Repository Management

Commands for creating, cloning, and managing Atomic repositories.

Commands

Command	Description
init	Initialize a new Atomic repository
clone	Clone an existing repository from a remote
reset	Reset working copy to the last recorded state
split	Create a new stack from an existing one

Creating a Repository

From scratch

# Initialize in the current directory
atomic init

# Initialize with a custom stack name
atomic init --stack main

# Initialize with project-specific ignore patterns
atomic init --kind rust

This creates the .atomic/ directory structure:

.atomic/
├── pristine/          # Graph database (redb)
├── changes/           # Content-addressed change files
├── config.toml        # Repository configuration
├── current_stack      # Active stack name
└── working_copy_id    # Working copy state

From a remote

# Clone a repository
atomic clone https://api.atomic.dev/acme/platform/core/code

# Clone into a specific directory
atomic clone https://api.atomic.dev/acme/platform/core/code myproject

Resetting the Working Copy

The reset command discards uncommitted changes and restores the working copy to the last recorded state:

# Discard all uncommitted changes
atomic reset --force

# Reset specific files
atomic reset src/main.rs

# Preview what would be reset
atomic reset --dry-run

Splitting Stacks

The split command creates a new stack by forking from an existing one. All changes from the source stack are inherited by the new stack:

# Split from current stack
atomic split experimental

# Split and switch to the new stack
atomic split feature-auth --switch

This is equivalent to atomic stack new <NAME> --from <SOURCE>.

See Also

• Working with Changes — Recording and reviewing changes
• Stack — Managing stacks
• Remote Operations — Push, pull, and clone