Unexpected behavior of check_git_status() utility function

[MrinalJain17]

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• I have searched the YOLOv5 issues and found no similar bug report.

YOLOv5 Component

Training

Bug

The following function is called from within train.py.

yolov5/utils/general.py

Lines 206 to 222 in 4c0982a

	def check_git_status():
	# Recommend 'git pull' if code is out of date
	msg = ', for updates see https://github.com/ultralytics/yolov5'
	print(colorstr('github: '), end='')
	assert Path('.git').exists(), 'skipping check (not a git repository)' + msg
	assert not is_docker(), 'skipping check (Docker image)' + msg
	assert check_online(), 'skipping check (offline)' + msg
	cmd = 'git fetch && git config --get remote.origin.url'
	url = check_output(cmd, shell=True, timeout=5).decode().strip().rstrip('.git') # git fetch
	branch = check_output('git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD', shell=True).decode().strip() # checked out
	n = int(check_output(f'git rev-list {branch}..origin/master --count', shell=True)) # commits behind
	if n > 0:
	s = f"⚠️ YOLOv5 is out of date by {n} commit{'s' * (n > 1)}. Use `git pull` or `git clone {url}` to update."
	else:
	s = f'up to date with {url} ✅'
	print(emojis(s)) # emoji-safe

Based on my understanding, the current implementation of check_git_status() makes one of two assumptions:

1. train.py has been called directly from inside the root YOLOv5 directory: In this case check_git_status() works as intended, informing whether the repository is up to date or not.
2. User has called train.py from somewhere else, most likely by providing the full path. For instance, python path/to/train.py .... In this case, check_git_status() assumes that the directory from where the training script is executed is NOT version controlled.

The assumption made in scenario 2 is invalid if the training command is executed from some other version-controlled directory. Since that directory will also have a .git folder, check_git_status() mistakenly considers that the script has been called from within the Yolo repository.

And we end up with something like this:

Environment

• YOLOv5 v6.0-40-g8c326a1 torch 1.10.0 CUDA:0 (Quadro P1000, 4096.0MB)
• OS: Windows
• Python: 3.8

Minimal Reproducible Example

No response

Additional

A potential solution could be to change the working directory to the YOLOv5 repository root within the function check_git_status()

Are you willing to submit a PR?

• Yes I'd like to help by submitting a PR!

[github-actions]

👋 Hello @MrinalJain17, thank you for your interest in YOLOv5 🚀! Please visit our ⭐️ Tutorials to get started, where you can find quickstart guides for simple tasks like Custom Data Training all the way to advanced concepts like Hyperparameter Evolution.

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Requirements

Python>=3.6.0 with all requirements.txt installed including PyTorch>=1.7. To get started:

$ git clone https://github.com/ultralytics/yolov5
$ cd yolov5
$ pip install -r requirements.txt

Environments

YOLOv5 may be run in any of the following up-to-date verified environments (with all dependencies including CUDA/CUDNN, Python and PyTorch preinstalled):

• Google Colab and Kaggle notebooks with free GPU:
• Google Cloud Deep Learning VM. See GCP Quickstart Guide
• Amazon Deep Learning AMI. See AWS Quickstart Guide
• Docker Image. See Docker Quickstart Guide

Status

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[glenn-jocher]

@MrinalJain17 thanks for the bug report! This is an interesting use case that indeed may cause problems.

The solution may be to check that the current directory and ROOT directory match, or else to change the current working directory within the function to ROOT.

yolov5/utils/general.py

Line 42 in 4c0982a

ROOT = FILE.parents[1] # YOLOv5 root directory

If you'd like to help by submitting a PR for this fix that would really help! Please see our ✅ Contributing Guide to get started.