create git repo from a set of release tarballs

git-from-tarballs.sh

#!/bin/sh
test -z "$2" && {
	echo "$0 DIR FILELIST.TXT"
	echo "create a git repository in DIR from tarballs listed in FILELIST"
	echo "you can create the FILELIST with ls -1 *.tar* and then edit it"
	echo "so the order is correct."
	echo
	echo "this script abuses the fact that the combination of git rm and"
	echo "git add successfully detects renamed files, so the process is"
	echo "a lot simpler than it would otherwise be."
	exit 1
}
dir="$(readlink -f "$1")"
filelist="$(readlink -f "$2")"
tmpdir=/tmp/gft.$$.tmp
this=$(pwd)

mkdir "$dir"
cd "$dir"
git init
cat << EOF > .gitignore
*.o
*.a
EOF
git add .gitignore
git commit -m "root"

for t in `cat "$filelist"` ; do
	cd "$this"
	tar="$(readlink -f "$t")"
	cd "$dir"
	# remove empty directories, as they're not in git index and cause git rm * to fail
	find . -type d -exec rmdir {} \; 2>/dev/null
	git rm -r *
	mkdir "$tmpdir"
	cd "$tmpdir"
	tar xf "$tar"
	cd *
	cp -a * "$dir"/
	cd "$dir"
	rm -rf "$tmpdir"
	git add *
	git commit -m "import $(basename "$t")"
done