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

[Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>]

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