Tabs-Spaces Converter for Git

Script for adding a git filter to locally convert between tabs and spaces, without forcing every repository member to use the same indentation characters.

During checkout, tabs/spaces will be converted into the preferred characters to use locally.

During staging, the characters you use will be converted back to tabs/spaces, producing no extra diffs.

How it works

See this answer on StackOverflow and this section of the Pro Git book.

Usage

Prerequisites

• Windows: none (dependencies are built-in)
• Linux: install coreutils (e.g., sudo apt install coreutils)
• Mac OS: install coreutils (e.g., brew install coreutils)

Installation

1. Open terminal (for Windows, Git Bash or whatever you use).

2. cd into the root folder of your repository (i.e., the one with .git folder in it).

3. Run src/install.sh <type> [tab size], where

   • <type> is either tabs or spaces — determines what characters do you want to have locally;
   • [tab size] is a number of spaces in a tab (optional; defaults to 4).

   For example, src/install.sh tabs 8 or src/install.sh spaces 2

4. Open the .git/info/attributes file and add/remove file extensions you want to use this script with. Use the *.py line as an example.

5. Stash your changes, if any, and delete all tracked files in the repository folder.

6. Run git checkout HEAD -- *

7. Enjoy your favorite indentation characters!

Uninstallation

1. Open terminal (for Windows, Git Bash or whatever you use)
2. cd into the root folder of your repository (i.e., the one with .git folder in it)
3. Run src/uninstall.sh