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Git-DRS

Git-DRS is a Git extension for managing large files using the Data Repository Service (DRS) content-addressable storage model. It serves as a Git LFS (Large File Storage) replacement tailored for the GA4GH Data Repository Service specification.

It allows you to:

  • Track large files in your Git repository without bloating it.
  • Store the actual file contents in a Gen3 data commons (indexed via DRS).
  • Seamlessly synchronize files between your local environment and the commons.

Installation

Ensure git-drs is installed and available in your PATH.

Initialization

Initialize a repository to use Git-DRS. This command sets up the necessary hooks and configuration.

git drs init

Basic Workflow

  1. Add a file: Track a large file with Git-DRS. 

    git drs add <filename>
    This replaces the large file with a small pointer file in your working tree.

  2. Push: Upload the tracked files to the DRS server. 

    git drs push

  3. Fetch: Download file contents (resolving pointer files) from the DRS server. 

    git drs fetch

Command Reference

init

Initialize git-drs in the current Git repository. Run this at the repository root.

add <file>

Track a file using Git-DRS. The file contents are moved to a local cache and replaced with a pointer file containing its hash and size.

push

Upload tracked file contents to the configured DRS server. This usually happens automatically during git push if hooks are configured, but you can run it manually.

fetch

Download tracked file contents from the DRS server, replacing local pointer files with the actual data.

list

List files currently tracked by Git-DRS in the project.

remote

Manage remote DRS server configurations:

git drs remote add <name> <url>
git drs remote list
git drs remote set <name>
git drs remote remove <name>