`hc cache`

hc cache is a command for users to manage Hipcheck's data cache.

When Hipcheck runs with hc check, one of its first operations is to resolve the target of analysis from the target specifier provided by the user. A resolved target must include a Git repository, as that's the basis for most kinds of analysis we want to run with Hipcheck, analyzing the behaviors associated with the development of the software in question.

After that Git repository is identified, it's cloned into Hipcheck's local repository cache, so that any operations which need the Git metadata can run on a local copy of that data instead of operating over the network in the case of a remote repo. Note that Hipcheck creates a copy in the local repository cache even if the target of analysis is a local repo. This is to ensure that any analysis operations which may change the state of the repo, but example by checking out a different commit, branch, or tag, don't modify the existing repository on disk.

Over time, this local cache of repositories can grow large, as Hipcheck does not do any automation cleanup of prior repositories stored there. This is intended to make it easier to re-analyze existing repositories, as Hipcheck will merely pull the latest changes from a repository which has been analyzed before and remains in the repository cache.

The following is the CLI help text for hc cache:

Manage Hipcheck cache

Usage: hc cache [OPTIONS] <COMMAND>

Commands:
  list    List existing caches
  delete  Delete existing caches
  help    Print this message or the help of the given subcommand(s)

Options:
  -h, --help  Print help (see more with '--help')

Output Flags:
  -v, --verbosity <VERBOSITY>  How verbose to be [possible values: quiet, normal]
  -k, --color <COLOR>          When to use color [possible values: always, never, auto]
  -f, --format <FORMAT>        What format to use [possible values: json, human]

Path Flags:
  -C, --cache <CACHE>    Path to the cache folder
  -p, --policy <POLICY>  Path to the policy file

As shown, this allows the user to list the items currently found in the cache, and to delete specific items.

`hc cache list`

The following is the help text for hc cache list:

List existing caches

Usage: hc cache list [OPTIONS]

Options:
  -s, --strategy <STRATEGY>  Sorting strategy for the list, default is 'alpha' [default: alpha] [possible values: oldest, newest, largest, smallest, alpha, ralpha]
  -m, --max <MAX>            Max number of entries to display
  -P, --pattern <FILTER>     Consider only entries matching this pattern
  -h, --help                 Print help (see more with '--help')

Output Flags:
  -v, --verbosity <VERBOSITY>  How verbose to be [possible values: quiet, normal]
  -k, --color <COLOR>          When to use color [possible values: always, never, auto]
  -f, --format <FORMAT>        What format to use [possible values: json, human]

Path Flags:
  -C, --cache <CACHE>    Path to the cache folder
  -p, --policy <POLICY>  Path to the policy file

This by default lists all entries found in the repository cache. Those entries can be filtered, sorted, and a maximum number to show can be set. The pattern defines a prefix pattern to search for when filtering repositories. The strategy defines how sorting should be done, and supports the following options:

Strategy	What It Does
`oldest`	Sort from oldest to newest.
`newest`	Sort from newest to oldest.
`largest`	Sort from largest to smallest.
`smallest`	Sort from smallest to largest.
`alpha`	Sort alphabetically.
`ralpha`	Sort reverse-alphabetically.

`hc cache delete`

hc cache delete is for deleting entries from the repository cache. The help text for it is:

Delete existing caches

Usage: hc cache delete [OPTIONS]

Options:
  -s, --strategy <STRATEGY>...  Sorting strategy for deletion. Args of the form 'all|{<STRAT> [N]}'. Where <STRAT> is the same set of strategies for `hc cache list`. If [N], the max number of entries to delete is omitted, it will default to 1
  -P, --pattern <FILTER>        Consider only entries matching this pattern
      --force                   Do not prompt user to confirm the entries to delete
  -h, --help                    Print help (see more with '--help')

Output Flags:
  -v, --verbosity <VERBOSITY>  How verbose to be [possible values: quiet, normal]
  -k, --color <COLOR>          When to use color [possible values: always, never, auto]
  -f, --format <FORMAT>        What format to use [possible values: json, human]

Path Flags:
  -C, --cache <CACHE>    Path to the cache folder
  -p, --policy <POLICY>  Path to the policy file

The same pattern and strategy flags apply to this command. By default it will prompt the user to confirm before deleting; this can be overriden with the --force flag.