static int update_refs(struct repository *repo,
+		       const struct reset_head_opts *opts,
 		       const struct object_id *oid,
 		       const struct object_id *head)
 {
@@ -42,19 +41,19 @@ static int update_refs(const struct reset_head_opts *opts,
 	prefix_len = msg.len;
 
 	if (update_orig_head) {
-		if (!repo_get_oid(the_repository, "ORIG_HEAD", &oid_old_orig))
+		if (!repo_get_oid(repo, "ORIG_HEAD", &oid_old_orig))
 			old_orig = &oid_old_orig;
 		if (head) {
 			if (!reflog_orig_head) {
 				strbuf_addstr(&msg, "updating ORIG_HEAD");
 				reflog_orig_head = msg.buf;
 			}
-			refs_update_ref(get_main_ref_store(the_repository),
+			refs_update_ref(get_main_ref_store(repo),
 					reflog_orig_head, "ORIG_HEAD",
 					orig_head ? orig_head : head,
 					old_orig, 0, UPDATE_REFS_MSG_ON_ERR);
 		} else if (old_orig)
-			refs_delete_ref(get_main_ref_store(the_repository),
+			refs_delete_ref(get_main_ref_store(repo),
 					NULL, "ORIG_HEAD", old_orig, 0);
 	}
 
@@ -64,23 +63,23 @@ static int update_refs(const struct reset_head_opts *opts,
 		reflog_head = msg.buf;
 	}
 	if (!switch_to_branch)
-		ret = refs_update_ref(get_main_ref_store(the_repository),
+		ret = refs_update_ref(get_main_ref_store(repo),
 				      reflog_head, "HEAD", oid, head,
 				      detach_head ? REF_NO_DEREF : 0,
 				      UPDATE_REFS_MSG_ON_ERR);
 	else {
-		ret = refs_update_ref(get_main_ref_store(the_repository),
+		ret = refs_update_ref(get_main_ref_store(repo),
 				      reflog_branch ? reflog_branch : reflog_head,
 				      switch_to_branch, oid, NULL, 0,
 				      UPDATE_REFS_MSG_ON_ERR);
 		if (!ret)
-			ret = refs_update_symref(get_main_ref_store(the_repository),
+			ret = refs_update_symref(get_main_ref_store(repo),
 						 "HEAD", switch_to_branch,
 						 reflog_head);
 	}
 	if (!ret && run_hook)
-		run_hooks_l(the_repository, "post-checkout",
-			    oid_to_hex(head ? head : null_oid(the_hash_algo)),
+		run_hooks_l(repo, "post-checkout",
+			    oid_to_hex(head ? head : null_oid(repo->hash_algo)),
 			    oid_to_hex(oid), "1", NULL);
 	strbuf_release(&msg);
 	return ret;
@@ -126,7 +125,7 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
 		oid = &head_oid;
 
 	if (refs_only)
-		return update_refs(opts, oid, head);
+		return update_refs(r, opts, oid, head);
 
 	action = reset_hard ? "reset" : "checkout";
 	setup_unpack_trees_porcelain(&unpack_tree_opts, action);
@@ -163,7 +162,7 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
 		goto leave_reset_head;
 	}
 
-	tree = repo_parse_tree_indirect(the_repository, oid);
+	tree = repo_parse_tree_indirect(r, oid);
 	if (!tree) {
 		ret = error(_("unable to read tree (%s)"), oid_to_hex(oid));
 		goto leave_reset_head;
@@ -177,7 +176,7 @@ int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
 	}
 
 	if (oid != &head_oid || update_orig_head || switch_to_branch)
-		ret = update_refs(opts, oid, head);
+		ret = update_refs(r, opts, oid, head);
 
 leave_reset_head:
 	rollback_lock_file(&lock);

-- 
2.54.0.1189.g8c84645362.dirty

[PATCH v4 03/10] reset: rename `reset_head()`

[Patrick Steinhardt]

In a subsequent commit we're about to adapt `reset_head()` so that the
reference update to HEAD is optional, only. At this point the function
starts to feel misnamed, as it doesn't necessarily have anything to do
with the HEAD reference anymore. The gist of the function then is that
we reset the working tree to a specific new commit, updating both the
index and the checked-out files.

Rename it to `reset_working_tree()` to better reflect that.

Note that we don't adjust the flags yet. This will happen in a
subsequent commit.

Suggested-by: Phillip Wood <phillip.wood123@gmail.com>
---
 builtin/rebase.c | 20 ++++++++++----------
 reset.c          |  5 +++--
 reset.h          |  4 ++--
 sequencer.c      |  8 ++++----
 4 files changed, 19 insertions(+), 18 deletions(-)

diff --git a/builtin/rebase.c b/builtin/rebase.c
index fa4f5d9306..22fbba3c62 100644
--- a/builtin/rebase.c
+++ b/builtin/rebase.c
@@ -592,7 +592,7 @@ static int finish_rebase(struct rebase_options *opts)
 static int move_to_original_branch(struct rebase_options *opts)
 {
 	struct strbuf branch_reflog = STRBUF_INIT, head_reflog = STRBUF_INIT;
-	struct reset_head_opts ropts = { 0 };
+	struct reset_working_tree_options ropts = { 0 };
 	int ret;
 
 	if (!opts->head_name)
@@ -610,7 +610,7 @@ static int move_to_original_branch(struct rebase_options *opts)
 	ropts.flags = RESET_HEAD_REFS_ONLY;
 	ropts.branch_msg = branch_reflog.buf;
 	ropts.head_msg = head_reflog.buf;
-	ret = reset_head(the_repository, &ropts);
+	ret = reset_working_tree(the_repository, &ropts);
 
 	strbuf_release(&branch_reflog);
 	strbuf_release(&head_reflog);
@@ -685,7 +685,7 @@ static int run_am(struct rebase_options *opts)
 
 	status = run_command(&format_patch);
 	if (status) {
-		struct reset_head_opts ropts = { 0 };
+		struct reset_working_tree_options ropts = { 0 };
 		unlink(rebased_patches);
 		free(rebased_patches);
 		child_process_clear(&am);
@@ -693,7 +693,7 @@ static int run_am(struct rebase_options *opts)
 		ropts.oid = &opts->orig_head->object.oid;
 		ropts.branch = opts->head_name;
 		ropts.default_reflog_action = opts->reflog_action;
-		reset_head(the_repository, &ropts);
+		reset_working_tree(the_repository, &ropts);
 		error(_("\ngit encountered an error while preparing the "
 			"patches to replay\n"
 			"these revisions:\n"
@@ -855,7 +855,7 @@ static int rebase_config(const char *var, const char *value,
 static int checkout_up_to_date(struct rebase_options *options)
 {
 	struct strbuf buf = STRBUF_INIT;
-	struct reset_head_opts ropts = { 0 };
+	struct reset_working_tree_options ropts = { 0 };
 	int ret = 0;
 
 	strbuf_addf(&buf, "%s: checkout %s",
@@ -866,7 +866,7 @@ static int checkout_up_to_date(struct rebase_options *options)
 	if (!ropts.branch)
 		ropts.flags |=  RESET_HEAD_DETACH;
 	ropts.head_msg = buf.buf;
-	if (reset_head(the_repository, &ropts) < 0)
+	if (reset_working_tree(the_repository, &ropts) < 0)
 		ret = error(_("could not switch to %s"), options->switch_to);
 	strbuf_release(&buf);
 
@@ -1116,7 +1116,7 @@ int cmd_rebase(int argc,
 	int reschedule_failed_exec = -1;
 	int allow_preemptive_ff = 1;
 	int preserve_merges_selected = 0;
-	struct reset_head_opts ropts = { 0 };
+	struct reset_working_tree_options ropts = { 0 };
 	struct option builtin_rebase_options[] = {
 		OPT_STRING(0, "onto", &options.onto_name,
 			   N_("revision"),
@@ -1385,7 +1385,7 @@ int cmd_rebase(int argc,
 		rerere_clear(the_repository, &merge_rr);
 		string_list_clear(&merge_rr, 1);
 		ropts.flags = RESET_HEAD_HARD;
-		if (reset_head(the_repository, &ropts) < 0)
+		if (reset_working_tree(the_repository, &ropts) < 0)
 			die(_("could not discard worktree changes"));
 		remove_branch_state(the_repository, 0);
 		if (read_basic_state(&options))
@@ -1410,7 +1410,7 @@ int cmd_rebase(int argc,
 		ropts.head_msg = head_msg.buf;
 		ropts.branch = options.head_name;
 		ropts.flags = RESET_HEAD_HARD;
-		if (reset_head(the_repository, &ropts) < 0)
+		if (reset_working_tree(the_repository, &ropts) < 0)
 			die(_("could not move back to %s"),
 			    oid_to_hex(&options.orig_head->object.oid));
 		strbuf_release(&head_msg);
@@ -1880,7 +1880,7 @@ int cmd_rebase(int argc,
 			RESET_HEAD_RUN_POST_CHECKOUT_HOOK;
 	ropts.head_msg = msg.buf;
 	ropts.default_reflog_action = options.reflog_action;
-	if (reset_head(the_repository, &ropts)) {
+	if (reset_working_tree(the_repository, &ropts)) {
 		ret = error(_("Could not detach HEAD"));
 		goto cleanup_autostash;
 	}
diff --git a/reset.c b/reset.c
index 3b3cb74dab..799596398b 100644
--- a/reset.c
+++ b/reset.c
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
 #include "hook.h"
 
 static int update_refs(struct repository *repo,
-		       const struct reset_head_opts *opts,
+		       const struct reset_working_tree_options *opts,
 		       const struct object_id *oid,
 		       const struct object_id *head)
 {
@@ -85,7 +85,8 @@ static int update_refs(struct repository *repo,
 	return ret;
 }
 
-int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
+int reset_working_tree(struct repository *r,
+		       const struct reset_working_tree_options *opts)
 {
 	const struct object_id *oid = opts->oid;
 	const char *switch_to_branch = opts->branch;
diff --git a/reset.h b/reset.h
index a28f81829d..f130152014 100644
--- a/reset.h
+++ b/reset.h
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
 /* Update ORIG_HEAD as well as HEAD */
 #define RESET_ORIG_HEAD (1<<4)
 
-struct reset_head_opts {
+struct reset_working_tree_options {
 	/*
 	 * The commit to checkout/reset to. Defaults to HEAD.
 	 */
@@ -55,6 +55,6 @@ struct reset_head_opts {
 	const char *default_reflog_action;
 };
 
-int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts);
+int reset_working_tree(struct repository *r, const struct reset_working_tree_options *opts);
 
 #endif
diff --git a/sequencer.c b/sequencer.c
index 1ee4b2875b..d73ecf0384 100644
--- a/sequencer.c
+++ b/sequencer.c
@@ -4677,7 +4677,7 @@ static void create_autostash_internal(struct repository *r,
 	if (has_unstaged_changes(r, 1) ||
 	    has_uncommitted_changes(r, 1)) {
 		struct child_process stash = CHILD_PROCESS_INIT;
-		struct reset_head_opts ropts = { .flags = RESET_HEAD_HARD };
+		struct reset_working_tree_options ropts = { .flags = RESET_HEAD_HARD };
 		struct object_id oid;
 
 		strvec_pushl(&stash.args,
@@ -4707,7 +4707,7 @@ static void create_autostash_internal(struct repository *r,
 
 		if (!silent)
 			printf(_("Created autostash: %s\n"), buf.buf);
-		if (reset_head(r, &ropts) < 0)
+		if (reset_working_tree(r, &ropts) < 0)
 			die(_("could not reset --hard"));
 		discard_index(r->index);
 		if (repo_read_index(r) < 0)
@@ -4867,7 +4867,7 @@ static int checkout_onto(struct repository *r, struct replay_opts *opts,
 			 const char *onto_name, const struct object_id *onto,
 			 const struct object_id *orig_head)
 {
-	struct reset_head_opts ropts = {
+	struct reset_working_tree_options ropts = {
 		.oid = onto,
 		.orig_head = orig_head,
 		.flags = RESET_HEAD_DETACH | RESET_ORIG_HEAD |
@@ -4876,7 +4876,7 @@ static int checkout_onto(struct repository *r, struct replay_opts *opts,
 					   onto_name),
 		.default_reflog_action = sequencer_reflog_action(opts)
 	};
-	if (reset_head(r, &ropts)) {
+	if (reset_working_tree(r, &ropts)) {
 		apply_autostash(rebase_path_autostash());
 		sequencer_remove_state(opts);
 		return error(_("could not detach HEAD"));

-- 
2.54.0.1189.g8c84645362.dirty

Re: [PATCH v4 03/10] reset: rename `reset_head()`

[Phillip Wood]

Hi Patrick

On 10/06/2026 09:52, Patrick Steinhardt wrote:
> In a subsequent commit we're about to adapt `reset_head()` so that the
> reference update to HEAD is optional, only. At this point the function
> starts to feel misnamed, as it doesn't necessarily have anything to do
> with the HEAD reference anymore. The gist of the function then is that
> we reset the working tree to a specific new commit, updating both the
> index and the checked-out files.
> 
> Rename it to `reset_working_tree()` to better reflect that.

That sounds good. Because we defer renaming the flags this patch is very 
straight forward.

Thanks

Phillip

> Note that we don't adjust the flags yet. This will happen in a
> subsequent commit.
> 
> Suggested-by: Phillip Wood <phillip.wood123@gmail.com>
> ---
>   builtin/rebase.c | 20 ++++++++++----------
>   reset.c          |  5 +++--
>   reset.h          |  4 ++--
>   sequencer.c      |  8 ++++----
>   4 files changed, 19 insertions(+), 18 deletions(-)
> 
> diff --git a/builtin/rebase.c b/builtin/rebase.c
> index fa4f5d9306..22fbba3c62 100644
> --- a/builtin/rebase.c
> +++ b/builtin/rebase.c
> @@ -592,7 +592,7 @@ static int finish_rebase(struct rebase_options *opts)
>   static int move_to_original_branch(struct rebase_options *opts)
>   {
>   	struct strbuf branch_reflog = STRBUF_INIT, head_reflog = STRBUF_INIT;
> -	struct reset_head_opts ropts = { 0 };
> +	struct reset_working_tree_options ropts = { 0 };
>   	int ret;
>   
>   	if (!opts->head_name)
> @@ -610,7 +610,7 @@ static int move_to_original_branch(struct rebase_options *opts)
>   	ropts.flags = RESET_HEAD_REFS_ONLY;
>   	ropts.branch_msg = branch_reflog.buf;
>   	ropts.head_msg = head_reflog.buf;
> -	ret = reset_head(the_repository, &ropts);
> +	ret = reset_working_tree(the_repository, &ropts);
>   
>   	strbuf_release(&branch_reflog);
>   	strbuf_release(&head_reflog);
> @@ -685,7 +685,7 @@ static int run_am(struct rebase_options *opts)
>   
>   	status = run_command(&format_patch);
>   	if (status) {
> -		struct reset_head_opts ropts = { 0 };
> +		struct reset_working_tree_options ropts = { 0 };
>   		unlink(rebased_patches);
>   		free(rebased_patches);
>   		child_process_clear(&am);
> @@ -693,7 +693,7 @@ static int run_am(struct rebase_options *opts)
>   		ropts.oid = &opts->orig_head->object.oid;
>   		ropts.branch = opts->head_name;
>   		ropts.default_reflog_action = opts->reflog_action;
> -		reset_head(the_repository, &ropts);
> +		reset_working_tree(the_repository, &ropts);
>   		error(_("\ngit encountered an error while preparing the "
>   			"patches to replay\n"
>   			"these revisions:\n"
> @@ -855,7 +855,7 @@ static int rebase_config(const char *var, const char *value,
>   static int checkout_up_to_date(struct rebase_options *options)
>   {
>   	struct strbuf buf = STRBUF_INIT;
> -	struct reset_head_opts ropts = { 0 };
> +	struct reset_working_tree_options ropts = { 0 };
>   	int ret = 0;
>   
>   	strbuf_addf(&buf, "%s: checkout %s",
> @@ -866,7 +866,7 @@ static int checkout_up_to_date(struct rebase_options *options)
>   	if (!ropts.branch)
>   		ropts.flags |=  RESET_HEAD_DETACH;
>   	ropts.head_msg = buf.buf;
> -	if (reset_head(the_repository, &ropts) < 0)
> +	if (reset_working_tree(the_repository, &ropts) < 0)
>   		ret = error(_("could not switch to %s"), options->switch_to);
>   	strbuf_release(&buf);
>   
> @@ -1116,7 +1116,7 @@ int cmd_rebase(int argc,
>   	int reschedule_failed_exec = -1;
>   	int allow_preemptive_ff = 1;
>   	int preserve_merges_selected = 0;
> -	struct reset_head_opts ropts = { 0 };
> +	struct reset_working_tree_options ropts = { 0 };
>   	struct option builtin_rebase_options[] = {
>   		OPT_STRING(0, "onto", &options.onto_name,
>   			   N_("revision"),
> @@ -1385,7 +1385,7 @@ int cmd_rebase(int argc,
>   		rerere_clear(the_repository, &merge_rr);
>   		string_list_clear(&merge_rr, 1);
>   		ropts.flags = RESET_HEAD_HARD;
> -		if (reset_head(the_repository, &ropts) < 0)
> +		if (reset_working_tree(the_repository, &ropts) < 0)
>   			die(_("could not discard worktree changes"));
>   		remove_branch_state(the_repository, 0);
>   		if (read_basic_state(&options))
> @@ -1410,7 +1410,7 @@ int cmd_rebase(int argc,
>   		ropts.head_msg = head_msg.buf;
>   		ropts.branch = options.head_name;
>   		ropts.flags = RESET_HEAD_HARD;
> -		if (reset_head(the_repository, &ropts) < 0)
> +		if (reset_working_tree(the_repository, &ropts) < 0)
>   			die(_("could not move back to %s"),
>   			    oid_to_hex(&options.orig_head->object.oid));
>   		strbuf_release(&head_msg);
> @@ -1880,7 +1880,7 @@ int cmd_rebase(int argc,
>   			RESET_HEAD_RUN_POST_CHECKOUT_HOOK;
>   	ropts.head_msg = msg.buf;
>   	ropts.default_reflog_action = options.reflog_action;
> -	if (reset_head(the_repository, &ropts)) {
> +	if (reset_working_tree(the_repository, &ropts)) {
>   		ret = error(_("Could not detach HEAD"));
>   		goto cleanup_autostash;
>   	}
> diff --git a/reset.c b/reset.c
> index 3b3cb74dab..799596398b 100644
> --- a/reset.c
> +++ b/reset.c
> @@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
>   #include "hook.h"
>   
>   static int update_refs(struct repository *repo,
> -		       const struct reset_head_opts *opts,
> +		       const struct reset_working_tree_options *opts,
>   		       const struct object_id *oid,
>   		       const struct object_id *head)
>   {
> @@ -85,7 +85,8 @@ static int update_refs(struct repository *repo,
>   	return ret;
>   }
>   
> -int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts)
> +int reset_working_tree(struct repository *r,
> +		       const struct reset_working_tree_options *opts)
>   {
>   	const struct object_id *oid = opts->oid;
>   	const char *switch_to_branch = opts->branch;
> diff --git a/reset.h b/reset.h
> index a28f81829d..f130152014 100644
> --- a/reset.h
> +++ b/reset.h
> @@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
>   /* Update ORIG_HEAD as well as HEAD */
>   #define RESET_ORIG_HEAD (1<<4)
>   
> -struct reset_head_opts {
> +struct reset_working_tree_options {
>   	/*
>   	 * The commit to checkout/reset to. Defaults to HEAD.
>   	 */
> @@ -55,6 +55,6 @@ struct reset_head_opts {
>   	const char *default_reflog_action;
>   };
>   
> -int reset_head(struct repository *r, const struct reset_head_opts *opts);
> +int reset_working_tree(struct repository *r, const struct reset_working_tree_options *opts);
>   
>   #endif
> diff --git a/sequencer.c b/sequencer.c
> index 1ee4b2875b..d73ecf0384 100644
> --- a/sequencer.c
> +++ b/sequencer.c
> @@ -4677,7 +4677,7 @@ static void create_autostash_internal(struct repository *r,
>   	if (has_unstaged_changes(r, 1) ||
>   	    has_uncommitted_changes(r, 1)) {
>   		struct child_process stash = CHILD_PROCESS_INIT;
> -		struct reset_head_opts ropts = { .flags = RESET_HEAD_HARD };
> +		struct reset_working_tree_options ropts = { .flags = RESET_HEAD_HARD };
>   		struct object_id oid;
>   
>   		strvec_pushl(&stash.args,
> @@ -4707,7 +4707,7 @@ static void create_autostash_internal(struct repository *r,
>   
>   		if (!silent)
>   			printf(_("Created autostash: %s\n"), buf.buf);
> -		if (reset_head(r, &ropts) < 0)
> +		if (reset_working_tree(r, &ropts) < 0)
>   			die(_("could not reset --hard"));
>   		discard_index(r->index);
>   		if (repo_read_index(r) < 0)
> @@ -4867,7 +4867,7 @@ static int checkout_onto(struct repository *r, struct replay_opts *opts,
>   			 const char *onto_name, const struct object_id *onto,
>   			 const struct object_id *orig_head)
>   {
> -	struct reset_head_opts ropts = {
> +	struct reset_working_tree_options ropts = {
>   		.oid = onto,
>   		.orig_head = orig_head,
>   		.flags = RESET_HEAD_DETACH | RESET_ORIG_HEAD |
> @@ -4876,7 +4876,7 @@ static int checkout_onto(struct repository *r, struct replay_opts *opts,
>   					   onto_name),
>   		.default_reflog_action = sequencer_reflog_action(opts)
>   	};
> -	if (reset_head(r, &ropts)) {
> +	if (reset_working_tree(r, &ropts)) {
>   		apply_autostash(rebase_path_autostash());
>   		sequencer_remove_state(opts);
>   		return error(_("could not detach HEAD"));
> 

[PATCH v4 04/10] reset: modernize flags passed to `reset_working_tree()`

[Patrick Steinhardt]

The flags passed to `reset_working_tree()` are declared as defines. This
has fallen a bit out of practice nowadays, where we instead prefer to
use enums. Furthermore, the prefix of those flags does not match the
function name anymore after the rename in the preceding commit.

Adapt the code to follow modern best practices and adapt the flag names.

Signed-off-by: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
---
 builtin/rebase.c | 15 ++++++++-------
 reset.c          | 12 ++++++------
 reset.h          | 31 +++++++++++++++++++------------
 sequencer.c      |  9 ++++++---
 4 files changed, 39 insertions(+), 28 deletions(-)

diff --git a/builtin/rebase.c b/builtin/rebase.c
index 22fbba3c62..06dcbaf5e8 100644
--- a/builtin/rebase.c
+++ b/builtin/rebase.c
@@ -607,7 +607,7 @@ static int move_to_original_branch(struct rebase_options *opts)
 	strbuf_addf(&head_reflog, "%s (finish): returning to %s",
 		    opts->reflog_action, opts->head_name);
 	ropts.branch = opts->head_name;
-	ropts.flags = RESET_HEAD_REFS_ONLY;
+	ropts.flags = RESET_WORKING_TREE_REFS_ONLY;
 	ropts.branch_msg = branch_reflog.buf;
 	ropts.head_msg = head_reflog.buf;
 	ret = reset_working_tree(the_repository, &ropts);
@@ -862,9 +862,9 @@ static int checkout_up_to_date(struct rebase_options *options)
 		    options->reflog_action, options->switch_to);
 	ropts.oid = &options->orig_head->object.oid;
 	ropts.branch = options->head_name;
-	ropts.flags = RESET_HEAD_RUN_POST_CHECKOUT_HOOK;
+	ropts.flags = RESET_WORKING_TREE_RUN_POST_CHECKOUT_HOOK;
 	if (!ropts.branch)
-		ropts.flags |=  RESET_HEAD_DETACH;
+		ropts.flags |=  RESET_WORKING_TREE_DETACH;
 	ropts.head_msg = buf.buf;
 	if (reset_working_tree(the_repository, &ropts) < 0)
 		ret = error(_("could not switch to %s"), options->switch_to);
@@ -1384,7 +1384,7 @@ int cmd_rebase(int argc,
 
 		rerere_clear(the_repository, &merge_rr);
 		string_list_clear(&merge_rr, 1);
-		ropts.flags = RESET_HEAD_HARD;
+		ropts.flags = RESET_WORKING_TREE_HARD;
 		if (reset_working_tree(the_repository, &ropts) < 0)
 			die(_("could not discard worktree changes"));
 		remove_branch_state(the_repository, 0);
@@ -1409,7 +1409,7 @@ int cmd_rebase(int argc,
 		ropts.oid = &options.orig_head->object.oid;
 		ropts.head_msg = head_msg.buf;
 		ropts.branch = options.head_name;
-		ropts.flags = RESET_HEAD_HARD;
+		ropts.flags = RESET_WORKING_TREE_HARD;
 		if (reset_working_tree(the_repository, &ropts) < 0)
 			die(_("could not move back to %s"),
 			    oid_to_hex(&options.orig_head->object.oid));
@@ -1876,8 +1876,9 @@ int cmd_rebase(int argc,
 		    options.reflog_action, options.onto_name);
 	ropts.oid = &options.onto->object.oid;
 	ropts.orig_head = &options.orig_head->object.oid;
-	ropts.flags = RESET_HEAD_DETACH | RESET_ORIG_HEAD |
-			RESET_HEAD_RUN_POST_CHECKOUT_HOOK;
+	ropts.flags = RESET_WORKING_TREE_DETACH |
+		      RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD |
+		      RESET_WORKING_TREE_RUN_POST_CHECKOUT_HOOK;
 	ropts.head_msg = msg.buf;
 	ropts.default_reflog_action = options.reflog_action;
 	if (reset_working_tree(the_repository, &ropts)) {
diff --git a/reset.c b/reset.c
index 799596398b..4ca7f23a25 100644
--- a/reset.c
+++ b/reset.c
@@ -16,9 +16,9 @@ static int update_refs(struct repository *repo,
 		       const struct object_id *oid,
 		       const struct object_id *head)
 {
-	unsigned detach_head = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_DETACH;
-	unsigned run_hook = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_RUN_POST_CHECKOUT_HOOK;
-	unsigned update_orig_head = opts->flags & RESET_ORIG_HEAD;
+	unsigned detach_head = opts->flags & RESET_WORKING_TREE_DETACH;
+	unsigned run_hook = opts->flags & RESET_WORKING_TREE_RUN_POST_CHECKOUT_HOOK;
+	unsigned update_orig_head = opts->flags & RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD;
 	const struct object_id *orig_head = opts->orig_head;
 	const char *switch_to_branch = opts->branch;
 	const char *reflog_branch = opts->branch_msg;
@@ -90,9 +90,9 @@ int reset_working_tree(struct repository *r,
 {
 	const struct object_id *oid = opts->oid;
 	const char *switch_to_branch = opts->branch;
-	unsigned reset_hard = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_HARD;
-	unsigned refs_only = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_REFS_ONLY;
-	unsigned update_orig_head = opts->flags & RESET_ORIG_HEAD;
+	unsigned reset_hard = opts->flags & RESET_WORKING_TREE_HARD;
+	unsigned refs_only = opts->flags & RESET_WORKING_TREE_REFS_ONLY;
+	unsigned update_orig_head = opts->flags & RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD;
 	struct object_id *head = NULL, head_oid;
 	struct tree_desc desc[2] = { { NULL }, { NULL } };
 	struct lock_file lock = LOCK_INIT;
diff --git a/reset.h b/reset.h
index f130152014..2e5826de99 100644
--- a/reset.h
+++ b/reset.h
@@ -6,16 +6,22 @@
 
 #define GIT_REFLOG_ACTION_ENVIRONMENT "GIT_REFLOG_ACTION"
 
-/* Request a detached checkout */
-#define RESET_HEAD_DETACH (1<<0)
-/* Request a reset rather than a checkout */
-#define RESET_HEAD_HARD (1<<1)
-/* Run the post-checkout hook */
-#define RESET_HEAD_RUN_POST_CHECKOUT_HOOK (1<<2)
-/* Only update refs, do not touch the worktree */
-#define RESET_HEAD_REFS_ONLY (1<<3)
-/* Update ORIG_HEAD as well as HEAD */
-#define RESET_ORIG_HEAD (1<<4)
+enum reset_working_tree_flags {
+	/* Request a detached checkout */
+	RESET_WORKING_TREE_DETACH = (1 << 0),
+
+	/* Request a reset rather than a checkout */
+	RESET_WORKING_TREE_HARD = (1 << 1),
+
+	/* Run the post-checkout hook */
+	RESET_WORKING_TREE_RUN_POST_CHECKOUT_HOOK = (1 << 2),
+
+	/* Only update refs, do not touch the worktree */
+	RESET_WORKING_TREE_REFS_ONLY = (1 << 3),
+
+	/* Update ORIG_HEAD as well as HEAD */
+	RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD = (1 << 4),
+};
 
 struct reset_working_tree_options {
 	/*
@@ -33,7 +39,7 @@ struct reset_working_tree_options {
 	/*
 	 * Flags defined above.
 	 */
-	unsigned flags;
+	enum reset_working_tree_flags flags;
 	/*
 	 * Optional reflog message for branch, defaults to head_msg.
 	 */
@@ -45,7 +51,8 @@ struct reset_working_tree_options {
 	const char *head_msg;
 	/*
 	 * Optional reflog message for ORIG_HEAD, if this omitted and flags
-	 * contains RESET_ORIG_HEAD then default_reflog_action must be given.
+	 * contains RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD then
+	 * default_reflog_action must be given.
 	 */
 	const char *orig_head_msg;
 	/*
diff --git a/sequencer.c b/sequencer.c
index d73ecf0384..4efe831178 100644
--- a/sequencer.c
+++ b/sequencer.c
@@ -4677,7 +4677,9 @@ static void create_autostash_internal(struct repository *r,
 	if (has_unstaged_changes(r, 1) ||
 	    has_uncommitted_changes(r, 1)) {
 		struct child_process stash = CHILD_PROCESS_INIT;
-		struct reset_working_tree_options ropts = { .flags = RESET_HEAD_HARD };
+		struct reset_working_tree_options ropts = {
+			.flags = RESET_WORKING_TREE_HARD,
+		};
 		struct object_id oid;
 
 		strvec_pushl(&stash.args,
@@ -4870,8 +4872,9 @@ static int checkout_onto(struct repository *r, struct replay_opts *opts,
 	struct reset_working_tree_options ropts = {
 		.oid = onto,
 		.orig_head = orig_head,
-		.flags = RESET_HEAD_DETACH | RESET_ORIG_HEAD |
-				RESET_HEAD_RUN_POST_CHECKOUT_HOOK,
+		.flags = RESET_WORKING_TREE_DETACH |
+			 RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD |
+			 RESET_WORKING_TREE_RUN_POST_CHECKOUT_HOOK,
 		.head_msg = reflog_message(opts, "start", "checkout %s",
 					   onto_name),
 		.default_reflog_action = sequencer_reflog_action(opts)

-- 
2.54.0.1189.g8c84645362.dirty

Re: [PATCH v4 04/10] reset: modernize flags passed to `reset_working_tree()`

[Phillip Wood]

Hi Patrick

On 10/06/2026 09:52, Patrick Steinhardt wrote:
> The flags passed to `reset_working_tree()` are declared as defines. This
> has fallen a bit out of practice nowadays, where we instead prefer to
> use enums. Furthermore, the prefix of those flags does not match the
> function name anymore after the rename in the preceding commit.
> 
> Adapt the code to follow modern best practices and adapt the flag names.

This looks good

Thanks

Phillip

> 
> Signed-off-by: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
> ---
>   builtin/rebase.c | 15 ++++++++-------
>   reset.c          | 12 ++++++------
>   reset.h          | 31 +++++++++++++++++++------------
>   sequencer.c      |  9 ++++++---
>   4 files changed, 39 insertions(+), 28 deletions(-)
> 
> diff --git a/builtin/rebase.c b/builtin/rebase.c
> index 22fbba3c62..06dcbaf5e8 100644
> --- a/builtin/rebase.c
> +++ b/builtin/rebase.c
> @@ -607,7 +607,7 @@ static int move_to_original_branch(struct rebase_options *opts)
>   	strbuf_addf(&head_reflog, "%s (finish): returning to %s",
>   		    opts->reflog_action, opts->head_name);
>   	ropts.branch = opts->head_name;
> -	ropts.flags = RESET_HEAD_REFS_ONLY;
> +	ropts.flags = RESET_WORKING_TREE_REFS_ONLY;
>   	ropts.branch_msg = branch_reflog.buf;
>   	ropts.head_msg = head_reflog.buf;
>   	ret = reset_working_tree(the_repository, &ropts);
> @@ -862,9 +862,9 @@ static int checkout_up_to_date(struct rebase_options *options)
>   		    options->reflog_action, options->switch_to);
>   	ropts.oid = &options->orig_head->object.oid;
>   	ropts.branch = options->head_name;
> -	ropts.flags = RESET_HEAD_RUN_POST_CHECKOUT_HOOK;
> +	ropts.flags = RESET_WORKING_TREE_RUN_POST_CHECKOUT_HOOK;
>   	if (!ropts.branch)
> -		ropts.flags |=  RESET_HEAD_DETACH;
> +		ropts.flags |=  RESET_WORKING_TREE_DETACH;
>   	ropts.head_msg = buf.buf;
>   	if (reset_working_tree(the_repository, &ropts) < 0)
>   		ret = error(_("could not switch to %s"), options->switch_to);
> @@ -1384,7 +1384,7 @@ int cmd_rebase(int argc,
>   
>   		rerere_clear(the_repository, &merge_rr);
>   		string_list_clear(&merge_rr, 1);
> -		ropts.flags = RESET_HEAD_HARD;
> +		ropts.flags = RESET_WORKING_TREE_HARD;
>   		if (reset_working_tree(the_repository, &ropts) < 0)
>   			die(_("could not discard worktree changes"));
>   		remove_branch_state(the_repository, 0);
> @@ -1409,7 +1409,7 @@ int cmd_rebase(int argc,
>   		ropts.oid = &options.orig_head->object.oid;
>   		ropts.head_msg = head_msg.buf;
>   		ropts.branch = options.head_name;
> -		ropts.flags = RESET_HEAD_HARD;
> +		ropts.flags = RESET_WORKING_TREE_HARD;
>   		if (reset_working_tree(the_repository, &ropts) < 0)
>   			die(_("could not move back to %s"),
>   			    oid_to_hex(&options.orig_head->object.oid));
> @@ -1876,8 +1876,9 @@ int cmd_rebase(int argc,
>   		    options.reflog_action, options.onto_name);
>   	ropts.oid = &options.onto->object.oid;
>   	ropts.orig_head = &options.orig_head->object.oid;
> -	ropts.flags = RESET_HEAD_DETACH | RESET_ORIG_HEAD |
> -			RESET_HEAD_RUN_POST_CHECKOUT_HOOK;
> +	ropts.flags = RESET_WORKING_TREE_DETACH |
> +		      RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD |
> +		      RESET_WORKING_TREE_RUN_POST_CHECKOUT_HOOK;
>   	ropts.head_msg = msg.buf;
>   	ropts.default_reflog_action = options.reflog_action;
>   	if (reset_working_tree(the_repository, &ropts)) {
> diff --git a/reset.c b/reset.c
> index 799596398b..4ca7f23a25 100644
> --- a/reset.c
> +++ b/reset.c
> @@ -16,9 +16,9 @@ static int update_refs(struct repository *repo,
>   		       const struct object_id *oid,
>   		       const struct object_id *head)
>   {
> -	unsigned detach_head = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_DETACH;
> -	unsigned run_hook = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_RUN_POST_CHECKOUT_HOOK;
> -	unsigned update_orig_head = opts->flags & RESET_ORIG_HEAD;
> +	unsigned detach_head = opts->flags & RESET_WORKING_TREE_DETACH;
> +	unsigned run_hook = opts->flags & RESET_WORKING_TREE_RUN_POST_CHECKOUT_HOOK;
> +	unsigned update_orig_head = opts->flags & RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD;
>   	const struct object_id *orig_head = opts->orig_head;
>   	const char *switch_to_branch = opts->branch;
>   	const char *reflog_branch = opts->branch_msg;
> @@ -90,9 +90,9 @@ int reset_working_tree(struct repository *r,
>   {
>   	const struct object_id *oid = opts->oid;
>   	const char *switch_to_branch = opts->branch;
> -	unsigned reset_hard = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_HARD;
> -	unsigned refs_only = opts->flags & RESET_HEAD_REFS_ONLY;
> -	unsigned update_orig_head = opts->flags & RESET_ORIG_HEAD;
> +	unsigned reset_hard = opts->flags & RESET_WORKING_TREE_HARD;
> +	unsigned refs_only = opts->flags & RESET_WORKING_TREE_REFS_ONLY;
> +	unsigned update_orig_head = opts->flags & RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD;
>   	struct object_id *head = NULL, head_oid;
>   	struct tree_desc desc[2] = { { NULL }, { NULL } };
>   	struct lock_file lock = LOCK_INIT;
> diff --git a/reset.h b/reset.h
> index f130152014..2e5826de99 100644
> --- a/reset.h
> +++ b/reset.h
> @@ -6,16 +6,22 @@
>   
>   #define GIT_REFLOG_ACTION_ENVIRONMENT "GIT_REFLOG_ACTION"
>   
> -/* Request a detached checkout */
> -#define RESET_HEAD_DETACH (1<<0)
> -/* Request a reset rather than a checkout */
> -#define RESET_HEAD_HARD (1<<1)
> -/* Run the post-checkout hook */
> -#define RESET_HEAD_RUN_POST_CHECKOUT_HOOK (1<<2)
> -/* Only update refs, do not touch the worktree */
> -#define RESET_HEAD_REFS_ONLY (1<<3)
> -/* Update ORIG_HEAD as well as HEAD */
> -#define RESET_ORIG_HEAD (1<<4)
> +enum reset_working_tree_flags {
> +	/* Request a detached checkout */
> +	RESET_WORKING_TREE_DETACH = (1 << 0),
> +
> +	/* Request a reset rather than a checkout */
> +	RESET_WORKING_TREE_HARD = (1 << 1),
> +
> +	/* Run the post-checkout hook */
> +	RESET_WORKING_TREE_RUN_POST_CHECKOUT_HOOK = (1 << 2),
> +
> +	/* Only update refs, do not touch the worktree */
> +	RESET_WORKING_TREE_REFS_ONLY = (1 << 3),
> +
> +	/* Update ORIG_HEAD as well as HEAD */
> +	RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD = (1 << 4),
> +};
>   
>   struct reset_working_tree_options {
>   	/*
> @@ -33,7 +39,7 @@ struct reset_working_tree_options {
>   	/*
>   	 * Flags defined above.
>   	 */
> -	unsigned flags;
> +	enum reset_working_tree_flags flags;
>   	/*
>   	 * Optional reflog message for branch, defaults to head_msg.
>   	 */
> @@ -45,7 +51,8 @@ struct reset_working_tree_options {
>   	const char *head_msg;
>   	/*
>   	 * Optional reflog message for ORIG_HEAD, if this omitted and flags
> -	 * contains RESET_ORIG_HEAD then default_reflog_action must be given.
> +	 * contains RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD then
> +	 * default_reflog_action must be given.
>   	 */
>   	const char *orig_head_msg;
>   	/*
> diff --git a/sequencer.c b/sequencer.c
> index d73ecf0384..4efe831178 100644
> --- a/sequencer.c
> +++ b/sequencer.c
> @@ -4677,7 +4677,9 @@ static void create_autostash_internal(struct repository *r,
>   	if (has_unstaged_changes(r, 1) ||
>   	    has_uncommitted_changes(r, 1)) {
>   		struct child_process stash = CHILD_PROCESS_INIT;
> -		struct reset_working_tree_options ropts = { .flags = RESET_HEAD_HARD };
> +		struct reset_working_tree_options ropts = {
> +			.flags = RESET_WORKING_TREE_HARD,
> +		};
>   		struct object_id oid;
>   
>   		strvec_pushl(&stash.args,
> @@ -4870,8 +4872,9 @@ static int checkout_onto(struct repository *r, struct replay_opts *opts,
>   	struct reset_working_tree_options ropts = {
>   		.oid = onto,
>   		.orig_head = orig_head,
> -		.flags = RESET_HEAD_DETACH | RESET_ORIG_HEAD |
> -				RESET_HEAD_RUN_POST_CHECKOUT_HOOK,
> +		.flags = RESET_WORKING_TREE_DETACH |
> +			 RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD |
> +			 RESET_WORKING_TREE_RUN_POST_CHECKOUT_HOOK,
>   		.head_msg = reflog_message(opts, "start", "checkout %s",
>   					   onto_name),
>   		.default_reflog_action = sequencer_reflog_action(opts)
> 

[PATCH v4 05/10] reset: introduce dry-run mode

[Patrick Steinhardt]

In a subsequent commit we'll add another caller to `reset_working_tree()`
that wants to perform a dry-run check of whether it would be possible to
update the index and working tree when moving to a new commit. Introduce
a new flag that lets the caller perform this operation.

Signed-off-by: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
---
 reset.c | 44 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-----------
 reset.h |  6 ++++++
 2 files changed, 39 insertions(+), 11 deletions(-)

diff --git a/reset.c b/reset.c
index 4ca7f23a25..99f2c1b012 100644
--- a/reset.c
+++ b/reset.c
@@ -93,11 +93,14 @@ int reset_working_tree(struct repository *r,
 	unsigned reset_hard = opts->flags & RESET_WORKING_TREE_HARD;
 	unsigned refs_only = opts->flags & RESET_WORKING_TREE_REFS_ONLY;
 	unsigned update_orig_head = opts->flags & RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD;
+	unsigned dry_run = opts->flags & RESET_WORKING_TREE_DRY_RUN;
 	struct object_id *head = NULL, head_oid;
 	struct tree_desc desc[2] = { { NULL }, { NULL } };
 	struct lock_file lock = LOCK_INIT;
 	struct unpack_trees_options unpack_tree_opts = { 0 };
 	struct tree *tree;
+	struct index_state scratch_index = INDEX_STATE_INIT(r);
+	struct index_state *istate;
 	const char *action;
 	int ret = 0, nr = 0;
 
@@ -110,7 +113,7 @@ int reset_working_tree(struct repository *r,
 	if (opts->branch_msg && !opts->branch)
 		BUG("branch reflog message given without a branch");
 
-	if (!refs_only && repo_hold_locked_index(r, &lock, LOCK_REPORT_ON_ERROR) < 0) {
+	if (!refs_only && !dry_run && repo_hold_locked_index(r, &lock, LOCK_REPORT_ON_ERROR) < 0) {
 		ret = -1;
 		goto leave_reset_head;
 	}
@@ -125,16 +128,36 @@ int reset_working_tree(struct repository *r,
 	if (!oid)
 		oid = &head_oid;
 
-	if (refs_only)
-		return update_refs(r, opts, oid, head);
+	if (refs_only) {
+		if (!dry_run)
+			return update_refs(r, opts, oid, head);
+		return 0;
+	}
+
+	if (dry_run) {
+		if (read_index_from(&scratch_index, r->index_file, r->gitdir) < 0 ||
+		    index_state_unmerged_to_stage0(&scratch_index) < 0) {
+			ret = error(_("could not read index"));
+			goto leave_reset_head;
+		}
+
+		istate = &scratch_index;
+	} else {
+		if (repo_read_index_unmerged(r) < 0) {
+			ret = error(_("could not read index"));
+			goto leave_reset_head;
+		}
+		istate = r->index;
+	}
 
 	action = reset_hard ? "reset" : "checkout";
 	setup_unpack_trees_porcelain(&unpack_tree_opts, action);
 	unpack_tree_opts.head_idx = 1;
-	unpack_tree_opts.src_index = r->index;
-	unpack_tree_opts.dst_index = r->index;
+	unpack_tree_opts.src_index = istate;
+	unpack_tree_opts.dst_index = istate;
 	unpack_tree_opts.fn = reset_hard ? oneway_merge : twoway_merge;
-	unpack_tree_opts.update = 1;
+	unpack_tree_opts.update = !dry_run;
+	unpack_tree_opts.dry_run = dry_run;
 	unpack_tree_opts.merge = 1;
 	unpack_tree_opts.preserve_ignored = 0; /* FIXME: !overwrite_ignore */
 	unpack_tree_opts.skip_cache_tree_update = 1;
@@ -142,11 +165,6 @@ int reset_working_tree(struct repository *r,
 	if (reset_hard)
 		unpack_tree_opts.reset = UNPACK_RESET_PROTECT_UNTRACKED;
 
-	if (repo_read_index_unmerged(r) < 0) {
-		ret = error(_("could not read index"));
-		goto leave_reset_head;
-	}
-
 	if (!reset_hard && !fill_tree_descriptor(r, &desc[nr++], &head_oid)) {
 		ret = error(_("failed to find tree of %s"),
 			    oid_to_hex(&head_oid));
@@ -163,6 +181,9 @@ int reset_working_tree(struct repository *r,
 		goto leave_reset_head;
 	}
 
+	if (dry_run)
+		goto leave_reset_head;
+
 	tree = repo_parse_tree_indirect(r, oid);
 	if (!tree) {
 		ret = error(_("unable to read tree (%s)"), oid_to_hex(oid));
@@ -182,6 +203,7 @@ int reset_working_tree(struct repository *r,
 leave_reset_head:
 	rollback_lock_file(&lock);
 	clear_unpack_trees_porcelain(&unpack_tree_opts);
+	release_index(&scratch_index);
 	while (nr)
 		free((void *)desc[--nr].buffer);
 	return ret;
diff --git a/reset.h b/reset.h
index 2e5826de99..898e4a1e95 100644
--- a/reset.h
+++ b/reset.h
@@ -21,6 +21,12 @@ enum reset_working_tree_flags {
 
 	/* Update ORIG_HEAD as well as HEAD */
 	RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD = (1 << 4),
+
+	/*
+	 * Perform a dry-run by performing the operation without updating
+	 * any user-visible state.
+	 */
+	RESET_WORKING_TREE_DRY_RUN = (1 << 5),
 };
 
 struct reset_working_tree_options {

-- 
2.54.0.1189.g8c84645362.dirty

[PATCH v4 06/10] reset: introduce ability to skip updating HEAD

[Patrick Steinhardt]

In a subsequent commit we'll introduce a new caller to
`reset_working_tree()` that really only wants to update the index and
working tree, without updating any references. Introduce a new flag that
makes the caller opt in to updating HEAD and adapt all callers to set
that flag.

Note that in a previous iteration we instead introduced a flag that made
callers opt out of updating any references. This was somewhat awkward
though because we already have the `UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD` flag, so the
result was somewhat inconsistent.

Suggested-by: Phillip Wood <phillip.wood123@gmail.com>
Signed-off-by: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
---
 builtin/rebase.c | 14 ++++++++++----
 reset.c          |  6 ++++--
 reset.h          |  9 ++++++---
 sequencer.c      |  4 +++-
 4 files changed, 23 insertions(+), 10 deletions(-)

diff --git a/builtin/rebase.c b/builtin/rebase.c
index 06dcbaf5e8..10a306310c 100644
--- a/builtin/rebase.c
+++ b/builtin/rebase.c
@@ -607,7 +607,8 @@ static int move_to_original_branch(struct rebase_options *opts)
 	strbuf_addf(&head_reflog, "%s (finish): returning to %s",
 		    opts->reflog_action, opts->head_name);
 	ropts.branch = opts->head_name;
-	ropts.flags = RESET_WORKING_TREE_REFS_ONLY;
+	ropts.flags = RESET_WORKING_TREE_REFS_ONLY |
+		      RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_HEAD;
 	ropts.branch_msg = branch_reflog.buf;
 	ropts.head_msg = head_reflog.buf;
 	ret = reset_working_tree(the_repository, &ropts);
@@ -693,6 +694,7 @@ static int run_am(struct rebase_options *opts)
 		ropts.oid = &opts->orig_head->object.oid;
 		ropts.branch = opts->head_name;
 		ropts.default_reflog_action = opts->reflog_action;
+		ropts.flags = RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_HEAD;
 		reset_working_tree(the_repository, &ropts);
 		error(_("\ngit encountered an error while preparing the "
 			"patches to replay\n"
@@ -862,7 +864,8 @@ static int checkout_up_to_date(struct rebase_options *options)
 		    options->reflog_action, options->switch_to);
 	ropts.oid = &options->orig_head->object.oid;
 	ropts.branch = options->head_name;
-	ropts.flags = RESET_WORKING_TREE_RUN_POST_CHECKOUT_HOOK;
+	ropts.flags = RESET_WORKING_TREE_RUN_POST_CHECKOUT_HOOK |
+		      RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_HEAD;
 	if (!ropts.branch)
 		ropts.flags |=  RESET_WORKING_TREE_DETACH;
 	ropts.head_msg = buf.buf;
@@ -1384,7 +1387,8 @@ int cmd_rebase(int argc,
 
 		rerere_clear(the_repository, &merge_rr);
 		string_list_clear(&merge_rr, 1);
-		ropts.flags = RESET_WORKING_TREE_HARD;
+		ropts.flags = RESET_WORKING_TREE_HARD |
+			      RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_HEAD;
 		if (reset_working_tree(the_repository, &ropts) < 0)
 			die(_("could not discard worktree changes"));
 		remove_branch_state(the_repository, 0);
@@ -1409,7 +1413,8 @@ int cmd_rebase(int argc,
 		ropts.oid = &options.orig_head->object.oid;
 		ropts.head_msg = head_msg.buf;
 		ropts.branch = options.head_name;
-		ropts.flags = RESET_WORKING_TREE_HARD;
+		ropts.flags = RESET_WORKING_TREE_HARD |
+			      RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_HEAD;
 		if (reset_working_tree(the_repository, &ropts) < 0)
 			die(_("could not move back to %s"),
 			    oid_to_hex(&options.orig_head->object.oid));
@@ -1877,6 +1882,7 @@ int cmd_rebase(int argc,
 	ropts.oid = &options.onto->object.oid;
 	ropts.orig_head = &options.orig_head->object.oid;
 	ropts.flags = RESET_WORKING_TREE_DETACH |
+		      RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_HEAD |
 		      RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD |
 		      RESET_WORKING_TREE_RUN_POST_CHECKOUT_HOOK;
 	ropts.head_msg = msg.buf;
diff --git a/reset.c b/reset.c
index 99f2c1b012..3ac99a51c0 100644
--- a/reset.c
+++ b/reset.c
@@ -92,6 +92,7 @@ int reset_working_tree(struct repository *r,
 	const char *switch_to_branch = opts->branch;
 	unsigned reset_hard = opts->flags & RESET_WORKING_TREE_HARD;
 	unsigned refs_only = opts->flags & RESET_WORKING_TREE_REFS_ONLY;
+	unsigned update_head = opts->flags & RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_HEAD;
 	unsigned update_orig_head = opts->flags & RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD;
 	unsigned dry_run = opts->flags & RESET_WORKING_TREE_DRY_RUN;
 	struct object_id *head = NULL, head_oid;
@@ -129,7 +130,7 @@ int reset_working_tree(struct repository *r,
 		oid = &head_oid;
 
 	if (refs_only) {
-		if (!dry_run)
+		if (update_head)
 			return update_refs(r, opts, oid, head);
 		return 0;
 	}
@@ -197,7 +198,8 @@ int reset_working_tree(struct repository *r,
 		goto leave_reset_head;
 	}
 
-	if (oid != &head_oid || update_orig_head || switch_to_branch)
+	if (update_head &&
+	    (oid != &head_oid || update_orig_head || switch_to_branch))
 		ret = update_refs(r, opts, oid, head);
 
 leave_reset_head:
diff --git a/reset.h b/reset.h
index 898e4a1e95..38b2891b53 100644
--- a/reset.h
+++ b/reset.h
@@ -19,14 +19,17 @@ enum reset_working_tree_flags {
 	/* Only update refs, do not touch the worktree */
 	RESET_WORKING_TREE_REFS_ONLY = (1 << 3),
 
-	/* Update ORIG_HEAD as well as HEAD */
-	RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD = (1 << 4),
+	/* Update HEAD */
+	RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_HEAD = (1 << 4),
+
+	/* Update ORIG_HEAD */
+	RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD = (1 << 5),
 
 	/*
 	 * Perform a dry-run by performing the operation without updating
 	 * any user-visible state.
 	 */
-	RESET_WORKING_TREE_DRY_RUN = (1 << 5),
+	RESET_WORKING_TREE_DRY_RUN = (1 << 6),
 };
 
 struct reset_working_tree_options {
diff --git a/sequencer.c b/sequencer.c
index 4efe831178..e905b1b2d9 100644
--- a/sequencer.c
+++ b/sequencer.c
@@ -4678,7 +4678,8 @@ static void create_autostash_internal(struct repository *r,
 	    has_uncommitted_changes(r, 1)) {
 		struct child_process stash = CHILD_PROCESS_INIT;
 		struct reset_working_tree_options ropts = {
-			.flags = RESET_WORKING_TREE_HARD,
+			.flags = RESET_WORKING_TREE_HARD |
+				 RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_HEAD,
 		};
 		struct object_id oid;
 
@@ -4873,6 +4874,7 @@ static int checkout_onto(struct repository *r, struct replay_opts *opts,
 		.oid = onto,
 		.orig_head = orig_head,
 		.flags = RESET_WORKING_TREE_DETACH |
+			 RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_HEAD |
 			 RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD |
 			 RESET_WORKING_TREE_RUN_POST_CHECKOUT_HOOK,
 		.head_msg = reflog_message(opts, "start", "checkout %s",

-- 
2.54.0.1189.g8c84645362.dirty

Re: [PATCH v4 06/10] reset: introduce ability to skip updating HEAD

[Phillip Wood]

Hi Patrick

On 10/06/2026 09:52, Patrick Steinhardt wrote:
> In a subsequent commit we'll introduce a new caller to
> `reset_working_tree()` that really only wants to update the index and
> working tree, without updating any references. Introduce a new flag that
> makes the caller opt in to updating HEAD and adapt all callers to set
> that flag.
> 
> Note that in a previous iteration we instead introduced a flag that made
> callers opt out of updating any references. This was somewhat awkward
> though because we already have the `UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD` flag, so the
> result was somewhat inconsistent.

Thanks for doing this. I've grepped for all the callers of reset_head() 
to confirm this patch adds RESET_HEAD_UPDATE_HEAD to them all.

I wonder if we should add a check for passing 
RESET_HEAD_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD without RESET_HEAD_UPDATE_HEAD that calls 
BUG() as we don't support that. Everything else looks good.

Thanks

Phillip

> Suggested-by: Phillip Wood <phillip.wood123@gmail.com>
> Signed-off-by: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
> ---
>   builtin/rebase.c | 14 ++++++++++----
>   reset.c          |  6 ++++--
>   reset.h          |  9 ++++++---
>   sequencer.c      |  4 +++-
>   4 files changed, 23 insertions(+), 10 deletions(-)
> 
> diff --git a/builtin/rebase.c b/builtin/rebase.c
> index 06dcbaf5e8..10a306310c 100644
> --- a/builtin/rebase.c
> +++ b/builtin/rebase.c
> @@ -607,7 +607,8 @@ static int move_to_original_branch(struct rebase_options *opts)
>   	strbuf_addf(&head_reflog, "%s (finish): returning to %s",
>   		    opts->reflog_action, opts->head_name);
>   	ropts.branch = opts->head_name;
> -	ropts.flags = RESET_WORKING_TREE_REFS_ONLY;
> +	ropts.flags = RESET_WORKING_TREE_REFS_ONLY |
> +		      RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_HEAD;
>   	ropts.branch_msg = branch_reflog.buf;
>   	ropts.head_msg = head_reflog.buf;
>   	ret = reset_working_tree(the_repository, &ropts);
> @@ -693,6 +694,7 @@ static int run_am(struct rebase_options *opts)
>   		ropts.oid = &opts->orig_head->object.oid;
>   		ropts.branch = opts->head_name;
>   		ropts.default_reflog_action = opts->reflog_action;
> +		ropts.flags = RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_HEAD;
>   		reset_working_tree(the_repository, &ropts);
>   		error(_("\ngit encountered an error while preparing the "
>   			"patches to replay\n"
> @@ -862,7 +864,8 @@ static int checkout_up_to_date(struct rebase_options *options)
>   		    options->reflog_action, options->switch_to);
>   	ropts.oid = &options->orig_head->object.oid;
>   	ropts.branch = options->head_name;
> -	ropts.flags = RESET_WORKING_TREE_RUN_POST_CHECKOUT_HOOK;
> +	ropts.flags = RESET_WORKING_TREE_RUN_POST_CHECKOUT_HOOK |
> +		      RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_HEAD;
>   	if (!ropts.branch)
>   		ropts.flags |=  RESET_WORKING_TREE_DETACH;
>   	ropts.head_msg = buf.buf;
> @@ -1384,7 +1387,8 @@ int cmd_rebase(int argc,
>   
>   		rerere_clear(the_repository, &merge_rr);
>   		string_list_clear(&merge_rr, 1);
> -		ropts.flags = RESET_WORKING_TREE_HARD;
> +		ropts.flags = RESET_WORKING_TREE_HARD |
> +			      RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_HEAD;
>   		if (reset_working_tree(the_repository, &ropts) < 0)
>   			die(_("could not discard worktree changes"));
>   		remove_branch_state(the_repository, 0);
> @@ -1409,7 +1413,8 @@ int cmd_rebase(int argc,
>   		ropts.oid = &options.orig_head->object.oid;
>   		ropts.head_msg = head_msg.buf;
>   		ropts.branch = options.head_name;
> -		ropts.flags = RESET_WORKING_TREE_HARD;
> +		ropts.flags = RESET_WORKING_TREE_HARD |
> +			      RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_HEAD;
>   		if (reset_working_tree(the_repository, &ropts) < 0)
>   			die(_("could not move back to %s"),
>   			    oid_to_hex(&options.orig_head->object.oid));
> @@ -1877,6 +1882,7 @@ int cmd_rebase(int argc,
>   	ropts.oid = &options.onto->object.oid;
>   	ropts.orig_head = &options.orig_head->object.oid;
>   	ropts.flags = RESET_WORKING_TREE_DETACH |
> +		      RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_HEAD |
>   		      RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD |
>   		      RESET_WORKING_TREE_RUN_POST_CHECKOUT_HOOK;
>   	ropts.head_msg = msg.buf;
> diff --git a/reset.c b/reset.c
> index 99f2c1b012..3ac99a51c0 100644
> --- a/reset.c
> +++ b/reset.c
> @@ -92,6 +92,7 @@ int reset_working_tree(struct repository *r,
>   	const char *switch_to_branch = opts->branch;
>   	unsigned reset_hard = opts->flags & RESET_WORKING_TREE_HARD;
>   	unsigned refs_only = opts->flags & RESET_WORKING_TREE_REFS_ONLY;
> +	unsigned update_head = opts->flags & RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_HEAD;
>   	unsigned update_orig_head = opts->flags & RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD;
>   	unsigned dry_run = opts->flags & RESET_WORKING_TREE_DRY_RUN;
>   	struct object_id *head = NULL, head_oid;
> @@ -129,7 +130,7 @@ int reset_working_tree(struct repository *r,
>   		oid = &head_oid;
>   
>   	if (refs_only) {
> -		if (!dry_run)
> +		if (update_head)
>   			return update_refs(r, opts, oid, head);
>   		return 0;
>   	}
> @@ -197,7 +198,8 @@ int reset_working_tree(struct repository *r,
>   		goto leave_reset_head;
>   	}
>   
> -	if (oid != &head_oid || update_orig_head || switch_to_branch)
> +	if (update_head &&
> +	    (oid != &head_oid || update_orig_head || switch_to_branch))
>   		ret = update_refs(r, opts, oid, head);
>   
>   leave_reset_head:
> diff --git a/reset.h b/reset.h
> index 898e4a1e95..38b2891b53 100644
> --- a/reset.h
> +++ b/reset.h
> @@ -19,14 +19,17 @@ enum reset_working_tree_flags {
>   	/* Only update refs, do not touch the worktree */
>   	RESET_WORKING_TREE_REFS_ONLY = (1 << 3),
>   
> -	/* Update ORIG_HEAD as well as HEAD */
> -	RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD = (1 << 4),
> +	/* Update HEAD */
> +	RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_HEAD = (1 << 4),
> +
> +	/* Update ORIG_HEAD */
> +	RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD = (1 << 5),
>   
>   	/*
>   	 * Perform a dry-run by performing the operation without updating
>   	 * any user-visible state.
>   	 */
> -	RESET_WORKING_TREE_DRY_RUN = (1 << 5),
> +	RESET_WORKING_TREE_DRY_RUN = (1 << 6),
>   };
>   
>   struct reset_working_tree_options {
> diff --git a/sequencer.c b/sequencer.c
> index 4efe831178..e905b1b2d9 100644
> --- a/sequencer.c
> +++ b/sequencer.c
> @@ -4678,7 +4678,8 @@ static void create_autostash_internal(struct repository *r,
>   	    has_uncommitted_changes(r, 1)) {
>   		struct child_process stash = CHILD_PROCESS_INIT;
>   		struct reset_working_tree_options ropts = {
> -			.flags = RESET_WORKING_TREE_HARD,
> +			.flags = RESET_WORKING_TREE_HARD |
> +				 RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_HEAD,
>   		};
>   		struct object_id oid;
>   
> @@ -4873,6 +4874,7 @@ static int checkout_onto(struct repository *r, struct replay_opts *opts,
>   		.oid = onto,
>   		.orig_head = orig_head,
>   		.flags = RESET_WORKING_TREE_DETACH |
> +			 RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_HEAD |
>   			 RESET_WORKING_TREE_UPDATE_ORIG_HEAD |
>   			 RESET_WORKING_TREE_RUN_POST_CHECKOUT_HOOK,
>   		.head_msg = reflog_message(opts, "start", "checkout %s",
> 

[PATCH v4 07/10] reset: allow the caller to specify the current HEAD object

[Patrick Steinhardt]

When calling `reset_working_tree()` we automatically derive the commit
that the callers wants to move from by reading the HEAD commit. Some
callers may already have resolved it, or they may want to move from a
different commit that doesn't match HEAD.

Introduce a new `oid_from` option that lets the caller specify the
commit.

Signed-off-by: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
---
 reset.c | 5 ++++-
 reset.h | 5 +++++
 2 files changed, 9 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/reset.c b/reset.c
index 3ac99a51c0..abe36ba116 100644
--- a/reset.c
+++ b/reset.c
@@ -119,7 +119,10 @@ int reset_working_tree(struct repository *r,
 		goto leave_reset_head;
 	}
 
-	if (!repo_get_oid(r, "HEAD", &head_oid)) {
+	if (opts->oid_from) {
+		oidcpy(&head_oid, opts->oid_from);
+		head = &head_oid;
+	} else if (!repo_get_oid(r, "HEAD", &head_oid)) {
 		head = &head_oid;
 	} else if (!oid || !reset_hard) {
 		ret = error(_("could not determine HEAD revision"));
diff --git a/reset.h b/reset.h
index 38b2891b53..4c992ba671 100644
--- a/reset.h
+++ b/reset.h
@@ -37,6 +37,11 @@ struct reset_working_tree_options {
 	 * The commit to checkout/reset to. Defaults to HEAD.
 	 */
 	const struct object_id *oid;
+	/*
+	 * The commit to checkout/reset from when doing a two-way merge. This
+	 * is used as one of the sides to merge.
+	 */
+	const struct object_id *oid_from;
 	/*
 	 * Optional value to set ORIG_HEAD. Defaults to HEAD.
 	 */

-- 
2.54.0.1189.g8c84645362.dirty

[PATCH v4 08/10] reset: stop assuming that the caller passes in a clean index

[Patrick Steinhardt]

In 652bd0211d (rebase: use 'skip_cache_tree_update' option, 2022-11-10),
we updated `reset_working_tree()` to stop updating the index tree cache.
This was done as a performance optimization: the function is only called
by "sequencer.c" and "rebase.c", both of which assume a clean index
before they perform their operation, so we know that the end result will
be a clean index, too. Consequently, we can skip recomputing the cache
as we can instead use `prime_cache_tree()` directly.

In a subsequent commit we're about to add a new caller though where the
assumption doesn't hold anymore: the index may be dirty before calling
`reset_working_tree()`, and consequently we cannot prime the cache with
a given tree anymore as the index and tree will mismatch.

Adapt the logic so that we only skip the cache tree update in case we're
doing a hard reset. While we could introduce logic that only skips the
update in case the incoming index was dirty already, that doesn't really
feel worth it: after all, the mentioned commit says itself that the
performance improvement was negligible anyway.

Signed-off-by: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
---
 reset.c | 8 +++++---
 1 file changed, 5 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

diff --git a/reset.c b/reset.c
index abe36ba116..2b82e80c67 100644
--- a/reset.c
+++ b/reset.c
@@ -164,10 +164,11 @@ int reset_working_tree(struct repository *r,
 	unpack_tree_opts.dry_run = dry_run;
 	unpack_tree_opts.merge = 1;
 	unpack_tree_opts.preserve_ignored = 0; /* FIXME: !overwrite_ignore */
-	unpack_tree_opts.skip_cache_tree_update = 1;
 	init_checkout_metadata(&unpack_tree_opts.meta, switch_to_branch, oid, NULL);
-	if (reset_hard)
+	if (reset_hard) {
+		unpack_tree_opts.skip_cache_tree_update = 1;
 		unpack_tree_opts.reset = UNPACK_RESET_PROTECT_UNTRACKED;
+	}
 
 	if (!reset_hard && !fill_tree_descriptor(r, &desc[nr++], &head_oid)) {
 		ret = error(_("failed to find tree of %s"),
@@ -194,7 +195,8 @@ int reset_working_tree(struct repository *r,
 		goto leave_reset_head;
 	}
 
-	prime_cache_tree(r, r->index, tree);
+	if (reset_hard)
+		prime_cache_tree(r, r->index, tree);
 
 	if (write_locked_index(r->index, &lock, COMMIT_LOCK) < 0) {
 		ret = error(_("could not write index"));

-- 
2.54.0.1189.g8c84645362.dirty

[PATCH v4 09/10] builtin/history: split handling of ref updates into two phases

[Patrick Steinhardt]

The function `handle_reference_updates()` is used by git-history(1) to
update all references that refer to commits that have been rewritten. As
such, it performs two steps:

  - It gathers the references that need to be updated in the first
    place.

  - It prepares and commits the reference transaction.

In a subsequent commit we'll want to handle those two steps separately.
Prepare for this by splitting up the function into two.

Signed-off-by: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
---
 builtin/history.c | 102 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++--------------------
 1 file changed, 64 insertions(+), 38 deletions(-)

diff --git a/builtin/history.c b/builtin/history.c
index 0fc06fb204..4fadf38c32 100644
--- a/builtin/history.c
+++ b/builtin/history.c
@@ -333,21 +333,17 @@ static int handle_ref_update(struct ref_transaction *transaction,
 				      NULL, NULL, 0, reflog_msg, err);
 }
 
-static int handle_reference_updates(struct rev_info *revs,
-				    enum ref_action action,
-				    struct commit *original,
-				    struct commit *rewritten,
-				    const char *reflog_msg,
-				    int dry_run,
-				    enum replay_empty_commit_action empty)
+static int compute_pending_ref_updates(struct rev_info *revs,
+				       enum ref_action action,
+				       struct commit *original,
+				       struct commit *rewritten,
+				       enum replay_empty_commit_action empty,
+				       struct replay_result *result)
 {
 	const struct name_decoration *decoration;
 	struct replay_revisions_options opts = {
 		.empty = empty,
 	};
-	struct replay_result result = { 0 };
-	struct ref_transaction *transaction = NULL;
-	struct strbuf err = STRBUF_INIT;
 	char hex[GIT_MAX_HEXSZ + 1];
 	bool detached_head;
 	int head_flags = 0;
@@ -359,34 +355,13 @@ static int handle_reference_updates(struct rev_info *revs,
 
 	opts.onto = oid_to_hex_r(hex, &rewritten->object.oid);
 
-	ret = replay_revisions(revs, &opts, &result);
+	ret = replay_revisions(revs, &opts, result);
 	if (ret)
-		goto out;
+		return ret;
 
 	if (action != REF_ACTION_BRANCHES && action != REF_ACTION_HEAD)
 		BUG("unsupported ref action %d", action);
 
-	if (!dry_run) {
-		transaction = ref_store_transaction_begin(get_main_ref_store(revs->repo), 0, &err);
-		if (!transaction) {
-			ret = error(_("failed to begin ref transaction: %s"), err.buf);
-			goto out;
-		}
-	}
-
-	for (size_t i = 0; i < result.updates_nr; i++) {
-		ret = handle_ref_update(transaction,
-					result.updates[i].refname,
-					&result.updates[i].new_oid,
-					&result.updates[i].old_oid,
-					reflog_msg, &err);
-		if (ret) {
-			ret = error(_("failed to update ref '%s': %s"),
-				    result.updates[i].refname, err.buf);
-			goto out;
-		}
-	}
-
 	/*
 	 * `replay_revisions()` only updates references that are
 	 * ancestors of `rewritten`, so we need to manually
@@ -414,14 +389,43 @@ static int handle_reference_updates(struct rev_info *revs,
 		    !detached_head)
 			continue;
 
+		ALLOC_GROW(result->updates, result->updates_nr + 1, result->updates_alloc);
+		result->updates[result->updates_nr].refname = xstrdup(decoration->name);
+		result->updates[result->updates_nr].old_oid = original->object.oid;
+		result->updates[result->updates_nr].new_oid = rewritten->object.oid;
+		result->updates_nr++;
+	}
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+static int apply_pending_ref_updates(struct repository *repo,
+				     const struct replay_result *result,
+				     const char *reflog_msg,
+				     int dry_run)
+{
+	struct ref_transaction *transaction = NULL;
+	struct strbuf err = STRBUF_INIT;
+	int ret;
+
+	if (!dry_run) {
+		transaction = ref_store_transaction_begin(get_main_ref_store(repo),
+							  0, &err);
+		if (!transaction) {
+			ret = error(_("failed to begin ref transaction: %s"), err.buf);
+			goto out;
+		}
+	}
+
+	for (size_t i = 0; i < result->updates_nr; i++) {
 		ret = handle_ref_update(transaction,
-					decoration->name,
-					&rewritten->object.oid,
-					&original->object.oid,
+					result->updates[i].refname,
+					&result->updates[i].new_oid,
+					&result->updates[i].old_oid,
 					reflog_msg, &err);
 		if (ret) {
 			ret = error(_("failed to update ref '%s': %s"),
-				    decoration->name, err.buf);
+				    result->updates[i].refname, err.buf);
 			goto out;
 		}
 	}
@@ -435,11 +439,33 @@ static int handle_reference_updates(struct rev_info *revs,
 
 out:
 	ref_transaction_free(transaction);
-	replay_result_release(&result);
 	strbuf_release(&err);
 	return ret;
 }
 
+static int handle_reference_updates(struct rev_info *revs,
+				    enum ref_action action,
+				    struct commit *original,
+				    struct commit *rewritten,
+				    const char *reflog_msg,
+				    int dry_run,
+				    enum replay_empty_commit_action empty)
+{
+	struct replay_result result = { 0 };
+	int ret;
+
+	ret = compute_pending_ref_updates(revs, action, original, rewritten,
+					  empty, &result);
+	if (ret)
+		goto out;
+
+	ret = apply_pending_ref_updates(revs->repo, &result, reflog_msg, dry_run);
+
+out:
+	replay_result_release(&result);
+	return ret;
+}
+
 static int commit_became_empty(struct repository *repo,
 			       struct commit *original,
 			       struct tree *result)

-- 
2.54.0.1189.g8c84645362.dirty

Re: [PATCH v4 09/10] builtin/history: split handling of ref updates into two phases

[Junio C Hamano]

Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im> writes:

> The function `handle_reference_updates()` is used by git-history(1) to
> update all references that refer to commits that have been rewritten. As
> such, it performs two steps:
>
>   - It gathers the references that need to be updated in the first
>     place.
>
>   - It prepares and commits the reference transaction.
>
> In a subsequent commit we'll want to handle those two steps separately.
> Prepare for this by splitting up the function into two.

OK.  I can sees how this will help doing a dry-run mode.

> +static int apply_pending_ref_updates(struct repository *repo,
> +				     const struct replay_result *result,
> +				     const char *reflog_msg,
> +				     int dry_run)
> +{
> +	struct ref_transaction *transaction = NULL;
> +	struct strbuf err = STRBUF_INIT;
> +	int ret;
> +
> +	if (!dry_run) {
> +		transaction = ref_store_transaction_begin(get_main_ref_store(repo),
> +							  0, &err);
> +		if (!transaction) {
> +			ret = error(_("failed to begin ref transaction: %s"), err.buf);
> +			goto out;
> +		}
> +	}
> +
> +	for (size_t i = 0; i < result->updates_nr; i++) {
>  		ret = handle_ref_update(transaction,
> -					decoration->name,
> -					&rewritten->object.oid,
> -					&original->object.oid,
> +					result->updates[i].refname,
> +					&result->updates[i].new_oid,
> +					&result->updates[i].old_oid,
>  					reflog_msg, &err);

Cute.

handle_ref_update() uses transaction==NULL not as a signal to update
each ref as request comes (i.e., non-transactional updates) but as a
singal to perform a dry-run, which was unexpected to my taste but it
has been that way since at least February this year ;-)

Looking good.

Thanks.

[PATCH v4 10/10] builtin/history: implement "drop" subcommand

[Patrick Steinhardt]

A common operation when editing the commit history is to drop a specific
commit from the history entirely, but this operation is not currently
covered by git-history(1).

A couple of noteworthy bits:

  - This is the first git-history(1) command that will ultimately result
    in changes to both the index and the working tree. We thus have to
    add logic to merge resulting changes into those.

  - It is still not possible to replay merge commits, so this limitation
    is inherited for the new "drop" command.

  - For now we refuse to drop root commits. While we _can_ indeed drop
    root commits in the general case, there are edge cases where the
    resulting history would become completely empty. This is thus left
    to a subsequent patch series.

Other than that, most of the logic is rather straight-forward as we can
continue to build on the preexisting logic in git-history(1) for most of
the part.

Signed-off-by: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
---
 Documentation/git-history.adoc |  38 ++-
 builtin/history.c              | 186 ++++++++++++++
 t/meson.build                  |   1 +
 t/t3454-history-drop.sh        | 537 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 4 files changed, 761 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/Documentation/git-history.adoc b/Documentation/git-history.adoc
index 2ba8121795..28b477cd37 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-history.adoc
+++ b/Documentation/git-history.adoc
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ git-history - EXPERIMENTAL: Rewrite history
 SYNOPSIS
 --------
 [synopsis]
+git history drop <commit> [--dry-run] [--update-refs=(branches|head)] [--empty=(drop|keep|abort)]
 git history fixup <commit> [--dry-run] [--update-refs=(branches|head)] [--reedit-message] [--empty=(drop|keep|abort)]
 git history reword <commit> [--dry-run] [--update-refs=(branches|head)]
 git history split <commit> [--dry-run] [--update-refs=(branches|head)] [--] [<pathspec>...]
@@ -51,13 +52,28 @@ be stateful operations. The limitation can be lifted once (if) Git learns about
 first-class conflicts.
 
 When using `fixup` with `--empty=drop`, dropping the root commit is not yet
-supported.
+supported. Likewise, `drop` cannot remove the root commit or a merge commit.
 
 COMMANDS
 --------
 
 The following commands are available to rewrite history in different ways:
 
+`drop <commit>`::
+	Remove the specified commit from the history. All descendants of the
+	commit are replayed directly onto its parent.
++
+The root commit cannot be dropped as that may lead to edge cases where refs
+end up with no commits anymore. Merge commits cannot be dropped either; see
+LIMITATIONS.
++
+If `HEAD` points at a commit that is to be rewritten, the index and working
+tree are updated to match the new `HEAD`. The command aborts before any
+references are updated in case local modifications would be overwritten.
++
+If replaying any descendant would result in a conflict, the command aborts
+with an error.
+
 `fixup <commit>`::
 	Apply the currently staged changes to the specified commit. This is
 	similar in nature to `git commit --fixup=<commit>` followed by `git
@@ -170,6 +186,26 @@ The staged addition of `unrelated.txt` has been incorporated into the `first`
 commit. All descendant commits have been replayed on top of the rewritten
 history.
 
+Drop a commit
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+----------
+$ git log --oneline
+abc1234 (HEAD -> main) third
+def5678 second
+ghi9012 first
+
+$ git history drop 'main^{/second}'
+
+$ git log --oneline
+jkl3456 (HEAD -> main) third
+ghi9012 first
+----------
+
+The `second` commit has been removed from the history, and `third` has been
+replayed directly on top of `first`. All branches that pointed at the dropped
+commit have been moved to its parent.
+
 Split a commit
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
diff --git a/builtin/history.c b/builtin/history.c
index 4fadf38c32..e59f69233b 100644
--- a/builtin/history.c
+++ b/builtin/history.c
@@ -17,13 +17,17 @@
 #include "read-cache.h"
 #include "refs.h"
 #include "replay.h"
+#include "reset.h"
 #include "revision.h"
 #include "sequencer.h"
 #include "strvec.h"
 #include "tree.h"
+#include "tree-walk.h"
 #include "unpack-trees.h"
 #include "wt-status.h"
 
+#define GIT_HISTORY_DROP_USAGE \
+	N_("git history drop <commit> [--dry-run] [--update-refs=(branches|head)] [--empty=(drop|keep|abort)]")
 #define GIT_HISTORY_FIXUP_USAGE \
 	N_("git history fixup <commit> [--dry-run] [--update-refs=(branches|head)] [--reedit-message] [--empty=(drop|keep|abort)]")
 #define GIT_HISTORY_REWORD_USAGE \
@@ -1001,12 +1005,193 @@ static int cmd_history_split(int argc,
 	return ret;
 }
 
+static int update_worktree(struct repository *repo,
+			   const struct commit *old_head,
+			   const struct commit *new_head,
+			   bool dry_run)
+{
+	struct reset_working_tree_options opts = {
+		.oid_from = &old_head->object.oid,
+		.oid = &new_head->object.oid,
+	};
+	if (dry_run)
+		opts.flags |= RESET_WORKING_TREE_DRY_RUN;
+	return reset_working_tree(repo, &opts);
+}
+
+static int find_head_tree_change(struct repository *repo,
+				 const struct replay_result *result,
+				 struct commit **old_head,
+				 struct commit **new_head,
+				 bool *changed)
+{
+	const struct replay_ref_update *head_update = NULL;
+	struct commit *old_head_commit, *new_head_commit;
+	struct tree *old_head_tree, *new_head_tree;
+	const char *head_target;
+	int head_flags;
+
+	*changed = false;
+
+	head_target = refs_resolve_ref_unsafe(get_main_ref_store(repo),
+					      "HEAD", RESOLVE_REF_NO_RECURSE,
+					      NULL, &head_flags);
+	if (!head_target)
+		return error(_("cannot look up HEAD"));
+	if (!(head_flags & REF_ISSYMREF))
+		head_target = "HEAD";
+
+	for (size_t i = 0; i < result->updates_nr; i++) {
+		if (!strcmp(result->updates[i].refname, head_target)) {
+			head_update = &result->updates[i];
+			break;
+		}
+	}
+
+	if (!head_update)
+		return 0;
+
+	old_head_commit = lookup_commit_reference(repo, &head_update->old_oid);
+	new_head_commit = lookup_commit_reference(repo, &head_update->new_oid);
+	if (!old_head_commit || !new_head_commit)
+		return error(_("cannot resolve HEAD commit"));
+
+	old_head_tree = repo_get_commit_tree(repo, old_head_commit);
+	new_head_tree = repo_get_commit_tree(repo, new_head_commit);
+	if (!old_head_tree || !new_head_tree)
+		return error(_("cannot resolve tree for HEAD"));
+
+	if (oideq(&old_head_tree->object.oid, &new_head_tree->object.oid))
+		return 0;
+
+	*old_head = old_head_commit;
+	*new_head = new_head_commit;
+	*changed = true;
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+static int cmd_history_drop(int argc,
+			    const char **argv,
+			    const char *prefix,
+			    struct repository *repo)
+{
+	const char * const usage[] = {
+		GIT_HISTORY_DROP_USAGE,
+		NULL,
+	};
+	enum replay_empty_commit_action empty = REPLAY_EMPTY_COMMIT_DROP;
+	enum ref_action action = REF_ACTION_DEFAULT;
+	int dry_run = 0;
+	struct option options[] = {
+		OPT_CALLBACK_F(0, "update-refs", &action, "(branches|head)",
+			       N_("control which refs should be updated"),
+			       PARSE_OPT_NONEG, parse_ref_action),
+		OPT_BOOL('n', "dry-run", &dry_run,
+			 N_("perform a dry-run without updating any refs")),
+		OPT_CALLBACK_F(0, "empty", &empty, "(drop|keep|abort)",
+			       N_("how to handle descendants that become empty"),
+			       PARSE_OPT_NONEG, parse_opt_empty),
+		OPT_END(),
+	};
+	struct strbuf reflog_msg = STRBUF_INIT;
+	struct commit *original, *rewritten;
+	struct rev_info revs = { 0 };
+	struct replay_result result = { 0 };
+	struct commit *old_head, *new_head;
+	bool head_moves = false;
+	int ret;
+
+	argc = parse_options(argc, argv, prefix, options, usage, 0);
+	if (argc != 1) {
+		ret = error(_("command expects a single revision"));
+		goto out;
+	}
+	repo_config(repo, git_default_config, NULL);
+
+	if (action == REF_ACTION_DEFAULT)
+		action = REF_ACTION_BRANCHES;
+
+	original = lookup_commit_reference_by_name(argv[0]);
+	if (!original) {
+		ret = error(_("commit cannot be found: %s"), argv[0]);
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	if (!original->parents) {
+		ret = error(_("cannot drop root commit %s: "
+			      "it has no parent to replay onto"),
+			    argv[0]);
+		goto out;
+	} else if (original->parents->next) {
+		ret = error(_("cannot drop merge commit: %s"), argv[0]);
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	ret = setup_revwalk(repo, action, original, &revs);
+	if (ret)
+		goto out;
+
+	rewritten = original->parents->item;
+
+	ret = compute_pending_ref_updates(&revs, action, original, rewritten,
+					  empty, &result);
+	if (ret) {
+		ret = error(_("failed replaying descendants"));
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	/*
+	 * If HEAD will move as a result of the rewrite then we'll have to
+	 * merge in the changes into the worktree and index. This merge can of
+	 * course conflict, which will cause the whole operation to abort.
+	 *
+	 * If we had already updated the refs at that point then we'd have an
+	 * inconsistent repository state. So we first perform a dry-run merge
+	 * here before updating refs.
+	 */
+	if (!is_bare_repository()) {
+		ret = find_head_tree_change(repo, &result, &old_head,
+					    &new_head, &head_moves);
+		if (ret < 0)
+			goto out;
+
+		if (head_moves && update_worktree(repo, old_head, new_head, true) < 0) {
+			ret = error(_("dropping this commit would "
+				      "overwrite local changes; aborting"));
+			goto out;
+		}
+	}
+
+	strbuf_addf(&reflog_msg, "drop: dropping %s", argv[0]);
+	ret = apply_pending_ref_updates(repo, &result, reflog_msg.buf, dry_run);
+	if (ret < 0) {
+		ret = error(_("failed to update references"));
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	if (!dry_run && head_moves && update_worktree(repo, old_head, new_head, false) < 0) {
+		ret = error(_("could not update working tree to new commit %s"),
+			    oid_to_hex(&new_head->object.oid));
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	ret = 0;
+
+out:
+	replay_result_release(&result);
+	strbuf_release(&reflog_msg);
+	release_revisions(&revs);
+	return ret;
+}
+
 int cmd_history(int argc,
 		const char **argv,
 		const char *prefix,
 		struct repository *repo)
 {
 	const char * const usage[] = {
+		GIT_HISTORY_DROP_USAGE,
 		GIT_HISTORY_FIXUP_USAGE,
 		GIT_HISTORY_REWORD_USAGE,
 		GIT_HISTORY_SPLIT_USAGE,
@@ -1014,6 +1199,7 @@ int cmd_history(int argc,
 	};
 	parse_opt_subcommand_fn *fn = NULL;
 	struct option options[] = {
+		OPT_SUBCOMMAND("drop", &fn, cmd_history_drop),
 		OPT_SUBCOMMAND("fixup", &fn, cmd_history_fixup),
 		OPT_SUBCOMMAND("reword", &fn, cmd_history_reword),
 		OPT_SUBCOMMAND("split", &fn, cmd_history_split),
diff --git a/t/meson.build b/t/meson.build
index 2af8d01279..d5e71056b2 100644
--- a/t/meson.build
+++ b/t/meson.build
@@ -399,6 +399,7 @@ integration_tests = [
   't3451-history-reword.sh',
   't3452-history-split.sh',
   't3453-history-fixup.sh',
+  't3454-history-drop.sh',
   't3500-cherry.sh',
   't3501-revert-cherry-pick.sh',
   't3502-cherry-pick-merge.sh',
diff --git a/t/t3454-history-drop.sh b/t/t3454-history-drop.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..0f33247212
--- /dev/null
+++ b/t/t3454-history-drop.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,537 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+
+test_description='tests for git-history drop subcommand'
+
+. ./test-lib.sh
+. "$TEST_DIRECTORY/lib-log-graph.sh"
+
+expect_graph () {
+	cat >expect &&
+	lib_test_cmp_graph --format=%s "$@"
+}
+
+expect_log () {
+	git log --format="%s" "$@" >actual &&
+	cat >expect &&
+	test_cmp expect actual
+}
+
+test_expect_success 'errors on missing commit argument' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit initial &&
+		test_must_fail git history drop 2>err &&
+		test_grep "command expects a single revision" err
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'errors on too many arguments' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit initial &&
+		test_must_fail git history drop HEAD HEAD 2>err &&
+		test_grep "command expects a single revision" err
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'errors on unknown revision' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit initial &&
+		test_must_fail git history drop does-not-exist 2>err &&
+		test_grep "commit cannot be found: does-not-exist" err
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'errors with invalid --empty= value' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit initial &&
+		test_commit second &&
+		test_must_fail git history drop --empty=bogus HEAD 2>err &&
+		test_grep "unrecognized.*--empty.*bogus" err
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'drops a commit in the middle and replays descendants' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit first &&
+		test_commit second &&
+		test_commit third &&
+
+		git symbolic-ref HEAD >expect &&
+		git history drop HEAD~ &&
+		git symbolic-ref HEAD >actual &&
+		test_cmp expect actual &&
+
+		expect_log <<-\EOF &&
+		third
+		first
+		EOF
+
+		test_must_fail git show HEAD:second.t &&
+		test_path_is_missing second.t &&
+
+		git reflog >reflog &&
+		test_grep "drop: dropping HEAD~" reflog
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'drops the HEAD commit' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit first &&
+		test_commit second &&
+
+		git history drop HEAD &&
+
+		expect_log <<-\EOF
+		first
+		EOF
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'drops a commit on detached HEAD' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit first &&
+		test_commit second &&
+		test_commit third &&
+		git checkout --detach HEAD &&
+
+		git history drop HEAD~ &&
+
+		expect_log <<-\EOF
+		third
+		first
+		EOF
+	)
+'
+
+# Note: in this case it would actually be fine to drop the root commit, as we
+# do have a descendant commit, and no reference points to the root commit
+# directly. So this is something that we may relax eventually.
+test_expect_success 'refuses to drop the root commit' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit first &&
+		test_commit second &&
+
+		test_must_fail git history drop HEAD~ 2>err &&
+		test_grep "cannot drop root commit" err
+	)
+'
+
+# In contrast to the above case, we actually don't want to drop the root commit
+# here as that would cause us to end up with an empty commit graph.
+test_expect_success 'refuses to drop the root commit when branch becomes empty' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit first &&
+
+		test_must_fail git history drop HEAD 2>err &&
+		test_grep "cannot drop root commit" err
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'refuses to drop a merge commit' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit base &&
+		git branch branch &&
+		test_commit ours &&
+		git switch branch &&
+		test_commit theirs &&
+		git switch - &&
+		git merge theirs &&
+
+		test_must_fail git history drop HEAD 2>err &&
+		test_grep "cannot drop merge commit" err
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'refuses when descendants contain a merge commit' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit base &&
+		test_commit middle &&
+		git branch branch &&
+		test_commit ours &&
+		git switch branch &&
+		test_commit theirs &&
+		git switch - &&
+		git merge theirs &&
+
+		test_must_fail git history drop middle 2>err &&
+		test_grep "replaying merge commits is not supported yet" err
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'works in a bare repository' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo repo.git" &&
+
+	git init repo &&
+	test_commit -C repo first &&
+	test_commit -C repo second &&
+	test_commit -C repo third &&
+
+	git clone --bare repo repo.git &&
+	(
+		cd repo.git &&
+
+		git history drop HEAD~ &&
+		expect_log <<-\EOF
+		third
+		first
+		EOF
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'updates branches on other lines of descent' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit base &&
+		test_commit target &&
+		git branch theirs &&
+		test_commit ours &&
+		git switch theirs &&
+		test_commit theirs &&
+
+		expect_graph --branches <<-\EOF &&
+		* theirs
+		| * ours
+		|/
+		* target
+		* base
+		EOF
+
+		git history drop target &&
+
+		expect_graph --branches <<-\EOF
+		* ours
+		| * theirs
+		|/
+		* base
+		EOF
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'moves branch pointing at dropped commit to its parent' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo --initial-branch=main &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit first &&
+		test_commit second &&
+		git branch points-at-second &&
+		test_commit third &&
+
+		git rev-parse first >expect &&
+		git history drop second &&
+		git rev-parse points-at-second >actual &&
+		test_cmp expect actual &&
+
+		expect_log --format="%s %D" --branches <<-\EOF
+		third HEAD -> main
+		first tag: first, points-at-second
+		EOF
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success '--dry-run prints ref updates without modifying repo' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo --initial-branch=main &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit base &&
+		git branch branch &&
+		test_commit middle &&
+		test_commit ours &&
+		git switch branch &&
+		test_commit theirs &&
+
+		git refs list >refs-expect &&
+		git history drop --dry-run main~ >updates &&
+		git refs list >refs-actual &&
+		test_cmp refs-expect refs-actual &&
+		test_grep "update refs/heads/main" updates &&
+
+		git update-ref --stdin <updates &&
+		expect_log main <<-\EOF
+		ours
+		base
+		EOF
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success '--dry-run detects conflicts with modified working tree' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo --initial-branch=main &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit first &&
+		test_commit second modify-me &&
+		echo modified >modify-me &&
+
+		git refs list >refs-expect &&
+		git diff >diff-expect &&
+		test_must_fail git history drop --dry-run HEAD 2>err &&
+		test_grep "dropping this commit would overwrite local changes" err &&
+		git diff >diff-actual &&
+		git refs list >refs-actual &&
+
+		test_cmp diff-expect diff-actual &&
+		test_cmp refs-expect refs-actual
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success '--update-refs=head updates only HEAD' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo --initial-branch=main &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit base &&
+		test_commit target &&
+		git branch theirs &&
+		test_commit ours &&
+		git switch theirs &&
+		test_commit theirs &&
+
+		# When told to update HEAD only, the command refuses to
+		# rewrite commits that are not an ancestor of HEAD.
+		test_must_fail git history drop --update-refs=head main 2>err &&
+		test_grep "rewritten commit must be an ancestor of HEAD" err &&
+
+		expect_graph --branches <<-\EOF &&
+		* theirs
+		| * ours
+		|/
+		* target
+		* base
+		EOF
+
+		git switch main &&
+		git history drop --update-refs=head target &&
+
+		expect_graph --branches <<-\EOF
+		* ours
+		| * theirs
+		| * target
+		|/
+		* base
+		EOF
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'conflict with replayed commit aborts cleanly' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit base &&
+		test_commit conflict-a file &&
+		test_commit conflict-b file &&
+
+		git refs list >refs-expect &&
+		test_must_fail git history drop HEAD~ 2>err &&
+		test_grep "failed replaying descendants" err &&
+		git refs list >refs-actual &&
+		test_cmp refs-expect refs-actual
+	)
+'
+
+# Build a history where a descendant of the drop target reverts the change
+# introduced by the drop target. After dropping, the descendant's diff applies
+# against a tree that already lacks the change, so it becomes empty.
+setup_empty_descendant_repo () {
+	git init "$1" &&
+	(
+		cd "$1" &&
+		echo C1 >file &&
+		git add file &&
+		git commit -m "base" &&
+		git tag base &&
+		echo C2 >file &&
+		git add file &&
+		git commit -m "drop-me" &&
+		git tag drop-me &&
+		test_commit middle &&
+		echo C1 >file &&
+		git add file &&
+		git commit -m "revert-drop-me" &&
+		git tag revert-drop-me
+	)
+}
+
+test_expect_success '--empty=drop drops descendants that become empty' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	setup_empty_descendant_repo repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+
+		git history drop --empty=drop drop-me &&
+
+		expect_log <<-\EOF
+		middle
+		base
+		EOF
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success '--empty=keep keeps descendants that become empty' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	setup_empty_descendant_repo repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+
+		git history drop --empty=keep drop-me &&
+
+		expect_log <<-\EOF &&
+		revert-drop-me
+		middle
+		base
+		EOF
+		git diff HEAD~ HEAD >diff &&
+		test_must_be_empty diff
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success '--empty=abort errors out when a descendant becomes empty' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	setup_empty_descendant_repo repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+
+		test_must_fail git history drop --empty=abort drop-me 2>err &&
+		test_grep "became empty after replay" err
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'updates index and worktree when HEAD moves' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit first &&
+		test_commit second &&
+		test_commit third &&
+
+		git history drop second &&
+
+		# Worktree should no longer contain second.t.
+		test_path_is_missing second.t &&
+		test_path_is_file first.t &&
+		test_path_is_file third.t &&
+
+		# Index and worktree should both match the new HEAD.
+		git status --porcelain --untracked-files=no >status &&
+		test_must_be_empty status
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'updates worktree when dropping HEAD itself' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit first &&
+		test_commit second &&
+
+		git history drop HEAD &&
+
+		test_path_is_missing second.t &&
+		test_path_is_file first.t &&
+
+		git status --porcelain --untracked-files=no >status &&
+		test_must_be_empty status
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'preserves unrelated unstaged modifications' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit first &&
+		echo first-content >unrelated.txt &&
+		git add unrelated.txt &&
+		git commit -m "add unrelated" &&
+		test_commit second &&
+		test_commit third &&
+
+		echo locally-modified >unrelated.txt &&
+
+		git diff >diff-expect &&
+		git history drop second &&
+		git diff >diff-actual &&
+		test_cmp diff-expect diff-actual &&
+		test_path_is_missing second.t
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'preserves unrelated staged changes' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit first &&
+		echo first-content >unrelated.txt &&
+		git add unrelated.txt &&
+		git commit -m "add unrelated" &&
+		test_commit second &&
+		test_commit third &&
+
+		echo staged-change >unrelated.txt &&
+		git add unrelated.txt &&
+
+		git diff --cached >diff-expect &&
+		git history drop second &&
+		git diff --cached >diff-actual &&
+		test_cmp diff-expect diff-actual &&
+		test_path_is_missing second.t
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'aborts when local modifications would be overwritten' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit base &&
+		test_commit conflict &&
+
+		echo local-edit >conflict.t &&
+		git diff >diff-expect &&
+		test_must_fail git history drop HEAD 2>err &&
+		test_grep "would overwrite local changes" err &&
+		git diff >diff-actual &&
+		test_cmp diff-expect diff-actual
+	)
+'
+
+test_done

-- 
2.54.0.1189.g8c84645362.dirty