Keeping tracked files local

This page uses the merge-point pattern from Working ahead with merge points.

Sometimes the file is already tracked by the repo, but my version should not be pushed.

Maybe it is a local config file, a credentials-shaped test file, or some machine-specific setting. With jj, I do not leave that as a mysterious dirty file forever. I make it a private change and work with it deliberately.

First I create the private change:

jj new main -m "private: local config"
# edit the local-only tracked file
jj diff

Then I create a merge working copy that combines my real work and the private config:

jj new <work-change> <private-change>

The shape is:

main
  work change --------.
                       \
                        @ combined working copy
                       /
  private: local config'

Now my working tree has both sets of files. When I make real feature changes from this combined view, I move them back into the review change:

jj diff
jj squash -i --into <work-change>
jj diff -r <work-change>

The private change stays local. If I accidentally try to push a commit that includes the private change as an ancestor, git.private-commits stops me. It does not scan file contents, so I still review the target diff before pushing.

This is not secret management. If a real secret escaped to a remote, I would still rotate it. This pattern is for local-only tracked-file changes that I need in my workspace while I work.