Users frequently have problems where two filenames differ only in case, causing one of those files to show up consistently as being modified. Let's add a FAQ entry that explains how to deal with that. In addition, let's explain another common case where files are consistently modified, which is when files using a smudge or clean filter have not been run through that filter. Explain the way to fix this as well. Signed-off-by: brian m. carlson <sandals@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> --- Documentation/gitfaq.txt | 33 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 33 insertions(+) diff --git a/Documentation/gitfaq.txt b/Documentation/gitfaq.txt index 176b097cf7..afdaeab850 100644 --- a/Documentation/gitfaq.txt +++ b/Documentation/gitfaq.txt @@ -363,6 +363,39 @@ information about how to configure files as text or binary. You can also control this behavior with the `core.whitespace` setting if you don't wish to remove the carriage returns from your line endings. +[[always-modified-files-case]] +Why do I have a file that's always modified?:: + Internally, Git always stores file names as sequences of bytes and doesn't + perform any encoding or case folding. However, Windows and macOS by default + both perform case folding on file names. As a result, it's possible to end up + with multiple files or directories whose names differ only in case. Git can + handle this just fine, but the file system can store only one of these files, + so when Git reads the other file to see its contents, it looks modified. ++ +It's best to remove one of the files such that you only have one file. You can +do this with commands like the following (assuming two files `AFile.txt` and +`afile.txt`) on an otherwise clean working tree: ++ +---- +$ git rm --cached AFile.txt +$ git commit -m 'Remove files conflicting in case' +$ git checkout . +---- ++ +This avoids touching the disk, but removes the additional file. Your project +may prefer to adopt a naming convention, such as all-lowercase names, to avoid +this problem from occurring again; such a convention can be checked using a +`pre-receive` hook or as part of a continuous integration (CI) system. ++ +It is also possible for perpetually modified files to occur on any platform if a +smudge or clean filter is in use on your system but a file was previously +committed without running the smudge or clean filter. To fix this, run the +following on an otherwise clean working tree: ++ +---- +$ git add --renormalize . +---- + [[recommended-storage-settings]] What's the recommended way to store files in Git?:: While Git can store and handle any file of any type, there are some
