🛡️ NoStage

Protect files from accidental Git commits

NoStage is a lightweight CLI tool that automatically unstages protected files when you commit, perfect for temporary debug files, experimental code, and personal workflow files that you don't want in your remote repository.

🎥 Demo

See NoStage in action!

🎯 Why NoStage?

Ever had this happen?

# You're debugging with some test files
$ ls
debug.js  test-output.txt  my-feature.js  ...

# You finish your work and commit everything
$ git add .
$ git commit -m "Add new feature"

# 😱 Oops! debug.js and test-output.txt are now committed!

NoStage solves this. Mark files as "protected" once, and they'll never be accidentally committed.

🆚 NoStage vs .gitignore

Perfect for:

• 🐛 Debug/test files you create while developing
• 🧪 Experimental code you're not ready to commit
• 📝 Personal notes or scratch files
• 🔧 Local configuration tweaks

🚀 Installation

# Install via pip
pip install nostage

# Initialize in your git repository
cd your-project
nostage init

📖 Usage

Protect Files

# Protect specific files
nostage add debug.js test-output.txt scratch.py

# Now commit normally - protected files are auto-unstaged!
git add .
git commit -m "my changes"
# ✅ debug.js, test-output.txt, scratch.py won't be committed

Protect Patterns

# Protect all files matching a pattern
nostage pattern "*.temp.js"
nostage pattern "debug_*.py"
nostage pattern "scratch/*"

Manage Protection

# List all protected files and patterns
nostage list

# Remove protection from a file
nostage remove debug.js

# Remove a pattern
nostage remove-pattern "*.temp.js"

# Check status
nostage status

🎬 How It Works

1. You mark files for protection:

   nostage add debug.js
   

2. NoStage installs a git pre-commit hook that runs automatically

3. When you commit:

   git add .
   git commit -m "update"
   

4. Protected files are auto-unstaged:

   🛡️  NoStage: Protecting 1 file(s) from commit:
      • debug.js
   

5. Only your real work gets committed! ✨

💡 Examples

Scenario 1: Debugging

# You create a debug file
echo "console.log('debug')" > debug.js

# Protect it so you don't accidentally commit it
nostage add debug.js

# Work on your feature
vim feature.js

# Commit everything - debug.js is automatically protected!
git add .
git commit -m "Add feature"

Scenario 2: Experimental Code

# Protect experimental files
nostage add experiment.py
nostage pattern "test_*.py"

# Experiment freely
# When ready, remove protection and commit
nostage remove experiment.py
git add experiment.py
git commit -m "Add new algorithm"

Scenario 3: Team Project

# Each developer can protect their own files
# Alice protects her debug scripts
nostage add alice-debug.sh

# Bob protects his test data
nostage add test-data.json

# No .gitignore conflicts, everyone's happy! 🎉

🛠️ Commands

💡 Tip: Run nostage --help for detailed usage information.

⚙️ Requirements

• Python 3.7+
• Git

📁 The .nostage File

NoStage stores your protected files and patterns in a .nostage file in your repository root. Since this is for personal use, add it to your .gitignore:

echo ".nostage" >> .gitignore

❓ FAQ

nostage remove debug.js
git add debug.js && git commit -m "Add debug.js"
nostage add debug.js

pip uninstall nostage

nostage uninstall  # Removes hook and .nostage immediately
pip uninstall nostage

🔧 Troubleshooting

pyenv rehash

# Make sure pip's bin directory is in PATH
pip show nostage  # Check if installed
which nostage     # Check if in PATH

# Reinstall
pip uninstall nostage
pip install nostage

nostage status

nostage init

ls -la .git/hooks/pre-commit

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to:

• Report bugs
• Suggest features
• Submit pull requests

📝 License

MIT License - feel free to use in your projects!

🌟 Show Your Support

If NoStage helps you, give it a ⭐ on GitHub!

Made with ❤️ by developers who've accidentally committed debug files one too many times.