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Checkpoints

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Why does Entire use commit trailers instead of Git notes?

Entire links commits to checkpoints with an Entire-Checkpoint trailer: 
Entire-Checkpoint: a3b2c4d5e6f7
The trailer points to checkpoint metadata stored in the entire/checkpoints/v1 branch. Entire uses this approach because commit trailers survive common Git workflows better than metadata attached only to a commit SHA. Git notes have a few practical limitations:
  • They are not pushed by normal Git pushes unless note refs are configured separately
  • They are attached to commit SHAs, which change during rebases, amends, and cherry-picks
  • Hosted Git platforms do not consistently support them in review and merge workflows
By storing the stable checkpoint ID in the commit message, Entire keeps the link with the commit itself. That is more reliable for teams that rebase, amend, cherry-pick, use hosted merge flows, or have contributors using different Git clients.

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Why doesn’t Entire provide durable line-level AI attribution?

Entire is designed to preserve durable session and commit provenance. That means Entire can reliably answer questions like:
  • Which session produced this commit?
  • Which prompts and transcript led to this change?
  • Which checkpoint is linked to this commit?
Entire can calculate attribution for a session or commit, such as how many changed lines came from an agent versus a human. That is different from assigning a permanent owner to every line of code as it moves through Git history. Durable line-level attribution is much harder. In normal team workflows, line-level metadata becomes fragile when:
  • Commits are rebased, amended, cherry-picked, or squashed
  • Merge conflicts are resolved manually
  • Merges happen in hosted Git UIs
  • Human edits are mixed into a manual commit before commit time
The core issue is that lines move. A line can shift, split, merge with nearby edits, or be rewritten later. Keeping per-line attribution correct across those changes requires repair logic that runs everywhere history changes. Entire currently prioritizes a more durable record:
  • Preserve the full session transcript
  • Link commits to stable checkpoint IDs
  • Keep commit-level provenance intact across common Git workflows
This gives teams reliable context and responsibility without depending on fragile per-line metadata.