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Epoch is a lightweight, high-performance, Git-inspired version control system built completely from scratch in C++17. Because git init was too easy. 😉

🚀 Features & Architecture

• Content-Addressable Storage: Objects are securely stored and sharded based on their cryptographic hashes (2-character directory prefixing to optimize filesystem performance).
• Dynamic Hashing: Supports runtime toggling and validation between SHA-1 and SHA-256 hashing algorithms.
• Efficient Compression: Integrates the miniz library to deflate and compress object snapshots and commit logs while keeping the index and HEAD pointers transparently in plaintext.
• JSON-Backed Indexing: Powered by nlohmann/json to map file paths to hashes with $O(1)$ lookup performance.
• Line-by-Line Diff Engine: Leverages the Diff Template Library (dtl) alongside rang for colorized, terminal-native patch comparisons between working trees and historical commits.

🛠️ Tech Stack & Dependencies

Epoch relies on modern C++ features and clean, header-only external libraries housed in src/libs/:

Library / Feature	Purpose
C++17 std::filesystem	Cross-platform file, directory navigation, and path management
CLI11	Robust, sleek command-line argument parsing
nlohmann/json	Fast and flexible JSON parsing for indices and commit metadata
miniz	Deflate/inflate compression for the object database
dtl	Diff Template Library for computing line-by-line patch changes
stbrumme/hash-library	Cryptographic hashing (SHA-1 and SHA-256)
rang	Terminal color formatting for clean CLI output

📋 Implementation Status

• init — Initialize repository structure (.epoch/, HEAD, index, objects)
• hash-object — Compute hashes, compress, and store blobs
• cat-file — Retrieve, decompress, and inspect object contents
• add — Stage files into the JSON index map
• commit — Package staged snapshots into compressed commit objects and update HEAD
• log — Traverse and print chronological ancestry graph backwards from HEAD
• diff — Compare historical commit snapshots against the working directory with colorized diffs
• status — Inspect and report working tree vs. staging index status (In Progress)
• branch — Create, list, or delete lightweight reference pointers
• checkout — Switch active HEAD or restore working files
• merge — Combine branch histories

📚 Learning Resources & Inspirations

Building a custom VCS from scratch is an incredible systems-programming rite of passage. These resources guided the architecture:

• Writing a Git Clone in Python (ugit)
• Write Yourself a Git (wyag)
• YouTube Video Guide

💻 Usage Example

Epoch epoch;
epoch.init();
epoch.hashObject("main.cpp", true);
epoch.commit("Initial commit of Epoch core engine!");
epoch.log();

Built with passion, C++17, and a deep appreciation for low-level systems engineering.