git-mailsplit - Linux

Overview

git-mailsplit parses email messages and splits their contents into Git commits. This helps in managing and versioning content that was originally created or received via email.

Syntax

git mailsplit [options/flags] <messages>...

Options/Flags

  • -b, –base-commit=: Base Git commit onto which the mail commits should be split.
  • -d, –dir=: Default target directory for split commits.
  • -e, –encoding=: Character encoding of the email messages; defaults to UTF-8.
  • -f, –force: Automatically commit if the target directory already exists.
  • -H, –header=
    : Only split emails that match the given header value.
  • -i, –index: Add files to the index after splitting.
  • -n, –dry-run: Simulate splitting without committing changes.
  • -o, –only-summary: Show summary of the staged commits only.
  • -p, –prefix= : Prefix to append to commit messages or file names.
  • -v, –verbose: Output more detailed information during splitting.
  • -w, –wip: Flag the split commits as work-in-progress.
  • –no-body: Ignore the email body when creating commits.
  • –no-index: Skip adding files to the index after splitting.
  • –no-metadata: Ignore email metadata when creating commits.
  • –no-subject: Ignore the email subject when creating commits.

Examples

Split emails in current directory:

git mailsplit inbox/*.msg

Split emails into a custom directory with a prefix:

git mailsplit -d docs/mail --prefix report emails/*.txt

Split only emails from a specific sender:

git mailsplit -H "From: sender@example.com" emails/*.eml

Simulate splitting without committing:

git mailsplit -n incoming/*.mbox

Common Issues

  • Missing email metadata: If the email headers are incomplete or missing, the output may be flawed.
  • File name collisions: By default, git-mailsplit uses the email subject as the file name, which can lead to collisions. Use the --prefix option to customize file names.

Integration

git-am: Split emails and apply them as amended commits using git-am:

git mailsplit -i emails/*.msg | git am -f

Related Commands

  • git-format-patch: Convert emails to Git patches for inclusion in commits.
  • git-patch-id: Generate unique identifiers from email headers to match commits to emails.
  • mh: Command-line email management program that can be integrated with git-mailsplit.