# Path-Walk API

The path-walk API is used to walk reachable objects, but to visit objects in batches based on a common path they appear in, or by type.

For example, all reachable commits are visited in a group. All tags are visited in a group. Then, all root trees are visited. At some point, all blobs reachable via a path `my/dir/to/A` are visited. When there are multiple paths possible to reach the same object, then only one of those paths is used to visit the object.

## Basics

To use the path-walk API, include `path-walk.h` and call `walk_objects_by_path`() with a customized `path_walk_info` struct. The struct is used to set all of the options for how the walk should proceed. Let’s dig into the different options and their use.

`path_fn` and `path_fn_data`

  The most important option is the `path_fn` option, which is a function pointer to the callback that can execute logic on the object IDs for objects grouped by type and path. This function also receives a `data` value that corresponds to the `path_fn_data` member, for providing custom data structures to this callback function.

`revs`

  To configure the exact details of the reachable set of objects, use the `revs` member and initialize it using the revision machinery in `revision.h`. Initialize `revs` using calls such as `setup_revisions`() or `parse_revision_opt`(). Do not call `prepare_revision_walk`(), as that will be called within `walk_objects_by_path`().

  It is also important that you do not specify the `--objects` flag for the `revs` struct. The revision walk should only be used to walk commits, and the objects will be walked in a separate way based on those starting commits.

`commits`
`blobs`
`trees`
`tags`

  By default, these members are enabled and signal that the path-walk API should call the `path_fn` on objects of these types. Specialized applications could disable some options to make it simpler to walk the objects or to have fewer calls to `path_fn`.

  While it is possible to walk only commits in this way, consumers would be better off using the revision walk API instead.

`prune_all_uninteresting`

  By default, all reachable paths are emitted by the path-walk API. This option allows consumers to declare that they are not interested in paths where all included objects are marked with the `UNINTERESTING` flag. This requires using the `boundary` option in the revision walk so that the walk emits commits marked with the `UNINTERESTING` flag.

`edge_aggressive`

  For performance reasons, usually only the boundary commits are explored to find UNINTERESTING objects. However, in the case of shallow clones it can be helpful to mark all trees and blobs reachable from UNINTERESTING tip commits as UNINTERESTING. This matches the behavior of `--objects-edge-aggressive` in the revision API.

`pl`

  This pattern list pointer allows focusing the path-walk search to a set of patterns, only emitting paths that match the given patterns. See gitignore(5) or git-sparse-checkout(1) for details about pattern lists. When the pattern list uses cone-mode patterns, then the path-walk API can prune the set of paths it walks to improve performance.

## Examples

See example usages in: `t/helper/test-path-walk.c`, `builtin/pack-objects.c`, `builtin/backfill.c`