Ju! Ju! Tsu!

Creating, Describing And Abandoning Changes

Important

Where you learn to create, describe, and abandon commits.

@  x
◆  z       �   empty

Let’s give x a description (a message, in Git terminology) using jj description or jj desc:

jj desc -m "Initial commit"

Working copy  (@) now at: xmvkoxku 45467cdf Initial commit
Parent commit (@-)      : zzzzzzzz 00000000 (empty) (no description set)

@  x    Initial commit
◆  z       �   empty

Yes, it’s another hidden Git amend: we won’t repeat that anymore.

New Change

How do you create a new commit?
Remember the CRUD table:

Sure, it’s jj new.

jj new -m "A license"

@  xp   empty A license
○  xm   Initial commit
◆  z    empty

This creates a new, empty Change with the specified message. The @ means xp is now the Current Change you are editing.
In Jujutsu, it’s idiomatic (though optional) to commit before coding. You haven’t added a license file yet, so the Change is empty. We’ll expand on this workflow later.

Descriptions are optional. You can create a descriptionless Change and add a message later with jj desc.

Let’s add the license file:

echo "This software is open source" > LICENSE

Rest assured, on the next jj command, the file is secured in the repository. Ready for the next Change:

jj new -m "A dummy React.js application"

@  o            empty A dummy React.js application
○  t            A license
○  x            Initial commit
◆  z       �   empty

You get the point. This is a possible workflow, but we’ll soon see more convenient ones, like The Squash Workflow.

Deleting Changes

Warning

How do you delete a Change? Check the table above.

Tip

Of course, jj abandon.
With jj abandon -r <CHANGE-ID> you can delete any Change, no matter its position in the history tree.

Warning

Get rid of the Change adding the license.

Tip

jj abandon -r t

@  o            empty A dummy React.js application
○  x            Initial commit
◆  z       �   empty

Check the filesystem: the license is gone.

Hint: when there’s no ambiguity, you can use positional arguments, so jj abandon t works too.

Notice you manipulated a Change you weren’t currently on. This feature is everywhere in Jujutsu: we cover it in On Not Being There.