absorb

Automatically distribute working tree changes into the commits that last touched the affected lines. Uses blame to determine the correct target for each hunk, then amends those commits — all in a single operation.

Usage

git loom absorb [-n] [files...]

Options

Arguments

How It Works

For each file with uncommitted changes:

1. Parses the unified diff into individual hunks
2. For each hunk, blames the modified/deleted lines to find their originating commit
3. If all hunks trace to the same in-scope commit, the whole file is absorbed
4. If hunks trace to different commits, each hunk is independently absorbed into its target
5. Hunks that can’t be attributed (pure additions, ambiguous) are skipped and left in the working tree

After analysis, all assigned hunks are folded into their target commits in a single rebase operation.

Examples

Absorb all changes

git loom absorb
#   src/auth.rs -> a1b2c3d "Add authentication"
#   src/utils.rs -> d4e5f6a "Add utility helpers"
# Absorbed 2 hunk(s) from 2 file(s) into 2 commit(s)

Absorb hunks into different commits

# src/shared.rs has changes in two separate regions,
# each originating from a different commit
git loom absorb
#   src/shared.rs [hunk 1/2] -> a1b2c3d "Add login form"
#   src/shared.rs [hunk 2/2] -> d4e5f6a "Add dashboard"
# Absorbed 2 hunk(s) from 1 file(s) into 2 commit(s)

Dry run

git loom absorb --dry-run
#   src/auth.rs -> a1b2c3d "Add authentication"
#   src/shared.rs [hunk 1/2] -> d4e5f6a "Add utility helpers"
#   src/shared.rs [hunk 2/2] -- skipped (pure addition)
# Dry run: would absorb 2 hunk(s) from 2 file(s) into 2 commit(s)

Restrict to specific files

git loom absorb src/auth.rs src/utils.rs
#   src/auth.rs -> a1b2c3d "Add authentication"
#   src/utils.rs -> d4e5f6a "Add utility helpers"
# Absorbed 2 hunk(s) from 2 file(s) into 2 commit(s)

Conflicts

If the rebase that folds the fixup commits hits a conflict, the operation is paused. Pre-existing staged changes are saved aside automatically.

git loom absorb
#   src/auth.rs -> a1b2c3d "Add authentication"
# ! Conflicts detected — resolve them with git, then run:
#   loom continue   to complete the absorb
#   loom abort      to cancel and restore original state

git add <resolved-files> && git loom continue
# ✓ Absorbed 1 hunk(s) from 1 file(s) into 1 commit(s)

See continue and abort for details.

Prerequisites

• Must be on an integration branch
• Working tree must have uncommitted changes
• Target commits must be in scope (between merge-base and HEAD)