[PATCH] t3700: avoid suppressing git's exit code

[PATCH] t3700: avoid suppressing git's exit code

[Siddharth Shrimali]

When piping the output of git ls-files into grep, the exit code of
git ls-files is suppressed.

Avoid this by redirecting the output of git ls-files to a file and
then running grep on that file. This ensures that any crash in
git ls-files will be caught by the test suite.

Signed-off-by: Siddharth Shrimali <r.siddharth.shrimali@gmail.com>
---
 t/t3700-add.sh | 38 +++++++++++++++++++++++---------------
 1 file changed, 23 insertions(+), 15 deletions(-)

diff --git a/t/t3700-add.sh b/t/t3700-add.sh
index af93e53c12..66c6114b54 100755
--- a/t/t3700-add.sh
+++ b/t/t3700-add.sh
@@ -38,7 +38,8 @@ test_expect_success 'Test with no pathspecs' '
 '
 
 test_expect_success 'Post-check that foo is in the index' '
-	git ls-files foo | grep foo
+	git ls-files foo >actual &&
+	grep foo <actual
 '
 
 test_expect_success 'Test that "git add -- -q" works' '
@@ -195,8 +196,9 @@ test_expect_success 'git add with filemode=0, symlinks=0, and unmerged entries'
 	echo new > file &&
 	echo new > symlink &&
 	git add file symlink &&
-	git ls-files --stage | grep "^100755 .* 0	file$" &&
-	git ls-files --stage | grep "^120000 .* 0	symlink$"
+	git ls-files --stage >actual &&
+	grep "^100755 .* 0	file$" <actual &&
+	grep "^120000 .* 0	symlink$" actual
 '
 
 test_expect_success 'git add with filemode=0, symlinks=0 prefers stage 2 over stage 1' '
@@ -212,8 +214,9 @@ test_expect_success 'git add with filemode=0, symlinks=0 prefers stage 2 over st
 	echo new > file &&
 	echo new > symlink &&
 	git add file symlink &&
-	git ls-files --stage | grep "^100755 .* 0	file$" &&
-	git ls-files --stage | grep "^120000 .* 0	symlink$"
+	git ls-files --stage >actual &&
+	grep "^100755 .* 0	file$" actual &&
+	grep "^120000 .* 0	symlink$" actual
 '
 
 test_expect_success 'git add --refresh' '
@@ -254,7 +257,8 @@ test_expect_success POSIXPERM,SANITY 'git add should fail atomically upon an unr
 	date >foo2 &&
 	chmod 0 foo2 &&
 	test_must_fail git add --verbose . &&
-	! ( git ls-files foo1 | grep foo1 )
+	git ls-files foo1 >actual &&
+	! grep foo1 actual
 '
 
 rm -f foo2
@@ -265,7 +269,7 @@ test_expect_success POSIXPERM,SANITY 'git add --ignore-errors' '
 	date >foo2 &&
 	chmod 0 foo2 &&
 	test_must_fail git add --verbose --ignore-errors . &&
-	git ls-files foo1 | grep foo1
+	git ls-files foo1 >actual && grep foo1 actual
 '
 
 rm -f foo2
@@ -277,7 +281,7 @@ test_expect_success POSIXPERM,SANITY 'git add (add.ignore-errors)' '
 	date >foo2 &&
 	chmod 0 foo2 &&
 	test_must_fail git add --verbose . &&
-	git ls-files foo1 | grep foo1
+	git ls-files foo1 >actual && grep foo1 actual
 '
 rm -f foo2
 
@@ -288,7 +292,8 @@ test_expect_success POSIXPERM,SANITY 'git add (add.ignore-errors = false)' '
 	date >foo2 &&
 	chmod 0 foo2 &&
 	test_must_fail git add --verbose . &&
-	! ( git ls-files foo1 | grep foo1 )
+	git ls-files foo1 >actual &&
+	! grep foo1 actual
 '
 rm -f foo2
 
@@ -299,7 +304,8 @@ test_expect_success POSIXPERM,SANITY '--no-ignore-errors overrides config' '
 	date >foo2 &&
 	chmod 0 foo2 &&
 	test_must_fail git add --verbose --no-ignore-errors . &&
-	! ( git ls-files foo1 | grep foo1 ) &&
+	git ls-files foo1 >actual &&
+	! grep foo1 actual &&
 	git config add.ignore-errors 0
 '
 rm -f foo2
@@ -309,7 +315,8 @@ test_expect_success BSLASHPSPEC "git add 'fo\\[ou\\]bar' ignores foobar" '
 	touch fo\[ou\]bar foobar &&
 	git add '\''fo\[ou\]bar'\'' &&
 	git ls-files fo\[ou\]bar | grep -F fo\[ou\]bar &&
-	! ( git ls-files foobar | grep foobar )
+	git ls-files foobar >actual &&
+	! grep foobar actual
 '
 
 test_expect_success 'git add to resolve conflicts on otherwise ignored path' '
@@ -326,7 +333,8 @@ test_expect_success 'git add to resolve conflicts on otherwise ignored path' '
 
 test_expect_success '"add non-existent" should fail' '
 	test_must_fail git add non-existent &&
-	! (git ls-files | grep "non-existent")
+	git ls-files >actual &&
+	! grep "non-existent" actual 
 '
 
 test_expect_success 'git add -A on empty repo does not error out' '
@@ -536,9 +544,9 @@ test_expect_success 'all statuses changed in folder if . is given' '
 		touch x y z sub/a sub/dir/b &&
 		git add -A &&
 		git add --chmod=+x . &&
-		test $(git ls-files --stage | grep ^100644 | wc -l) -eq 0 &&
+		test $(git ls-files --stage >actual && grep ^100644 actual | wc -l) -eq 0 &&
 		git add --chmod=-x . &&
-		test $(git ls-files --stage | grep ^100755 | wc -l) -eq 0
+		test $(git ls-files --stage >actual && grep ^100755 actual | wc -l) -eq 0
 	)
 '
 
@@ -574,4 +582,4 @@ test_expect_success CASE_INSENSITIVE_FS 'path is case-insensitive' '
 	git add "$downcased"
 '
 
-test_done
+test_done
\ No newline at end of file
-- 
2.51.2

Re: [PATCH] t3700: avoid suppressing git's exit code

[Junio C Hamano]

Siddharth Shrimali <r.siddharth.shrimali@gmail.com> writes:

> When piping the output of git ls-files into grep, the exit code of
> git ls-files is suppressed.
>
> Avoid this by redirecting the output of git ls-files to a file and
> then running grep on that file. This ensures that any crash in
> git ls-files will be caught by the test suite.
>
> Signed-off-by: Siddharth Shrimali <r.siddharth.shrimali@gmail.com>
> ---
>  t/t3700-add.sh | 38 +++++++++++++++++++++++---------------
>  1 file changed, 23 insertions(+), 15 deletions(-)

A few things that I noticed.

 * If "git foo | grep bar" was expecting to hide exit code from
   "git" and check the output (e.g., "git diff --exit-code | grep foo"),
   a mechanical conversion "git diff --exit-code >out && grep foo out"
   would change the meaning of the test and break it.  I did not check
   if this patch has such an unintended breakage, though.

 * Many of them do this:

        > -	git ls-files foo | grep foo
        > +	git ls-files foo >actual &&
        > +	grep foo <actual

   or this

        > -	! ( git ls-files foo1 | grep foo1 )
        > +	git ls-files foo1 >actual &&
        > +	! grep foo1 actual

    in which we might consider using "test_grep" (and "test_grep !")
    to help the developer who wants to debug a breakage in ls-files
    by highlighting what is unexpected in the output in their broken
    version.

 * A rewrite like this may want to be further broken down.

        > -	test $(git ls-files --stage | grep ^100644 | wc -l) -eq 0 &&
        > +	test $(git ls-files --stage >actual && grep ^100644 actual | wc -l) -eq 0 &&

   If "ls-files --stage" segfaults, "grep | wc" would not run, $()
   may exit with non-zero and turn into an empty string, but the
   final error diagnosis would be something unfathonable like

	test: -eq unary operator expected
	test: missing argument after '0'
   
   which would not help the person debugging the test very much.

[PATCH v2] t3700: avoid hidden failures and use test_grep helper

[Siddharth Shrimali]

Replace pipelines involving git commands with temporary files to ensure
that any crashes or unexpected exit codes from the git commands are
properly caught by the test suite. A simple pipeline like
'git foo | grep bar' ignores the exit code of 'git', which can
hide regressions.

Additionally, replace standard 'grep' with the 'test_grep' helper.
This improves debuggability by automatically dumping the contents of
the 'actual' file when a match is not found. In cases where we were
counting lines with 'wc -l' to ensure a pattern was absent,
simplify to 'test_grep !'.

Suggested-by: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>

Signed-off-by: Siddharth Shrimali <r.siddharth.shrimali@gmail.com>
---
Inter-patch notes (v1 -> v2):
 - Replaced standard 'grep' with 'test_grep' for better diagnostics.
 - Used 'test_grep !' for negative assertions as per project style.
 - Simplified 'wc -l' logic to 'test_grep !' to avoid subshells.
 - Removed unnecessary '<' redirection from function calls.

 t/t3700-add.sh | 28 +++++++++++++++-------------
 1 file changed, 15 insertions(+), 13 deletions(-)

diff --git a/t/t3700-add.sh b/t/t3700-add.sh
index 66c6114b54..d61bf784d2 100755
--- a/t/t3700-add.sh
+++ b/t/t3700-add.sh
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ test_expect_success 'Test with no pathspecs' '
 
 test_expect_success 'Post-check that foo is in the index' '
 	git ls-files foo >actual &&
-	grep foo <actual
+	test_grep foo actual
 '
 
 test_expect_success 'Test that "git add -- -q" works' '
@@ -197,8 +197,8 @@ test_expect_success 'git add with filemode=0, symlinks=0, and unmerged entries'
 	echo new > symlink &&
 	git add file symlink &&
 	git ls-files --stage >actual &&
-	grep "^100755 .* 0	file$" <actual &&
-	grep "^120000 .* 0	symlink$" actual
+	test_grep "^100755 .* 0	file$" actual &&
+	test_grep "^120000 .* 0	symlink$" actual
 '
 
 test_expect_success 'git add with filemode=0, symlinks=0 prefers stage 2 over stage 1' '
@@ -215,8 +215,8 @@ test_expect_success 'git add with filemode=0, symlinks=0 prefers stage 2 over st
 	echo new > symlink &&
 	git add file symlink &&
 	git ls-files --stage >actual &&
-	grep "^100755 .* 0	file$" actual &&
-	grep "^120000 .* 0	symlink$" actual
+	test_grep "^100755 .* 0	file$" actual &&
+	test_grep "^120000 .* 0	symlink$" actual
 '
 
 test_expect_success 'git add --refresh' '
@@ -258,7 +258,7 @@ test_expect_success POSIXPERM,SANITY 'git add should fail atomically upon an unr
 	chmod 0 foo2 &&
 	test_must_fail git add --verbose . &&
 	git ls-files foo1 >actual &&
-	! grep foo1 actual
+	test_grep ! foo1 actual
 '
 
 rm -f foo2
@@ -293,7 +293,7 @@ test_expect_success POSIXPERM,SANITY 'git add (add.ignore-errors = false)' '
 	chmod 0 foo2 &&
 	test_must_fail git add --verbose . &&
 	git ls-files foo1 >actual &&
-	! grep foo1 actual
+	test_grep ! foo1 actual
 '
 rm -f foo2
 
@@ -305,7 +305,7 @@ test_expect_success POSIXPERM,SANITY '--no-ignore-errors overrides config' '
 	chmod 0 foo2 &&
 	test_must_fail git add --verbose --no-ignore-errors . &&
 	git ls-files foo1 >actual &&
-	! grep foo1 actual &&
+	test_grep ! foo1 actual &&
 	git config add.ignore-errors 0
 '
 rm -f foo2
@@ -316,7 +316,7 @@ test_expect_success BSLASHPSPEC "git add 'fo\\[ou\\]bar' ignores foobar" '
 	git add '\''fo\[ou\]bar'\'' &&
 	git ls-files fo\[ou\]bar | grep -F fo\[ou\]bar &&
 	git ls-files foobar >actual &&
-	! grep foobar actual
+	test_grep ! foobar actual
 '
 
 test_expect_success 'git add to resolve conflicts on otherwise ignored path' '
@@ -334,7 +334,7 @@ test_expect_success 'git add to resolve conflicts on otherwise ignored path' '
 test_expect_success '"add non-existent" should fail' '
 	test_must_fail git add non-existent &&
 	git ls-files >actual &&
-	! grep "non-existent" actual 
+	test_grep ! "non-existent" actual 
 '
 
 test_expect_success 'git add -A on empty repo does not error out' '
@@ -544,9 +544,11 @@ test_expect_success 'all statuses changed in folder if . is given' '
 		touch x y z sub/a sub/dir/b &&
 		git add -A &&
 		git add --chmod=+x . &&
-		test $(git ls-files --stage >actual && grep ^100644 actual | wc -l) -eq 0 &&
+		git ls-files --stage >actual &&
+		test_grep ! "^100644" actual &&
 		git add --chmod=-x . &&
-		test $(git ls-files --stage >actual && grep ^100755 actual | wc -l) -eq 0
+		git ls-files --stage >actual &&
+		test_grep ! "^100755" actual
 	)
 '
 
@@ -582,4 +584,4 @@ test_expect_success CASE_INSENSITIVE_FS 'path is case-insensitive' '
 	git add "$downcased"
 '
 
-test_done
\ No newline at end of file
+test_done
-- 
2.51.2

Re: [PATCH v2] t3700: avoid hidden failures and use test_grep helper

[Junio C Hamano]

Siddharth Shrimali <r.siddharth.shrimali@gmail.com> writes:

> Replace pipelines involving git commands with temporary files to ensure
> that any crashes or unexpected exit codes from the git commands are
> properly caught by the test suite. A simple pipeline like
> 'git foo | grep bar' ignores the exit code of 'git', which can
> hide regressions.
>
> Additionally, replace standard 'grep' with the 'test_grep' helper.
> This improves debuggability by automatically dumping the contents of
> the 'actual' file when a match is not found. In cases where we were
> counting lines with 'wc -l' to ensure a pattern was absent,
> simplify to 'test_grep !'.

Counting the instances of these changes, there are too many hunks
that fall into this "Additionally" category to consider them "while
at it" changes.  In other words, this would want to become two
patches, one to break pipelines to expose the exit status of Git
that is upstream of a pipeline, and the other to use test_grep where
the original used grep.

>
> Suggested-by: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
>
> Signed-off-by: Siddharth Shrimali <r.siddharth.shrimali@gmail.com>

The trailer block does not allow blanks inside it.  Remove the blank
line.

> @@ -544,9 +544,11 @@ test_expect_success 'all statuses changed in folder if . is given' '
>  		touch x y z sub/a sub/dir/b &&
>  		git add -A &&
>  		git add --chmod=+x . &&
> -		test $(git ls-files --stage >actual && grep ^100644 actual | wc -l) -eq 0 &&
> +		git ls-files --stage >actual &&
> +		test_grep ! "^100644" actual &&
>  		git add --chmod=-x . &&
> -		test $(git ls-files --stage >actual && grep ^100755 actual | wc -l) -eq 0
> +		git ls-files --stage >actual &&
> +		test_grep ! "^100755" actual
>  	)
>  '
>  
> @@ -582,4 +584,4 @@ test_expect_success CASE_INSENSITIVE_FS 'path is case-insensitive' '
>  	git add "$downcased"
>  '
>  
> -test_done
> \ No newline at end of file
> +test_done


Wait.  What tree state is this patch meant to apply?  If you made a
botched change in an earlier attempt, your "v2" patch should *not*
be relative to the tree state _with_ that botched attempt.  It
should instead be a change relative to somewhere stable in my tree,
pretending as if your "v1" (which introduced an incomplete line to
this file, among possibly other changes) never happened.

So, I'd suggest a two-patch series that is:

 - refine your v1 to remove mistakes (like the "incomplete last
   line"; there might have been others but I do not remember),
   keeping your conversion to break pipelines, without changing
   "grep" to "test_grep".  Make it [PATCH v2 1/2].

 - turn "grep" you touched in [PATCH v2 1/2] above to use
   "test_grep" instead.  In this patch, if the parts of the file you
   did not touch in [PATCH v2 1/2] has only small number of similar
   uses of "grep" that is better written with "test_grep", it is OK
   to change them to use "test_grep" as a "while at it" change.

Thanks.

Re: [PATCH] t3700: avoid suppressing git's exit code

[Johannes Sixt]

Am 27.02.26 um 17:51 schrieb Siddharth Shrimali:
> @@ -536,9 +544,9 @@ test_expect_success 'all statuses changed in folder if . is given' '
>  		touch x y z sub/a sub/dir/b &&
>  		git add -A &&
>  		git add --chmod=+x . &&
> -		test $(git ls-files --stage | grep ^100644 | wc -l) -eq 0 &&
> +		test $(git ls-files --stage >actual && grep ^100644 actual | wc -l) -eq 0 &&
>  		git add --chmod=-x . &&
> -		test $(git ls-files --stage | grep ^100755 | wc -l) -eq 0
> +		test $(git ls-files --stage >actual && grep ^100755 actual | wc -l) -eq 0

This doesn't help. The exit code of $( ) that is substituted into a
command is ignored, too. You must move the git invocation out of the
subshell.

>  	)
>  '
>  
> @@ -574,4 +582,4 @@ test_expect_success CASE_INSENSITIVE_FS 'path is case-insensitive' '
>  	git add "$downcased"
>  '
>  
> -test_done
> +test_done
> \ No newline at end of file

Please keep the newline at the end of file.

-- Hannes

Re: [PATCH] t3700: avoid suppressing git's exit code

[Siddharth Shrimali]

Hi Hannes,

Thank you for the review!

It looks like our emails crossed paths; I sent out a v2 [1] just before
your comments arrived. In that version, I have addressed both of
your points:

1. Moved the git invocations out of the subshells and replaced
   the logic with 'test_grep !' to properly catch exit codes.
2. Restored the trailing newline at the end of the file.

[1] https://lore.kernel.org/git/20260228070020.89668-1-r.siddharth.shrimali@gmail.com/

Best regards,
Siddharth


On Sat, 28 Feb 2026 at 13:42, Johannes Sixt <j6t@kdbg.org> wrote:
>
> Am 27.02.26 um 17:51 schrieb Siddharth Shrimali:
> > @@ -536,9 +544,9 @@ test_expect_success 'all statuses changed in folder if . is given' '
> >               touch x y z sub/a sub/dir/b &&
> >               git add -A &&
> >               git add --chmod=+x . &&
> > -             test $(git ls-files --stage | grep ^100644 | wc -l) -eq 0 &&
> > +             test $(git ls-files --stage >actual && grep ^100644 actual | wc -l) -eq 0 &&
> >               git add --chmod=-x . &&
> > -             test $(git ls-files --stage | grep ^100755 | wc -l) -eq 0
> > +             test $(git ls-files --stage >actual && grep ^100755 actual | wc -l) -eq 0
>
> This doesn't help. The exit code of $( ) that is substituted into a
> command is ignored, too. You must move the git invocation out of the
> subshell.
>
> >       )
> >  '
> >
> > @@ -574,4 +582,4 @@ test_expect_success CASE_INSENSITIVE_FS 'path is case-insensitive' '
> >       git add "$downcased"
> >  '
> >
> > -test_done
> > +test_done
> > \ No newline at end of file
>
> Please keep the newline at the end of file.
>
> -- Hannes
>