Is there a way to determine the line endings in a existing git repository?
If I clone a existing repository how do I determine what core.autocrlf was used by the creator?
I'm still uncertain whats the best setting for core.autocrlf e.g on a windows box
(since there are multiple opinions: Distributing git configuration with the code or https://help.github.com/articles/dealing-with-line-endings)
Bonus question: Can you determine on windows (with standard tools) if a repo has mixed line endings (by wrong core.autocrlf setting) through all commits?
To check what line endings were actually committed in the repository (regardless of your core.autocrlf
setting), try the following:
git grep -I --files-with-matches --perl-regexp '\r' HEAD
(-I
means that binary files should not be looked at.)
I would still maintain that setting (core.autocrlf
) to false
, as I explain in " Distributing git configuration with the code" that you mention, and uses eol
gitattributes directive for a more fine-grained control.
That being said, to detect a mixed line endings:
- set
core.autocrlf
to true
git clone
your repo
git diff
: if diffs are visible just after your clone... some automatic eol conversions just took place in the working tree.
Update 2016 (4 years later): a more modern way to detect eol changes:
git -c color.diff.whitespace="red reverse" diff -R -- afile
The best line endings practice is here: https://stackoverflow.com/a/10855862
To determine the line endings in a existing git repository:
- Set
core.autocrlf
to false
, so it will not change file endings while transmitting files.
git clone
your repo for ex. in a new directory.
- Use the text editor that shows line endings to open the files (for ex. PHPStorm does). You should open several files as line endings may differ from file to file.
You can't determine what core.autocrlf was used by the creator as it is local config except the repo has .gitattributes file.
On Windows if you are not using .gitattributes just use core.autocrlf true as it set by default.
In Windows, just run the below command from the command prompt:
git config --list
This will list all the git configuration variables.
If you want to get the individual config setting (e.g. for core.autocrlf), run the following command on the windows command prompt:
git config --get core.autocrlf
This will either give you a "true
" OR "false
" value.
IF you wish to change this, edit C:\ProgramData\Git\config
file, and change the value from false
to true
Note: This only applies for Windows operating systems.