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The .wit directory contains all repository data and metadata.

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Overview

.wit/
├── HEAD                    # Current branch reference
├── config                  # Repository configuration
├── index                   # Staging area (JSON)
├── journal.json            # Operation history (for undo)
├── objects/                # Content-addressable storage
│   ├── 2f/                 # Object files by hash prefix
│   │   └── 3a4b5c6d...     # Object data
│   └── pack/               # Packed objects (optimization)
├── refs/                   # References
│   ├── heads/              # Branch references
│   │   ├── main            # Main branch
│   │   └── feature         # Feature branch
│   ├── tags/               # Tag references
│   │   └── v1.0.0          # Version tag
│   └── remotes/            # Remote tracking refs
│       └── origin/
│           └── main
├── hooks/                  # Hook scripts
│   ├── pre-commit          # Pre-commit hook
│   └── post-commit         # Post-commit hook
├── branch-states/          # Auto-stashed changes
│   ├── main.json           # Stashed state for main
│   └── feature.json        # Stashed state for feature
├── logs/                   # Reference logs (reflog)
│   └── HEAD                # HEAD history
└── info/                   # Additional info
    └── exclude             # Local excludes

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Key Files

Points to the current branch or commit. When on a branch: 
ref: refs/heads/main
Detached HEAD: 
a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0k1l2m3n4o5p6q7r8s9t0u1v2w3x4y5z6...

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config

Repository configuration in INI format: 
[core]
    repositoryformatversion = 1
[wit]
    hashAlgorithm = sha1
[user]
    name = Your Name

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index

The staging area in JSON format: 
{
  "version": 1,
  "entries": [
    {
      "path": "src/index.ts",
      "hash": "a1b2c3d4...",
      "mode": "100644",
      "size": 1234,
      "mtime": 1705312345
    }
  ]
}

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journal.json

Operation history for wit undo: 
{
  "entries": [
    {
      "type": "commit",
      "timestamp": 1705312345,
      "data": {
        "hash": "a1b2c3d4...",
        "message": "Add feature",
        "parentHash": "e5f6g7h8..."
      }
    }
  ]
}

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Directories

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objects/

Content-addressable storage for all data. Object types:
  • blob - File contents
  • tree - Directory listings
  • commit - Commit metadata
  • large-file - Large file manifest
Organization: 
objects/
├── 2f/
│   └── 3a4b5c...   # Object with hash starting with 2f3a4b5c...
├── a1/
│   └── b2c3d4...   # Object with hash starting with a1b2c3d4...
└── pack/
    └── pack-xxx.pack  # Packed objects

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refs/

References to commits (branches and tags). heads/ - Local branches: 
refs/heads/
├── main            # Contains: a1b2c3d4...
├── develop         # Contains: e5f6g7h8...
└── feature-auth    # Contains: i9j0k1l2...
tags/ - Tags: 
refs/tags/
├── v1.0.0          # Contains: commit hash or tag object hash
└── v1.1.0
remotes/ - Remote tracking branches: 
refs/remotes/origin/
├── main
└── develop

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hooks/

Executable scripts triggered by operations. 
hooks/
├── pre-commit      # Runs before commit
├── post-commit     # Runs after commit
├── pre-merge       # Runs before merge
└── post-merge      # Runs after merge

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branch-states/

Auto-stashed changes per branch (wit-specific): 
{
  "branch": "feature",
  "timestamp": 1705312345,
  "staged": [
    {"path": "file.ts", "hash": "abc..."}
  ],
  "unstaged": [
    {"path": "other.ts", "content": "..."}
  ]
}

​
logs/

Reference logs (reflog) for recovery: 
# logs/HEAD
a1b2c3d4 e5f6g7h8 1705312345 commit: Add feature
e5f6g7h8 i9j0k1l2 1705312340 switch: from main to feature

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Object Storage Details

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Object Format

Objects are compressed and stored by hash: 
[type] [size]\0[content]
Example blob: 
blob 12\0Hello World!
Example tree: 
tree 45\0100644 README.md\0[20-byte hash]
100644 src/\0[20-byte hash]

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Large File Storage

Files above threshold are stored as chunks: 
objects/
├── ab/  # Large file manifest
│   └── c123...
├── de/  # Chunk 1
│   └── f456...
├── gh/  # Chunk 2
│   └── i789...
Manifest: 
{
  "type": "large-file",
  "size": 10485760,
  "chunks": [
    {"hash": "def456...", "size": 2097152},
    {"hash": "ghi789...", "size": 2097152}
  ]
}

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Comparison with Git

witGitNotes
index (JSON)index (binary)wit is human-readable
journal.json(none)wit tracks all operations
branch-states/(none)wit auto-stash
SHA-1 (Git compatible)SHA-1Full GitHub/GitLab interop
Large file chunks(external LFS)wit is built-in

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Troubleshooting

Run integrity check:
wit fsck
This verifies all objects.
Check the reflog:
wit reflog
Or the journal:
cat .wit/journal.json
Run garbage collection:
wit gc --aggressive