[[!comment format=mdwn
 username="joey"
 subject="""comment 1"""
 date="2019-07-19T17:10:41Z"
 content="""
I'd encourage you to stop using direct mode, which is well on its way to
being deprecated and has never been flexible enough to do this kind of
thing easily.

If you `git annex upgrade` that repository, you will get a v7 repository
with an adjusted unlocked branch checked out, which is equivilant to a
direct mode repository, but lets you use arbitrary git commands for merging
etc.
"""]]
