FAQ - Jujutsu docs

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# Frequently asked questions

### Why does my bookmark not move to the new commit after `jj new/commit`?

If you're familiar with Git, you might expect the current bookmark to move forward when you commit. However, Jujutsu does not have a concept of a "current bookmark".

To move bookmarks, use `jj bookmark move`.

### I made a commit and `jj git push --all` says "Nothing changed" instead of pushing it. What do I do?

`jj git push --all` pushes all bookmarks, not all revisions. You have two options:

- Using `jj git push --change` will automatically create a bookmark and push it.
- Using `jj bookmark` commands to create or move a bookmark to either the commit you want to push or a descendant of it. Unlike Git, Jujutsu doesn't do this automatically (see previous question).

### Where is my commit, why is it not visible in `jj log`?

Is your commit visible with `jj log -r 'all()'`?

If yes, you should be aware that `jj log` only shows a subset of the commits in the repo by default. Most commits that exist on a remote are not shown. Local commits and their immediate parents (for context) are shown. The thinking is that you are more likely to interact with this set of commits. You can configure the set of revisions to show by default by overriding `revsets.log` as described in config.

If not, the revision may have been abandoned (e.g. because you used `jj abandon`, or because it's an obsolete version that's been rewritten with `jj rebase`, `jj describe`, etc). In that case, `jj log -r commit_id` should show the revision as "hidden". `jj new commit_id` should make the revision visible again.

See revsets and templates for further guidance.

### What are elided revisions in the output of `jj log`? How can I display them?

"Elided revisions" appears in the log when one revision descends from another, both are in the revset, but the revisions connecting them are not in the revset.

For example, suppose you log the revset `tyl|mus` which contains exactly two revisions:

    $  jj log -r 'tyl|mus'
    ○  musnqzvt me@example.com 1 minute ago 9a09f8a5
    │  Revision C
    ~  (elided revisions)
    ○  tylynnzk me@example.com 1 minute ago f26967c8
    │  Revision A

Only the two revisions in the revset are displayed. The text "(elided revisions)" is shown to indicate that `musnqzvt` descends from `tylynnzk`, but the nodes connecting them are not in the revset.

To view the elided revisions, change the revset expression so it includes the connecting revisions. The `connected()` revset function does exactly this:

    $ jj log -r 'connected(tyl|mus)'
    ○  musnqzvt me@example.com 43 seconds ago 9a09f8a5
    │  Revision C
    ○  rsvnrznr me@example.com 43 seconds ago 5b490f30
    │  Revision B
    ○  tylynnzk me@example.com 43 seconds ago f26967c8
    │  Revision A

### How can I get `jj log` to show me what `git log` would show me?

Use `jj log -r ..`. The `..` operator lists all visible commits in the repo, excluding the root (which is never interesting and is shared by all repos).

### Can I monitor how `jj log` evolves?

The simplest way to monitor how the history as shown by `jj log` evolves is by using the watch(1) command (or hwatch or viddy). For example:

    watch --color jj --ignore-working-copy log --color=always

This will continuously update the (colored) log output in the terminal. The `--ignore-working-copy` option avoids conflicts with manual operations during the creation of snapshots. Martin used watch in a tmux pane during his presentation Jujutsu - A Git-compatible VCS.

A similar result can be achieved with watchexec, which triggers on op log changes instead of using a two-second interval:

    watchexec --quiet --clear --restart --watch=.jj/repo/op_heads/heads --ignore-nothing --wrap-process=none -- jj --ignore-working-copy log

Alternatively, you can use jj-fzf, where the central piece is the `jj log` view and common operations can be carried out via key bindings while the log view updates.

The wiki lists additional TUIs and GUIs beyond the terminal: GUI-and-TUI

### Should I colocate my repository?

Colocating a Jujutsu repository allows you to use both Jujutsu and Git in the same working copy. The benefits of doing so are:

- You can use Git commands when you're not sure how to do something with Jujutsu, Jujutsu hasn't yet implemented a feature (e.g., tagging), or you simply prefer Git in some situations.

- Tooling that expects a Git repository still works (IDEs, build tooling, etc.)

The colocation documentation describes the drawbacks but the most important ones are:

- Interleaving `git` and `jj` commands may create confusing bookmark conflicts or divergent changes.

- If the working copy commit or its parent contain any conflicted files, tools expecting a Git repo may interpret the commit contents or its diff in a wrong and confusing way. You should avoid doing mutating operations with Git tools and ignore the confusing information such tools present for conflicted commits (unless you are curious about the details of how `jj` stores conflicts). See #3979 for plans to improve this situation.

- Jujutsu commands may be a little slower in very large repositories due to importing and exporting changes to Git. Most repositories are not noticeably affected by this.

If you primarily use Jujutsu to modify the repository, the drawbacks are unlikely to affect you. Try colocating while you learn Jujutsu, then switch if you find a specific reason not to colocate.

### `jj` is said to record the working copy after `jj log` and every other command. Where can I see these automatic "saves"?

Indeed, every `jj` command updates the current "working-copy" revision, marked with `@` in `jj log`. You can notice this by how the commit ID of the working copy revision changes when it's updated. Note that, unless you move to another revision (with `jj new` or `jj edit`, for example), the change ID will not change.

If you expected to see a historical view of your working copy changes in the parent-child relationships between commits you can see in `jj log`, this is simply not what they mean. What you can see in `jj log` is that after the working copy commit gets amended (after any edit), the commit ID changes.

You can see the actual history of working copy changes using `jj evolog`. This will show the history of the commits that were previously the "working-copy commit", since the last time the change id of the working copy commit changed. The obsolete changes will be marked as "hidden". They are still accessible with any `jj` command (`jj diff`, for example), but you will need to use the commit id to refer to hidden commits.

You can also use `jj evolog -r` on revisions that were previously the working-copy revisions (or on any other revisions). Use `jj evolog -p` as an easy way to see the evolution of the commit's contents.

### Can I prevent Jujutsu from recording my unfinished work? I'm not ready to commit it.

Jujutsu automatically records new files in the current working-copy commit and doesn't provide a way to prevent that.

However, you can easily record intermediate drafts of your work. If you think you might want to go back to the current state of the working-copy commit, simply use `jj new`. There's no need for the commit to be "finished" or even have a description.

Then future edits will go into a new working-copy commit on top of the now former working-copy commit. Whenever you are happy with another set of edits, use `jj squash` to amend the previous commit.

If you have changes you never want to put in a public commit, see: How can I keep my scratch files in the repository without committing them?

For more options see the next question.

### Can I interactively create a new commit from only some of the changes in the working copy, like `git add -p && git commit` or `hg commit -i`?

Since the changes are already in the working-copy commit, the equivalent to `git add -p && git commit`/`git commit -p`/`hg commit -i` is to split the working-copy commit with `jj split -i` (or the practically identical `jj commit -i`).

For the equivalent of `git commit --amend -p`/`hg amend -i`, use `jj squash -i`.

### Is there something like `git rebase --interactive` or `hg histedit`?

It is often sufficient to use some form of `jj rebase` with `-A/-B`. For example, if you have a linear chain of revisions `A` through `C` and want to move `C` before `B`, use `jj rebase -r C -B B`. See `jj help rebase` for more examples.

There is a tracking issue you can check for updates.

To squash or split commits, use `jj squash` and `jj split`.

### How can I keep my scratch files in the repository without committing them?

You can set `snapshot.auto-track` to only start tracking new files matching the configured pattern (e.g. `"none()"`). Changes to already tracked files will still be snapshotted by every command. Files not matching the pattern can be tracked with `jj file track`.

You can keep your notes and other scratch files in the repository, if you add a wildcard pattern to either the repo's `gitignore` or your global `gitignore`. Something like `*.scratch` or `*.scratchpad` should do, after that rename the files you want to keep around to match the pattern.

If you keep your scratch files in their own directory with no tracked files, you can create a `.gitignore` file in that directory containing only `*`. This will ignore everything in the directory including the `.gitignore` file itself.

If `$EDITOR` integration is important, something like `scratchpad.*` may be more helpful, as you can keep the filename extension intact (it matches `scratchpad.md`, `scratchpad.rs` and more). Another option is to add a directory to the global `.gitignore` which then stores all your temporary files and notes. For example, you could add `scratch/` to `~/.git/ignore` and then store arbitrary files in `<your-git-repo>/scratch/`.

You can find more details on `gitignore` files here.

### How can I avoid committing my local-only changes to tracked files?

Suppose your repository tracks a file like `secret_config.json`, and you make some changes to that file to work locally. Since Jujutsu automatically commits the working copy, there's no way to prevent Jujutsu from committing changes to the file. But, you never want to push those changes to the remote repository.

One solution is to keep these changes in a separate commit branched from the trunk. To use those changes in your working copy, merge the private commit into your branch.

Suppose you have a commit "Add new feature":

    $ jj log
    @  xxxxxxxx me@example.com 2024-08-21 11:13:21 ef612875
    │  Add new feature
    ◉  yyyyyyyy me@example.com 2024-08-21 11:13:09 main b624cf12
    │  Existing work
    ~

First, create a new commit branched from main and add your private changes:

    $ jj new main -m "private: my credentials"
    Working copy  (@) now at: wwwwwwww 861de9eb (empty) private: my credentials
    Parent commit (@-)      : yyyyyyyy b624cf12 main | Existing work
    Added 0 files, modified 1 files, removed 0 files

    $ echo '{ "password": "p@ssw0rd1" }' > secret_config.json

Now create a merge commit with the branch you're working on and the private commit:

    $ jj new xxxxxxxx wwwwwwww
    Working copy  (@) now at: vvvvvvvv ac4d9fbe (empty) (no description set)
    Parent commit (@-)      : xxxxxxxx ef612875 Add new feature
    Parent commit (@-)      : wwwwwwww 2106921e private: my credentials
    Added 0 files, modified 1 files, removed 0 files

    $ jj log
    @    vvvvvvvv me@example.com 2024-08-22 08:57:40 ac4d9fbe
    ├─╮  (empty) (no description set)
    │ ◉  wwwwwwww me@example.com 2024-08-22 08:57:40 2106921e
    │ │  private: my credentials
    ◉ │  xxxxxxxx me@example.com 2024-08-21 11:13:21 ef612875
    ├─╯  Add new feature
    ◉  yyyyyyyy me@example.com 2024-08-21 11:13:09 main b624cf12
    │  Existing work
    ~

Now you're ready to work:

- Your work in progress xxxxxxxx is the first parent of the merge commit.
- The private commit wwwwwwww is the second parent of the merge commit.
- The working copy (vvvvvvvv) contains changes from both.

As you work, squash your changes using `jj squash --into xxxxxxxx`.

If you need a new empty commit on top of `xxxxxxxx` you can use the `--insert-after` and `--insert-before` options (`-A` and `-B` for short):

    # Insert a new commit after xxxxxxxx
    $ jj new --no-edit -A xxxxxxxx -m "Another feature"
    Working copy  (@) now at: uuuuuuuu 1c3cff09 (empty) Another feature
    Parent commit (@-)      : xxxxxxxx ef612875 Add new feature

    # Insert a new commit between yyyyyyyy and vvvvvvvv
    $ jj new --no-edit -A yyyyyyyy -B vvvvvvvv -m "Yet another feature"
    Working copy  (@) now at: tttttttt 938ab831 (empty) Yet another feature
    Parent commit (@-)      : yyyyyyyy b624cf12 Existing work

To avoid pushing change wwwwwwww by mistake, use the configuration git.private-commits:

    jj config set --user git.private-commits "'''description(glob:'private:*')'''"

### I accidentally changed files in the wrong commit, how do I move the recent changes into another commit?

Let's say we are editing a commit for "featureA", and we forgot to run `jj new` or `jj commit` before doing some work that belongs in a new commit:

    $ jj log
    @  lnvvtrzo jjfan@example.org 2025-02-28 21:01:10 31a347e0
    │  featureA
    ◆  zzzzzzzz root() 00000000
    $ cat file  # Oh no, the work on "feature B" should be in a separate commit!
    Done with feature A
    Working on feature B

The goal is to restore change `lnvvtrzo` to its previous state and split the difference into a new child commit.

#### Step 1: Find the commit ID for the "last good version"

If you pushed `lnvvtrzo` already, then the version you probably want to restore is the version on the remote. For example, if the bookmark is `feature-a`, then the commit you want to restore is `feature-a@origin`.

Otherwise, you can find all the past versions of the working copy revision that `jj` has saved by running `jj evolog`, perhaps with the `--patch` option. The obsolete versions will be marked as "hidden" and will have the same change ID, but will have different commit IDs. This represents the change evolving over time.

For example, this is what the evolog might look like after you made two edits to the same change:

    $ # Note the word "hidden", the commit IDs on the right,
    $ # and the unchanging change ID on the left.
    $ jj evolog
    @  lnvvtrzo jjfan@example.org 2025-02-28 21:01:10 31a347e0
    │  featureA
    │  -- operation 3cb7392c092c snapshot working copy
    ○  lnvvtrzo hidden jjfan@example.org 2025-02-28 21:00:51 b8004ab8
    │  featureA
    │  -- operation 1280bfaec893 snapshot working copy
    ○  lnvvtrzo hidden jjfan@example.org 2025-02-28 20:50:05 e4d831d
       (no description set)
       -- operation 0418a5aa94b5 snapshot working copy

Since commit `b800` is hidden, it is considered obsolete and `jj log` (without arguments) will not show it, nor can it be accessed by its change ID `lnvvtrzo`. However, most `jj` operations work normally on such commits if you refer to them by their commit ID.

To find out which of these versions is the last time before we started working on feature B (the point where we should have created a new change, but failed to do so), we can look at the actual changes between the `evolog` commits by running `jj evolog --patch`:

    $ # When was the last saved point before we started working on feature B?
    $ jj evolog --patch --git  # We use `--git` to make diffs clear without colors
    @  lnvvtrzo jjfan@example.org 2025-02-28 21:01:10 31a347e0
    │  featureA
    │  -- operation 3cb7392c092c snapshot working copy
    │  diff --git a/file b/file
    │  index 2b455c4207..2a7e05a01a 100644
    │  --- a/file
    │  +++ b/file
    │  @@ -1,1 +1,2 @@
    │   Done with feature A
    │  +Working on feature B
    ○  lnvvtrzo hidden jjfan@example.org 2025-02-28 21:00:51 b8004ab8
    │  featureA
    │  -- operation 1280bfaec893 snapshot working copy
    │  diff --git a/file b/file
    │  index cb61245109..2b455c4207
    │  --- a/file
    │  +++ b/file
    │  @@ -1,1 +1,1 @@
    │  -Working on feature A
    │  +Done with feature A
    ○  lnvvtrzo hidden jjfan@example.org 2025-02-28 20:50:05 e4d831d
       (no description set)
       -- operation 0418a5aa94b5 snapshot working copy
       diff --git a/file b/file
       index 0000000000..cb61245109
       --- /dev/null
       +++ b/file
       @@ 0,0 +1,1 @@
       +Working on feature A

In this example, the version of the change when we were actually done with feature A is when we edited the file to say "Done with feature A". This state was saved in the commit with ID `b80` (the second one in the list). The following edit (commit `31a`) belongs in a new change.

#### Step 2: Create a new change on top of the original revision

The "featureA" change is currently at commit `31a`:

    $ jj log
    @  lnvvtrzo jjfan@example.org 2025-02-28 21:01:10 31a347e0
    │  featureA
    ◆  zzzzzzzz root() 00000000

We'd like to create a new "featureB" change with the contents of the current commit `31a`, and we'd like the "featureA" change to be reverted to its former state at commit `b80` (see step 1 above for how we found that commit ID).

First, we create a new empty child commit on top of `b80`:

    $ jj new b80 -m "featureB"
    Working copy  (@) now at: pvnrkl 47171aa (empty) featureB
    Parent commit (@-)      : lnvvtr?? b8004ab featureA

Notice the change ID has "??" appended to it. This indicates that change ID `lnvvtr` is now divergent: There are two visible commits with the same change ID (commit `b8004ab` and `31a347e0`). This is okay and will be resolved in the next steps.

Next, restore the contents of `31a347e0` into the working copy:

    $ jj restore --from 31a347e0
    Working copy  (@) now at: pvnrkl 468104c featureB
    Parent commit (@-)      : lnvvtr?? b8004ea featureA
    $ cat file
    Done with feature A
    Working on feature B

#### Step 3: Move any bookmarks to the original revision

    $ jj bookmark move --from 31a347e0 --to b8004ea8

#### Step 4: Abandon the unwanted revision

    $ jj abandon 31a347e0

Now, we have achieved the exact state we desired:

    $ jj log -p --git
    @  pvnrklkn jjfan@example.org 2025-02-28 21:39:29 468104c2
    │  featureB
    │  diff --git a/file b/file
    │  index 2b455c4207..2a7e05a01a 100644
    │  --- a/file
    │  +++ b/file
    │  @@ -1,1 +1,2 @@
    │   Done with feature A
    │  +Working on feature B
    ○  lnvvtrzo jjfan@example.org 2025-02-28 21:00:51 b8004ab8
    │  featureA
    │  diff --git a/file b/file
    │  new file mode 100644
    │  index 0000000000..2b455c4207
    │  --- /dev/null
    │  +++ b/file
    │  @@ -0,0 +1,1 @@
    │  +Done with feature A
    ◆  zzzzzzzz root() 00000000
    $ jj diff --from b80 --to @- # No output means these are identical
    $ jj diff --from 31a --to @  # No output means these are identical

### How do I resume working on an existing change?

There are two ways to resume working on an earlier change: `jj new` then `jj squash`, and `jj edit`. The first is generally recommended, but `jj edit` can be useful. When you use `jj edit`, the revision is directly amended with your new changes, making it difficult to tell what exactly you change. You should avoid using `jj edit` when the revision has a conflict, as you may accidentally break the plain-text annotations on your state without realizing.

To start, use `jj new <rev>` to create a change based on that earlier revision. Make your edits, then use `jj squash` to update the earlier revision with those edits. For when you would use git stashing, use `jj edit <rev>` for expected behavior. Other workflows may prefer `jj edit` as well.

### Why are most merge commits marked as "(empty)"?

Jujutsu, like Git, is a snapshot-based VCS. That means that each commit logically records the state of all current files in the repo. The changes in a commit are not recorded but are instead calculated when needed by comparing the commit's state to the parent commit's state. Jujutsu defines the changes in a commit to be relative to the auto-merged parents (if there's only one parent, then that merge is trivial - it's the parent commit's state). As a result, a merge commit that was a clean merge (no conflict resolution, no additional changes) is considered empty. Conversely, if the merge commit contains conflict resolutions or additional changes, then it will be considered non-empty.

This definition of the changes in a commit is used throughout Jujutsu. It's used by `jj diff -r` and `jj log -p` to show the changes in a commit. It's used by `jj rebase` to rebase the changes in a commit. It's used in `jj log` to indicate which commits are empty. It's used in the `files()` revset function (and by `jj log <path>`) to find commits that modify a certain path. And so on.

### How do I revert a merge commit? `jj revert -r <merge>` does nothing

Jujutsu defines the changes in a merge commit (and non-merge commits) as the changes made compared to the auto-merged parents. That means that merge commits are often empty. As a result, `jj revert` or a merge commit often results in an empty commit. To revert the changes merged in from the second parent, instead use `jj restore --from <first parent>` .

Example:

    @
    |
    C
    | \
    B D
    |/
    A

To revert the merge in `C`, create a new commit with `jj new C`, then `jj restore --from B`, and then describe the message with something like `jj desc -m "Revert the merge of D into B`. Now, commit `@` undoes the merge of `D` into `B`. If necessary, you can now rebase it elsewhere, e.g. `jj rebase -r @ -o main`.

### How do I deal with divergent changes ('??' after the change ID)?

See: Handling divergent commits.

### How do I deal with conflicted bookmarks ('??' after bookmark name)?

A conflicted bookmark is a bookmark that refers to multiple different commits because jj couldn't fully resolve its desired position. Resolving conflicted bookmarks is usually done by setting the bookmark to the correct commit using `jj bookmark move <name> --to <commit ID>`.

Usually, the different commits associated with the conflicted bookmark should all appear in the log, but if they don't you can use `jj bookmark list`to show all the commits associated with it.

### I'm experiencing `jj` command issues in a Vite/Vitest project, how do I fix this?

When using Vite or Vitest in a Jujutsu repository, you may experience:

- Very slow vitest startup times
- Timeout errors in `jj` terminal commands
- Errors with 3rd party visual tools like `jjk` or `visual-jj`
- Corrupted `working_copy.lock` files

This happens because Vite watches the `.jj` directory where Jujutsu stores its internal state. This creates unnecessary overhead as Vite processes Jujutsu's frequent internal file changes, which can slow down both tools and occasionally cause file access conflicts.

Solution: Configure Vite to ignore the `.jj` directory by adding it to the `server.watch.ignored` array inside your Vite configuration, for example:

    // vite.config.js
    export default defineConfig({
      // ... other config like plugins, test setup, etc.
      server: {
        watch: {
          ignored: [
            "**/.jj/**",
          ]
        }
      },
    })

Note: There was a request to include `.jj` in the default ignore list, but manual configuration remains the recommended approach.

### I want to write a tool which integrates with Jujutsu. Should I use the library or parse the CLI?

There are some trade-offs and there is no definitive answer yet.

- Using `jj-lib` avoids parsing command output and makes error handling easier.
- `jj-lib` is not a stable API, so you may have to make changes to your tool when the API changes.
- The CLI is not stable either, so you may need to make your tool detect the different versions and call the right command.
- Using the CLI means that your tool will work with custom-built `jj` binaries, like the one at Google (if you're using the library, you will not be able to detect custom backends and more).

### Why is Jujutsu a separate project? Why were the features not contributed to Git instead?

The project started as an experiment with the idea of representing the working copy by a regular commit. I (@martinvonz) considered how this feature would impact the Git CLI if it were added to Git. My conclusion was that it would effectively result in deprecating most existing Git commands and flags in favor of new commands and flags, especially considering I wanted to also support revsets. This seemed unlikely to be accepted by the Git project.