git_stacky 0.1.0

Minimal Git extension for working with multi-commit stacks

Stacky

Stacky is a minimal Git extension providing a stack-like workflow with one PR per stack, rather than one PR per commit. This allows for easier integration with GitHub's current PR workflow.

Since GitHub doesn't natively support stacked PRs, workarounds fall into one of three categories: serial PRs (simple but slow), parallel PRs (fast but complex and requiring permissions), or single PRs with multiple commits (fast but less flexible to review). Stacky implements the latter, with a simple and intuitive interface.

Concept

The main idea is every stack is just a branch FEATURE with linear history rooted at its base branch FEATURE_base.

(main)(FEATURE_base) > commit1 > commit2 > ... > commitN (FEATURE)

Successive commits move the stack's top branch, and rebases move the top-to-bottom stack of changes onto a new location.

One PR is created per stack, allowing reviewers to go through changes one commit at a time, while still testing and merging the stack as a single change.

Stacky is small and easy to understand, integrates natively with GitHub, and requires zero repo or org-level admin permissions or changes.

Usage

Stacky provides four commands to manage stacks:

• hack FEATURE create a new stack named FEATURE
• rebase TARGET rebase the current stack onto TARGET
• stacks list all stacks, optionally as a --graph
• absorb absorb changes into the current stack

Here's an example workflow:

# Help text
(main)   git stack -h

# 1. New stack (apple, apple_base branches rooted at main)
(main)   git stack hack apple
(apple)  touch apple1 && git add -A && git commit -m 'apple1'
(apple)  touch apple2 && git add -A && git commit -m 'apple2'

# 2. New stack (banana, banana_base branches rooted at main)
(apple)  git stack hack banana
(banana) touch banana1 && git add -A && git commit -m 'banana1'

# 3. Rebase banana onto apple
(banana) git stack rebase apple

# 4. Rebase banana implicitly back onto main
(banana) git stack rebase

# 5. Force-delete banana stack
(banana) git checkout apple
(apple)  git stack stack -D banana

# History evolution
# 1. (main)(apple_base) > apple1 > apple2 (apple)
# 2. (main)(apple_base)(banana_base) > apple1 > apple2 (apple)
#                                    > banana1 (banana)
# 3. (main)(apple_base) > apple1 > apple2 (apple)(banana_base) > banana1 (banana)
# 4. (main)(apple_base)(banana_base) > apple1 > apple2 (apple)
#                                    > banana1 (banana)
# 5. (main)(apple_base) > apple1 > apple2 (apple)

Install

Copy git-stack to a directory in your $PATH, and ensure it has executable permissions.

Recommendations

To complete the workflow: understand and install git-absorb, then use git stack absorb during regular development.