Subject: Re: [PATCH v4 2/2] replay: add --revert mode to reverse commit changes

From: Toon Claes <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 16 Mar 2026 20:52:29 +0100

Siddharth Asthana <[email-masked]> writes:

> Add a `--revert <branch>` mode to git replay that undoes the changes
> introduced by the specified commits. Like --onto and --advance, --revert
> is a standalone mode: it takes a branch argument and updates that branch
> with the newly created revert commits.
>
> At GitLab, we need this in Gitaly for reverting commits directly on bare
> repositories without requiring a working tree checkout.
>
> The approach is the same as sequencer.c's do_pick_commit() -- cherry-pick
> and revert are just the same three-way merge with swapped arguments:
>
>   - Cherry-pick: merge(ancestor=parent, ours=current, theirs=commit)
>   - Revert: merge(ancestor=commit, ours=current, theirs=parent)
>
> We swap the base and pickme trees passed to merge_incore_nonrecursive()
> to reverse the diff direction.
>
> Reverts are processed newest-first (matching git revert behavior) to
> reduce conflicts by peeling off changes from the top. Each revert
> builds on the result of the previous one via the last_commit fallback
> in the main replay loop, rather than relying on the parent-mapping
> used for cherry-pick.
>
> Revert commit messages follow the usual git revert conventions: prefixed
> with "Revert" (or "Reapply" when reverting a revert), and including
> "This reverts commit <hash>.". The author is set to the current user
> rather than preserving the original author, matching git revert behavior.
>
> Helped-by: Christian Couder <[email-masked]>
> Helped-by: Patrick Steinhardt <[email-masked]>
> Helped-by: Elijah Newren <[email-masked]>
> Helped-by: Phillip Wood <[email-masked]>
> Helped-by: Johannes Schindelin <[email-masked]>
> Helped-by: Junio C Hamano <[email-masked]>
> Helped-by: Toon Claes <[email-masked]>
> Signed-off-by: Siddharth Asthana <[email-masked]>
> ---
>  Documentation/git-replay.adoc |  43 ++++++++-
>  builtin/replay.c              |  46 ++++++----
>  replay.c                      | 165 ++++++++++++++++++++++++----------
>  replay.h                      |  11 ++-
>  t/t3650-replay-basics.sh      | 114 +++++++++++++++++++++--
>  5 files changed, 304 insertions(+), 75 deletions(-)
>
> diff --git a/Documentation/git-replay.adoc b/Documentation/git-replay.adoc
> index 8d696ce3ab..6698cfc047 100644
> --- a/Documentation/git-replay.adoc
> +++ b/Documentation/git-replay.adoc
> @@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ git-replay - EXPERIMENTAL: Replay commits on a new base, works with bare repos t
>  SYNOPSIS
>  --------
>  [verse]
> -(EXPERIMENTAL!) 'git replay' ([--contained] --onto <newbase> | --advance <branch>) [--ref-action[=<mode>]] <revision-range>
> +(EXPERIMENTAL!) 'git replay' ([--contained] --onto <newbase> | --advance <branch> | --revert <branch>) [--ref-action[=<mode>]] <revision-range>...

The ellipsis (...) should be dropped from revision-range. They were
removed not so long ago in 136f86abc0 (Documentation/git-replay.adoc:
fix errors around revision range, 2025-11-29).

>  
>  DESCRIPTION
>  -----------
> @@ -42,6 +42,25 @@ The history is replayed on top of the <branch> and <branch> is updated to
>  point at the tip of the resulting history. This is different from `--onto`,
>  which uses the target only as a starting point without updating it.
>  
> +--revert <branch>::
> +	Starting point at which to create the reverted commits; must be a
> +	branch name.
> ++
> +When `--revert` is specified, the commits in the revision range are reverted
> +(their changes are undone) and the reverted commits are created on top of
> +<branch>. The <branch> is then updated to point at the new commits. This is
> +the same as running `git revert <revision-range>` but does not update the
> +working tree.
> ++
> +The commit messages follow `git revert` conventions: they are prefixed with
> +"Revert" and include "This reverts commit <hash>." When reverting a commit
> +whose message starts with "Revert", the new message uses "Reapply" instead.
> +Unlike cherry-pick which preserves the original author, revert commits use
> +the current user as the author, matching the behavior of `git revert`.
> ++
> +This option is mutually exclusive with `--onto` and `--advance`. It is also
> +incompatible with `--contained` (which is a modifier for `--onto` only).
> +
>  --contained::
>  	Update all branches that point at commits in
>  	<revision-range>. Requires `--onto`.
> @@ -84,9 +103,10 @@ When using `--ref-action=print`, the output is usable as input to
>  	update refs/heads/branch3 ${NEW_branch3_HASH} ${OLD_branch3_HASH}
>  
>  where the number of refs updated depends on the arguments passed and
> -the shape of the history being replayed.  When using `--advance`, the
> -number of refs updated is always one, but for `--onto`, it can be one
> -or more (rebasing multiple branches simultaneously is supported).
> +the shape of the history being replayed.  When using `--advance` or
> +`--revert`, the number of refs updated is always one, but for `--onto`,
> +it can be one or more (rebasing multiple branches simultaneously is
> +supported).
>  
>  There is no stderr output on conflicts; see the <<exit-status,EXIT
>  STATUS>> section below.
> @@ -152,6 +172,21 @@ all commits they have since `base`, playing them on top of
>  `origin/main`. These three branches may have commits on top of `base`
>  that they have in common, but that does not need to be the case.
>  
> +To revert commits on a branch:
> +
> +------------
> +$ git replay --revert main topic~2..topic
> +------------
> +
> +This reverts the last two commits from `topic`, creating revert commits on
> +top of `main`, and updates `main` to point at the result. This is useful when
> +commits from `topic` were previously merged or cherry-picked into `main` and
> +need to be undone.
> +
> +NOTE: For reverting an entire merge request as a single commit (rather than
> +commit-by-commit), consider using `git merge-tree --merge-base $TIP HEAD $BASE`
> +which can avoid unnecessary merge conflicts.
> +
>  GIT
>  ---
>  Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite
> diff --git a/builtin/replay.c b/builtin/replay.c
> index 2cdde830a8..fe69f6f8ce 100644
> --- a/builtin/replay.c
> +++ b/builtin/replay.c
> @@ -83,8 +83,8 @@ int cmd_replay(int argc,
>  
>  	const char *const replay_usage[] = {
>  		N_("(EXPERIMENTAL!) git replay "
> -		   "([--contained] --onto <newbase> | --advance <branch>) "
> -		   "[--ref-action[=<mode>]] <revision-range>"),
> +		   "([--contained] --onto <newbase> | --advance <branch> | --revert <branch>) "
> +		   "[--ref-action[=<mode>]] <revision-range>..."),
>  		NULL
>  	};
>  	struct option replay_options[] = {
> @@ -96,6 +96,9 @@ int cmd_replay(int argc,
>  			   N_("replay onto given commit")),
>  		OPT_BOOL(0, "contained", &opts.contained,
>  			 N_("update all branches that point at commits in <revision-range>")),
> +		OPT_STRING(0, "revert", &opts.revert,
> +			   N_("branch"),
> +			   N_("revert commits onto given branch")),
>  		OPT_STRING(0, "ref-action", &ref_action,
>  			   N_("mode"),
>  			   N_("control ref update behavior (update|print)")),
> @@ -105,15 +108,17 @@ int cmd_replay(int argc,
>  	argc = parse_options(argc, argv, prefix, replay_options, replay_usage,
>  			     PARSE_OPT_KEEP_ARGV0 | PARSE_OPT_KEEP_UNKNOWN_OPT);
>  
> -	if (!opts.onto && !opts.advance) {
> -		error(_("option --onto or --advance is mandatory"));
> +	/* Exactly one mode must be specified */
> +	if (!opts.onto && !opts.advance && !opts.revert) {
> +		error(_("exactly one of --onto, --advance, or --revert is required"));
>  		usage_with_options(replay_usage, replay_options);
>  	}
>  
> -	die_for_incompatible_opt2(!!opts.advance, "--advance",
> -				  opts.contained, "--contained");
> -	die_for_incompatible_opt2(!!opts.advance, "--advance",
> -				  !!opts.onto, "--onto");
> +	die_for_incompatible_opt3(!!opts.onto, "--onto",
> +				  !!opts.advance, "--advance",
> +				  !!opts.revert, "--revert");
> +	if (opts.contained && !opts.onto)
> +		die(_("--contained requires --onto"));

I think it would be more clear if you say they cannot be used together:

	die_for_incompatible_opt2(!!opts.advance, "--advance",
				  opts.contained, "--contained");
	die_for_incompatible_opt2(!!opts.revert, "--revert",
				  opts.contained, "--contained");

>  	/* Parse ref action mode from command line or config */
>  	ref_mode = get_ref_action_mode(repo, ref_action);
> @@ -129,7 +134,13 @@ int cmd_replay(int argc,
>  	 * some options changing these values if we think they could
>  	 * be useful.
>  	 */
> -	revs.reverse = 1;
> +	/*
> +	 * Cherry-pick/rebase need oldest-first ordering so that each
> +	 * replayed commit can build on its already-replayed parent.
> +	 * Revert needs newest-first ordering (like git revert) to
> +	 * reduce conflicts by peeling off changes from the top.
> +	 */
> +	revs.reverse = opts.revert ? 0 : 1;
>  	revs.sort_order = REV_SORT_IN_GRAPH_ORDER;
>  	revs.topo_order = 1;
>  	revs.simplify_history = 0;
> @@ -144,11 +155,14 @@ int cmd_replay(int argc,
>  	 * Detect and warn if we override some user specified rev
>  	 * walking options.
>  	 */
> -	if (revs.reverse != 1) {
> -		warning(_("some rev walking options will be overridden as "
> -			  "'%s' bit in 'struct rev_info' will be forced"),
> -			"reverse");
> -		revs.reverse = 1;
> +	{

Do we want to keep these braces?

> +		int desired_reverse = opts.revert ? 0 : 1;
> +		if (revs.reverse != desired_reverse) {
> +			warning(_("some rev walking options will be overridden as "
> +				  "'%s' bit in 'struct rev_info' will be forced"),
> +				"reverse");
> +			revs.reverse = desired_reverse;
> +		}
>  	}
>  	if (revs.sort_order != REV_SORT_IN_GRAPH_ORDER) {
>  		warning(_("some rev walking options will be overridden as "
> @@ -174,7 +188,9 @@ int cmd_replay(int argc,
>  		goto cleanup;
>  
>  	/* Build reflog message */
> -	if (opts.advance) {
> +	if (opts.revert) {
> +		strbuf_addf(&reflog_msg, "replay --revert %s", opts.revert);
> +	} else if (opts.advance) {
>  		strbuf_addf(&reflog_msg, "replay --advance %s", opts.advance);
>  	} else {
>  		struct object_id oid;
> diff --git a/replay.c b/replay.c
> index a63f6714c4..199066f6b3 100644
> --- a/replay.c
> +++ b/replay.c
> @@ -8,14 +8,14 @@
>  #include "refs.h"
>  #include "replay.h"
>  #include "revision.h"
> +#include "sequencer.h"
>  #include "strmap.h"
>  #include "tree.h"
>  
> -/*
> - * We technically need USE_THE_REPOSITORY_VARIABLE for DEFAULT_ABBREV, but
> - * do not want to use the_repository.
> - */
> -#define the_repository DO_NOT_USE_THE_REPOSITORY

Why are you removing this? We're still setting
USE_THE_REPOSITORY_VARIABLE, and not using 'the_repository' in this file?

> +enum replay_mode {
> +	REPLAY_MODE_PICK,
> +	REPLAY_MODE_REVERT,
> +};
>  
>  static const char *short_commit_name(struct repository *repo,
>  				     struct commit *commit)
> @@ -50,15 +50,37 @@ static char *get_author(const char *message)
>  	return NULL;
>  }
>  
> +static void generate_revert_message(struct strbuf *msg,
> +				    struct commit *commit,
> +				    struct repository *repo)
> +{
> +	const char *out_enc = get_commit_output_encoding();
> +	const char *message = repo_logmsg_reencode(repo, commit, NULL, out_enc);
> +	const char *subject_start;
> +	int subject_len;
> +	char *subject;
> +
> +	subject_len = find_commit_subject(message, &subject_start);
> +	subject = xmemdupz(subject_start, subject_len);
> +
> +	sequencer_format_revert_message(repo, subject, commit,
> +					commit->parents ? commit->parents->item : NULL,
> +					false, msg);
> +
> +	free(subject);
> +	repo_unuse_commit_buffer(repo, commit, message);
> +}
> +
>  static struct commit *create_commit(struct repository *repo,
>  				    struct tree *tree,
>  				    struct commit *based_on,
> -				    struct commit *parent)
> +				    struct commit *parent,
> +				    enum replay_mode mode)
>  {
>  	struct object_id ret;
>  	struct object *obj = NULL;
>  	struct commit_list *parents = NULL;
> -	char *author;
> +	char *author = NULL;
>  	char *sign_commit = NULL; /* FIXME: cli users might want to sign again */
>  	struct commit_extra_header *extra = NULL;
>  	struct strbuf msg = STRBUF_INIT;
> @@ -70,9 +92,16 @@ static struct commit *create_commit(struct repository *repo,
>  
>  	commit_list_insert(parent, &parents);
>  	extra = read_commit_extra_headers(based_on, exclude_gpgsig);
> -	find_commit_subject(message, &orig_message);
> -	strbuf_addstr(&msg, orig_message);
> -	author = get_author(message);
> +	if (mode == REPLAY_MODE_REVERT) {
> +		generate_revert_message(&msg, based_on, repo);
> +		/* For revert, use current user as author (NULL = use default) */
> +	} else if (mode == REPLAY_MODE_PICK) {
> +		find_commit_subject(message, &orig_message);
> +		strbuf_addstr(&msg, orig_message);
> +		author = get_author(message);
> +	} else {
> +		BUG("unexpected replay mode %d", mode);
> +	}
>  	reset_ident_date();
>  	if (commit_tree_extended(msg.buf, msg.len, &tree->object.oid, parents,
>  				 &ret, author, NULL, sign_commit, extra)) {
> @@ -153,11 +182,35 @@ static void get_ref_information(struct repository *repo,
>  	}
>  }
>  
> +static void set_up_branch_mode(struct repository *repo,
> +			       char **branch_name,
> +			       const char *option_name,
> +			       struct ref_info *rinfo,
> +			       struct commit **onto)
> +{
> +	struct object_id oid;
> +	char *fullname = NULL;
> +
> +	if (repo_dwim_ref(repo, *branch_name, strlen(*branch_name),
> +			  &oid, &fullname, 0) == 1) {
> +		free(*branch_name);
> +		*branch_name = fullname;
> +	} else {
> +		die(_("argument to %s must be a reference"), option_name);
> +	}
> +	*onto = peel_committish(repo, *branch_name, option_name);
> +	if (rinfo->positive_refexprs > 1)
> +		die(_("'%s' cannot be used with multiple revision ranges "
> +		      "because the ordering would be ill-defined"),
> +		    option_name);
> +}
> +
>  static void set_up_replay_mode(struct repository *repo,
>  			       struct rev_cmdline_info *cmd_info,
>  			       const char *onto_name,
>  			       bool *detached_head,
>  			       char **advance_name,
> +			       char **revert_name,
>  			       struct commit **onto,
>  			       struct strset **update_refs)
>  {
> @@ -172,9 +225,6 @@ static void set_up_replay_mode(struct repository *repo,
>  	if (!rinfo.positive_refexprs)
>  		die(_("need some commits to replay"));
>  
> -	if (!onto_name == !*advance_name)
> -		BUG("one and only one of onto_name and *advance_name must be given");
> -
>  	if (onto_name) {
>  		*onto = peel_committish(repo, onto_name, "--onto");
>  		if (rinfo.positive_refexprs <
> @@ -183,23 +233,12 @@ static void set_up_replay_mode(struct repository *repo,
>  		*update_refs = xcalloc(1, sizeof(**update_refs));
>  		**update_refs = rinfo.positive_refs;
>  		memset(&rinfo.positive_refs, 0, sizeof(**update_refs));
> +	} else if (*advance_name) {
> +		set_up_branch_mode(repo, advance_name, "--advance", &rinfo, onto);
> +	} else if (*revert_name) {
> +		set_up_branch_mode(repo, revert_name, "--revert", &rinfo, onto);
>  	} else {
> -		struct object_id oid;
> -		char *fullname = NULL;
> -
> -		if (!*advance_name)
> -			BUG("expected either onto_name or *advance_name in this function");
> -
> -		if (repo_dwim_ref(repo, *advance_name, strlen(*advance_name),
> -			     &oid, &fullname, 0) == 1) {
> -			free(*advance_name);
> -			*advance_name = fullname;
> -		} else {
> -			die(_("argument to --advance must be a reference"));
> -		}
> -		*onto = peel_committish(repo, *advance_name, "--advance");
> -		if (rinfo.positive_refexprs > 1)
> -			die(_("cannot advance target with multiple sources because ordering would be ill-defined"));
> +		BUG("expected one of onto_name, *advance_name, or *revert_name");
>  	}
>  	strset_clear(&rinfo.negative_refs);
>  	strset_clear(&rinfo.positive_refs);
> @@ -220,7 +259,8 @@ static struct commit *pick_regular_commit(struct repository *repo,
>  					  kh_oid_map_t *replayed_commits,
>  					  struct commit *onto,
>  					  struct merge_options *merge_opt,
> -					  struct merge_result *result)
> +					  struct merge_result *result,
> +					  enum replay_mode mode)
>  {
>  	struct commit *base, *replayed_base;
>  	struct tree *pickme_tree, *base_tree, *replayed_base_tree;
> @@ -232,25 +272,45 @@ static struct commit *pick_regular_commit(struct repository *repo,
>  	pickme_tree = repo_get_commit_tree(repo, pickme);
>  	base_tree = repo_get_commit_tree(repo, base);
>  
> -	merge_opt->branch1 = short_commit_name(repo, replayed_base);
> -	merge_opt->branch2 = short_commit_name(repo, pickme);
> -	merge_opt->ancestor = xstrfmt("parent of %s", merge_opt->branch2);
> -
> -	merge_incore_nonrecursive(merge_opt,
> -				  base_tree,
> -				  replayed_base_tree,
> -				  pickme_tree,
> -				  result);
> -
> -	free((char*)merge_opt->ancestor);
> +	if (mode == REPLAY_MODE_PICK) {
> +		/* Cherry-pick: normal order */
> +		merge_opt->branch1 = short_commit_name(repo, replayed_base);
> +		merge_opt->branch2 = short_commit_name(repo, pickme);
> +		merge_opt->ancestor = xstrfmt("parent of %s", merge_opt->branch2);
> +
> +		merge_incore_nonrecursive(merge_opt,
> +					  base_tree,
> +					  replayed_base_tree,
> +					  pickme_tree,
> +					  result);
> +
> +		free((char *)merge_opt->ancestor);
> +	} else if (mode == REPLAY_MODE_REVERT) {
> +		/* Revert: swap base and pickme to reverse the diff */
> +		const char *pickme_name = short_commit_name(repo, pickme);
> +		merge_opt->branch1 = short_commit_name(repo, replayed_base);
> +		merge_opt->branch2 = xstrfmt("parent of %s", pickme_name);
> +		merge_opt->ancestor = pickme_name;
> +
> +		merge_incore_nonrecursive(merge_opt,
> +					  pickme_tree,
> +					  replayed_base_tree,
> +					  base_tree,
> +					  result);
> +
> +		free((char *)merge_opt->branch2);
> +	} else {
> +		BUG("unexpected replay mode %d", mode);
> +	}
>  	merge_opt->ancestor = NULL;
> +	merge_opt->branch2 = NULL;

It took me a while to understand the ownership of these buffers,
especially those returned by short_commit_name(). But it seems to call
repo_find_unique_abbrev() which has 4 buffers which it cycles through.

So this seems to be okay (this was also not changed in the MODE_PICK
path. 

>  	if (!result->clean)
>  		return NULL;
>  	/* Drop commits that become empty */
>  	if (oideq(&replayed_base_tree->object.oid, &result->tree->object.oid) &&
>  	    !oideq(&pickme_tree->object.oid, &base_tree->object.oid))
>  		return replayed_base;
> -	return create_commit(repo, result->tree, pickme, replayed_base);
> +	return create_commit(repo, result->tree, pickme, replayed_base, mode);
>  }
>  
>  void replay_result_release(struct replay_result *result)
> @@ -287,11 +347,16 @@ int replay_revisions(struct rev_info *revs,
>  	};
>  	bool detached_head;
>  	char *advance;
> +	char *revert;
> +	enum replay_mode mode = REPLAY_MODE_PICK;
>  	int ret;
>  
>  	advance = xstrdup_or_null(opts->advance);
> +	revert = xstrdup_or_null(opts->revert);
> +	if (revert)
> +		mode = REPLAY_MODE_REVERT;
>  	set_up_replay_mode(revs->repo, &revs->cmdline, opts->onto,
> -			   &detached_head, &advance, &onto, &update_refs);
> +			   &detached_head, &advance, &revert, &onto, &update_refs);
>  
>  	/* FIXME: Should allow replaying commits with the first as a root commit */
>  
> @@ -315,7 +380,8 @@ int replay_revisions(struct rev_info *revs,
>  			die(_("replaying merge commits is not supported yet!"));
>  
>  		last_commit = pick_regular_commit(revs->repo, commit, replayed_commits,
> -						  onto, &merge_opt, &result);
> +						  mode == REPLAY_MODE_REVERT ? last_commit : onto,
> +						  &merge_opt, &result, mode);
>  		if (!last_commit)
>  			break;
>  
> @@ -327,7 +393,7 @@ int replay_revisions(struct rev_info *revs,
>  		kh_value(replayed_commits, pos) = last_commit;
>  
>  		/* Update any necessary branches */
> -		if (advance)
> +		if (advance || revert)
>  			continue;
>  
>  		for (decoration = get_name_decoration(&commit->object);
> @@ -361,11 +427,13 @@ int replay_revisions(struct rev_info *revs,
>  		goto out;
>  	}
>  
> -	/* In --advance mode, advance the target ref */
> -	if (advance)
> -		replay_result_queue_update(out, advance,
> +	/* In --advance or --revert mode, update the target ref */
> +	if (advance || revert) {
> +		const char *ref = advance ? advance : revert;
> +		replay_result_queue_update(out, ref,
>  					   &onto->object.oid,
>  					   &last_commit->object.oid);
> +	}
>  
>  	ret = 0;
>  
> @@ -377,5 +445,6 @@ int replay_revisions(struct rev_info *revs,
>  	kh_destroy_oid_map(replayed_commits);
>  	merge_finalize(&merge_opt, &result);
>  	free(advance);
> +	free(revert);
>  	return ret;
>  }
> diff --git a/replay.h b/replay.h
> index d8407dc7f7..e916a5f975 100644
> --- a/replay.h
> +++ b/replay.h
> @@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ struct replay_revisions_options {
>  	/*
>  	 * Starting point at which to create the new commits; must be a branch
>  	 * name. The branch will be updated to point to the rewritten commits.
> -	 * This option is mutually exclusive with `onto`.
> +	 * This option is mutually exclusive with `onto` and `revert`.
>  	 */
>  	const char *advance;
>  
> @@ -22,7 +22,14 @@ struct replay_revisions_options {
>  	 * committish. References pointing at decendants of `onto` will be
>  	 * updated to point to the new commits.
>  	 */
> -	 const char *onto;
> +	const char *onto;
> +
> +	/*
> +	 * Starting point at which to create revert commits; must be a branch
> +	 * name. The branch will be updated to point to the revert commits.
> +	 * This option is mutually exclusive with `onto` and `advance`.
> +	 */
> +	const char *revert;
>  
>  	/*
>  	 * Update branches that point at commits in the given revision range.
> diff --git a/t/t3650-replay-basics.sh b/t/t3650-replay-basics.sh
> index a03f8f9293..0c1e03e0fb 100755
> --- a/t/t3650-replay-basics.sh
> +++ b/t/t3650-replay-basics.sh
> @@ -74,8 +74,8 @@ test_expect_success '--onto with invalid commit-ish' '
>  	test_cmp expect actual
>  '
>  
> -test_expect_success 'option --onto or --advance is mandatory' '
> -	echo "error: option --onto or --advance is mandatory" >expect &&
> +test_expect_success 'exactly one of --onto, --advance, or --revert is required' '
> +	echo "error: exactly one of --onto, --advance, or --revert is required" >expect &&
>  	test_might_fail git replay -h >>expect &&
>  	test_must_fail git replay topic1..topic2 2>actual &&
>  	test_cmp expect actual
> @@ -87,16 +87,17 @@ test_expect_success 'no base or negative ref gives no-replaying down to root err
>  	test_cmp expect actual
>  '
>  
> -test_expect_success 'options --advance and --contained cannot be used together' '
> -	printf "fatal: options ${SQ}--advance${SQ} " >expect &&
> -	printf "and ${SQ}--contained${SQ} cannot be used together\n" >>expect &&
> +test_expect_success '--contained requires --onto' '
> +	echo "fatal: --contained requires --onto" >expect &&
>  	test_must_fail git replay --advance=main --contained \
>  		topic1..topic2 2>actual &&
>  	test_cmp expect actual
>  '
>  
>  test_expect_success 'cannot advance target ... ordering would be ill-defined' '
> -	echo "fatal: cannot advance target with multiple sources because ordering would be ill-defined" >expect &&
> +	cat >expect <<-\EOF &&
> +	fatal: '"'"'--advance'"'"' cannot be used with multiple revision ranges because the ordering would be ill-defined
> +	EOF
>  	test_must_fail git replay --advance=main main topic1 topic2 2>actual &&
>  	test_cmp expect actual
>  '
> @@ -398,4 +399,105 @@ test_expect_success 'invalid replay.refAction value' '
>  	test_grep "invalid.*replay.refAction.*value" error
>  '
>  
> +test_expect_success 'argument to --revert must be a reference' '
> +	echo "fatal: argument to --revert must be a reference" >expect &&
> +	oid=$(git rev-parse main) &&
> +	test_must_fail git replay --revert=$oid topic1..topic2 2>actual &&
> +	test_cmp expect actual
> +'
> +
> +test_expect_success 'cannot revert with multiple sources' '
> +	cat >expect <<-\EOF &&
> +	fatal: '"'"'--revert'"'"' cannot be used with multiple revision ranges because the ordering would be ill-defined
> +	EOF
> +	test_must_fail git replay --revert main main topic1 topic2 2>actual &&
> +	test_cmp expect actual
> +'
> +
> +test_expect_success 'using replay --revert to revert commits' '
> +	# Reuse existing topic4 branch (has commits I and J on top of main)
> +	START=$(git rev-parse topic4) &&
> +	test_when_finished "git branch -f topic4 $START" &&
> +
> +	# Revert commits I and J
> +	git replay --revert topic4 topic4~2..topic4 &&
> +
> +	# Verify the revert commits were created (newest-first ordering
> +	# means J is reverted first, then I on top)
> +	git log --format=%s -4 topic4 >actual &&
> +	cat >expect <<-\EOF &&
> +	Revert "I"
> +	Revert "J"
> +	J
> +	I
> +	EOF
> +	test_cmp expect actual &&
> +
> +	# Verify commit message format includes hash (tip is Revert "I")
> +	test_commit_message topic4 <<-EOF &&
> +	Revert "I"
> +
> +	This reverts commit $(git rev-parse I).
> +	EOF
> +
> +	# Verify reflog message
> +	git reflog topic4 -1 --format=%gs >reflog-msg &&
> +	echo "replay --revert topic4" >expect-reflog &&
> +	test_cmp expect-reflog reflog-msg
> +'
> +
> +test_expect_success 'using replay --revert in bare repo' '
> +	# Reuse existing topic4 in bare repo
> +	START=$(git -C bare rev-parse topic4) &&
> +	test_when_finished "git -C bare update-ref refs/heads/topic4 $START" &&
> +
> +	# Revert commit J in bare repo
> +	git -C bare replay --revert topic4 topic4~1..topic4 &&
> +
> +	# Verify revert was created
> +	git -C bare log -1 --format=%s topic4 >actual &&
> +	echo "Revert \"J\"" >expect &&
> +	test_cmp expect actual
> +'
> +
> +test_expect_success 'revert of revert uses Reapply' '
> +	# Use topic4 and first revert J, then revert the revert
> +	START=$(git rev-parse topic4) &&
> +	test_when_finished "git branch -f topic4 $START" &&
> +
> +	# First revert J
> +	git replay --revert topic4 topic4~1..topic4 &&
> +	REVERT_J=$(git rev-parse topic4) &&
> +
> +	# Now revert the revert - should become Reapply
> +	git replay --revert topic4 topic4~1..topic4 &&
> +
> +	# Verify Reapply prefix and message format
> +	test_commit_message topic4 <<-EOF
> +	Reapply "J"
> +
> +	This reverts commit $REVERT_J.
> +	EOF
> +'
> +
> +test_expect_success 'git replay --revert with conflict' '
> +	# conflict branch has C.conflict which conflicts with topic1s C
> +	test_expect_code 1 git replay --revert conflict B..topic1
> +'
> +
> +test_expect_success 'git replay --revert incompatible with --contained' '
> +	test_must_fail git replay --revert topic4 --contained topic4~1..topic4 2>error &&
> +	test_grep "requires --onto" error
> +'
> +
> +test_expect_success 'git replay --revert incompatible with --onto' '
> +	test_must_fail git replay --revert topic4 --onto main topic4~1..topic4 2>error &&
> +	test_grep "cannot be used together" error
> +'
> +
> +test_expect_success 'git replay --revert incompatible with --advance' '
> +	test_must_fail git replay --revert topic4 --advance main topic4~1..topic4 2>error &&
> +	test_grep "cannot be used together" error
> +'
> +
>  test_done
> -- 
> 2.51.0
>
>

-- 
Cheers,
Toon