1git-annex-unlock(1) General Commands Manual git-annex-unlock(1)
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6 git-annex-unlock - unlock files for modification
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9 git annex unlock [path ...]
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12 Normally, the content of annexed files is protected from being changed.
13 Unlocking an annexed file allows it to be modified. This replaces the
14 symlink for each specified file with the file's content.
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16 Unlocking a file changes how it is stored in the git repository (from a
17 symlink to a pointer file), so this command will make a change that you
18 can commit.
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20 The content of an unlocked file is still stored in git-annex, not git,
21 and when you commit modifications to the file, the modifications will
22 also be stored in git-annex, with only the pointer file stored in git.
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24 If you use git add to add a file, it will be added in unlocked form
25 from the beginning. This allows workflows where a file starts out
26 unlocked, is modified as necessary, and is locked once it reaches its
27 final version.
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29 Normally, unlocking a file requires a copy to be made of its content,
30 so that its original content is preserved, while the copy can be modi‐
31 fied. To use less space, annex.thin can be set to true; this makes a
32 hard link to the content be made instead of a copy. (Only when sup‐
33 ported by the file system.) While this can save considerable disk
34 space, any modification made to a file will cause the old version of
35 the file to be lost from the local repository. So, enable annex.thin
36 with care.
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39 file matching options
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41 The git-annex-matching-options(1) can be used to specify files
42 to unlock.
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44 --json Enable JSON output. This is intended to be parsed by programs
45 that use git-annex. Each line of output is a JSON object.
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47 --json-error-messages
48 Messages that would normally be output to standard error are
49 included in the json instead.
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52 git-annex(1)
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54 git-annex-edit(1)
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56 git-annex-add(1)
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58 git-annex-lock(1)
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61 Joey Hess <id@joeyh.name>
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63 git-annex-unlock(1)