ivaldi gather

Stage files for the next seal (commit).

Synopsis

ivaldi gather [<files>...]
ivaldi gather [options]

Description

The gather command stages files to be included in the next seal. It:

• Adds files to the staging area
• Respects .ivaldiignore patterns
• Prompts for confirmation when staging hidden files
• Provides security warnings for sensitive files

Options

• --allow-all - Skip interactive prompts for hidden files (useful for automation)

Examples

Stage Specific Files

ivaldi gather README.md src/main.go

Stage Directory

ivaldi gather src/

Stage All Changes

ivaldi gather .

Stage All (Interactive)

ivaldi gather

Prompts for:

• Hidden files (files starting with .)
• Directories to include

Automation Mode

ivaldi gather --allow-all

Skips prompts but shows warnings for sensitive files.

Security Features

Auto-Excluded Files

These files are always excluded for security:

• .env, .env.* - Environment files
• .venv, .venv/ - Python virtual environments

Interactive Prompts

Hidden files require confirmation:

$ ivaldi gather .

Found hidden files:
  .config
  .secrets

Include hidden files? (y/n):

Exception: .ivaldiignore never prompts and can always be staged.

Warnings

Sensitive files trigger warnings:

$ ivaldi gather --allow-all

WARNING: Staging hidden file: .config
WARNING: Consider adding to .ivaldiignore

Ignore Files

Create .ivaldiignore to exclude files:

# Create ignore file
ivaldi exclude build/ dist/ *.exe

# Or manually create
cat > .ivaldiignore <<EOF
node_modules/
*.log
.DS_Store
EOF

See exclude for details.

Common Workflows

Daily Work

# Check what changed
ivaldi status

# Stage modified files
ivaldi gather src/

# Create seal
ivaldi seal "Update feature"

Selective Staging

# Stage specific changes
ivaldi gather src/auth.go src/login.go

# Review staged
ivaldi status

# Seal when ready
ivaldi seal "Fix authentication"

Gathering Everything

# Interactive
ivaldi gather

# Or non-interactive
ivaldi gather .

File States

After gathering, files can be:

• Staged: Ready for next seal
• Modified but unstaged: Changed but not gathered
• Untracked: New files not yet gathered

Check with:

ivaldi status

Related Commands

• seal - Create commit with staged files
• status - Show staged and unstaged changes
• reset - Unstage files
• exclude - Add to .ivaldiignore

Comparison with Git

Git	Ivaldi
git add file.txt	ivaldi gather file.txt
git add .	ivaldi gather .
git add -A	ivaldi gather
Interactive add	Prompts for hidden files
No security checks	Auto-excludes .env, warns on hidden

Troubleshooting

File Not Staged

If a file isn’t staging:

# Check if ignored
cat .ivaldiignore

# Check status
ivaldi status

Hidden File Skipped

Use --allow-all or respond “yes” to prompts:

ivaldi gather --allow-all

Sensitive File Warning

Add to .ivaldiignore:

ivaldi exclude .env .secrets