openframeworks / openframeworks/openFrameworks

Moving binaries out of the repo

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#1,805 33 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

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automation bug development-strategy git
Dominant language
C++
Stars
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Forks
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Avg merge
1d 21h
Merged PRs (30d)
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Description

Binaries bloat the repo cause they can't be diffed by git, so everytime you update a binary, you increase size by that file's size - text files just store the diff. The repo gets larger and slower and on a checkout users also have to pull all those old binary files down, too (primary problem according to TAZ).

This is a pretty big, difficult and long-term issue, so I collected my findings so far in a Wiki page: https://github.com/openframeworks/openFrameworks/wiki/Moving-binaries-out-of-the-repo (feel free to add your wisdom!), but I thought an issue would be more efficient for discussion.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start with the findings in the linked Wiki page and review the issue discussion for the current constraints and proposed approaches. The issue does not name specific files or tests; completion would require an agreed migration plan and moving the repository's binaries without leaving unresolved distribution or checkout concerns.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
cpp
Domain
build-system, release
Issue type
Refactor
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
25/100

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