DOKK / manpages / debian 10 / datalad / datalad-create.1.en
datalad create(1) datalad datalad create(1)

datalad create - create a new dataset from scratch.

datalad create [-h] [-f] [-D DESCRIPTION] [-d PATH] [--no-annex] [--nosave] [--annex-version ANNEX_VERSION] [--annex-backend ANNEX_BACKEND] [--native-metadata-type LABEL] [--shared-access MODE] [--git-opts STRING] [--annex-opts STRING] [--annex-init-opts STRING] [--text-no-annex] [--fake-dates] [PATH]

This command initializes a new dataset at a given location, or the current directory. The new dataset can optionally be registered in an existing superdataset (the new dataset's path needs to be located within the superdataset for that, and the superdataset needs to be given explicitly). It is recommended to provide a brief description to label the dataset's nature *and* location, e.g. "Michael's music on black laptop". This helps humans to identify data locations in distributed scenarios. By default an identifier comprised of user and machine name, plus path will be generated.

This command only creates a new dataset, it does not add any content to it, even if the target directory already contains additional files or directories.

Plain Git repositories can be created via the --no-annex flag. However, the result will not be a full dataset, and, consequently, not all features are supported (e.g. a description).

To create a local version of a remote dataset use the `install` command instead.

Power-user info: This command uses git init and git annex init to prepare the new dataset. Registering to a superdataset is performed via a git submodule add operation in the discovered superdataset.

path where the dataset shall be created, directories will be created as necessary. If no location is provided, a dataset will be created in the current working directory. Either way the command will error if the target directory is not empty. Use FORCE to create a dataset in a non-empty directory. Constraints: value must be a string, or Value must be a Dataset or a valid identifier of a Dataset (e.g. a path) [Default: None]

show this help message. --help-np forcefully disables the use of a pager for displaying the help message
enforce creation of a dataset in a non-empty directory. [Default: False]
short description to use for a dataset location. Its primary purpose is to help humans to identify a dataset copy (e.g., "mike's dataset on lab server"). Note that when a dataset is published, this information becomes available on the remote side. Constraints: value must be a string [Default: None]
specify the dataset to perform the create operation on. If a dataset is given, a new subdataset will be created in it. Constraints: Value must be a Dataset or a valid identifier of a Dataset (e.g. a path) [Default: None]
if set, a plain Git repository will be created without any annex. [Default: False]
by default all modifications to a dataset are immediately saved. Giving this option will disable this behavior. [Default: True]
select a particular annex repository version. The list of supported versions depends on the available git-annex version. This should be left untouched, unless you know what you are doing. Constraints: value must be convertible to type 'int' [Default: None]
set default hashing backend used by the new dataset. For a list of supported backends see the git-annex documentation. The default is optimized for maximum compatibility of datasets across platforms (especially those with limited path lengths). Constraints: value must be a string [Default: 'MD5E']
Metadata type label. Must match the name of the respective parser implementation in DataLad (e.g. "xmp"). This option can be given multiple times. Constraints: value must be a string [Default: None]
configure shared access to a dataset, see `git init --shared` documentation for complete details on the supported scenarios. Possible values include: 'false', 'true', 'group', and 'all'. [Default: None]
option string to be passed to git calls. Constraints: value must be a string [Default: None]
option string to be passed to git annex calls. Constraints: value must be a string [Default: None]
option string to be passed to git annex init calls. Constraints: value must be a string [Default: None]
if set, all text files in the future would be added to Git, not annex. Achieved by adding an entry to .GITATTRIBUTES file. See http://git-annex.branchable.com/tips/largefiles/ and NO_ANNEX DataLad plugin to establish even more detailed control over which files are placed under annex control. [Default: None]
Configure the repository to use fake dates. The date for a new commit will be set to one second later than the latest commit in the repository. This can be used to anonymize dates. [Default: False]


datalad is developed by The DataLad Team and Contributors <team@datalad.org>.

2019-02-08