CLI Reference · Current

Local metadata commands

Build and inspect a derived metadata cache for files in the current HEAD snapshot.

Derived local data

Metadata records are a local cache, not commit contents, a hosted catalog, or a stable public schema. Preserve the source file as the authority.

Command	Current behavior	Exact syntax
meta-scan	Scan files in HEAD and store local metadata by content hash	dits meta-scan [-v\|--verbose]
meta-show	Print previously stored metadata for one HEAD path as JSON	dits meta-show <PATH>
meta-list	List the metadata records in the local store	dits meta-list

# Extract missing metadata records for files in HEAD
dits meta-scan
dits meta-scan --verbose

# Read a record after scanning
dits meta-show footage/scene.mp4

# List local record IDs and basic type information
dits meta-list

Extractor boundary

When available, ffprobe supplies selected video fields and exiftool supplies selected photo fields. Otherwise Dits falls back to basic file metadata. Tool availability, format support, and malformed input can change the fields present.

meta-scan reads the HEAD manifest, skips records already cached, and skips a source that is not present in the working tree. meta-show does not extract on demand; run the scan first.

Options that do not exist

The scan has no path operands, recursive switch, type filter, jobs setting, force-refresh, or JSON flag. meta-show accepts one exact repository-relative HEAD path and no field selector. meta-listhas no filters or alternate output format.

Do not use metadata as integrity evidence

Metadata extraction is descriptive and tool-dependent. Use dits fsck for the bounded repository integrity checks and compare important media in its authoring or playback tool.

See maintenance commands and video experiments.