Support 'untracked' files in lakectl local

[Water292]

Hey! I'm using lakectl local , i.e. my local directory has a .lakefs_ref.yaml file in a directory that's linked to a corresponding lakefs repo, branch and commit. Sometimes i want to run lakectl local checkout <path> but I do not want it to overwrite untracked files in that directory. Is this something that is supported / on the roadmap? Similar to how git does not remove untracked paths when doing a git pull. I was able to do this by using lakectl fs download -r <lakefs url> <path> , so just wondering if its possible to implement with lakectl local as well. Thanks in advance!

Slack conversation with @ozkatz - https://lakefs.slack.com/archives/C016726JLJW/p1728595649900559

[tkalir]

I can work on supporting something like a .lakeignore file to exclude files from local commit\checkout etc, if that's the approach the team wants to go with.

[Water292]

Would prefer an option that allows us to blanket ignore all untracked files, and mimics the functionality in lakectl fs download -r <lakefs url> <path> without needing to maintain extra configs. Any particular reason the .lakeignore is preferred given the desired functionality already exists in another form.

[tkalir]

An ignore file would allow users do local checkout and later local commit without worrying about untracked files, which could be helpful. That said, I can see that your suggestion might be easier to use.
I would wait for someone from the team to weigh in on this.