gits - A Git Wrapper for Sensitive Files

gits is a Rust CLI tool that enables developers to version-control sensitive files (like .env) in a completely separate Git repository (.gits) within their project, without affecting or leaving any trace in the main repository.

Features

• Separate Repository: All sensitive files are tracked in a .gits directory, not .git. This repo is fully independent and invisible to the main project repo.
• Full Git CLI Support: Transparently supports all Git commands (add, commit, log, status, etc.) for the secrets repo.
• Environment Variable Control: All Git subprocesses are invoked with GIT_DIR and GIT_WORK_TREE set via environment variables.
• Automatic Exclusion: During gits init, .gits is automatically added to the main repo's .git/info/exclude file.
• No Trace in Main Repo: The main repo's .gitignore and .git/info/exclude ensure secrets and the .gits directory remain untracked and invisible to collaborators.

Installation

cargo install --path .

Or install from crates.io:

cargo install gits

Usage

Initialize a new gits repository

# First, make sure you're in a git repository
git init

# Then initialize the gits repository
gits init

Use standard Git commands with gits

# Add sensitive files
gits add .env

# Commit changes
gits commit -m "Add environment variables"

# View status
gits status

# View history
gits log

Best Practices

1. Add sensitive files to your main repo's .gitignore as well for extra safety.
2. Never expose .gits or its contents in the main repo, either by tracking or by documentation.

How It Works

gits works by setting the GIT_DIR environment variable to .gits and GIT_WORK_TREE to the current directory when executing Git commands. This ensures that all Git operations are performed on the separate .gits repository while working with files in your main project directory.

License

MIT