The first release candidate for Git 2.56, designated 2.56-rc0, is now available for testing. This release focuses on hardening the ORT merge back-end against corrupt trees and includes enhancements for the Swift programming language.
Git 2.56 introduces userdiff patterns specifically for Swift, adding constructs for attributes, modifiers, failable initializers, and generics. These additions aim to improve the presentation of differences when reviewing Swift code within Git. A project-specific configuration for the ‘b4’ tool is also included, intended to streamline the process of submitting patches to the Git project.
The development team has also updated the community contribution guidelines. The updated documentation encourages contributors to wait at least one day before resending revised patches on mailing lists, providing reviewers sufficient time to examine a single version. Contributors are also advised to discuss their responses within existing review threads rather than submitting new patch versions without addressing prior feedback. The use of ‘b4’ and shallow threading of cover letters are also recommended for contributions.
This release is a step toward Git 3.0, which is planned to include SHA-256 hashes by default and the “main” branch name by default, but that major version is not expected until around the end of 2026. Details on all feature changes and fixes in Git 2.56-rc0 can be found in the mailing list announcement.
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