GIT 3

The idea behind Git3 is to combine the power of git and blockchain: Storing code in a decentralized manner and receive payments without the need of a third party.

Each repository is represented by a smart contract, which stores all managing information and receives the payments, like tips or bounties for issues.

The content of the repository is stored on IPFS using a data structure, very similar to git's internal objects.

In order to be able to use git3, a git3 client is created, which is similar to git. This makes the switch to git3 easier.

Private key

In order to be able to use the git3 client, a private key for the Matic network is required. There are two possibilities:

1. You generate an account in MetaMask and export the private key and create a pem file
2. You use openssl in your terminal to generate a key

Private key using openssl

In order to generate a new private key use the following command:

ssh-keygen -t ecdsa -b 256 -m pem

Once you run the command, two files are generated. The file with the .pub extension contains the public key and the file without an extension the private key.

If you want to export the key and import it in MetaMask, use

openssl ec -outform der -in private_key_file | hd

This command takes the file containing the private key, which is in the PEM format and outputs it in the DER format. Your output should look like this:

00000000  30 77 02 01 01 04 20 XX  XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX  |0w.... L.-.8&..P|
00000010  XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX  XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX  |.ctx.!.l...x5bXY|
00000020  XX XX XX XX XX XX XX a0  0a 06 08 2a 86 48 ce 3d  |......(....*.H.=|
...

The 0x20 at position 6 says, that the following data is 32 bytes long and this is our generated private key, here represented as XX. Copy this key into MetaMask and you are good to go :)

Better tooling is still required :)

Git config file

The git3 client needs to know the author's name, email address and where to find the private key. Therefore you can use either the global .gitconfig file or a config file stored in the repository in the .git folder.

Gitconfig

Here is how the contant of the ~/.gitconfig file looks like

[user]
        email = author email
        name = author name
        IdentityFile = path to private key in pem format

Set the values according to your needs.

Repository config

If you want to use a different configuration for each repository, just add a config file into the .git/ in your repository and add the same entries as in the ~/.gitconfig file.

Git Commands

Git init

To create a new local repository, you have to call git3 init [name] You can either provide a name for the repository or just call it without a name. In case you don't provide a name, the repository is initialized in the current directory you are in.

Git add

To add a file to your repository, just use git3 add file_name

Git commit

In order to commit your current repository, just use git3 commit -m "Message you want to add"

Git push

If you want to push your repository, just use git3 push .

In order to be able to push, a smart contract is required. If you haven't registered your repository yet, use git3 create

Git create

In order to have a remote repository, you have to register your repository. Use the git3 create command. It sends a transaction to the factory contract, which deployes a new smart contract for your repository. Once this is done, you are able to push your repository.

Git fetch

In order to download the remote state, use git3 fetch.

Git merge

If you want to merge the state after doing a fetch, just use git3 merge. It will take the reference from the fetch.

The very first mainnet repo

User address: 0x0539E6a1093a359C5720d053DB5e3D277F1762B6 Repository name: firstMainNetRepo

To install: pip3 install git3-client To clone it: git3 clone 0x0539E6a1093a359C5720d053DB5e3D277F1762B6/girstMainNetRepo