crab why

Explain why a file is tracked and whether its current working-tree state is a pointer or materialized content.

Synopsis

crab why [OPTIONS] <FILE>

crab why models/checkpoint.safetensors
crab why --json models/checkpoint.safetensors

The JSON form is useful for tooling that needs the resolved tracking pattern, pointer state, or hydration details without parsing human output.

Interpret the explanation

Run crab why when a file behaves differently from neighboring files or when you need to know which tracking rule selected it. The command reports the resolved file state; it does not hydrate, dehydrate, stage, or rewrite the file. This makes it suitable as the first diagnostic step before changing tracking configuration.

For example, compare two paths that you expected to follow the same rule:

crab why models/checkpoint.safetensors
crab why data/labels.csv
crab ls-files --json

Look for the matching pattern and whether each working-tree path is a pointer or materialized content. If the pattern is wrong, update tracking with crab track. If the pattern is correct but the representation is not, use crab hydrate or crab dehydrate. Keep the JSON form for scripts that need stable fields and exit-status handling.