{"version":"https:\/\/jsonfeed.org\/version\/1","title":"mathspp.com feed","home_page_url":"https:\/\/mathspp.com\/blog\/tags\/git","feed_url":"https:\/\/mathspp.com\/blog\/tags\/git.json","description":"Stay up-to-date with the articles on mathematics and programming that get published to mathspp.com.","author":{"name":"Rodrigo Gir\u00e3o Serr\u00e3o"},"items":[{"title":"Automatically pushing code changes during live coding with uv","date_published":"2025-05-14T10:25:00+02:00","id":"https:\/\/mathspp.com\/blog\/automatically-pushing-code-changes-during-live-coding-with-uv","url":"https:\/\/mathspp.com\/blog\/automatically-pushing-code-changes-during-live-coding-with-uv","content_html":"

This article shows the small script I use to automatically push code changes while live coding in talks or classes, improved with uv.<\/p>\n\n

One year ago I wrote a short TIL article where I showed how I automatically push code changes while I'm live-coding<\/a>.\nThe code I shared looked like this:<\/p>\n

from pathlib import Path\nfrom time import sleep\n\nfrom git import Repo\n\nrepo = Repo(Path(__file__).parent)\n\nwhile True:\n    repo.index.add(\"*\")\n    repo.index.commit(\"Auto sync commit\")\n    repo.remote().push()\n    sleep(60)<\/code><\/pre>\n
This code uses GitPython<\/code> to add all files in the folder that contains this script, adds a generic commit message, and pushes.\nThe script does this every minute, so when I'm teaching or doing any sort of live-coding, the repo I'm working off of gets updated every minute and participants can keep tabs on what I'm writing.<\/p>\n
Having used this for a while, there are two disadvantages to it:<\/p>\n
    \n
  1. I need to install GitPython<\/code> in a virtual environment in each repo I want to use this on; and<\/li>\n
  2. the script itself gets pushed to the repo, polluting it a bit.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    (As I write this, I realised, I could fix 2. by adding the script to a file .gitignore<\/code>!)<\/p>\n
    To fix 1. and 2., and to improve my user experience a bit, I started using uv to inline the dependency on GitPython<\/code> and to turn it into a standalone executable<\/a>.<\/p>\n
    Assuming the script was called gitsync.py<\/code>, by doing uv add GitPython --script gitsync.py<\/code> and by adding the uv shebang<\/a>, the top of the script now looks like this:<\/p>\n
    #!\/usr\/bin\/env -S uv run\n\n# \/\/\/ script\n# requires-python = \">=3.13\"\n# dependencies = [\n#     \"gitpython\",\n# ]\n# \/\/\/<\/code><\/pre>\n
    I also tweaked the script structure a bit and now I use os.getcwd()<\/code> to figure out the current working directory when I run gitsync.py<\/code>:<\/p>\n
    #!\/usr\/bin\/env -S uv run\n\n# \/\/\/ script\n# requires-python = \">=3.13\"\n# dependencies = [\n#     \"gitpython\",\n# ]\n# \/\/\/\n\nimport os\nfrom time import sleep\n\nfrom git import Repo\n\ndef main() -> None:\n    repo_folder = os.getcwd()\n    print(f\"gitsync.py starting at {repo_folder}\")\n    repo = Repo(repo_folder)\n\n    while True:\n        repo.index.add(\"*\")\n        repo.index.commit(\"Auto sync commit\")\n        repo.remote().push()\n        sleep(60)\n\nif __name__ == \"__main__\":\n    main()<\/code><\/pre>\n
    This makes it so that I can put gitsync.py<\/code> in a directory that's in my PATH, and then use it from anywhere.\nNow, when I'm teaching, I just run gitsync.py &<\/code> and that starts syncing my code in the background.\nPretty cool!<\/p>","summary":"This article shows the small script I use to automatically push code changes while live coding in talks or classes, improved with uv.","date_modified":"2025-07-23T16:49:02+02:00","tags":["git","productivity","programming","python","uv"],"image":"\/user\/pages\/02.blog\/automatically-pushing-code-changes-during-live-coding-with-uv\/thumbnail.webp"},{"title":"TIL #118 \u2013 git checkout -","date_published":"2025-02-26T19:01:00+01:00","id":"https:\/\/mathspp.com\/blog\/til\/git-checkout","url":"https:\/\/mathspp.com\/blog\/til\/git-checkout","content_html":"
    Today I learned how to quickly switch back and forth between two different git branches.<\/p>\n\n
    git checkout -<\/a><\/h2>\n
    Suppose you're in a git branch called fix-1523-very-important-high-priority<\/code> to fix issue 1523 that is very important and high priority.\nThen, you checkout the main branch to pull the most recent changes, or something like that, with git checkout main<\/code>.\nYou do what you have to do on main<\/code> and then you have to checkout the other branch again...<\/p>\n
    One of two things will happen:<\/p>\n
      \n
    1. you don't want to type the whole branch name again; or<\/li>\n
    2. you don't even remember the exact branch name in the first place.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      You can solve both issues with git checkout -<\/code>.\nThis will checkout the most recent branch you had checked out.\nIsn't this amazing?<\/p>\n
      When I shared this online, someone noted this is the same with the command to change directories, cd<\/code>.\nWhen you run cd -<\/code>, you switch back to the previous directory you were in.<\/p>","summary":"Today I learned how to quickly switch back and forth between two different git branches.","date_modified":"2025-10-20T22:34:56+02:00","tags":["git","productivity"],"image":"\/user\/pages\/02.blog\/04.til\/118.git-checkout-\/thumbnail.webp"},{"title":"Automatic site updates with cog and pre-commit","date_published":"2024-08-09T19:00:00+02:00","id":"https:\/\/mathspp.com\/blog\/automatic-site-updates-with-cog-and-pre-commit","url":"https:\/\/mathspp.com\/blog\/automatic-site-updates-with-cog-and-pre-commit","content_html":"
      This article outlines how I use a pre-commit hook and cog to keep my blog stats updated automatically.<\/p>\n\n
      Some months ago I introduced some basic stats in my blog<\/a> that show how many articles I've published, along with how many words and lines of code those articles contain.\nI wrote an article explaining how I wrote a script that gathers these blog stats for me<\/a> but that's a script I still need to run and then manually update the stats.<\/p>\n
      I wanted to automate this process but I couldn't bring myself to do it.\nAnd then, I came to the silly realisation that I could use ChatGPT to help me with the set up that I was dreading to do.<\/p>\n
      Rewriting the stats with cog<\/a><\/h2>\n
      Cog<\/a> is “a file generation tool” that lets you use snippets of Python code to fill in parts of other files.\nFor this particular project, I wanted it to rewrite the Markdown table that lists the blog stats<\/a>, that looks like this:<\/p>\n
      ...\n\n| 364 | 401,577 | 33,251 |\n| :-: | :-: | :-: |\n| articles | words | lines of code |\n\n...<\/code><\/pre>\n
      I already have a script stats.py<\/code> that computes the stats, so I started by changing it to produce the output in this exact format.\nThen, I tweaked the markdown file to include a cog tag that runs the script and inserts its output in the markdown file.\nThe markdown file now looks like this:<\/p>\n
      ...\n\n<!--\n[[[cog\nimport cog, subprocess\nresult = subprocess.run([\"python\", \"pages\/02.blog\/stats.py\"], text=True, capture_output=True)\ncog.outl(result.stdout)\n]]]-->\n| 364 | 401,577 | 33,251 |\n| :-: | :-: | :-: |\n| articles | words | lines of code |\n<!--[[[end]]]--->\n\n...<\/code><\/pre>\n
      The [[[cog<\/code> part tells cog where my Python code starts and the ]]]<\/code> tells it where it ends.\nIn my case, I'm just using the module subprocess<\/code> to run the script I already have, I'm capturing its output, and I'm reemitting the output through cog.<\/p>\n
      The output that I produce with cog.outl<\/code> is then inserted between the ]]]<\/code> and the [[[end]]]<\/code>, which is where the table ends up being.\nIn case you're wondering, for every run cog will start by clearing the previous table and then will write the new one.<\/p>\n
      Finally, note that the cog tags are surrounded by HTML multi-line comments, so that the cog tags themselves do not show up in the final page.\nAt least, not visibly.\nIf you inspect the source code of my blog page<\/a> you will see the HTML comments with the cog tags there.<\/p>\n
      Triggering cog automatically with pre-commit<\/a><\/h2>\n
      The thing with cog is that I still have to run cog -r blog.md<\/code> to update the table, so my next step is to automate the step that calls cog.\nFor that, I asked ChatGPT to help me set up a pre-commit hook<\/a> that is triggered when my blog pages change.<\/p>\n
      After a couple of exchanges with ChatGPT, I ended up with the following .pre-commit-config.yaml<\/code> file<\/a>...<\/p>","summary":"This article outlines how I use a pre-commit hook and cog to keep my blog stats updated automatically.","date_modified":"2025-07-23T16:49:02+02:00","tags":["git","llm","productivity","programming","python","scripting","slice of life"],"image":"\/user\/pages\/02.blog\/automatic-site-updates-with-cog-and-pre-commit\/thumbnail.webp"},{"title":"TIL #098 \u2013 Git alias for quick commit & push","date_published":"2024-05-30T22:00:00+02:00","id":"https:\/\/mathspp.com\/blog\/til\/git-alias-for-quick-commit-and-push","url":"https:\/\/mathspp.com\/blog\/til\/git-alias-for-quick-commit-and-push","content_html":"
      Today I learned how to create git aliases in my .gitconfig<\/code> file.<\/p>\n\n
      Git alias for quick commit & push<\/a><\/h2>\n
      Today I learned (or was reminded, really) that you can create aliases for git<\/code> commands.\nFor example, for this blog I often run these two commands in sequence:<\/p>\n
      git commit -m \"Update\"\ngit push<\/code><\/pre>\n
      So, I realised I could set an alias, like git cp<\/code>, to do this for me!\nI first learned how to create git aliases from Adam Johnson's \u201cBoost Your Git DX\u201d<\/a>, but the very short version of one way in which this can work is by modifying the section [alias]<\/code> of your .gitconfig<\/code> file.<\/p>\n
      You should place the file .gitconfig<\/code> in your home directory (in case it isn't there yet) and then you can add this to its contents:<\/p>\n
      [alias]\n    cp = !git commit -m \"Update\" && git push\n    facp = !git add . && git cp<\/code><\/pre>\n
      This makes it so that git cp<\/code> is equivalent to running git commit -m \"Update\" && git push<\/code> and git facp<\/code> (fast add, commit, and push) is equivalent to running git add .<\/code> followed by git cp<\/code>.<\/p>\n
      By saving around three seconds every time I commit things on my blog, I expect these two aliases to save me a full minute by next month!\nMaybe in a couple of years they will have saved me enough time to make up for the time I lost creating the aliases and<\/em> writing a blog article about them.<\/p>\n
      To conclude, the diagram below contains the information of this article in a diagram:<\/p>\n
      \"A<\/p>","summary":"Today I learned how to create git aliases in my .gitconfig file.","date_modified":"2025-07-23T16:49:02+02:00","tags":["git","productivity"],"image":"\/user\/pages\/02.blog\/04.til\/098.git-alias-for-quick-commit-and-push\/thumbnail.webp"},{"title":"TIL #096 \u2013 automatically push code changes during live coding","date_published":"2024-05-12T00:00:00+02:00","id":"https:\/\/mathspp.com\/blog\/til\/automatically-push-code-changes-during-live-coding","url":"https:\/\/mathspp.com\/blog\/til\/automatically-push-code-changes-during-live-coding","content_html":"
      Today I learned how to automatically push code changes while I'm doing live coding, for example while teaching.<\/p>\n\n
      Automatically push code changes during live coding<\/a><\/h2>\n
      When I'm doing live coding during tutorials \/ workshops \/ webinars, I often want to push the code I'm writing to GitHub so that participants have a way to fetch my work in case they fall behind.\nI don't want to have to do this manually every time I write some code, so I wrote a short script that does this automatically for me.<\/p>\n
      I can never find the script that automates this process and every time I do some live coding during a webinar I have to rewrite the code, so this time I decided I'd write it down in my blog so that I don't have to keep reinventing the wheel.\nHere's the script:<\/p>\n
      from pathlib import Path\nfrom time import sleep\n\nfrom git import Repo\n\nrepo = Repo(Path(__file__).parent)\n\nwhile True:\n    repo.index.add(\"*\")\n    repo.index.commit(\"Auto sync commit\")\n    repo.remote().push()\n    sleep(60)<\/code><\/pre>\n
      It depends on the module GitPython<\/a> and the script also assumes it's located at the root of the repository I want to sync.<\/p>\n
      Whenever I'm doing live coding, all I need to do is install the GitPython dependency and start the script, which will add, commit, and push, all my changes every 60 seconds.<\/p>","summary":"Today I learned how to automatically push code changes while I'm doing live coding, for example while teaching.","date_modified":"2025-07-23T16:49:02+02:00","tags":["git","modules","productivity","programming"],"image":"\/user\/pages\/02.blog\/04.til\/096.automatically-push-code-changes-during-live-coding\/thumbnail.webp"},{"title":"TIL #089 \u2013 delete merged git branches","date_published":"2023-11-22T18:00:00+01:00","id":"https:\/\/mathspp.com\/blog\/til\/delete-merged-git-branches","url":"https:\/\/mathspp.com\/blog\/til\/delete-merged-git-branches","content_html":"
      Today I learned how to automatically delete local git branches that have been merged already.<\/p>\n\n
      Delete merged git branches<\/a><\/h2>\n
      Today I ran the command git branch<\/code> and I got scared when I saw the amount of results I got:<\/p>\n
        codeql-on-code-change\n  docs-improvements\n  document-reactive-watch\n  early-show-root\n  escape-markup-in-md-headings\n  fkaab\/main\n  gh-pages\n  issue3637\n* main\n  opacity-component-classes\n  tree-reload-preserve-state\n  # ...<\/code><\/pre>\n
      I had about 40 branches on me!\nHowever, most of them had been merged already and I wanted to get rid of them.<\/p>\n
      A ChatGPT solution<\/a><\/h3>\n
      I was aware of two commands that I suspected could be used as the main ingredients:<\/p>\n