Re: [PATCH v5 0/4] refs: allow setting the reference directory

[Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>]

On Mon, Feb 09, 2026 at 04:58:17PM +0100, Karthik Nayak wrote:
> Changes in v5:
> - Moved around the commits, to ensure that the code to handle the config
>   in the backend is first. Previously, we added the config first, which
>   meant the commit allowed users to provide a URI but it was simply
>   ignore.
> - Fix typos and grammar and rename variables.
> - Clean up the description and documentation to actually specify
>   protocol over location.
> - Avoid an extra memory allocation by detaching the strbuf value.
> - Link to v4: https://patch.msgid.link/20260202-kn-alternate-ref-dir-v4-0-3b30430411e3@gmail.com

I've got some more smallish nits, but this version looks mostly good to
me. The one thing that I think still needs to be extended quite a bit is
the tests we have. The new feature has quite a broad impact, and we
should at least verify that classes of commands work as expected:

  - Commands that create a repository should create the ref backend as
    expected.

  - Commands that access refs (read/write) should know to use the
    correct location.

  - Commands that create worktrees should know where to initialize the
    refs.

  - Reference migration should correctly migrate to/from an out-of-tree
    directory.

Thanks!

Patrick