This file provides guidance to AI agents (including Claude Code, Cursor, and other LLM-powered tools) when working with code in this repository. The tooling and docs rely on the gp-libs ecosystem; treat gp-libs as the shared dev toolkit that underpins this project.
- ALL tests MUST pass for code to be considered complete and working
- Never describe code as "working as expected" if there are ANY failing tests
- Even if specific feature tests pass, failing tests elsewhere indicate broken functionality
- Changes that break existing tests must be fixed before considering implementation complete
- A successful implementation must pass linting, type checking, AND all existing tests
g is a lightweight CLI wrapper that proxies to the current directory's VCS command (git, svn, or hg). It auto-detects the repo type, forwards user arguments, and exits after invoking the native tool. The project lives in the gp-libs family of git-pull utilities and uses gp-libs packages for docs and development helpers.
Key features:
- Detects VCS by walking parent directories and mapping
.git,.svn, or.hg - Proxies CLI arguments to the detected VCS binary (--version/-V is handled by g)
- Minimal surface area: primary logic lives in
src/g/__init__.py - Test fixtures cover CLI behavior for both repo and non-repo directories
This project uses:
- Python 3.10+
- uv for dependency management and execution
- ruff for linting and formatting
- mypy for type checking
- pytest (invoked as
py.test) for testing - gp-libs for shared Sphinx/test helpers (included in dev/docs extras)
# Install all dev and doc dependencies
uv sync --all-extras --dev# Run full suite
make test
# or directly
uv run py.test
# Watch tests (pytest-watcher)
make start # runs tests once then ptw .
# Watch tests via entr (requires entr(1))
make watch_test# Lint and format with ruff
uv run ruff check .
uv run ruff format .
# make targets
make ruff
make ruff_format
make watch_ruff
# Type checking
uv run mypy .
make mypy
make watch_mypy# Build docs
make build_docs
# Live docs server with autoreload
make start_docs
# Docs design assets
make design_docssrc/g/__init__.py
├─ find_repo_type(): detect VCS by walking parent directories
├─ run(): CLI entrypoint; proxies args to detected VCS, honors G_IS_TEST
└─ DEFAULT + vcspath_registry helpers
tests/test_cli.py
└─ Parametrized CLI tests for git/non-repo scenarios
- Tests live in
tests/test_cli.pyand usepytestwith parametrized fixtures. G_IS_TESTenv flag forcesrun()to return the subprocess so output can be asserted; set when modifying run logic.- CLI tests rely on actual VCS binaries (e.g.,
git) being available on PATH. If adding tests for svn/hg, ensure binaries are installed or skip appropriately. - Use
tmp_pathandmonkeypatchto simulate non-repo directories instead of mocks where possible. - Prefer pytest-watcher (
make start) for TDD loops; for file-watch without ptw, usemake watch_test(requires entr).
- Include
from __future__ import annotationsat the top of Python modules. - Use namespace imports for stdlib:
import typing as t,import logging, etc.; third-party packages may usefrom X import Y. - Follow NumPy-style docstrings (see existing docstrings in
runand pytest config requiringpydocstylevia ruff). - Ruff is the source of truth for lint rules; see
pyproject.tomlfor enabled checks (E, F, I, UP, A, B, C4, COM, EM, Q, PTH, SIM, TRY, PERF, RUF, D, FA100). - Type checking is strict (
mypy --strict); favor precise types and avoidAnyunless necessary.
These rules guide future logging changes; existing code may not yet conform.
- Use
logging.getLogger(__name__)in every module - Add
NullHandlerin library__init__.pyfiles - Never configure handlers, levels, or formatters in library code — that's the application's job
Pass structured data on every log call where useful for filtering, searching, or test assertions.
Core keys (stable, scalar, safe at any log level):
| Key | Type | Context |
|---|---|---|
vcs_cmd |
str |
VCS command line |
vcs_type |
str |
VCS type (git, svn, hg) |
vcs_url |
str |
repository URL |
vcs_exit_code |
int |
VCS process exit code |
vcs_repo_path |
str |
local repository path |
Heavy/optional keys (DEBUG only, potentially large):
| Key | Type | Context |
|---|---|---|
vcs_stdout |
list[str] |
VCS stdout lines (truncate or cap; %(vcs_stdout)s produces repr) |
vcs_stderr |
list[str] |
VCS stderr lines (same caveats) |
Treat established keys as compatibility-sensitive — downstream users may build dashboards and alerts on them. Change deliberately.
snake_case, not dotted;vcs_prefix- Prefer stable scalars; avoid ad-hoc objects
- Heavy keys (
vcs_stdout,vcs_stderr) are DEBUG-only; consider companionvcs_stdout_lenfields or hard truncation (e.g.stdout[:100])
logger.debug("msg %s", val) not f-strings. Two rationales:
- Deferred string interpolation: skipped entirely when level is filtered
- Aggregator message template grouping:
"Running %s"is one signature grouped ×10,000; f-strings make each line unique
When computing val itself is expensive, guard with if logger.isEnabledFor(logging.DEBUG).
Increment for each wrapper layer so %(filename)s:%(lineno)d and OTel code.filepath point to the real caller. Verify whenever call depth changes.
For objects with stable identity (Repository, Remote, Sync), use LoggerAdapter to avoid repeating the same extra on every call. Lead with the portable pattern (override process() to merge); merge_extra=True simplifies this on Python 3.13+.
| Level | Use for | Examples |
|---|---|---|
DEBUG |
Internal mechanics, VCS I/O | VCS command + stdout, URL parsing steps |
INFO |
Repository lifecycle, user-visible operations | Repository cloned, sync completed |
WARNING |
Recoverable issues, deprecation, user-actionable config | Deprecated VCS option, unrecognized remote |
ERROR |
Failures that stop an operation | VCS command failed, invalid URL |
Config discovery noise belongs in DEBUG; only surprising/user-actionable config issues → WARNING.
- Lowercase, past tense for events:
"repository cloned","vcs command failed" - No trailing punctuation
- Keep messages short; put details in
extra, not the message string
- Use
logger.exception()only insideexceptblocks when you are not re-raising - Use
logger.error(..., exc_info=True)when you need the traceback outside anexceptblock - Avoid
logger.exception()followed byraise— this duplicates the traceback. Either add context viaextrathat would otherwise be lost, or let the exception propagate
Assert on caplog.records attributes, not string matching on caplog.text:
- Scope capture:
caplog.at_level(logging.DEBUG, logger="g.cli") - Filter records rather than index by position:
[r for r in caplog.records if hasattr(r, "vcs_cmd")] - Assert on schema:
record.vcs_exit_code == 0not"exit code 0" in caplog.text caplog.record_tuplescannot access extra fields — always usecaplog.records
- f-strings/
.format()in log calls - Unguarded logging in hot loops (guard with
isEnabledFor()) - Catch-log-reraise without adding new context
print()for diagnostics- Logging secret env var values (log key names only)
- Non-scalar ad-hoc objects in
extra - Requiring custom
extrafields in format strings without safe defaults (missing keys raiseKeyError)
All functions and methods MUST have working doctests. Doctests serve as both documentation and tests.
CRITICAL RULES:
- Doctests MUST actually execute - never comment out function calls or similar
- Doctests MUST NOT be converted to
.. code-block::as a workaround (code-blocks don't run) - If you cannot create a working doctest, STOP and ask for help
Available tools for doctests:
doctest_namespacefixtures:tmp_path- Ellipsis for variable output:
# doctest: +ELLIPSIS - Update
conftest.pyto add new fixtures todoctest_namespace
# doctest: +SKIP is NOT permitted - it's just another workaround that doesn't test anything. If a VCS binary might not be installed, use proper skip markers in pytest.
Using fixtures in doctests:
>>> from g import find_repo_type
>>> find_repo_type('/some/git/repo') # doctest: +ELLIPSIS
'git'When output varies, use ellipsis:
>>> import pathlib
>>> pathlib.Path.cwd() # doctest: +ELLIPSIS
PosixPath('...')- Add logging with
loggingconfigured inrun; keep output minimal because the CLI forwards to underlying VCS. - When diagnosing repo detection, log the path iteration in
find_repo_typeor unit-test with synthetic directory trees. - If subprocess output is swallowed, run with
G_IS_TEST=1andwait=Trueto capture stdout/stderr in tests.
- Documentation: https://g.git-pull.com/
- API: https://g.git-pull.com/api.html
- Changelog: https://g.git-pull.com/history.html
- Repository: https://github.com/vcs-python/g
- Shared tooling (gp-libs): https://gp-libs.git-pull.com/