# Suture
Version control that understands your files.
Git is to text files what Suture is to Word docs, spreadsheets, and video timelines.
```text
Before (Git) After (Suture)
───────────────────── ─────────────────────
Two people edit config.json: Same scenario:
one changes "host", the other "port". Suture merges both keys — zero conflicts.
$ git merge staging $ suture merge staging
CONFLICT (content): Merge conflict Clean merge. 2 patches applied.
in config.json
<<<<<<< HEAD
"host": "prod",
"port": 8080
=======
"host": "staging"
"port": 3000
>>>>>>> staging
```
Suture uses semantic drivers to merge JSON, YAML, TOML, CSV, XML, Markdown, HTML, SVG, DOCX, XLSX, PPTX, SQL, PDF, images, iCalendar, RSS/Atom feeds, and video timelines at the structural level — not the line level. Two edits to different JSON keys, different DOCX paragraphs, or different spreadsheet cells never conflict.
## Quick Start
```bash
# Install (builds in ~2 minutes)
cargo install suture-cli --path crates/suture-cli
# Or download a prebuilt binary from GitHub Releases
# https://github.com/WyattAu/suture/releases
suture init
suture config user.name "Your Name"
echo '{"host": "localhost", "port": 3000}' > config.json
suture add . && suture commit "base config"
suture branch staging && suture checkout staging
echo '{"host": "staging", "port": 3000}' > config.json
suture add . && suture commit "point to staging"
suture checkout main
echo '{"host": "localhost", "port": 8080}' > config.json
suture add . && suture commit "change port"
suture merge staging
# {"host": "staging", "port": 8080} ← both changes, no conflict
```
## Who Is This For?
| [Defence & compliance](docs/defence-compliance.md) | Audit trails (`log --audit`), classification detection (`diff --classification`), signed commits |
| [Video editors](docs/video-editors.md) | Version control for NLE timelines (Premiere, DaVinci Resolve) |
| [Document authors](docs/document-authors.md) | Merge Word docs, Excel sheets, PowerPoint decks |
| [Content creators](docs/content-creators.md) | `suture sync` replaces Google Drive — auto-commit, pull, push |
| [Data science](docs/data-science.md) | Branch and merge Jupyter notebooks, CSVs, configs |
| DevOps | Semantic merge for Kubernetes YAML, Docker Compose, CI configs |
## What Makes Suture Different
**Semantic merge for 20+ formats:**
| JSON | `.json` | Field-level (RFC 6901 paths) |
| YAML | `.yaml` `.yml` | Key-level |
| TOML | `.toml` | Table and key-aware |
| CSV | `.csv` | Row-level with header detection |
| XML | `.xml` | Element/attribute-aware |
| Markdown | `.md` | Section-aware |
| HTML | `.html` | DOM-aware |
| SVG | `.svg` | Element-aware |
| DOCX | `.docx` | Paragraph-level |
| XLSX | `.xlsx` | Cell-level |
| PPTX | `.pptx` | Slide-level |
| SQL | `.sql` | DDL schema diff |
| PDF | `.pdf` | Page-level text diff |
| Image | `.png` `.jpg` `.gif` `.bmp` `.webp` `.tiff` `.ico` `.avif` | Metadata diff |
| OTIO | `.otio` | OpenTimelineIO editorial merge |
| iCalendar | `.ics` | Event-level merge |
| RSS/Atom | `.rss` `.atom` | Feed and entry-aware |
Files without a driver fall back to line-based merge, same as Git.
**50+ CLI commands:** init, add, commit, branch, merge, rebase, cherry-pick, push, pull, clone, tag, blame, stash, worktree, remote, log, diff, show, status, grep, archive, export, sync, verify, describe, bisect, apply, clean, doctor, fsck, gc, notes, reflog, completions, and more.
**Google Drive replacement:** `suture sync` auto-commits, pulls, and pushes — one command replaces cloud folder sync with full version history.
**Audit & compliance:** `suture log --audit` exports structured audit trails (JSON/CSV/text). `suture diff --classification` detects NATO/US/UK/AU security marking changes. Ed25519 commit signing with `suture verify`.
**Client delivery:** `suture export` creates clean snapshots for handoff. `suture diff --summary` produces human-readable change reports.
**Mount as a filesystem:** FUSE and WebDAV mounts let any editor save directly into a Suture repo — every save creates a patch.
**Self-hosted collaboration:** Suture Hub provides a web UI, auth, push/pull, mirrors, and search.
## Install
### Prebuilt binaries (recommended)
Download from [GitHub Releases](https://github.com/WyattAu/suture/releases) — Linux x86_64, macOS x86_64/aarch64, Windows x86_64.
### From source
```bash
git clone https://github.com/WyattAu/suture.git
cd suture && cargo build --release --bin suture
# Binary at target/release/suture
```
### Package managers
```bash
cargo install suture-cli # crates.io
brew install wyattau/tap/suture # macOS / Linux
paru -S suture-git # Arch Linux (AUR)
```
## Key Commands
```bash
suture init # Initialize a repository
suture add . && suture commit "msg" # Stage and commit
suture branch feature && suture checkout feature # Branching
suture merge feature # Semantic merge
suture push origin main # Push to remote
suture pull # Pull from remote
suture sync # Auto-commit + pull + push
suture log --graph # Visual commit history
suture diff --summary # Human-readable change summary
suture log --audit # Structured audit trail
suture diff --classification # Classification marking changes
suture verify HEAD # Verify commit signature
suture stash push -m "WIP" # Stash work in progress
suture export ./delivery # Clean snapshot for client
suture doctor --fix # Auto-remediate common issues
```
## Use With Git
Suture works as a [Git merge driver](docs/git_merge_driver.md) — add semantic merging to your existing Git repos:
```bash
git config merge.suture.name "suture"
git config merge.suture.driver "suture merge-file --driver %s %O %A %B -o %A"
```
## Learn More
- [Quick Start Guide](docs/quickstart.md) — 60-second getting started
- [Why Suture?](docs/why-suture.md) — the problem with binary version control
- [Suture vs. Git](docs/comparing-with-git.md) — honest comparison
- [Semantic merge explained](docs/semantic-merge.md) — how it works under the hood
- [Full CLI reference](docs/cli-reference.md)
- [Comparison with other VCS](docs/comparison.md)
## Stats
- **37 crates** in the workspace
- **20+ semantic drivers** for structured file formats
- **1,400+ tests** across the workspace
- **50+ CLI commands**
- **v5.0.0** — unified version across all crates
## Contributing
See [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md).
## License
Apache License 2.0. See [LICENSE](LICENSE).