Preserve local changes option

[salmanmkc]

New option for the GitHub Actions checkout process, allowing users to preserve local files that are not tracked by Git during a checkout. The changes span documentation, configuration, and implementation, ensuring users can opt-in to this behavior via a new preserve-local-changes input. The implementation carefully handles file restoration and updates relevant interfaces and workflow examples.

For this #2216 & this #2054

You can test it with this branch/workflow file:

name: Test Preserve Local Changes
on:
  workflow_dispatch:

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Create local file
        shell: bash
        run: |
          echo "This is a test file" > example.txt
          ls -la
          echo "File created successfully"
      
      - name: Checkout
        uses: salmanmkc/checkout@preservelocalchanges
        with:
          clean: false
          preserve-local-changes: true
      
      - name: Verify file exists after checkout
        shell: bash
        run: |
          echo "Checking if example.txt still exists after checkout:"
          if [ -f "example.txt" ]; then
            echo "SUCCESS: File was preserved"
            cat example.txt
          else
            echo "FAILURE: File was removed"
          fi
          
      - name: List all files for debugging
        shell: bash
        run: |
          echo "Listing all files in the directory:"
          ls -la

[Copilot]

Pull Request Overview

This PR adds a new preserve-local-changes option to the GitHub Actions checkout process that allows users to preserve local files that are not tracked by Git during checkout. The feature addresses issues where local files created before checkout would be lost.

• Adds preserve-local-changes input parameter with default value of false
• Implements file preservation logic that stores local files in memory before checkout and restores untracked files after checkout
• Updates interfaces, documentation, and workflow examples to support the new feature

Reviewed Changes

Copilot reviewed 7 out of 8 changed files in this pull request and generated 5 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
action.yml	Adds new preserve-local-changes input parameter with documentation
README.md	Documents the new feature with usage examples
src/input-helper.ts	Parses the new input parameter from action configuration
src/git-source-settings.ts	Adds preserveLocalChanges property to the settings interface
src/git-source-provider.ts	Implements core file preservation logic during checkout
src/git-directory-helper.ts	Modifies directory cleanup to respect preserve settings
src/git-command-manager.ts	Updates checkout method to support custom options

[Copilot]

Import statements should be at the top of the file using ES6 import syntax instead of require() within function scope.

Suggested change

const path = require('path')

[Copilot]

Import statements should be at the top of the file using ES6 import syntax instead of require() within function scope.

Suggested change

	let exitCode = 0
	let exitCode = 0

[Copilot]

Using synchronous file operations (readFileSync, readdirSync, statSync) can block the event loop. Consider using async versions with await to maintain performance in Node.js applications.

[Copilot]

Reading all files into memory simultaneously could cause high memory usage for repositories with large files. Consider implementing a streaming approach or processing files in batches.

Suggested change

	localFilesList.forEach(file => core.info(` - ${file}`))
	// Store only file path, not content
	results.push(relativePath)
	}
	})
	return results
	}
	const localFilesList = listFilesRecursively(workspacePath)
	localFilesList.forEach(file => localFilePaths.push(file))
	core.info(`Found ${localFilePaths.length} local files to preserve:`)
	localFilePaths.forEach(file => core.info(` - ${file}`))

[Copilot]

Creating only the .git directory is insufficient to initialize a proper Git repository. This should use git init command or proper Git initialization to create all necessary Git metadata files.

Suggested change

	await fs.promises.mkdir(path.join(repositoryPath, '.git'), { recursive: true })
	await new Promise<void>((resolve, reject) => {
	execFile('git', ['init'], { cwd: repositoryPath }, (error) => {
	if (error) {
	reject(error)
	} else {
	resolve()
	}
	})
	})