git-annex/doc/bugs/git_rename_detection_on_file_move.mdwn

It's unfortunate that git-annex sorta defeats git's rename detection.

When an annexed file is moved to a different directory (specifically, a
directory that is shallower or deeper than the old directory),
the symlink often has to change. And so git log cannot --follow back
through the rename history, since all it has to go on is that symlink,
which it effectively sees as a one line file containing the symlink target.

One way to fix this might be to do the `git annex fix` *after* the rename
is committed. This would mean that a commit would result in new staged
changes for another commit, which is perhaps startling behavior.

The other way to fix it is to stop using symlinks, see [[todo/smudge]].
[[!tag confirmed]]