README.gclient

# Copyright 2008-2009, Google Inc.

gclient is a tool for managing a modular checkout of source code
from multiple source code repositories.  It wraps underlying source
code management commands to provide support for distributing tree
updates, status commands, and diffs across multiple checked-out
working directories.


The gclient script is controlled by a ".gclient" file at the top
of a directory tree which will contain source code from multiple
locations.  A ".gclient" file is a Python script that defines a list
of "solutions" with the following format:

    solutions = [
      { "name"        : "src",
        "url"         : "svn://svnserver/component/trunk/src",
        "custom_deps" : {
          # To use the trunk of a component instead of what's in DEPS:
          #"component": "https://svnserver/component/trunk/",
          # To exclude a component from your working copy:
          #"data/really_large_component": None,
        }
      },
    ]

A "solution" is a collection of component pieces of software that will
be checked out in a specific directory layout for building together.

Each entry in the "solutions" list is defined by a Python dictionary
that contains the following items:

    name
        The name of the directory in which the solution will be
        checked out.

    url
        The URL from which this solution will be checked out.
        gclient expects that the checked-out solution will contain a
        file named "DEPS" that in turn defines the specific pieces
        that must be checked out to create the working directory
        layout for building and developing the solution's software.

    deps_file
        A string containing just the filename (not a path) of the file
        in the solution dir to use as the list of dependencies.
        This tag is optional, and defaults to "DEPS".

    custom_deps
        A dictionary containing optional custom overrides for entries
        in the solution's "DEPS" file.  This can be used to have
        the local working directory *not* check out and update specific
        components, or to sync the local working-directory copy of a
        given component to a different specific revision, or a branch,
        or the head of a tree. It can also be used to append new entries
        that do not exist in the "DEPS" file.

Within each checked-out solution, gclient expects to find a file
typically named "DEPS" (it actually uses the value of the 'deps_file'
key above) which defines the different component pieces of software
that must be checked out for the solution.  The "DEPS" file is a
Python script that defines a dictionary named "deps":

    deps = {
      "src/outside" : "http://outside-server/trunk@1234",
      "src/component" : "svn://svnserver/component/trunk/src@77829",
      "src/relative" : "/trunk/src@77829",
    }

Each item in the "deps" dictionary consists of a key-value pair.
The key is the directory into which the component will be checked
out, relative to the directory containing the ".gclient" file.
The value is the URL from which that directory will be checked out.
If there is no address scheme (that is, no "http:" or "svn:" prefix),
then the value must begin with a slash and is treated relative to the
root of the solution's repository.

The URL typically contains a specific revision or change number (as
appropriate for the underlying SCM system) to "freeze" the external
software at a specific, known state.  Alternatively, if there is no
revision or change number, the URL will track the latest changes on the
specific trunk or branch.