Purpose of git repo handling rpg files

[LuGe00]

What is the purpose of the git repo besides change tracking?

It seems like right now we would have to edit the files in the Object Browser and copy paste the whole file into the git repo and commit.
There are local actions (.vscode/actions.json) but these CL commands only work on the source files on the ibm i. So making changes directly into the git repo does not update AS400 source files after compiling or saving. Is there a way to achieve that ?

[sebjulliand]

Change tracking and source code management is the whole point of using Git and migrating from QSYS.

If you want to use Git properly, you have to migrate your source members to streamfiles, download them and push them to git.
Once the project is in it, there is no turning back to QSYS. Everything happens in Git, in a local VS Code workspace.

The key is that when you run a local action on a local file, Code for IBM i will upload these files to a working directory on the IFS and then run the command on these uploaded files.

Of course that works well for commands supporting the STMF parameter. For other types (like RPG III), the action should include a CPYFRMSTMF before CRTRGPGM, for example. Or you could use a custom compilation command to handle that for you.

The key takeaway here is if you start using Git, there is no point in working from QSYS anymore.