What types of files should I version-control in Copia?

When considering adding a file to your repo to version-control, first ask yourself this question: Is this file likely to change in a meaningful way over time that I'd want to be able to track? If the answer is yes, and the file isn't overly large, then you should version-control in a Copia repo. If not, it may not need to be version-controlled at all, or it may be a better fit as an attachment to a Release, for example.

Vanilla Git is best at version-controlling text-readable files. Some examples of text-readable files that make sense to version-control in a Copia repo are: 

• CSV files containing device network information
• Sequence flowcharts that use text-readable files, such as Draw.io and Mermaid flowcharts in Markdown files
• Device description files such as EDS, GSD, and ESI files

Since there are many different types of devices and binary file types out there, Copia can't support all of them. This means that Copia will be able to detect when they change, but would not be able to give a graphical representation of the change. Even so, there is still a lot of value in version-controlling certain binary file types in Copia. Examples include: 

• Supported PLC project files
• Currently unsupported PLC project files
• Binary config files from things like barcode readers and servo drives
• Currently unsupported project files such as HMIs, vision cameras, and robotic controllers

While Copia employs certain tools such as Git-LFS to help manage large binary file types, performance can be impacted when extremely large binary files are checked into a repository. These types of files are better-suited to more traditional file storage mediums such as Google Drive or a networked storage drive. Examples of large files that typically don't make sense to version-control with Copia are:

• PC image backups
• IDE software (e.g. Studio 5000 installer)
• ZIP files containing backups of projects