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Dits
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Lock Commands

Lock files for exclusive editing in team environments. Prevents merge conflicts on binary files that cannot be automatically merged.

CommandDescriptionUsage
lockLock files for exclusive editingdits lock [OPTIONS] <PATHSPEC>...
unlockRelease file locksdits unlock [OPTIONS] <PATHSPEC>...
locksList active locksdits locks [OPTIONS] [PATH]

dits lock

Lock files for exclusive editing. Other team members will be notified that the file is locked and cannot modify it until you unlock it.

Synopsis

dits lock [OPTIONS] &lt;PATHSPEC&gt;...

Options

--reason <TEXT>     Provide a reason for locking
--ttl <DURATION>    Lock time-to-live (default: 8h)
                    Examples: 1h, 8h, 24h, 7d
-f, --force         Force acquire lock (break existing)
--json              Output lock info as JSON
-v, --verbose       Show detailed information

Examples

# Lock a single file
$ dits lock footage/scene01.mov

Locked: footage/scene01.mov
  Owner: john@example.com
  Acquired: 2025-01-15 14:30:00 UTC
  Expires: 2025-01-15 22:30:00 UTC

# Lock with a reason (visible to team)
$ dits lock --reason "Color grading in progress" footage/scene01.mov

Locked: footage/scene01.mov
  Owner: john@example.com
  Reason: Color grading in progress
  Expires: 2025-01-15 22:30:00 UTC

# Lock with custom TTL
$ dits lock --ttl 24h footage/scene01.mov

# Lock for extended period
$ dits lock --ttl 7d footage/final-cut.mov

# Lock multiple files
$ dits lock footage/*.mov

Locked 5 files:
  footage/scene01.mov
  footage/scene02.mov
  footage/scene03.mov
  footage/interview-a.mov
  footage/interview-b.mov

# Lock entire directory
$ dits lock footage/vfx/

# Force lock (override existing lock - use carefully!)
$ dits lock -f footage/scene01.mov

Warning: Breaking lock held by jane@example.com
Locked: footage/scene01.mov

dits unlock

Release locks on files. You can only unlock files you own unless using force mode (admin privilege required).

Synopsis

dits unlock [OPTIONS] &lt;PATHSPEC&gt;...

Options

-f, --force         Force unlock (admin only)
--all               Unlock all your locks
--json              Output result as JSON

Examples

# Unlock a single file
$ dits unlock footage/scene01.mov

Unlocked: footage/scene01.mov

# Unlock multiple files
$ dits unlock footage/*.mov

Unlocked 5 files:
  footage/scene01.mov
  footage/scene02.mov
  footage/scene03.mov
  footage/interview-a.mov
  footage/interview-b.mov

# Unlock all your locks
$ dits unlock --all

Unlocked 8 files.

# Force unlock (admin only)
$ dits unlock -f footage/scene01.mov

Warning: Force unlocking file locked by jane@example.com
Unlocked: footage/scene01.mov

dits locks

List active locks in the repository. See who has locked what files and when locks will expire.

Synopsis

dits locks [OPTIONS] [PATH]

Options

--mine              Show only your locks
--all               Show all locks (including expired)
--expired           Show only expired locks
--json              Output as JSON
-v, --verbose       Show detailed information

Examples

# List all active locks
$ dits locks

Active Locks (5):

  File                        Owner              Expires     Reason
  ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  footage/scene01.mov         john@example.com   6h 30m      Color grading
  footage/scene02.mov         john@example.com   6h 30m      Color grading
  project.prproj              jane@example.com   2h 00m      Edit assembly
  footage/interview.mov       alex@example.com   23h 15m     -
  audio/music.wav             jane@example.com   2h 00m      -

# List only your locks
$ dits locks --mine

Your Locks (2):

  File                        Expires     Reason
  ───────────────────────────────────────────────────
  footage/scene01.mov         6h 30m      Color grading
  footage/scene02.mov         6h 30m      Color grading

# List locks in specific directory
$ dits locks footage/

Locks in footage/:
  footage/scene01.mov         john@example.com   6h 30m
  footage/scene02.mov         john@example.com   6h 30m
  footage/interview.mov       alex@example.com   23h 15m

# Show expired locks (for cleanup)
$ dits locks --expired

Expired Locks (2):
  footage/old-take.mov        bob@example.com    expired 2d ago
  audio/draft.wav             jane@example.com   expired 4h ago

These can be cleaned with: dits unlock -f <file>

# Verbose output
$ dits locks -v footage/scene01.mov

Lock Details:
  File: footage/scene01.mov
  Owner: john@example.com
  Acquired: 2025-01-15 14:30:00 UTC
  Expires: 2025-01-15 22:30:00 UTC (6h 30m remaining)
  Reason: Color grading
  Lock ID: lock-a1b2c3d4
  Branch: main

Lock Workflow

# Typical locking workflow:

1. Check if file is locked
   $ dits locks footage/scene01.mov
   No locks on footage/scene01.mov

2. Lock before editing
   $ dits lock --reason "Editing scene 1" footage/scene01.mov
   Locked: footage/scene01.mov

3. Edit your file...
   # Other team members see:
   # $ dits lock footage/scene01.mov
   # Error: File locked by john@example.com
   # Reason: Editing scene 1

4. Commit your changes
   $ dits add footage/scene01.mov
   $ dits commit -m "Edit scene 1"
   $ dits push

5. Unlock when done
   $ dits unlock footage/scene01.mov
   Unlocked: footage/scene01.mov

Lock Behavior

What Locks Prevent

  • Modifications: Other users cannot modify locked files
  • Deletions: Locked files cannot be deleted by others
  • Renames: Locked files cannot be renamed by others
  • Force pushes: Force push affecting locked files blocked

What Locks Allow

  • Reading: Anyone can still read/view locked files
  • Cloning: Locks don't prevent cloning the repository
  • Pulling: You can still pull changes (including locked files)

Lock Expiration

# Locks automatically expire to prevent abandoned locks

Default TTL: 8 hours

When a lock expires:
- File becomes unlockable by anyone
- Push will fail if you still have uncommitted changes
- Other users can acquire the lock

Extend a lock:
$ dits lock --ttl 8h footage/scene01.mov
Lock extended: expires in 8h

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