Game of Trees Frequently Asked Questions

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Got has a number of properties that make it unique among version control systems:

The code base is easy for OpenBSD developers to read, audit, and develop, because it employs coding and design conventions familiar to those developers.

The command-line interface is consistent and minimal. It has the least amount of options possible while still being usable. We strive for sane defaults that fit our workflow, instead of offering configurability for every possible use case.

Got is compatible with "bare" Git repositories, and thus integrates with any tool built around the same format. Got is not a "Git porcelain". Got is a new system which relies on prior art and takes what makes Git's design great, leaves out the parts that make Git hard for us to use, and invents new parts for an end result which serves our needs.

No. Got does not aim to replace Git. Got can be used instead of Git (for some tasks), or in addition to Git. If you are already using Git and are happy with it, you don't need Got.

Anyone attempting to push an agenda of replacing Git with Got where Git is already established would be highly delusional.

No. We respect the copyright and licensing decisions of Git's authors, just as we expect them to respect our own.

Most of Got's code was written from scratch, carries the copyright of its authors, and is released under the ISC licence. Some parts of Got code were lifted from existing code in the OpenBSD base system.

There is no truth in claims about GPL violations.

Got's developers are OpenBSD developers who prefer to use a version control system as part of their workflow which does not have the inconveniences of CVS, with code internals that are as accessible to them as most of the other code they touch while working on OpenBSD.

Anyone is free to use Got for any purpose they wish (provided they comply with the licence) and provide feedback. But we will give much higher priority to the requirements of OpenBSD developers over anyone else's. Writing a classic general-purpose version control system is hard and requires a lot of resources. Limiting Got's scope strictly to our own requirements makes it much easier.

It is not uncommon for version control systems to be written with specific target audiences in mind. Another example is fossil which was written specifically for the SQlite project.

There is no way to know. It depends on how well Got will develop and how well it will be received by the OpenBSD project at large.

Regardless, Got already serves the needs of its authors quite well, and that is a benefit in itself.

If you are wondering why Got even exists, you can just ignore it.

You may have first learned about Game of Trees when visiting this web site. This web site was published in August 2019, when Got was imported into the OpenBSD ports tree to make it easily available for installation on OpenBSD systems. The OpenBSD ports tree is public and hence this import brought public attention to the Game of Trees project. So from that point onward, it made some sense to publish a web site for it. Before then, the project was already humming along quietly for 2.5 years. We don't need to hear your opinion that our project is pointless because Git is superior. Thank you!