sow changes

Compare the files in two Built Generations.

Command

sow changes lists file differences between a base Generation and the current Built Generation. Paths are relative to the Repository root. Build first to include pending Desired changes.

Synopsis

sow changes [BASE_GENERATION] [-C|--workdir DIR] [-r|--repo NAME] [--json]

Flag	Meaning	Default
`-C, --workdir DIR`	Workspace discovery start directory	current directory
`-r, --repo NAME`	Select a Repository	selection rules
`--json`	Output JSON	false

The command is Repository-wide and rejects -d/--dist.

Output

sow changes
base=4 generation=5 dirty=false
add	payload	pool/c/centos-release/centos-release-6-0.el6.centos.5.x86_64.rpm	19776	ffd9e7bd...
add	metadata	dists/el9/x86_64/repodata/5bc463cb...-primary.xml.gz	1460	5bc463cb...
update	pointer	dists/el9/x86_64/repodata/repomd.xml	1514	05d3d5bf...
delete	delete	dists/el9/x86_64/repodata/0df96f0b...-primary.xml.gz	0

Columns are operation, phase, Repository-relative path, size, and SHA-256.

Field	Values
operation	`add`, `update`, `delete`
phase	`payload`, `metadata`, `pointer`, `delete`

Use this plan to inspect the local file delta. To deliver it, use sow publish or stage a complete copy and switch it into service.

Base Generation

Without an argument, SOW compares the current Built Generation with its predecessor.

BASE_GENERATION is a decimal integer in the inclusive range 0..current. Base 0 produces the complete delivery manifest for the current Generation, excluding private sow.yml and .sow/. Using the current Generation as base produces an empty plan. A Repository never built also yields an empty 0 -> 0 plan.

sow changes 99
operation rejected: managed: operation rejected: base generation 99 is outside 0..2

Dirty and recovery states

When Desired state is dirty, the header says dirty=true, but the plan still ends at the current Built Generation. Private pending payloads are excluded because they are not deliverable yet.

When the Repository is recovering or error, follow the diagnostic to recover or repair it before running changes.

Examples

Produce a complete manifest:

sow changes 0 -r pgsql --json > pgsql-current.json

Filter one Dist by path after producing the Repository-level plan:

sow changes -r pgsql --json |
  jq '.result.changes[] | select(.path | startswith("dists/el9/"))'

Exit codes

Code	Trigger
`0`	Plan printed, including an empty plan
`1`	Runtime I/O failure
`2`	Usage error, `-d` supplied, Workspace not found, or implicit Repository selection is ambiguous
`5`	Repository is `recovering` or `error`, or state evidence is inconsistent
`6`	Explicit Repository is not configured, or Base Generation is outside the valid range