Automating some git commands with Python

Git is a powerful version control system that developers widely use to manage their code. However, managing Git repositories can be a tedious task, especially when working with multiple branches and commits. Fortunately, Git’s command-line interface can be automated using Python, making it easier to manage your code and automate common tasks.

One popular library for automating Git commands with Python is GitPython. It provides an easy-to-use interface for interacting with Git repositories, allowing you to perform tasks such as creating branches, committing changes, and merging branches.

To start automating Git commands with Python, you will first need to install GitPython by running the following command:

pip install GitPython

Automate Git Commands with Python

1. Initialize and open a local repository

• To initialize a new repository

Python3

from git import Repo
new_repo = Repo.init('/path/to/new/repo_directory')

• To Open the Existing local repository

Python3

from git import Repo
existing_repo = Repo('path/to/existing/repo')

2. Clone a remote Repository

To create a local copy of the repository at the specified local_path directory, using the repository URL repo_url

import git
repo = gitRepo.clone_from('https://github.com/username/repository', '/path/to/local/directory')

Example:

Python3

import git

# Clone a remote repository
repo_url = "https://github.com/Hardik-Kushwaha/GIT_Python_Automation"
local_path = "/home/hardik/GFG_Temp/Cloned_Repo"
repo = git.Repo.clone_from(repo_url, local_path)
print(f'Repository Cloned at location: {local_path}')

Output:

Repository Cloned at location: /home/hardik/GFG_Temp/Cloned_Repo

Verify: Go to the location where you cloned the repository to verify it.

3. Add and Commit files

Add Files: Add the specified files to the index, preparing them to be committed.

repo.index.add(['file1', 'file2'])

Add Commit:  Create a new commit in the local repository with the specified commit message.

repo.index.commit('Your Commit Message')

Example:

Python3

import git
repo = git.Repo('/home/hardik/GFG_Temp/Cloned_Repo')

# Do some changes and commit
file1 = 'test-sample.jpg'
file2 = 'input.txt'
repo.index.add([file1,file2])
print('Files Added Successfully')
repo.index.commit('Initial commit on new branch')
print('Commited successfully')

Output:

Files Added Successfully
Commited successfully

4. Push to a remote Repository

Push the local commits to the remote repository

origin = repo.remote(name='origin')
origin.push()

Example:

Python3

import git

repo = git.Repo("/home/hardik/GFG_Temp/Cloned_Repo")
origin = repo.remote(name='origin')

existing_branch = repo.heads['main']
existing_branch.checkout()

repo.index.commit('Initial commit on new branch')
print('Commited successfully')
origin.push()
print('Pushed changes to origin')

Output:

Commited successfully
Pushed changes to origin

Verify:

5. Create a new branch

To create a new branch, you can use the create_head() method of the Repo class, which creates a new branch with the specified name

new_branch = repo.create_head('new_branch')

To checkout the new branch

new_branch.checkout()

Example:

Python3

import git

# Initialize a new repository
repo = git.Repo.init('/home/hardik/GFG_Temp/Cloned_Repo')

# Create a new branch
new_branch = repo.create_head('new_branch')
print('New Branch Created')

# Checkout the new branch
new_branch.checkout()
print("Changed the current branch to new_branch")

Output:

In this example, we first initialize a new repository using git.Repo.init() method. We then create a new branch called new_branch using the create_head() method. We then check out the new branch using the checkout() method.

New Branch Created
Changed the current branch to new_branch

To switch to an existing branch, you can use the heads attribute of the Repo class, which returns a list of branches, and then call the checkout method on the desired branch. 

Python3

import git
repo = git.Repo('/home/hardik/GFG_Temp/Cloned_Repo')

# Select an existing branch
existing_branch = repo.heads['existing_branch']
existing_branch.checkout()
print('Branch Changed to an existing branch')

Output:

Branch Changed to an existing branch

6. Pull from a remote repository

To update the local repository with the latest changes from the remote repository we use git pull command

Example:

Python3

import git
repo = git.Repo("/path/to/local/repo")
origin = repo.remote(name='origin')
origin.pull()

Output:

Pulled Changes from the origin

Verify: New file hacktoberfest_tree_cert.pdf got pulled from the origin and got saved to the local machine.