<- HOME - a blog about xit RSS ██╗ ██╗██╗████████╗██╗ ██████╗ ██████╗ ╚██╗██╔╝██║╚══██╔══╝██║ ██╔═══██╗██╔════╝ ╚███╔╝ ██║ ██║ ██║ ██║ ██║██║ ███╗ ██╔██╗ ██║ ██║ ██║ ██║ ██║██║ ██║ ██╔╝ ██╗██║ ██║ ███████╗╚██████╔╝╚██████╔╝ ╚═╝ ╚═╝╚═╝ ╚═╝ ╚══════╝ ╚═════╝ ╚═════╝ XIT IS COMING - March 4, 2025 I'm working on a new version control system called xit (pronounced like "zit"). To paraphrase JFK: I do this not because it is easy...but because I thought it would be easy. It is hilarious how much I misjudged how hard this would be. Nonetheless, here are the main features: 1. Compatible with git hosts. You can push/pull/clone with Github and other git hosts, and nobody will even know you're using xit. I spent all of this past winter implementing the git protocol, and contrary to popular belief I am not perfect, so PLEASE REPORT BUGS! 2. Combine snapshot-based and patch-based version control. When you merge or cherry-pick with xit, it uses patch-based merging, which should be more reliable and lead to fewer merge conflicts than git's three-way merge. Once again, until it sees more real-world use you should temper expectations. 3. Built-in text user interface (TUI). If you just launch `xit` in a repo with no extra arguments, it will launch a TUI where you can browse commits and view the status of all uncommitted changes. Eventually the TUI will expose *all* the functionality of xit, including making commits and performing merges, but I'm not quite there yet. 4. Store large/binary files efficiently. Internally, xit stores objects in a completely different way than git does. It uses FastCDC to break up files into chunks, somewhat like BitTorrent except the chunks are variable sized. The goal is to be excellent at storing large, binary files, so we never need an add-on like git LFS. 5. Universal undo. Any change to the repo will be undoable. Yes, I mean *any* change. That includes not just changes to refs (as shown in git's reflog) but also changes to the index, the config, and so on. I'm still working on this feature so it's not available yet. It should land soon, but for now, it's vaporware. Git's 20th birthday is in April 2025. So much has changed in those two decades, and we need a tool that is free from the design limitations and technical debt that has accrued in git. If all goes well, xit will celebrate its 20th birthday in 2045 as an old incumbent being challenged by a newcomer. If that day comes, I'll do my best to sabotage the newcomer's attempt to unseat me from the throne...just kidding, of course. I'll nod sagely in my bathrobe with a beverage in hand and continue not caring.