From 36e8d9e6fc4a2fc7aa45546d594b8b19b09c8343 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: nhkeni <keni@his.com>
Date: Mon, 7 Oct 2024 13:45:35 -0400
Subject: [PATCH] nhgitset version 4

To update, run "perl DEVEL/nhgitset.pl"

Fixes:
- "nhcommit -a" has been fixed
- NHDT was hardwired in places
- no longer complain about a missing dat directory outside of the
    NetHack source tree
- make update of gitinfo atomic
- Replace some hardwired directory separators with OS-dependent constructs

Backwards Incompatibilities:
- NH_DATESUB's DATE() is now Date() to match the other variables
- MSYS2 requires an additional Perl package - the MSYS2 docs have
    been updated

New Help System:
- git nhhelp
   This command mirrors "git help" for nh* commands.
- See git nhhelp nhsub for general help on substitution variables

New Substitution Variables:
-Brev()
    An aBREViation of $PREFIX-Branch$:$PREFIX-Revision$ - this
    may help get line length under control in file headers.
-Assert(TYPE=VALUE)
    If TYPE does not match VALUE, do not substitute on this line.
    TYPE P checks VALUE against nethack.substprefix
-Project(arg)
    Returns nethack.projectname if there is no arg and an uppercase
    version if arg is uc.

Other New Features:
- Add nethack.projectname
- Documentation updates - see "git nhhelp nhsub"
- On checkout or merge of a branch, check for nhgitset version updates
  and provide an optional message to the user.
- Move NH_DATESUB substitutions here from cron job to keep dates in sync
- PREFIX-* keywords now available in NH_DATESUB templates
- Support use of nhgitset.pl from a different repo; note that update
  checks will be dependent on keeping the original source repo up-to-date
  and in the same location.
---
 DEVEL/Developer.txt               |   9 +-
 DEVEL/VERSION                     |  40 ++
 DEVEL/hooksdir/NHadd              |  25 +-
 DEVEL/hooksdir/NHgithook.pm       | 311 ++++++++---
 DEVEL/hooksdir/NHsubst            | 182 ++++---
 DEVEL/hooksdir/NHtext             |   8 +-
 DEVEL/hooksdir/nhhelp             |  79 +++
 DEVEL/hooksdir/nhsub              | 879 +++++++++++++++++++-----------
 DEVEL/hooksdir/post-applypatch    |   8 +-
 DEVEL/hooksdir/post-checkout      |   9 +-
 DEVEL/hooksdir/post-commit        |  11 +-
 DEVEL/hooksdir/post-merge         |   9 +-
 DEVEL/hooksdir/post-rewrite       |   6 +-
 DEVEL/hooksdir/pre-applypatch     |   6 +-
 DEVEL/hooksdir/pre-auto-gc        |   6 +-
 DEVEL/hooksdir/pre-commit         |   6 +-
 DEVEL/hooksdir/pre-push           |   6 +-
 DEVEL/hooksdir/pre-rebase         |   6 +-
 DEVEL/hooksdir/prepare-commit-msg |   8 +-
 DEVEL/nhgitset.pl                 | 446 +++++++++------
 doc/Guidebook.mn                  |   7 +-
 doc/Guidebook.tex                 |   2 +-
 doc/dlb.6                         |  12 +-
 doc/makedefs.6                    |   2 +-
 doc/nethack.6                     |   2 +-
 doc/recover.6                     |   2 +-
 sys/windows/build-msys2.txt       |   2 +
 27 files changed, 1412 insertions(+), 677 deletions(-)
 create mode 100644 DEVEL/VERSION
 create mode 100644 DEVEL/hooksdir/nhhelp

diff --git a/DEVEL/Developer.txt b/DEVEL/Developer.txt
index c7d7683c9..f43f88f43 100644
--- a/DEVEL/Developer.txt
+++ b/DEVEL/Developer.txt
@@ -92,10 +92,11 @@ B. Specify the prefix for variable substitution:
 	tree you cloned from git.  I use ~/nethack/GITADDDIR; for that base,
 	create the needed directories and edit the file:
 		~/nethack/GITADDDIR/DOTGIT/PRE
-	Put this in it (if your OS is not Unix-like you may need to change
-	the first line):
+	Put this in it, adapting it to your variant (if your OS is not Unix-like
+	you may need to change the first line):
 		#!/bin/sh
 		git config nethack.substprefix MINE
+		git config nethack.projectname MineHack
 	Now make it executable:
 		chmod +x ~/nethack/GITADDDIR/DOTGIT/PRE
 C. Configure the repository:
@@ -169,8 +170,8 @@ A. Introduction
    The PREFIX is the value in the git config variable nethack.substprefix.
    VARNAME is one of:
 	Date
-	Branch (experimental)
-	Revision (experimental)
+	Branch
+	Revision
    other names will give a warning.
 
 B. Enabling variable expansion
diff --git a/DEVEL/VERSION b/DEVEL/VERSION
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..01a759d53
--- /dev/null
+++ b/DEVEL/VERSION
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+4
+Fixes:
+- "nhcommit -a" has been fixed
+- NHDT was hardwired in places
+- no longer complain about a missing dat directory outside of the
+    NetHack source tree
+- make update of gitinfo atomic
+- Replace some hardwired directory separators with OS-dependent constructs
+
+Backwards Incompatibilities:
+- NH_DATESUB's DATE() is now Date() to match the other variables
+- MSYS2 requires an additional Perl package - the MSYS2 docs have
+    been updated
+
+New Help System:
+- git nhhelp
+   This command mirrors "git help" for nh* commands.
+- See git nhhelp nhsub for general help on substitution variables
+
+New Substitution Variables:
+-Brev()
+    An aBREViation of $PREFIX-Branch$:$PREFIX-Revision$ - this
+    may help get line length under control in file headers.
+-Assert(TYPE=VALUE)
+    If TYPE does not match VALUE, do not substitute on this line.
+    TYPE P checks VALUE against nethack.substprefix
+-Project(arg)
+    Returns nethack.projectname if there is no arg and an uppercase
+    version if arg is uc.
+
+Other New Features:
+- Add nethack.projectname
+- Documentation updates - see "git nhhelp nhsub"
+- On checkout or merge of a branch, check for nhgitset version updates
+- Move NH_DATESUB substitutions here from cron job to keep dates in sync
+- PREFIX-* keywords now available in NH_DATESUB templates
+- Support use of nhgitset.pl from a different repo; note that update
+  checks will be dependent on keeping the original source repo up-to-date
+  and in the same location.
+
diff --git a/DEVEL/hooksdir/NHadd b/DEVEL/hooksdir/NHadd
index c4d6e547d..f4386c81d 100644
--- a/DEVEL/hooksdir/NHadd
+++ b/DEVEL/hooksdir/NHadd
@@ -12,11 +12,32 @@ die "Bad subcommand '$ARGV[0]'" unless $ok{$ARGV[0]};
 # we won't fail on a failure, so just system()
 $rv = system('.git/hooks/nhsub',"--$ARGV[0]",@ARGV[1..$#ARGV]);
 if($rv){
-        print "warning: nhsub failed: $rv $!\n";
+    print "warning: nhsub failed: $rv $!\n";
 }
 
 if(length $ENV{GIT_PREFIX}){
-        chdir($ENV{GIT_PREFIX}) or die "Can't chdir $ENV{GIT_PREFIX}: $!";
+    chdir($ENV{GIT_PREFIX}) or die "Can't chdir $ENV{GIT_PREFIX}: $!";
 }
 
 exec "git", @ARGV or die "Can't exec git: $!";
+
+__END__
+=for nhgitset nhadd Add file contents to the index with NetHack additions
+=for nhgitset nhcommit Record changes to the repository with NetHack additions
+
+=head1 NAME
+
+C<NHadd> - NetHack internal common code for nhadd and nhcommit
+
+=head1 SYNOPSIS
+
+C<git nhadd E<lt>git add optionsE<gt>>
+
+C<git nhcommit E<lt>git add optionsE<gt>>
+
+=head1 DESCRIPTION
+
+Run nhsub with the given arguments, then run C<git add> or C<git commit>
+with the given arguments.  Note that only basic arguments for those commands
+are understood; more complex situations may be handled by running C<git nhsub>
+manually before running C<git add> or C<git commit>.
diff --git a/DEVEL/hooksdir/NHgithook.pm b/DEVEL/hooksdir/NHgithook.pm
index c7c3456f5..3f52008c0 100644
--- a/DEVEL/hooksdir/NHgithook.pm
+++ b/DEVEL/hooksdir/NHgithook.pm
@@ -16,9 +16,11 @@ my $tracefile = "/tmp/nhgitt.$$";
 
 # OS hackery
 my $DS = quotemeta('/');
+my $PDS = '/';
 if ($^O eq "MSWin32")
 {
     $DS = quotemeta('\\');
+    $PDS = '\\';
 }
 
 our %saved_env;
@@ -26,25 +28,23 @@ our @saved_argv;
 our $saved_input;
 
 sub saveSTDIN {
-	@saved_input = <STDIN>;
+    @saved_input = <STDIN>;
 
-	if($trace){
-		print TRACE "STDIN:\n";
-		print TRACE $saved_input;
-		print TRACE "ENDSTDIN\n";
-	}
+    if($trace){
+	print TRACE "STDIN:\n";
+	print TRACE $saved_input;
+	print TRACE "ENDSTDIN\n";
+    }
 
-	tie *STDIN, 'NHIO::STDIN', @saved_input;
+    tie *STDIN, 'NHIO::STDIN', @saved_input;
 }
 
-# XXX this needs a re-write (don't tie and untie, just set NEXT=0)
-#  (the sensitive thing is @foo = <STDIN> )
 sub resetSTDIN{
-        my $x = tied(*STDIN);
-        my %x = %$x;
-        my $data = @$x{DATA};
-        untie *STDIN;
-        tie *STDIN, 'NHIO::STDIN', $data;
+    my $x = tied(*STDIN);
+    my %x = %$x;
+    my $data = @$x{DATA};
+    untie *STDIN;
+    tie *STDIN, 'NHIO::STDIN', $data;
 }
 
 # don't need this now
@@ -55,21 +55,142 @@ sub resetSTDIN{
 #}
 
 sub PRE {
-	&do_hook("PRE");
+    &do_hook("PRE");
 }
 
 sub POST {
-	&do_hook("POST");
+    &do_hook("POST");
+}
+
+###
+### versioning for nhgitset and friends
+###
+
+# values of nethack.setupversion and DEVEL/VERSION:
+# 1 is reserved for repos checked out before versioning was added
+# 2 used clean/smudge filter, poorly
+# 3 was first production version
+# 4 added the version file and version checking; nhhelp, NH_DATESUB support, etc.
+
+sub version_in_devel {
+	# (1) check for a non-null nethack.setuppath - this handles
+	# any repo that has already been set up (but NOT checking
+	# out <v4 over >=v4 since nethack.setuppath will exist but
+	# DEVEL/VERSION will not).
+	# XXX if the source repo has been removed, we'll fall back to
+	#  the third case - hopefully that's ok.
+	# XXX there's no way to recover from a missing source repo
+	#  without editing .git/config.
+    my $path = `git config --local nethack.setuppath`;
+    chomp $path;
+    $path =~ s/DEVEL$//;    # NOP if config not set
+
+	# (2) else check the local directory; that will be correct for NHsource.
+    if(0 == length $path){
+	$path = `git rev-parse --show-toplevel`;
+	chomp $path;
+	$path = '' unless(-d "$path${PDS}DEVEL");
+    }
+	# (3) If that doesn't exist, check using the invocation path; that will be
+	# correct for other repos during nhgitset (but will also fail for
+	#  checking out 3 over 4).
+    if(0 == length $path){
+	    # strip out "DEVEL"
+	$path = ($0 =~ m!^(.*)${PDS}DEVEL${PDS}.*?(*nla:DEVEL)!)[0];
+    }
+	# Uh oh?
+    if(0==length($path) or (! -d "$path${PDS}DEVEL")){
+	die "Can't locate DEVEL directory in '$path'.";
+    }
+
+	# Handle checking out version <4 over version >=4.  If
+	# this seems to be the situation, don't revert the code.
+    return 0 if(! -f "$path${PDS}DEVEL${PDS}VERSION");
+
+    my $version;
+    my $verfile = "$path${PDS}DEVEL${PDS}VERSION";
+    open VERFH,"<",$verfile or die "xCan't open $verfile: $!";
+    $version = 0+<VERFH>;
+    my $message = join('',<VERFH>);
+    close VERFH;
+    die "Valid version not found in $verfile" unless($version >= 4);
+    return ($version,$message) if($version > 0);
+    return 0;
+}
+
+sub version_in_git {
+    my $vtemp = `git config --local --get nethack.setupversion`;
+    chomp($vtemp);
+    return $vtemp if($vtemp > 0);
+    return 0;
+}
+
+sub version_set_git {
+    my $version_new = $_[0];
+
+    system("git config nethack.setupversion $version_new");
+    if($?){
+	die "Can't set nethack.setupversion $version_new: $?,$!\n";
+    }
 }
 
 ###
 ### store githash and gitbranch in dat/gitinfo.txt
 ###
+# CAUTION!  This is run not just from git hooks, but also from
+#           sys/unix/gitinfo.sh
 
 sub nhversioning {
     use strict;
     use warnings;
 
+	# See if we're (probably) in a "git pull", in which case we need to
+	# check for upgrades.
+    my $check_upgrade = 1 if($_[0]);
+
+	# Check for pre-v4 source repo.
+    my $is_sourcerepo;
+    {
+	chomp($is_sourcerepo = `git config --type=int --get nethack.is-sourcerepo`);
+	if(0 == length $is_sourcerepo){	# not set - assume old repo
+	    $is_sourcerepo = 1;
+	}elsif($is_sourcerepo==1){
+	    ;
+	}elsif($is_sourcerepo==0){
+	    ;
+	}
+    }
+
+	    # Skip the skipping tests if we're being called directly.
+	    # NB: post-commit has no args, but that will be caught by
+	    #  the next test for non-source repos.
+    if($#ARGV != -1){
+	    # Skip this if we didn't change branches, but see if we need to warn.
+	if(defined($ARGV[2]) and ($ARGV[2] == 0)){
+	    # Because we can create an out of sync state, possibly warn.
+	    my $ref = $ARGV[1];
+	    if($is_sourcerepo and (0 != 0+`git diff --name-only $ref $ref^ |grep ^DEVEL|wc -l`)){
+		warn "WARNING: DEVEL directory changed.  Versioning may be inconsistent\n";
+	    }
+	    return
+	}
+    }
+
+    if($check_upgrade){
+	my $current_version = version_in_git();
+	my($new_version,$message) = version_in_devel();
+	if($new_version > $current_version){
+	    warn "nhgitset.pl and/or related programs have changed.\n";
+	    warn "Please re-run nhgitset.pl to update from version $current_version to $new_version.\n";
+	    if(length $message){
+		warn "Additional information\n$message\n";
+	    }
+	}
+    }
+
+	# Skip versioning if we aren't in a source repo.
+    return if(0==$is_sourcerepo);
+
     my $git_sha = `git rev-parse HEAD`;
     $git_sha =~ s/\s+//g;
     my $git_branch = `git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD`;
@@ -77,7 +198,14 @@ sub nhversioning {
     die "git rev-parse failed" unless(length $git_sha and length $git_branch);
     my $exists = 0;
 
-    if (open my $fh, '<', 'dat/gitinfo.txt') {
+    no strict 'refs';
+    no strict 'subs';
+    my $file_gitinfo = "dat${PDS}gitinfo.txt";
+    my $file_gittemp = "dat${PDS}TMPgitinfo.txt";
+    use strict 'subs';
+    use strict 'refs';
+
+    if (open my $fh, '<', $file_gitinfo) {
         $exists = 1;
         my $hashok = 0;
         my $branchok = 0;
@@ -91,61 +219,71 @@ sub nhversioning {
         }
         close $fh;
         if ($hashok && $branchok) {
-            print "dat/gitinfo.txt unchanged, githash=".$git_sha."\n";
+            print "$file_gitinfo unchanged, githash=".$git_sha."\n";
             return;
         }
     } else {
-	print "WARNING: Can't find dat directory\n" unless(-d "dat");
+	warn "WARNING: Can't find dat directory\n" unless(-d "dat");
+	return;
     }
-    if (open my $fh, '>', 'dat/gitinfo.txt') {
+    if (open my $fh, '>', $file_gittemp) {
         my $how = ($exists ? "updated" : "created");
         print $fh 'githash='.$git_sha."\n";
         print $fh 'gitbranch='.$git_branch."\n";
-        print "dat/gitinfo.txt ".$how.", githash=".$git_sha."\n";
+        print "$file_gitinfo ".$how.", githash=".$git_sha."\n";
+	if(close($fh)){
+	    if(rename($file_gittemp, $file_gitinfo)){
+		;   # all ok
+	    } else {
+		warn "WARNING: Can't rename $file_gittemp -> $file_gitinfo";
+	    }
+	} else {
+	    warn "WARNING: Can't close temp file: $!";
+	}
     } else {
-	print "WARNING: Unable to open dat/gitinfo.txt: $!\n";
+	warn "WARNING: Unable to open $file_gitinfo: $!\n";
     }
 }
 
 # PRIVATE
 sub do_hook {
-	my($p) = @_;
-	my $hname = $0;
-	$hname =~ s!^((.*$DS)|())(.*)!$1$p-$4!;
-	if(-x $hname){
-		print TRACE "START $p: $hname\n" if($trace);
+    my($p) = @_;
+    my $hname = $0;
+    $hname =~ s!^((.*$DS)|())(.*)!$1$p-$4!;
+    if(-x $hname){
+	print TRACE "START $p: $hname\n" if($trace);
 
-		open TOHOOK, "|-", $hname or die "open $hname: $!";
-		print TOHOOK <STDIN>;
-		close TOHOOK or die "close $hname: $! $?";
+	open TOHOOK, "|-", $hname or die "open $hname: $!";
+	print TOHOOK <STDIN>;
+	close TOHOOK or die "close $hname: $! $?";
 
-		print TRACE "END $p\n" if($trace);
-	}
+	print TRACE "END $p\n" if($trace);
+    }
 }
 
 sub trace_start {
-	return unless($trace);
-	my $self = shift;
-	open TRACE, ">>", $tracefile;
-	print TRACE "START CLIENT PID:$$ ARGV:\n";
-	print TRACE "CWD: " . cwd() . "\n";
-	print TRACE "[0] $0\n";
-	my $x1;
-	for(my $x=0;$x<scalar @ARGV;$x++){
-		$x1 = $x+1;
-		print TRACE "[$x1] $ARGV[$x]\n";
-	}
-	print TRACE "ENV:\n";
-	foreach my $k (sort keys %ENV){
-		next unless ($k =~ m/(^GIT_)|(^NH)/);
-		print TRACE " $k => $ENV{$k}\n";
-	}
+    return unless($trace);
+    my $self = shift;
+    open TRACE, ">>", $tracefile;
+    print TRACE "START CLIENT PID:$$ ARGV:\n";
+    print TRACE "CWD: " . cwd() . "\n";
+    print TRACE "[0] $0\n";
+    my $x1;
+    for(my $x=0;$x<scalar @ARGV;$x++){
+	$x1 = $x+1;
+	print TRACE "[$x1] $ARGV[$x]\n";
+    }
+    print TRACE "ENV:\n";
+    foreach my $k (sort keys %ENV){
+	next unless ($k =~ m/(^GIT_)|(^NH)/);
+	print TRACE " $k => $ENV{$k}\n";
+    }
 }
 
 BEGIN {
-	%saved_env = %ENV;
-	@saved_argv = @ARGV;
-	&trace_start;
+    %saved_env = %ENV;
+    @saved_argv = @ARGV;
+    &trace_start;
 }
 
 ###
@@ -153,42 +291,41 @@ BEGIN {
 ###
 package NHIO::STDIN;
 sub TIEHANDLE {
-        my $class = shift;
-        my %fh;
-                # XXX yuck
-        if(ref @_[0]){
-                $fh{DATA} = @_[0];
-        } else {
-                $fh{DATA} = \@_;
-        }   
-        $fh{NEXT} = 0;
-        return bless \%fh, $class;
+    my $class = shift;
+    my %fh;
+    if(ref @_[0]){
+	$fh{DATA} = @_[0];
+    } else {
+	$fh{DATA} = \@_;
+    }   
+    $fh{NEXT} = 0;
+    return bless \%fh, $class;
 }
 
 sub READLINE {
-        my $self = shift;
-        return undef if($self->{EOF});
-        if(wantarray){
-                my $lim = $#{$self->{DATA}};
-                my @ary = @{$self->{DATA}}[$self->{NEXT}..$lim];
-                my @rv = @ary[$self->{NEXT}..$#ary];
-                $self->{EOF} = 1;
-                return @rv;
-        } else{
-                my $rv = $self->{DATA}[$self->{NEXT}];
-                if(length $rv){
-                        $self->{NEXT}++;
-                        return $rv;
-                } else {
-                        $self->{EOF} = 1;
-                        return undef;
-                }   
-        }   
+    my $self = shift;
+    return undef if($self->{EOF});
+    if(wantarray){
+	my $lim = $#{$self->{DATA}};
+	my @ary = @{$self->{DATA}}[$self->{NEXT}..$lim];
+	my @rv = @ary[$self->{NEXT}..$#ary];
+	$self->{EOF} = 1;
+	return @rv;
+    } else{
+	my $rv = $self->{DATA}[$self->{NEXT}];
+	if(length $rv){
+	    $self->{NEXT}++;
+	    return $rv;
+	} else {
+	    $self->{EOF} = 1;
+	    return undef;
+	}   
+    }   
 }
 
 sub EOF {
-        $self = shift;
-        return $self->{EOF};
+    $self = shift;
+    return $self->{EOF};
 }
 
 1;
@@ -223,11 +360,20 @@ NHgithook - common code for NetHack git hooks (and other git bits)
   (core hook code)
   &NHgithook::POST;
 
+__END__
+=for nhgitset NHgithook Infrastructure for NetHack git hooks.
+
 =head1 DESCRIPTION
 
+Perl module for infrastructure of NetHack Git hooks.
+
 Buffers call information so multiple independent actions may be coded for
 Git hooks and similar Git callouts.
 
+Maintains C<dat/gitinfo.txt>.
+
+Common routines for dealing with nethack.setupversion git config variable.
+
 =head1 SETUP
 
 Changing the C<$trace> and C<$tracefile> variables requires editing the
@@ -247,6 +393,9 @@ may be useful since multiple processes may be live at the same time.
 
 Some features not well tested, especially under Windows.
 
+Not well documented, but almost no one needs to change (or even call)
+this code.
+
 =head1 AUTHOR
 
 Kenneth Lorber (keni@his.com)
diff --git a/DEVEL/hooksdir/NHsubst b/DEVEL/hooksdir/NHsubst
index 99621fc57..0c7aeb067 100755
--- a/DEVEL/hooksdir/NHsubst
+++ b/DEVEL/hooksdir/NHsubst
@@ -17,24 +17,24 @@ my $dbgfile = ($^O eq "MSWin32") ? "$ENV{TEMP}.$$" : "/tmp/trace.$$";
 open TRACE, ">>", $rawin?"/dev/tty":(($debug==0)? $sink : $dbgfile);
 print TRACE "TEST TRACE\n";
 if($debug){
-	print TRACE "START CLIENT ARGV:\n";
-	print TRACE "[0] $0\n";
-	my $x1;
-	for(my $x=0;$x<scalar @ARGV;$x++){
-		$x1 = $x+1;
-		print TRACE "[$x1] $ARGV[$x]\n";
-	}
-	print TRACE "ENV:\n";
-	foreach my $k (sort keys %ENV){
-		next unless ($k =~ m/^GIT_/);
-		print TRACE " $k => $ENV{$k}\n";
-	}
-	print TRACE "CWD: " . `pwd`;
-	&dumpfile($ARGV[0], "[0O]");
-	&dumpfile($ARGV[1], "[1A]");
-	&dumpfile($ARGV[2], "[2B]");
-	print TRACE "L=$ARGV[3]\n";
-	print TRACE "END\n";
+    print TRACE "START CLIENT ARGV:\n";
+    print TRACE "[0] $0\n";
+    my $x1;
+    for(my $x=0;$x<scalar @ARGV;$x++){
+	$x1 = $x+1;
+	print TRACE "[$x1] $ARGV[$x]\n";
+    }
+    print TRACE "ENV:\n";
+    foreach my $k (sort keys %ENV){
+	next unless ($k =~ m/^GIT_/);
+	print TRACE " $k => $ENV{$k}\n";
+    }
+    print TRACE "CWD: " . `pwd`;
+    &dumpfile($ARGV[0], "[0O]");
+    &dumpfile($ARGV[1], "[1A]");
+    &dumpfile($ARGV[2], "[2B]");
+    print TRACE "L=$ARGV[3]\n";
+    print TRACE "END\n";
 }
 
 my $mark_len = $ARGV[3];
@@ -47,37 +47,37 @@ my $mark_end = '>' x $mark_len;
 my $PREFIX;
 # pick up the prefix for substitutions in this repo
 if($rawin){
-	$PREFIX = "TEST";
+    $PREFIX = "TEST";
 } else {
-	$PREFIX = `git config --local --get nethack.substprefix`;
-	chomp($PREFIX);
+    $PREFIX = `git config --local --get nethack.substprefix`;
+    chomp($PREFIX);
 }
 
 my @out;
 my $cntout;
 if($rawin){
-	@out = <STDIN>;
+    @out = <STDIN>;
 } else {
-	#system "git merge-file -p .... > temp
-	my $tags = "-L CURRENT -L ANCESTOR -L OTHER";	# XXX should "CURRENT" be "MINE"?
-	@out = `git merge-file -p $tags $ARGV[1] $ARGV[0] $ARGV[2]`;
+    #system "git merge-file -p .... > temp
+    my $tags = "-L CURRENT -L ANCESTOR -L OTHER";	# XXX should "CURRENT" be "MINE"?
+    @out = `git merge-file -p $tags $ARGV[1] $ARGV[0] $ARGV[2]`;
 	#NB: we don't check the exit value because it's useless
-	print TRACE "MERGE-FILE START\n".join("",@out)."MERGE-FILE END\n";
+    print TRACE "MERGE-FILE START\n".join("",@out)."MERGE-FILE END\n";
 }
 
 ($cntout,@out) = &edit_merge(@out);
 
 if($rawin){
-	print "COUNT: $cntout\n";
-	print @out;
+    print "COUNT: $cntout\n";
+    print @out;
 } else {
-	# spit @out to $ARGV[1]  (careful: what about EOL character?)
-	open OUT, ">$ARGV[1]" or die "Can't open $ARGV[1]";
-	print OUT @out;
-	close OUT;
+    # spit @out to $ARGV[1]  (careful: what about EOL character?)
+    open OUT, ">$ARGV[1]" or die "Can't open $ARGV[1]";
+    print OUT @out;
+    close OUT;
 
-	print TRACE "WRITING START ($ARGV[1])\n".join("",@out)."WRITING END\n";
-	&dumpfile($ARGV[1], "READBACK");
+    print TRACE "WRITING START ($ARGV[1])\n".join("",@out)."WRITING END\n";
+    &dumpfile($ARGV[1], "READBACK");
 }
 print TRACE "COUNT: $cntout\n";
 
@@ -95,37 +95,37 @@ exit( ($cntout>0) ? 1 : 0);
 # keep failing so we don't need to keep changing the setup while building this script
 
 sub dumpfile {
-	my($file, $tag) = @_;
-	print TRACE "FILE $tag START\n";
-	print TRACE `hexdump -C $file`;
-	print TRACE "FILE END\n";
+    my($file, $tag) = @_;
+    print TRACE "FILE $tag START\n";
+    print TRACE `hexdump -C $file`;
+    print TRACE "FILE END\n";
 }
 
 sub edit_merge {
-	my(@input) = @_;
-					# $::count is a bit ugly XXX
-	local $::count = 0;		# we need the number of conflicts for exit()
-	my @out;
+    my(@input) = @_;
+				# $::count is a bit ugly XXX
+    local $::count = 0;		# we need the number of conflicts for exit()
+    my @out;
 
-	local $_;
-	while($_ = shift @input){
-		if(m/^$mark_start /){
-			print TRACE "FOUND A CONFLICT\n";
-			my @conflict;
-			push(@conflict, $_);
-			while($_ = shift @input){
-				push(@conflict, $_);
-				if(m/^$mark_end /){
-					last;
-				}
-			}
-			push(@out, &edit_conflict(@conflict));
-		} else {
-			push(@out, $_);
+    local $_;
+    while($_ = shift @input){
+	if(m/^$mark_start /){
+	    print TRACE "FOUND A CONFLICT\n";
+	    my @conflict;
+	    push(@conflict, $_);
+	    while($_ = shift @input){
+		push(@conflict, $_);
+		if(m/^$mark_end /){
+		    last;
 		}
+	    }
+	    push(@out, &edit_conflict(@conflict));
+	} else {
+	    push(@out, $_);
 	}
-	print TRACE "RETURN count=$::count\n";
-	return($::count, @out);
+    }
+    print TRACE "RETURN count=$::count\n";
+    return($::count, @out);
 }
 
 sub edit_conflict {
@@ -305,41 +305,41 @@ print TRACE "MVM: -$varname-$oursval-$theirval-\n";
 package PREFIX;
 # Resolve the conflict of a single var's 2 values.  Return undef to leave the conflict.
 sub Date {
-	my($PREFIX, $varname, $mine, $theirs) = @_;
-	my $m = ($mine =~ m/(\d+)/)[0];
-	my $t = ($theirs =~ m/(\d+)/)[0];
-	return undef unless ($m>0) && ($t>0);
+    my($PREFIX, $varname, $mine, $theirs) = @_;
+    my $m = ($mine =~ m/(\d+)/)[0];
+    my $t = ($theirs =~ m/(\d+)/)[0];
+    return undef unless ($m>0) && ($t>0);
 
-	return "\$$PREFIX-$varname: " . (($m>$t)?$mine:$theirs) .' $';
+    return "\$$PREFIX-$varname: " . (($m>$t)?$mine:$theirs) .' $';
 }
 
 #sub Header {
 #sub Author {
 
 sub Branch {
-	my($PREFIX, $varname, $mine, $theirs) = @_;
-	$mine =~ s/^\s+//;	$mine =~ s/\s+$//;
-	$theirs =~ s/^\s+//;	$theirs =~ s/\s+$//;
-	return "\$$PREFIX-$varname: $mine \$" if(length $mine);
-	return "\$$PREFIX-$varname: $theirs \$" if(length $theirs);
-	return "\$$PREFIX-$varname\$" if(length $theirs);
+    my($PREFIX, $varname, $mine, $theirs) = @_;
+    $mine =~ s/^\s+//;	$mine =~ s/\s+$//;
+    $theirs =~ s/^\s+//;	$theirs =~ s/\s+$//;
+    return "\$$PREFIX-$varname: $mine \$" if(length $mine);
+    return "\$$PREFIX-$varname: $theirs \$" if(length $theirs);
+    return "\$$PREFIX-$varname\$" if(length $theirs);
 }
 
 sub Revision {
-	my($PREFIX, $varname, $mine, $theirs) = @_;
-	my($m) = ($mine =~ m/1.(\d+)/);
-	my($t) = ($theirs =~ m/1.(\d+)/);
-	if($m > 0 && $t > 0){
-		my $q = ($m > $t) ? $m : $t;
-		return "\$$PREFIX-$varname: 1.$q \$";
-	}
-	if($m > 0){
-		return "\$$PREFIX-$varname: 1.$m \$";
-	}
-	if($t > 0){
-		return "\$$PREFIX-$varname: 1.$t \$";
-	}
-	return "\$$PREFIX-$varname\$";
+    my($PREFIX, $varname, $mine, $theirs) = @_;
+    my($m) = ($mine =~ m/1.(\d+)/);
+    my($t) = ($theirs =~ m/1.(\d+)/);
+    if($m > 0 && $t > 0){
+	my $q = ($m > $t) ? $m : $t;
+	return "\$$PREFIX-$varname: 1.$q \$";
+    }
+    if($m > 0){
+	return "\$$PREFIX-$varname: 1.$m \$";
+    }
+    if($t > 0){
+	return "\$$PREFIX-$varname: 1.$t \$";
+    }
+    return "\$$PREFIX-$varname\$";
 }
 __END__
 
@@ -396,3 +396,17 @@ TEST 8:
 ===
 /* NetHack 3.7        objnam.c        $TEST-Date: 1426977394 2015/03/21 22:36:34 $  $TEST-Branch: master $:$TEST-Revision: 1.108 $ */
 >>> d3
+
+=for nhgitset NHsubst NetHack merge driver
+
+=head1 NAME
+
+C<NHsubst> - NetHack merge driver
+
+=head1 SYNOPSIS
+
+(called from C<git>, do not invoke directly)
+        
+=head1 DESCRIPTION
+
+This is invoked by git through .git/config.
diff --git a/DEVEL/hooksdir/NHtext b/DEVEL/hooksdir/NHtext
index 7128c0d31..01848675b 100755
--- a/DEVEL/hooksdir/NHtext
+++ b/DEVEL/hooksdir/NHtext
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@
 # Copyright (c) 2015 by Kenneth Lorber, Kensington, Maryland
 # NetHack may be freely redistributed.  See license for details.
 
+# Not in use as of v3, but could come back in the future.
+
 # clean/smudge filter for handling substitutions
 use strict;
 
@@ -54,9 +56,9 @@ if($ARGV[0] eq "--clean"){
 	exit 1;
 }
 
-# XXX for now, there isn't any - if we get called, we subst.  No options for now.
+# XX for now, there isn't any - if we get called, we subst.  No options for now.
 # get relevant config info
-#XXX
+#XX
 #git check-attr -a $ARGV[1]
 
 # Process stdin to stdout.
@@ -109,7 +111,7 @@ sub Date {
 	my($val, $mode, $submode) = @_;
 	if($mode eq "c"){
 		if($submode==0){
-			# we add this to make merge easier for now XXX
+			# we add this to make merge easier for now XX
 			my $now = time; # not %s below - may not be portable
 			# YYYY/MM/DD HH:MM:SS
 			$val = "$now " . strftime("%Y/%m/%d %H:%M:%S", gmtime($now));
diff --git a/DEVEL/hooksdir/nhhelp b/DEVEL/hooksdir/nhhelp
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..90fb7d68f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/DEVEL/hooksdir/nhhelp
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+#!/usr/bin/perl
+# $NHDT-Date: 1730238507 2024/10/29 21:48:27 $ $NHDT-Brev: keni-gitset:1.0 $
+# Copyright (c) 2024 by Kenneth Lorber, Kensington, Maryland
+# NetHack may be freely redistributed.  See license for details.
+
+# This deals with a git problem: there is no way to do:
+#   git help alias-name
+# (yes, that will show the definition of the alias, but not show an actual
+# help document).
+#
+# So we implement this:
+#  nhhelp
+#	With no arguments, run perldoc on this file.
+#  nhhelp FOO
+#	Run perldoc on .git/hooks/FOO (if it exists).
+
+if($#ARGV == -1){
+    system("perldoc $0")==0 or die "perldoc error: $!\n";
+    exit 0;
+}
+if($#ARGV == 0){
+    if($ARGV[0] eq "-a"){
+	&listhelp;
+	exit 0;
+    }
+
+    chomp(my $target = `git config nethack.aliashelp.$ARGV[0]`);
+    my $file = ".git/hooks/$target";
+    if(-f $file){
+	system("perldoc $file")==0 or die "perldoc error: $!\n";
+    } else {
+	print "Unknown name '$ARGV[0]'\n";
+	&usage;
+    }
+    exit 0;
+}
+&usage;
+exit 0;
+
+sub usage {
+print <<E_O_M;
+usage: git nhhelp [<nhcmd>|-a]
+E_O_M
+}
+
+sub listhelp {
+    print "nhhelp is available for:\n";
+    my @namelist = `git config --name-only --get-regexp 'nethack.aliashelp.*'`;
+    print "NAMELIST $?\n" if($?);
+    @namelist = map {
+	if(m/^nethack.aliashelp.(.*)/){
+	    chomp(my $x = `git config 'nethack.aliasdesc.$1'`);
+	    sprintf("%-12s %s",$1,$x);
+	}
+    } sort @namelist;
+    print "    " . join("\n    ", @namelist)."\n";
+    exit 0;
+}
+
+__END__
+=for nhgitset nhhelp Help on NetHack git commands
+
+=head1 NAME
+
+C<nhhelp> - NetHack git command for help on NetHack git commands
+
+=head1 SYNOPSIS
+        
+C<git nhhelp [nhcmd|-a]>
+        
+=head1 DESCRIPTION
+
+With no arguments, print this message.
+
+With one argument matching a NetHack git command, print the
+documentation for that command.
+
+With the argument C<-a>, show all available nhhelp topics with one line
+summaries.
diff --git a/DEVEL/hooksdir/nhsub b/DEVEL/hooksdir/nhsub
index 7e5fdbd2f..7aa183b65 100644
--- a/DEVEL/hooksdir/nhsub
+++ b/DEVEL/hooksdir/nhsub
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 #!/usr/bin/perl
-# $NHDT-Date: 1524689646 2018/04/25 20:54:06 $ Branch: NetHack-3.6.0 $:$NHDT-Revision: 1.7 $
+# $NHDT-Date: 1524689646 2018/04/25 20:54:06 $ Branch: NetHack-3.7 $:$NHDT-Revision: 1.7 $
 # Copyright (c) 2015 by Kenneth Lorber, Kensington, Maryland
 # NetHack may be freely redistributed.  See license for details.
 
@@ -8,9 +8,11 @@
 use strict;
 our %opt;	#cmd v n f F m (other single char, but we don't care)
 my $mode;	# a c d f (add, commit, date, date -f)
+our $count;
+our $skip;
 
 if(length $ENV{GIT_PREFIX}){
-        chdir($ENV{GIT_PREFIX}) or die "Can't chdir $ENV{GIT_PREFIX}: $!";
+    chdir($ENV{GIT_PREFIX}) or die "Can't chdir $ENV{GIT_PREFIX}: $!";
 }
 
 #SO how do we know if a file has changed?
@@ -23,74 +25,78 @@ if(length $ENV{GIT_PREFIX}){
 # (see "git help status" for table)
 # No default.  Undef means something unexpected happened.
 my %codes = (
-	'f M'=>1, 'f D'=>1,		#           [MD]   not updated
-	'a M'=>0, 'a D'=>0,
-	'd M'=>0, 'd D'=>0,
-	'c M'=>0, 'c D'=>0,
+	    #           [MD]   not updated
+    'f M'=>1, 'f D'=>1,
+    'a M'=>0, 'a D'=>0,
+    'd M'=>0, 'd D'=>0,
+    'c M'=>0, 'c D'=>0,
 
-	'dM '=>0, 'dMM'=>1, 'dMD'=>0,
-	'aM '=>0, 'aMM'=>1, 'aMD'=>0,
-	'cM '=>0, 'cMM'=>1, 'cMD'=>0,
-	'fM '=>0, 'fMM'=>1, 'fMD'=>0,
-				#           M        [ MD]   updated in index
+    'dM '=>0, 'dMM'=>1, 'dMD'=>0,
+    'aM '=>0, 'aMM'=>1, 'aMD'=>0,
+    'cM '=>0, 'cMM'=>1, 'cMD'=>0,
+    'fM '=>0, 'fMM'=>1, 'fMD'=>0,
+	    #           M        [ MD]   updated in index
 
-	'dA '=>1, 'dAM'=>1, 'dAD'=>1,
-	'aA '=>1, 'aAM'=>1, 'aAD'=>1,
-	'cA '=>1, 'cAM'=>1, 'cAD'=>1,
-	'fA '=>1, 'fAM'=>1, 'fAD'=>1,
-				   # A        [ MD]   added to index
+    'dA '=>1, 'dAM'=>1, 'dAD'=>1,
+    'aA '=>1, 'aAM'=>1, 'aAD'=>1,
+    'cA '=>1, 'cAM'=>1, 'cAD'=>1,
+    'fA '=>1, 'fAM'=>1, 'fAD'=>1,
+	   #		A        [ MD]   added to index
 
-	'dD '=>0, 'dDM'=>0,
-	'aD '=>1, 'aDM'=>1,
-	'cD '=>0, 'cDM'=>0,
-	'fD '=>1, 'fDM'=>1,
-				   # D         [ M]   deleted from index
+    'dD '=>0, 'dDM'=>0,
+    'aD '=>1, 'aDM'=>1,
+    'cD '=>0, 'cDM'=>0,
+    'fD '=>1, 'fDM'=>1,
+	   # D         [ M]   deleted from index
 
-	'dR '=>0, 'dRM'=>1, 'dRD'=>0,
-	'aR '=>0, 'aRM'=>1, 'aRD'=>0,
-	'cR '=>0, 'cRM'=>1, 'cRD'=>0,
-	'fR '=>0, 'fRM'=>1, 'fRD'=>0,
-				#           R        [ MD]   renamed in index
+    'dR '=>0, 'dRM'=>1, 'dRD'=>0,
+    'aR '=>0, 'aRM'=>1, 'aRD'=>0,
+    'cR '=>0, 'cRM'=>1, 'cRD'=>0,
+    'fR '=>0, 'fRM'=>1, 'fRD'=>0,
+	    #           R        [ MD]   renamed in index
 
-	'dC '=>0, 'dCM'=>1, 'dCD'=>0,
-	'aC '=>0, 'aCM'=>1, 'aCD'=>0,
-	'cC '=>0, 'cCM'=>1, 'cCD'=>0,
-	'fC '=>0, 'fCM'=>1, 'fCD'=>0,
-				#           C        [ MD]   copied in index
+    'dC '=>0, 'dCM'=>1, 'dCD'=>0,
+    'aC '=>0, 'aCM'=>1, 'aCD'=>0,
+    'cC '=>0, 'cCM'=>1, 'cCD'=>0,
+    'fC '=>0, 'fCM'=>1, 'fCD'=>0,
+	    #           C        [ MD]   copied in index
 
-	'aM '=>1, 'aA '=>1, 'aR '=>1, 'aC '=>1,
-	'fM '=>1, 'fA '=>1, 'fR '=>1, 'fC '=>1,
-				   # [MARC]          index and work tree matches
+    'aM '=>1, 'aA '=>1, 'aR '=>1, 'aC '=>1,
+    'fM '=>1, 'fA '=>1, 'fR '=>1, 'fC '=>1,
+	   # [MARC]          index and work tree matches
 
-	'd M'=>1, 'dMM'=>1, 'dAM'=>1, 'dRM'=>1, 'dCM'=>1,
-	'a M'=>1, 'aMM'=>1, 'aAM'=>1, 'aRM'=>1, 'aCM'=>1,
-	'c M'=>1, 'cMM'=>1, 'cAM'=>1, 'cRM'=>1, 'cCM'=>1,
-	'f M'=>1, 'fMM'=>1, 'fAM'=>1, 'fRM'=>1, 'fCM'=>1,
-				   # [ MARC]     M work tree changed since index
+    'd M'=>1, 'dMM'=>1, 'dAM'=>1, 'dRM'=>1, 'dCM'=>1,
+    'a M'=>1, 'aMM'=>1, 'aAM'=>1, 'aRM'=>1, 'aCM'=>1,
+    'c M'=>1, 'cMM'=>1, 'cAM'=>1, 'cRM'=>1, 'cCM'=>1,
+    'f M'=>1, 'fMM'=>1, 'fAM'=>1, 'fRM'=>1, 'fCM'=>1,
+	   # [ MARC]     M work tree changed since index
 
-	'd D'=>0, 'dMD'=>0, 'dAD'=>0, 'dRD'=>0, 'dCD'=>0,
-	'a D'=>0, 'aMD'=>0, 'aAD'=>0, 'aRD'=>0, 'aCD'=>0,
-	'c D'=>0, 'cMD'=>0, 'cAD'=>0, 'cRD'=>0, 'cCD'=>0,
-	'f D'=>0, 'fMD'=>0, 'fAD'=>0, 'fRD'=>0, 'fCD'=>0,
-				   # [ MARC]     D    deleted in work tree
+    'd D'=>0, 'dMD'=>0, 'dAD'=>0, 'dRD'=>0, 'dCD'=>0,
+    'a D'=>0, 'aMD'=>0, 'aAD'=>0, 'aRD'=>0, 'aCD'=>0,
+    'c D'=>0, 'cMD'=>0, 'cAD'=>0, 'cRD'=>0, 'cCD'=>0,
+    'f D'=>0, 'fMD'=>0, 'fAD'=>0, 'fRD'=>0, 'fCD'=>0,
+	   # [ MARC]     D    deleted in work tree
 
-           # -------------------------------------------------
-           # DD    unmerged, both deleted
-           # AU    unmerged, added by us
-           # UD    unmerged, deleted by them
-           # UA    unmerged, added by them
-           # DU    unmerged, deleted by us
-           # AA    unmerged, both added
-           # UU    unmerged, both modified
-           # -------------------------------------------------
-        'a??'=>1, 'f??'=>1,		# ??    untracked
-	'd??'=>0, 'c??'=>0,
+        # -------------------------------------------------
+        # DD    unmerged, both deleted
+        # AU    unmerged, added by us
+        # UD    unmerged, deleted by them
+        # UA    unmerged, added by them
+        # DU    unmerged, deleted by us
+        # AA    unmerged, both added
+        # UU    unmerged, both modified
+	# -------------------------------------------------
+	    # ??    untracked
+    'a??'=>1, 'f??'=>1,
+    'd??'=>0, 'c??'=>0,
 
-	'f!!'=>1,			# !!    ignored
-	'a!!'=>0, 'd!!'=>0, 'c!!'=>0,
+	    # !!    ignored
+    'f!!'=>1,
 
-	'f@@'=>1,			# @@    internal ignored
-	'a@@'=>0, 'd@@'=>0, 'c@@'=>0
+    'a!!'=>0, 'd!!'=>0, 'c!!'=>0,
+
+    'f@@'=>1,			# @@    internal ignored
+    'a@@'=>0, 'd@@'=>0, 'c@@'=>0
 );
 
 # OS hackery
@@ -123,309 +129,430 @@ my @rawlist0 = &cmdparse(@ARGV);
 # Let's try this for all commands.
 my @rawlist;
 foreach my $e (@rawlist0){
-	if($e =~ m/[?*[\\]/){
-		my @rv = &lsfiles(undef, $e);
-		push(@rawlist, @rv) if(@rv);
-		if($opt{f}){
-			my @rv = &lsfiles('-i', $e);
-			push(@rawlist, @rv) if(@rv);
-		}
-	} else {
-		push(@rawlist, $e);
+    if($e =~ m/[?*[\\]/){
+	my @rv = &lsfiles(undef, $e);
+	push(@rawlist, @rv) if(@rv);
+	if($opt{f}){
+	    my @rv = &lsfiles('-i', $e);
+	    push(@rawlist, @rv) if(@rv);
 	}
+    } else {
+	push(@rawlist, $e);
+    }
 }
 
 push(@rawlist,'.') if($#rawlist == -1);
 
 # pick up the prefix for substitutions in this repo
-#TEST my $PREFIX = &git_config('nethack','substprefix');
-my $PREFIX = "NHDT";
+my $PREFIX = &git_config('nethack','substprefix');
+die "nethack.substprefix not set in git config" unless(length($PREFIX) > 0);
 print "PREFIX: '$PREFIX'\n" if($opt{v});
 
 while(@rawlist){
-	my $raw = shift @rawlist;
-	if(-f $raw){
+    my $raw = shift @rawlist;
+    if(-f $raw){
 		&schedule_work($raw);
 		next;
+    }
+    if(-d $raw){
+	if($raw =~ m!$PDS.git$!o){
+		print "SKIP $raw\n" if($opt{v}>=2);
+		next;
 	}
-	if(-d $raw){
-		if($raw =~ m!$PDS.git$!o){
-			print "SKIP $raw\n" if($opt{v}>=2);
-			next;
-		}
-		opendir RDIR,$raw or die "Can't opendir: $raw";
-		local($_);	# needed until perl 5.11.2
-		while($_ = readdir RDIR){
-			next if(m/^\.\.?$/);
-			if(m/^\./ && $opt{f}){
-				print "       IGNORE-f: $raw$PDS$_\n" if($opt{v}>=2);
-				next;
-			}
-			push(@rawlist, $raw.$PDS.$_);
-		}
-		closedir RDIR;
+	opendir RDIR,$raw or die "Can't opendir: $raw";
+	local($_);	# needed until perl 5.11.2
+	while($_ = readdir RDIR){
+	    next if(m/^\.\.?$/);
+	    if(m/^\./ && $opt{f}){
+		print "       IGNORE-f: $raw$PDS$_\n" if($opt{v}>=2);
+		next;
+	    }
+	    push(@rawlist, $raw.$PDS.$_);
 	}
+	closedir RDIR;
+    }
 	# ignore other file types
-	if(! -e $raw){
-		print "warning: missing file $raw\n";
+    if(! -e $raw){
+	print "warning: missing file $raw\n";
+    }
+}
+
+sub checkattr {
+    my($kw, $file) = @_;
+    my $attr = `git check-attr $kw -- $file`;
+    if($attr =~ m/$kw:\s+(.*)/){
+		    # This is a bug in git.  What if the value of an attribute is the
+		    # string "unset"?  Sigh.
+	if(! $opt{F}){
+	    if($1 eq "unset" || $1 eq "unspecified"){
+		    print "       NOATTR: $attr" if($opt{v}>=2);
+		    return 0;
+		}
 	}
+	return 1;
+    }
+    return 0;
 }
 
 # XXX could batch things up - later
-
 sub schedule_work {
-	my($file) = @_;
-	print "CHECK: '$file'\n" if($opt{v}>=2);
-	local($_) = `git status --porcelain --ignored -- $file`;
-	my $key = $mode . join('',(m/^(.)(.)/));
-	if(length $key == 1){
+    my($file) = @_;
+    print "CHECK: '$file'\n" if($opt{v}>=2);
+    local($_) = `git status --porcelain --ignored -- $file`;
+    my $key = $mode . join('',(m/^(.)(.)/));
+    if(length $key == 1){
 		# Hack.  An unmodified, tracked file produces no output from
 		# git status.  Treat as another version of 'ignored'.
-		$key .= '@@';
+	$key .= '@@';
+    }
+    $key =~ s/-/ /g;	# for Keni's locally mod'ed git
+    if(!exists $codes{$key}){
+	die "I'm lost.\nK='$key' F=$file\nST=$_";
+    }
+    if($codes{$key}==0){
+	if($opt{v}>=2){
+	    print "       IGNORE: $_" if(length);
+	    print "       IGNORE: !! $file\n" if(!length);
 	}
-	$key =~ s/-/ /g;	# for Keni's locally mod'ed git
-	if(!exists $codes{$key}){
-		die "I'm lost.\nK='$key' F=$file\nST=$_";
-	}
-	if($codes{$key}==0){
-		if($opt{v}>=2){
-			print "       IGNORE: $_" if(length);
-			print "       IGNORE: !! $file\n" if(!length);
-		}
+	return;
+    }
+    if($opt{F}){
+	    my $ign = `git check-ignore $file`;
+	    if($ign !~ m/^\s*$/){
+		print "       IGNORE-F: $ign" if($opt{v}>=2);
 		return;
-	}
-	if($opt{F}){
-		my $ign = `git check-ignore $file`;
-		if($ign !~ m/^\s*$/){
-			print "       IGNORE-F: $ign" if($opt{v}>=2);
-			return;
-		}
-	}
-# FALLTHROUGH and continue
-#print     "ACCEPT TEST\n";	# XXXXXXXXXX TEST
-#return;
+	    }
+    }
 
-	my $attr = `git check-attr NHSUBST -- $file`;
-	if($attr =~ m/NHSUBST:\s+(.*)/){
-# XXX this is a bug in git.  What if the value of an attribute is the
-# string "unset"?  Sigh.
-		if(! $opt{F}){
-			if($1 eq "unset" || $1 eq "unspecified"){
-				print "       NOATTR: $attr" if($opt{v}>=2);
-				return;
-			}
-		}
-		&process_file($file);
-		return;
-	}
-	die "Can't parse check-attr return: $attr\n";
+    my $do_nhsubst = &checkattr('NHSUBST', $file);
+    my $do_nhdatesub = &checkattr('NH_DATESUB', $file);
+    &process_file($file, $do_nhsubst, $do_nhdatesub);
+# XXX no longer reachable - parse errors not caught properly?
+#	die "Can't parse check-attr return: $attr\n";
 }
 
 sub process_file {
-	my($file) = @_;
-	print "DOFIL: $file\n" if($opt{v}>=1);
+    my($file, $do_nhsubst, $do_nhdatesub) = @_;
+    print "DOFIL: $file\n" if($opt{v}>=1);
+    $count=0;  # if we don't change anything, don't re-write the file
 
-	# For speed we read in the entire file then do the substitutions.
-	local($_) = '';
-	my $len;
-	open INFILE, "<", $file or die "Can't open $file: $!";
-	while(1){
-			# On at least some systems we only get 64K.
-		my $len = sysread(INFILE, $_, 999999, length($_));
-		last if($len == 0);
-		die "read failed: $!" unless defined($len);
-	}
-	close INFILE;
+    # For speed we read in the entire file then do the substitutions.
+    local($_) = '';
+    my $len;
+    open INFILE, "<", $file or die "Can't open $file: $!";
+    while(1){
+	    # On at least some systems we only get 64K.
+	my $len = sysread(INFILE, $_, 999999, length($_));
+	last if($len == 0);
+	die "read failed: $!" unless defined($len);
+    }
+    close INFILE;
 
-	local $::current_file = $file;	# used under handlevar
-	# $1 - var and value (including trailing space but not $)
-	# $2 - var
-	# $4 - value or undef
-#s/\$$PREFIX-(([A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_]*)(: ([^\N{DOLLAR SIGN}]+))?)\$/&handlevar($2,$4)/eg;
-my $count = s/\$$PREFIX-(([A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_]*)(: ([^\x24]+))?)\$/&handlevar($2,$4)/eg;
-# XXX had o modifier, why?
-	return unless($count>0);
-	return if($opt{n});
-	my $mode = 0777 & (stat($file))[2];
+    local $::current_file = $file;	# used under handle*
+    if($do_nhsubst){
+	    # TODO: This doesn't handle PREFIX-Assert.  To do that,
+	    #  we need to capture an entire line, call new sub handlevars()
+	    #  and let it iterate across all PREFIX-Foo while
+	    #  maintaining $::skip and reverting (like &handledatesub does).
+	    #  Also: capture optional arg: $NHDT-Foo(arg)$ $NHDT-Foo(arg): value $
 
-	my $ofile = $file . ".nht";
-	open(TOUT, ">", $ofile) or die "Can't open $ofile";
+	    # $1 - var and value (including trailing space but not $)
+	    # $2 - var
+	    # $4 - value or undef
+	    # \x24 == $
+	s/\$$PREFIX-(([A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_]*)(: ([^\x24]+) )?)\$/&handlevar($2,$4,1)/eg;
+    }
 
-#	die "write failed: $!" unless defined syswrite(TOUT, $_);
-	my $offset = 0;
-	my $sent;
-#print STDERR "L=",length,"\n";
-	while($offset < length){
-		$sent = syswrite(TOUT, $_, (length($_) - $offset), $offset);
-		die "write failed: $!" unless defined($sent);
-#print STDERR "rv=$sent\n";
-		last if($sent == (length($_) - $offset));
-		$offset += $sent;
-#print STDERR "loop: O=$offset\n";
-	}
+    if($do_nhdatesub){
+	# e.g:
+	#.\"DO NOT REMOVE NH_DATESUB .TH MAKEDEFS 6 "DATE(%-d %B %Y)" NETHACK
+	#.TH MAKEDEFS 6 "8 February 2022" NETHACK
 
-	close TOUT or die "Can't close $ofile";
-		# Do the right thing for *nix and hope for the best elsewhere:
-	chmod($mode, $ofile)==1 or warn "Can't set filemode on $ofile";
-	rename $ofile, $file or die "Can't rename $ofile to $file";
+	# locate the keyword and the rest of the line, capturing the rest of the line (the pattern)
+	# use zero width assertions so we can capture them but not replace them (DOES THIS WORK?)
+	#and grab the next line (the replaced text)
+
+	# $1 - pattern
+	# $2 - the next line (the expanded pattern)
+	s/
+	    \sNH_DATESUB\s+     # our trigger
+	    (.*)[\n\r]+         # save the pattern in $1
+	    \K                  # but don't replace it
+	    (.*)                # save the oldvalue in $2
+	    /
+	    &handledatesub($2, $1)      # replace oldvalue
+	/emxg;
+
+	#/m  so ^$ match at each line
+	#/x  this will be a mess, so attempt to comment it
+    }
+
+#print STDERR "COUNT = $count\n";
+    return unless($count>0);
+    return if($opt{n});
+
+    my $ofile = $file . ".nht";
+    my $mode = 0777 & (stat($file))[2];	# save the original mode
+    open(TOUT, ">", $ofile) or die "Can't open $ofile";
+
+    my $offset = 0;
+    my $sent;
+    while($offset < length){
+	$sent = syswrite(TOUT, $_, (length($_) - $offset), $offset);
+	die "write failed: $!" unless defined($sent);
+	last if($sent == (length($_) - $offset));
+	$offset += $sent;
+    }
+
+    close TOUT or die "Can't close $ofile";
+	# Do the right thing for *nix and hope for the best elsewhere:
+    chmod($mode, $ofile)==1 or warn "Can't set filemode on $ofile";
+    rename $ofile, $file or die "Can't rename $ofile to $file";
 }
 
-# XXX docs for --fixup and --squash are wrong in git's synopsis. --file missing
-#   --message --template -t
 sub cmdparse {
-	my(@in) = @_;
+    my(@in) = @_;
 
-		# What are we doing?
-	$opt{cmd} = 'date';	# really nhsub
-	if($in[0] eq '--add'){
-		$opt{cmd} = 'add';
-		shift @in;
-	}
-	if($in[0] eq '--commit'){
-		$opt{cmd} = 'commit';
-		shift @in;
-	}
+	# What are we doing?
+    $opt{cmd} = 'date';	# really nhsub
+    if($in[0] eq '--add'){
+	$opt{cmd} = 'add';
+	shift @in;
+    }
+    if($in[0] eq '--commit'){
+	$opt{cmd} = 'commit';
+	shift @in;
+    }
 
 # add: -n -v
 # commit: --dry-run -v
 # nhsub: -n -v
-	while($in[0] =~ m/^-/){
-		local($_) = $in[0];
-		if($_ eq '--'){
-			shift @in;
-			last;
-		}
-		if(m/^--/){
-			if($opt{cmd} eq 'add' && $_ eq '--dry-run'){
-				exit 0;
-			}
-			if($opt{cmd} eq 'commit' && $_ eq '--dry-run'){
-				exit 0;
-			}
-			if($opt{cmd} eq 'add' && $_ eq '--refresh'){
-				exit 0;
-			}
-			shift @in;
-			next;
-		}
-# XXX this is messy - time for a rewrite?
-		if(m/^-(.*)/){
-			foreach my $single ( split(//,$1) ){
-					# don't do -v here from add/commit
-				if($single ne 'v'){
-					# don't use -m from add/commit
-					if($opt{cmd} eq 'date' || $single ne 'm'){
-						$opt{$single}++;
-					}
-				} elsif($opt{cmd} eq 'date'){
-					$opt{$single}++;
-				}
+    while($in[0] =~ m/^-/){
+	local($_) = $in[0];
+	if($_ eq '--'){
+	    shift @in;
+	    last;
+	}
+	if(m/^--/){
+	    if($opt{cmd} eq 'add' && $_ eq '--dry-run'){
+		    exit 0;
+	    }
+	    if($opt{cmd} eq 'commit' && $_ eq '--dry-run'){
+		    exit 0;
+	    }
+	    if($opt{cmd} eq 'add' && $_ eq '--refresh'){
+		    exit 0;
+	    }
+	    shift @in;
+	    next;
+	}
 
-				if($opt{cmd} eq 'add' && $single eq 'n'){
-					exit 0;
-				}
+	if(m/^-(.*)/){
+	    foreach my $single ( split(//,$1) ){
+			# don't do -v here from add/commit
+		if($single ne 'v'){
+			    # don't use -m from add/commit
+		    if($opt{cmd} eq 'date' || $single ne 'm'){
+			$opt{$single}++;
+		    }
+		} elsif($opt{cmd} eq 'date'){
+		    $opt{$single}++;
+		}
+
+		if($opt{cmd} eq 'add' && $single eq 'n'){
+		    exit 0;
+		}
 #need to deal with options that eat a following element (-m, -F etc etc)
 #add: nothing?
 #commit: -c -C  -F -m 
 #   -u<mode> mode is optional
 # -S<keyid>  keyid is optional
-				if($opt{cmd} eq 'commit'){
-					if($single =~ m/[uS]/){
-						last;
-					}
-					if($single =~ m/[cCFm]/){
-#XXX this will be a mess if the argument is wrong, but can we tell?  No.
-						shift @in;
-						last;
-					}
-				}
-			}
+		if($opt{cmd} eq 'commit'){
+		    if($single =~ m/[uS]/){
+			last;
+		    }
+		    if($single =~ m/[cCFm]/){
+			    # This will be a mess if the argument is wrong, but can we tell?  No.
+			    shift @in;
+			    last;
+		    }
 		}
-		shift @in;
+	    }
 	}
+	shift @in;
+    }
 
-	($mode) = ($opt{cmd} =~ m/^(.)/);
-	$mode = 'f' if($opt{cmd} eq 'date' && ($opt{f}||$opt{F}));
-	$mode = 'f' if($opt{cmd} eq 'add' && $opt{f});
+    ($mode) = ($opt{cmd} =~ m/^(.)/);
+    $mode = 'f' if($opt{cmd} eq 'date' && ($opt{f}||$opt{F}));
+    $mode = 'f' if($opt{cmd} eq 'add' && $opt{f});
 
-	if($opt{cmd} eq 'add' && $#in == -1){
-		exit 0;
-	}
-	if($opt{cmd} eq 'commit' && $#in == -1){
-		exit 0;
-	}
-	if($opt{cmd} eq 'add' && $opt{a} && $#in != -1){
-		exit 0;
-	}
-	if($opt{cmd} eq 'add' && $opt{a}){
-		my $x = `git rev-parse --show-toplevel`;
-		$x =~ s/[\n\r]+$//;
-		push(@in, $x);
-	}
-	return @in;	# this is our file list
+    if($opt{cmd} eq 'add' && $#in == -1){
+	    # "git nhadd" with no files has nothing to work on
+	exit 0;
+    }
+    if($opt{cmd} eq 'commit' && $#in == -1){
+	    # "git nhcommit" with no args handles files already
+	    # added, we assume with "git nhadd"
+	exit 0;
+    }
+    if($opt{cmd} eq 'commit' && $opt{a} && $#in == -1){
+		# "git commit -a" does multiple things; we only care
+		# about modigied files.
+#XXX this assumes $RS is set properly for Windows - need to check that
+	    my @x = split(/$::RS/,`git ls-files -m`);
+	    chomp(@x);
+	    push(@in, @x);
+    }
+    if($opt{cmd} eq 'commit' && $opt{a} && $#in != -1){
+		# Let git complain about this for us.
+	exit 0;
+    }
+# "git add" doesn't have a -a option
+#	if($opt{cmd} eq 'add' && $opt{a} && $#in != -1){
+#		exit 0;
+#	}
+# I don't know what this was trying to do, but it's wrong.
+#	if($opt{cmd} eq 'add' && $opt{a}){
+#		my $x = `git rev-parse --show-toplevel`;
+#		$x =~ s/[\n\r]+$//;
+#		push(@in, $x);
+#	}
+    return @in;	# this is our file list
 }
 
 sub git_config {
-	my($section, $var) = @_;
-	my $raw = `git config --local --get $section.$var`;
-	$raw =~ s/[\r\n]*$//g;
-	return $raw if(length $raw);
-	die "Missing config var: [$section] $var\n";
+    my($section, $var) = @_;
+    my $raw = `git config --local --get $section.$var`;
+    $raw =~ s/[\r\n]*$//g;
+    return $raw if(length $raw);
+    die "Missing config var: [$section] $var\n";
 }
 
-sub handlevar {
-	my($var, $val) = @_;
-#	print "HIT '$var' '$val'\n" if($debug2);
+# (oldvalue, pattern)
+sub handledatesub {
+    my $oldval = $_[0];	# used if assert fails
+    $skip = 0;	# one if assert fails
+    my $out = $_[1];	    # the pattern, which we'll edit in place
+#print "OLD: '$oldval;\n";
+#print "PAT: '$out'\n";
+    my $newvalue = $_[1];
+    $out =~ s/
+	\b	    # don't substitute on a partial word
+	(Assert|Date|Branch|Revision|Brev|Project)  # $1 - keyword
+	\(					    # (
+	([^)]*)					    # $2 - argument
+	\)					    # )
+	/&onedatesub($1,$2)
+	/egx;
 
-	my $subname = "PREFIX::$var";
-	if(defined &$subname){
-		no strict;
-		print "   SUBIN: $var '$val'\n" if($opt{v}>=3);
-		$val =~ s/\s+$//;
-		$val = &$subname($val);
-		print "   SUBOT: $var '$val'\n" if($opt{v}>=3);
-	} else {
-		warn "No handler for \$$PREFIX-$var\n";
+    {
+	local $::x = $_[0] ne $out;
+	if ($::x){
+	    $count += $::x;
+#	    warn "COUNT++";
 	}
+    }
+#print STDERR "OUT SKIP=$skip count=$count\n";
+#print STDERR "OUT old='$oldval'\n    new='$out'\n";
+    return ($skip>0 or $count==0) ? $oldval : $out;
 
+}
+
+sub onedatesub {
+    my($kw, $arg) = @_;
+    my $sname = "PREFIX::$kw";
+    die "internal error, '$sname' not defined" unless defined(&$sname);
+
+    no strict;
+    my $rv = &$sname(undef, $arg);
+    return $rv;
+}
+
+#    Assert(P=prefix)
+#    Date(format)
+#    Branch()
+#    Revision()
+#    Brev()	Branch:Rev (aBREViated)
+
+sub handlevar {
+    my($var, $val, $wrap) = @_;
+#print "HV '$var' '$val'\n";
+    my $oldval = $val;
+    my $subname = "PREFIX::$var";
+    if(defined &$subname){
+	no strict;
+	print "   SUBIN: $var '$val'\n" if($opt{v}>=3);
+	$val =~ s/\s+$//;
+	$val = &$subname($val, undef);
+	print "   SUBOT: $var '$val'\n" if($opt{v}>=3);
+	{
+	    local $::x =  ($oldval ne $val);
+	    if ($::x){
+		$count += $::x;
+#		warn "COUNT2++ o='$oldval' v='$val'";
+	    }
+	}
+    } else {
+	warn "No handler for \$$PREFIX-$var\n";
+    }
+
+    if($wrap){
 	if(length $val){
 		return "\$$PREFIX-$var: $val \$";
 	} else {
 		return "\$$PREFIX-$var\$";
 	}
+    } else {
+	return $val;
+    }
 }
 
 sub lsfiles {
-	my ($flags, $ps) = @_;
-	open RV, "-|", "git ls-files $flags '$ps'" or die "Can't ls-files";
-	my @rv = <RV>;
-	map { s/[\r\n]+$// } @rv;
-	if(!close RV){
-		return undef if($! == 0);
-		die "close ls-files failed: $!";
-	}
-	return undef if($#rv == -1);
-	return @rv;
+    my ($flags, $ps) = @_;
+    open RV, "-|", "git ls-files $flags '$ps'" or die "Can't ls-files";
+    my @rv = <RV>;
+    map { s/[\r\n]+$// } @rv;
+    if(!close RV){
+	return undef if($! == 0);
+	die "close ls-files failed: $!";
+    }
+    return undef if($#rv == -1);
+    return @rv;
 }
 
 package PREFIX;
 use POSIX qw(strftime);
 
-# On push, put in the current date because we changed the file.
-# On pull, keep the current value so we can see the last change date.
 sub Date {
-	my($val) = @_;
-	my $now;
-	if($opt{m}){
-		my $hash = `git log -1 '--format=format:%H' $::current_file`;
-			#author keni <keni@his.com> 1429884677 -0400
-		chomp($now = `git cat-file -p $hash | awk '/author/{print \$4}'`);
+    my(undef, $val) = @_;
+    my $now;
+
+# DONE XXX after several bug fixes, this set of ifs needs some cleanup
+my $hash = `git log -1 '--format=format:%H' $::current_file`;
+    $now = $^T;
+#    if($opt{m} or not defined $hash){
+
+	    # cope with file not yet added to git
+    if(not defined $hash){
+	if(-f $::current_file){
+	    $now = (stat($::current_file))[9];
 	} else {
-		$now = time;
+	    die "Can't find file '$::current_file'\n";
 	}
+    } elsif($opt{m}) {
+	    #author keni <keni@his.com> 1429884677 -0400
+	chomp($now = `git cat-file -p $hash | awk '/author/{print \$4}'`);
+    }
+#    } else {
+#    }
+
+# DONE XXX simplify this with %s ?
+#    my $fmt = length $val ? $val : "%Y/%m/%d %H:%M:%S";
+    my $fmt = length $val ? $val : "%s %Y/%m/%d %H:%M:%S";
 	# YYYY/MM/DD HH:MM:SS
-	$val = "$now " . strftime("%Y/%m/%d %H:%M:%S", gmtime($now));
-	return $val;
+#    $val = ((length $val==0)?"$now ":"") . strftime($fmt, gmtime($now));
+    $val = strftime($fmt, gmtime($now));
+    return $val;
 }
 
 #sub Header {
@@ -434,26 +561,84 @@ sub Date {
 #}
 
 # NB: the standard-ish Revision line isn't enough - you need Branch:Revision -
-#     but we split it into 2 so we can use the standard processing code on Revision
-#     and just slip Branch in.
+#     but we split it into 2 so we can use the standard processing code on
+#     Revision and just slip Branch in.
+# But see new Brev below.
 sub Branch {
-	my($val) = @_;
-	$val = `git symbolic-ref -q --short HEAD`;
-	$val =~ s/[\n\r]*$//;
-	$val =~ s/^\*\s*//;
-	$val = "(unknown)" unless($val =~ m/^[[:print:]]+$/);
-	return $val;
+    my $val;
+    $val = `git symbolic-ref -q --short HEAD`;
+    $val =~ s/[\n\r]*$//;
+    $val =~ s/^\*\s*//;
+    $val = "(unknown)" unless($val =~ m/^[[:print:]]+$/);
+    return $val;
 }
 
 sub Revision {
-	my($val) = @_;
-	my @val = `git log --follow --oneline $::current_file`;
-	my $ver = 0+$#val;
-	$ver = 0 if($ver < 0);
-	$val = "1.$ver";
-	return $val;
+    my $val;
+    my @val = `git log --follow --oneline $::current_file`;
+    my $ver = 0+$#val;
+    $ver = 0 if($ver < 0);
+    $val = "1.$ver";
+    return $val;
 }
+
+sub Brev {
+    my $branch;
+    $branch = `git symbolic-ref -q --short HEAD`;
+    $branch =~ s/[\n\r]*$//;
+    $branch =~ s/^\*\s*//;
+    $branch = "(unknown)" unless($branch =~ m/^[[:print:]]+$/);
+
+    my @val = `git log --follow --oneline $::current_file`;
+    my $ver = 0+$#val;
+    $ver = 0 if($ver < 0);
+    $ver = "1.$ver";
+
+    my $val = "$branch:$ver";
+
+    return $val;
+}
+
+sub Project {
+    my(undef, $arg) = @_;
+    my $pn = &::git_config('nethack','projectname');
+    if(length $arg == 0){
+	;
+    } elsif($arg eq 'uc'){
+	$pn = uc($pn);
+    } else {
+	warn "unknown argument '$arg' to Project()\n";
+    }
+    return $pn;
+}
+
+
+sub Assert {
+    my(undef, $val) = @_;
+
+    my($key, $arg) = ($val =~ m/^(.)=(.*)/);
+    if(!defined $arg){
+	warn "syntax error: Assert($val)\n";
+	$::skip = 1;
+    }
+    my $prefix = $2;
+
+    # P assert arg matches saved prefix
+    if('P' eq $key){
+	my $repoid = &::git_config('nethack','substprefix');
+	if($repoid ne $prefix){
+	    $::skip = 1
+	}
+	return '';
+    }
+
+    warn "Unknown Assert type '$key'\n";
+
+    return '';
+}
+
 __END__
+=for nhgitset nhsub Update substitution variables
 
 =head1 NAME
 
@@ -473,9 +658,15 @@ commands.
 
 The program re-writes those files listed on the command line; if the file
 is actually a directory, the program recurses into that directory tree.
-Not all files found are re-written; some are ignored and those with no
-substitution variables are not re-written.  Unless changed by the options,
-files that have not changed are not affected.
+Not all files found are re-written; only those with the attribute
+NHSUBST (for inline substitutions) or NH_DATESUB (for template
+substitution) are considered; finally those with no substitution
+variables or no changes due to subtitution variables are not
+re-written.  Unless changed by the options, files that have not
+changed are not affected.
+
+As a special case, a file not yet added to Git may be the target of
+C<nhsub>.
 
 If no files are listed on the command line, the current directory is
 checked as if specified as C<.>.
@@ -519,3 +710,83 @@ updated when last changed. (Do not use C<git nhadd>/C<git nhcommit> after C<nhsu
 or the changes will be overwritten with the current date.)
 
 =back
+
+=head1 SUBSTITUTION VALRIABLES
+
+=over
+
+=item Assert(type=value)
+
+If the assertion fails, no substitutions occur on this line.
+
+If the assertion passes, substitutions occur as usual.
+
+(There is no PREFIX-Assert form at this time, as it would make no sense
+for the one Assert type currently implemented.)
+
+=over
+
+=item P
+
+Type C<P> assertions compare the current Git config variable
+C<nethack.substprefix>
+with the C<value> and succeed if they are identical.
+
+=back
+
+=item Date(format) / PREFIX-Date
+
+This variable usually substitutes the current time but see C<-m> above.
+
+The format of the resulting date varies.  For C<PREFIX-Date> or C<Date()> with
+no format, "%s %Y/%m/%d %H:%M:%S" is used.  Otherwise the given strftime
+format is used.
+
+=item Branch() / PREFIX-Branch
+
+This variable is replaced with the name of the currently checked out Git
+branch.
+
+=item Revision() / PREFIX-Revision
+
+This variable's value emulates a RCS or CVS style revision number.
+It consists of "1." followed by the number of commits affecting the
+current file.
+
+=item Brev() / PREFIX-Brev
+
+This is a convenience variable that concatenates C<Branch>, a colon, and
+C<Revision>.  Short for "aBREViated".
+
+=item Project()
+
+Returns git variable nethack.projectname.  If given the argument C<uc>, returns
+an upper-case version of nethack.projectname.
+
+=back
+
+=head1 SUBSTITUTION STYLES
+
+=head2 Prefix Substitution
+
+If a file has the Git attribute C<NHSUBST>, any 
+text that looks like a RCS/CVS variable substitution will perform
+that substitution.  That is, either of the following forms:
+
+ $Var$
+ $Var: Value $
+
+=head2 Template Substitution
+
+If a file has the Git attribute C<NH_DATESUB>, any line that has
+the token C<NH_DATESUB> will replace the I<next> line with the
+variable expansion of everything after that token.  For example:
+
+ .\"DO NOT REMOVE NH_DATESUB .ds f2 DATE(%B %-d, %Y)
+ .ds f2 September 13, 2024
+
+=head1 SEE ALSO
+
+git help gitattributes
+
+perldoc nhgitset.pl
diff --git a/DEVEL/hooksdir/post-applypatch b/DEVEL/hooksdir/post-applypatch
index ec6af70be..37170a48e 100755
--- a/DEVEL/hooksdir/post-applypatch
+++ b/DEVEL/hooksdir/post-applypatch
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 #!/usr/bin/perl
-# $NHDT-Date: 1524689631 2018/04/25 20:53:51 $ $NHDT-Branch: NetHack-3.6.0 $:$NHDT-Revision: 1.1 $
+# NetHack 3.7  post-applypatch	$NHDT-Date: 1524689631 2018/04/25 20:53:51 $ $NHDT-Branch: NetHack-3.7 $:$NHDT-Revision: 1.1 $
 # Copyright (c) 2015 by Kenneth Lorber, Kensington, Maryland
 # NetHack may be freely redistributed.  See license for details.
 
@@ -24,7 +24,11 @@ BEGIN {
     chomp $gitdir;
     push(@INC, $gitdir.$PDS."hooks");
 }
-use NHgithook;
+eval {use NHgithook;};
+if($@){
+    warn "loading NHgithook failed: $@";
+    $nogithook = 1;
+}
 #STARTUP-END
 
 &NHgithook::PRE;
diff --git a/DEVEL/hooksdir/post-checkout b/DEVEL/hooksdir/post-checkout
index d7e6c5724..db8578f94 100755
--- a/DEVEL/hooksdir/post-checkout
+++ b/DEVEL/hooksdir/post-checkout
@@ -24,10 +24,15 @@ BEGIN {
     chomp $gitdir;
     push(@INC, $gitdir.$PDS."hooks");
 }
-use NHgithook;
+eval {use NHgithook;};
+if($@){
+    warn "loading NHgithook failed: $@";
+    $nogithook = 1;
+}
 #STARTUP-END
 
 &NHgithook::PRE;
-&NHgithook::nhversioning;
+eval { &NHgithook::nhversioning unless($nogithook) };
+warn "nhversioning failed: $@" if($@);
 &NHgithook::POST;
 exit 0;
diff --git a/DEVEL/hooksdir/post-commit b/DEVEL/hooksdir/post-commit
index cb37b3800..753cb4a04 100755
--- a/DEVEL/hooksdir/post-commit
+++ b/DEVEL/hooksdir/post-commit
@@ -24,10 +24,17 @@ BEGIN {
     chomp $gitdir;
     push(@INC, $gitdir.$PDS."hooks");
 }
-use NHgithook;
+eval {use NHgithook;};
+if($@){
+    warn "loading NHgithook failed: $@";
+    $nogithook = 1;
+}
 #STARTUP-END
 
 &NHgithook::PRE;
-&NHgithook::nhversioning;
+eval { &NHgithook::nhversioning unless($nogithook) };
+warn "nhversioning failed: $@" if($@);
 &NHgithook::POST;
 exit 0;
+
+
diff --git a/DEVEL/hooksdir/post-merge b/DEVEL/hooksdir/post-merge
index a634f51ef..ca9e45e5f 100755
--- a/DEVEL/hooksdir/post-merge
+++ b/DEVEL/hooksdir/post-merge
@@ -25,10 +25,15 @@ BEGIN {
     push(@INC, $gitdir.$PDS."hooks");
 }
 
-use NHgithook;
+eval {use NHgithook;};
+if($@){
+    warn "loading NHgithook failed: $@";
+    $nogithook = 1;
+}
 #STARTUP-END
 
 &NHgithook::PRE;
-&NHgithook::nhversioning;
+eval { &NHgithook::nhversioning(1) unless($nogithook) };
+warn "nhversioning failed: $@" if($@);
 &NHgithook::POST;
 exit 0;
diff --git a/DEVEL/hooksdir/post-rewrite b/DEVEL/hooksdir/post-rewrite
index 655c1a0cd..3dcc7c18c 100755
--- a/DEVEL/hooksdir/post-rewrite
+++ b/DEVEL/hooksdir/post-rewrite
@@ -24,7 +24,11 @@ BEGIN {
     chomp $gitdir;
     push(@INC, $gitdir.$PDS."hooks");
 }
-use NHgithook;
+eval {use NHgithook;};
+if($@){
+    warn "loading NHgithook failed: $@";
+    $nogithook = 1;
+}
 #STARTUP-END
 
 &NHgithook::saveSTDIN;
diff --git a/DEVEL/hooksdir/pre-applypatch b/DEVEL/hooksdir/pre-applypatch
index 3b57a6f53..2ec0588a9 100755
--- a/DEVEL/hooksdir/pre-applypatch
+++ b/DEVEL/hooksdir/pre-applypatch
@@ -24,7 +24,11 @@ BEGIN {
     chomp $gitdir;
     push(@INC, $gitdir.$PDS."hooks");
 }
-use NHgithook;
+eval {use NHgithook;};
+if($@){
+    warn "loading NHgithook failed: $@";
+    $nogithook = 1;
+}
 #STARTUP-END
 
 &NHgithook::PRE;
diff --git a/DEVEL/hooksdir/pre-auto-gc b/DEVEL/hooksdir/pre-auto-gc
index d1ab9b005..22e45b666 100755
--- a/DEVEL/hooksdir/pre-auto-gc
+++ b/DEVEL/hooksdir/pre-auto-gc
@@ -24,7 +24,11 @@ BEGIN {
     chomp $gitdir;
     push(@INC, $gitdir.$PDS."hooks");
 }
-use NHgithook;
+eval {use NHgithook;};
+if($@){
+    warn "loading NHgithook failed: $@";
+    $nogithook = 1;
+}
 #STARTUP-END
 
 &NHgithook::PRE;
diff --git a/DEVEL/hooksdir/pre-commit b/DEVEL/hooksdir/pre-commit
index bb5dbfe84..b19fc2fd4 100755
--- a/DEVEL/hooksdir/pre-commit
+++ b/DEVEL/hooksdir/pre-commit
@@ -24,7 +24,11 @@ BEGIN {
     chomp $gitdir;
     push(@INC, $gitdir.$PDS."hooks");
 }
-use NHgithook;
+eval {use NHgithook;};
+if($@){
+    warn "loading NHgithook failed: $@";
+    $nogithook = 1;
+}
 #STARTUP-END
 
 &NHgithook::PRE;
diff --git a/DEVEL/hooksdir/pre-push b/DEVEL/hooksdir/pre-push
index c2639fa2e..a578ce529 100755
--- a/DEVEL/hooksdir/pre-push
+++ b/DEVEL/hooksdir/pre-push
@@ -24,7 +24,11 @@ BEGIN {
     chomp $gitdir;
     push(@INC, $gitdir.$PDS."hooks");
 }
-use NHgithook;
+eval {use NHgithook;};
+if($@){
+    warn "loading NHgithook failed: $@";
+    $nogithook = 1;
+}
 #STARTUP-END
 
 &NHgithook::saveSTDIN;
diff --git a/DEVEL/hooksdir/pre-rebase b/DEVEL/hooksdir/pre-rebase
index 7f447a082..4c472ef63 100755
--- a/DEVEL/hooksdir/pre-rebase
+++ b/DEVEL/hooksdir/pre-rebase
@@ -24,7 +24,11 @@ BEGIN {
     chomp $gitdir;
     push(@INC, $gitdir.$PDS."hooks");
 }
-use NHgithook;
+eval {use NHgithook;};
+if($@){
+    warn "loading NHgithook failed: $@";
+    $nogithook = 1;
+}
 #STARTUP-END
 
 &NHgithook::PRE;
diff --git a/DEVEL/hooksdir/prepare-commit-msg b/DEVEL/hooksdir/prepare-commit-msg
index b6813851a..a1ff14292 100755
--- a/DEVEL/hooksdir/prepare-commit-msg
+++ b/DEVEL/hooksdir/prepare-commit-msg
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 #!/usr/bin/perl
-# $NHDT-Date: 1524689633 2018/04/25 20:53:53 $ $NHDT-Branch: NetHack-3.6.0 $:$NHDT-Revision: 1.1 $
+# NetHack 3.7  prepare-commit-msg   $NHDT-Date: 1524689633 2018/04/25 20:53:53 $ $NHDT-Branch: NetHack-3.7 $:$NHDT-Revision: 1.1 $
 # Copyright (c) 2015 by Kenneth Lorber, Kensington, Maryland
 # NetHack may be freely redistributed.  See license for details.
 
@@ -24,7 +24,11 @@ BEGIN {
     chomp $gitdir;
     push(@INC, $gitdir.$PDS."hooks");
 }
-use NHgithook;
+eval {use NHgithook;};
+if($@){
+    warn "loading NHgithook failed: $@";
+    $nogithook = 1;
+}
 #STARTUP-END
 
 &NHgithook::PRE;
diff --git a/DEVEL/nhgitset.pl b/DEVEL/nhgitset.pl
index e29cae2b4..984d45a32 100755
--- a/DEVEL/nhgitset.pl
+++ b/DEVEL/nhgitset.pl
@@ -3,32 +3,29 @@
 # Copyright (c) 2015 by Kenneth Lorber, Kensington, Maryland
 # NetHack may be freely redistributed.  See license for details.
 
-# value of nethack.setupversion we will end up with when this is done
-# version 1 is reserved for repos checked out before versioning was added
-my $version_new = 3;
-my $version_old = 0;	# current version, if any (0 is no entry ergo new repo)
 
 use Cwd;
 use Getopt::Std;
 
 # Activestate Perl doesn't include File::Spec.  Grr.
 BEGIN {
-        eval "require File::Spec::Functions";
-        if($@){
-                die <<E_O_M;
+    eval "require File::Spec::Functions";
+    if($@){
+	die <<E_O_M;
 File::Spec not found.  (If you are running ActiveState Perl please run:
-                cpan File::Spec
-and re-run this program.
+	    cpan File::Spec
+then re-run this program.
 E_O_M
-        }
-        File::Spec::Functions->import;
+    }
+    File::Spec::Functions->import;
 }
 
 exit 1 unless(getopts('nvf'));	# TODO: this can probably have better output
 
-# OS hackery
-my $DS = quotemeta('/');		# Directory Separator (for regex)
-my $DSP = '/';				# ... for printing
+BEGIN {
+	# OS hackery
+    $DS = quotemeta('/');		# Directory Separator (for regex)
+    $PDS = '/';				# ... for printing
 #   Temporarily disabled; there's something weird about msys
 #	msys: POSIXish over a Windows filesystem (so / not \ but \r\n not \n).
 #if($^O eq "msys"){
@@ -37,78 +34,129 @@ my $DSP = '/';				# ... for printing
 #	# NB: We don't need to do anything about File::Spec.  It doesn't know
 #	#     about msys but it defaults to Unix, so we'll be ok.
 #}
-if($^O eq "MSWin32"){
+    if($^O eq "MSWin32"){
 	$DS = quotemeta('\\');
-	$DSP = '\\';
+	$PDS = '\\';
+    }
+
+    # Fix @INC so we can 'use NHgithook' before it's installed.
+    # Set $is_sourcerepo while we're at it - same logic.
+    {
+	    # Special case for running nhgitset against a different repo.
+	    # Must preceed the normal case!
+	    # NB: we use $DEVhooksdir later in the program
+	$DEVhooksdir = ($0 =~ m!^(.*)$DS!)[0];
+	chomp($DEVhooksdir);
+	$DEVhooksdir .= $PDS."hooksdir";
+	push(@INC, $DEVhooksdir) if(-d $DEVhooksdir);
+	    # This one is for the normal case (in NHsource)
+	my $topdir = `git rev-parse --show-toplevel`;
+	chomp $topdir;
+	$topdir .= "${PDS}DEVEL${PDS}hooksdir";
+	push(@INC, $topdir) if(-d $topdir);
+	$is_sourcerepo = 0;
+	$is_sourcerepo = 1 if(-d $topdir);
+    }
 }
 
+use NHgithook;
+	# current (installed) version, if any (0 is no entry ergo new repo)
+my $version_old = NHgithook::version_in_git;
+	# version this program will install
+my($version_new,$message_new) = NHgithook::version_in_devel;
+
+if(0==$version_new and !opt_f){
+	# Edge case: this repo has been set up using version >= 4, but now we're running
+	# nhgitset after checking out DEVEL supporting version <4.
+	# Use -f to recover from broken DEVEL code.
+    print STDERR "DEVEL has version <4 code but version >=4 code already installed.  Stopping.\n";
+    print STDERR "(If you need to reinstall the old code, rerun with -f\n";
+    exit 0;
+}
+
+
+die "Valid version not found in DEVEL/VERSION" unless(0==$version_new or $version_new >= 4);
+
 # make sure we're at the top level of a repo
 if(! -d ".git"){
-	die "This is not the top level of a git repository.\n";
+    die "This is not the top level of a git repository.\n";
 }
 
-my $vtemp = `git config --local --get nethack.setupversion`;
-chomp($vtemp);
-if($vtemp > 0){
-	$version_old = 0+$vtemp;
-	if($version_old != $version_new){
-		print STDERR "Migrating from setup version $version_old to $version_new\n" if($opt_v);
-	}
+if($version_old >= $version_new and !opt_f){
+    print STDERR "Nothing to do.\n";
+    exit 0;
 }
-# legacy check:
-if(length $vtemp == 0){
-	if(`git config --get merge.NHsubst.name` =~ m/^Net/){
-		$version_old = 1;
-		print STDERR "Migrating to setup version 1\n" if($opt_v);
+
+if($version_old > 0){
+    if($version_old != $version_new){
+	print STDERR "Migrating from setup version $version_old to $version_new\n";
+	if(length $message_new){
+	    print STDERR "Additional information:\n$message_new\n";
 	}
+    }
+}
+
+
+# legacy check:
+if(length $version_old == 0){
+    if(`git config --get merge.NHsubst.name` =~ m/^Net/){
+	$version_old = 1;
+	print STDERR "Migrating to setup version 1\n" if($opt_v);
+    }
 }
 
 my $gitadddir = `git config --get nethack.gitadddir`;
 chomp($gitadddir);
 if(length $gitadddir){
-	if(! -d $gitadddir){
-		die "nethack.gitadddir has invalid value '$gitadddir'\n";
-	}
+    if(! -d $gitadddir){
+	die "nethack.gitadddir has invalid value '$gitadddir'\n";
+    }
 }
 print STDERR "nethack.gitadddir=$gitadddir\n" if($opt_v);
 
 # This is (relatively) safe because we know we're at R in R/DEVEL/nhgitset.pl
 my $srcdir = ($0 =~ m!^(.*)$DS!)[0];
 
+#XXX do I really want a full path for srcdir?  how badly?
+
 if(! -f catfile($srcdir, 'nhgitset.pl')){
-	die "I can't find myself in '$srcdir'\n";
+    die "I can't find myself in '$srcdir'\n";
 }
 
 print STDERR "Copying from: $srcdir\n" if($opt_v);
 
 if($opt_f || $version_old==0){
-	print STDERR "Configuring line endings\n" if($opt_v);
-	unlink catfile('.git','index') unless($opt_n);
-	system("git reset") unless($opt_n);
-	system("git config --local core.safecrlf true") unless($opt_n);
-	system("git config --local core.autocrlf false") unless($opt_n);
+    print STDERR "Configuring line endings\n" if($opt_v);
+    system("git reset") unless($opt_n);
+    &add_config('core.safecrlf', 'true') unless($opt_n);
+    &add_config('core.autocrlf', 'false') unless($opt_n);
 } elsif($version_old <2){
-	my $xx = `git config --get --local core.safecrlf`;
-	if($xx !~ m/true/){
-		print STDERR "\nNeed to 'rm .git${DSP}index;git reset'.\n";
-		print STDERR " When ready to proceed, re-run with -f flag.\n";
-		exit 2;
-	}
+    my $xx = `git config --get --local core.safecrlf`;
+    if($xx !~ m/true/){
+	print STDERR "\nNeed to 'rm .git${PDS}index;git reset'.\n";
+	print STDERR " When ready to proceed, re-run with -f flag.\n";
+	exit 2;
+    }
 }
 
-
-
 print STDERR "Installing aliases\n" if($opt_v);
 $addpath = catfile(curdir(),'.git','hooks','NHadd');
 &add_alias('nhadd', "!$addpath add");
+    &add_help('nhadd', 'NHadd');
 &add_alias('nhcommit', "!$addpath commit");
+    &add_help('nhcommit', 'NHadd');
 my $nhsub = catfile(curdir(),'.git','hooks','nhsub');
 &add_alias('nhsub', "!$nhsub");
+    &add_help('nhsub', 'nhsub');
+&add_alias('nhhelp', '!'.catfile(curdir(),'.git','hooks','nhhelp'));
+    &add_help('nhhelp', 'nhhelp');
+
+&add_help('NHsubst', 'NHsubst');
+&add_help('NHgithook', 'NHgithook.pm');
 
-print STDERR "Installing filter/merge\n" if($opt_v);
 
-# XXXX need it in NHadd to find nhsub???
 # removed at version 3
+#print STDERR "Installing filter/merge\n" if($opt_v);
 #if($^O eq "MSWin32"){
 #	$cmd = '.git\\\\hooks\\\\NHtext';
 #} else {
@@ -117,170 +165,183 @@ print STDERR "Installing filter/merge\n" if($opt_v);
 #&add_config('filter.NHtext.clean', "$cmd --clean %f");
 #&add_config('filter.NHtext.smudge', "$cmd --smudge %f");
 if($version_old == 1 or $version_old == 2){
-	print STDERR "Removing filter.NHtext\n" if($opt_v);
-	system('git','config','--unset','filter.NHtext.clean') unless($opt_n);
-	system('git','config','--unset','filter.NHtext.smudge') unless($opt_n);
-	system('git','config','--remove-section','filter.NHtext') unless($opt_n);
+    print STDERR "Removing filter.NHtext\n" if($opt_v);
+    system('git','config','--unset','filter.NHtext.clean') unless($opt_n);
+    system('git','config','--unset','filter.NHtext.smudge') unless($opt_n);
+    system('git','config','--remove-section','filter.NHtext') unless($opt_n);
 
-	print STDERR "Removing NHtext\n" if($opt_v);
-	unlink catfile(curdir(),'.git','hooks','NHtext') unless($opt_n);
+    print STDERR "Removing NHtext\n" if($opt_v);
+    unlink catfile(curdir(),'.git','hooks','NHtext') unless($opt_n);
 }
 
+&add_config('nethack.setuppath',$srcdir);
+&add_config('nethack.is-sourcerepo',0+$is_sourcerepo);
+
 $cmd = catfile(curdir(),'.git','hooks','NHsubst');
 &add_config('merge.NHsubst.name', 'NetHack Keyword Substitution');
 &add_config('merge.NHsubst.driver', "$cmd %O %A %B %L");
 
 print STDERR "Running directories\n" if($opt_v);
 
-foreach my $dir ( glob("$srcdir$DS*") ){
-	next unless(-d $dir);
+# copy directories into .git (right now that's just hooks
+my @gitadd = length($gitadddir)?glob("$gitadddir$DS*"):undef;
+foreach my $dir ( (glob("$srcdir$DS*"), @gitadd) ){
+    next unless(-d $dir);
 
-	my $target = catfile($dir, 'TARGET');
-	next unless(-f $target);
+    my $target = catfile($dir, 'TARGET');
+    next unless(-f $target);
 
-	open TARGET, '<', $target or die "$target: $!";
-	my $targetpath = <TARGET>;
-		# still have to eat all these line endings under msys, so instead of chomp use this:
-	$targetpath =~ s![\r\n]!!g;
-	close TARGET;
-	print STDERR "Directory $dir -> $targetpath\n" if($opt_v);
+    open TARGET, '<', $target or die "$target: $!";
+    my $targetpath = <TARGET>;
+	    # still have to eat all these line endings under msys, so instead of chomp use this:
+    $targetpath =~ s![\r\n]!!g;
+    close TARGET;
+    print STDERR "Directory $dir -> $targetpath\n" if($opt_v);
 
-	my $enddir = $dir;
-	$enddir =~ s!.*$DS!!;
-	if(! &process_override($enddir, "INSTEAD")){
-		&process_override($enddir, "PRE");
-		my $fnname = "do_dir_$enddir";
-		if(defined &$fnname){
-			&$fnname($dir, $targetpath);
-		}
-		&process_override($enddir, "POST");
+    my $enddir = $dir;
+    $enddir =~ s!.*$DS!!;
+    if(! &process_override($enddir, "INSTEAD")){
+	&process_override($enddir, "PRE");
+	my $fnname = "do_dir_$enddir";
+	if(defined &$fnname){
+	    &$fnname($dir, $targetpath);
 	}
+	&process_override($enddir, "POST");
+    }
 }
 
-&check_prefix;	# for variable substitution
+&check_gitvars;	# for variable substitution
 
-if($version_old != $version_new){
-	print STDERR "Setting version to $version_new\n" if($opt_v);
-	if(! $opt_n){
-		system("git config nethack.setupversion $version_new");
-		if($?){
-			die "Can't set nethack.setupversion $version_new: $?,$!\n";
-		}
-	}
+if($version_old != $version_new or $opt_f){
+    print STDERR "Setting version to $version_new\n" if($opt_v);
+    NHgithook::version_set_git($version_new) if(! $opt_n);
 }
 
 exit 0;
 
-sub process_override {
-	my($srcdir, $plname) = @_;
-	return 0 unless(length $gitadddir);
+sub add_help {
+    my($cmd, $file) = @_;
 
-	my $plpath = catfile($gitadddir, $srcdir, $plname);
-#print STDERR "   ",catfile($srcdir, $plname),"\n"; # save this for updating docs - list of overrides
-	return 0 unless(-x $plpath);
-
-	print STDERR "Running $plpath\n" if($opt_v);
-	# current directory is top of target repo
-
-	unless($opt_n){
-		system("$plpath $opt_v") and die "Callout $plpath failed: $?\n";
+    &add_config("nethack.aliashelp.$cmd", $file);
+	# pull out =for nhgitset CMD description...
+    my $desc = '';
+    open my $fh, "<", "$DEVhooksdir/$file";
+    if($fh){
+	while(<$fh>){
+	    m/^=for\s+nhgitset\s+\Q$cmd\E\s+(.*)/ && do {
+		$desc = $1;
+		last;
+	    }
 	}
-	return 1;
+	close $fh;
+    } else {
+	warn "Can't open: '$DEVhooksdir/$file' ($!)\n";
+    }
+
+    if(length $desc){
+	&add_config("nethack.aliasdesc.$cmd", $desc);
+    } else {
+	&add_config("nethack.aliasdesc.$cmd", "(no description available)");
+    }
+}
+
+sub process_override {
+    my($srcdir, $plname) = @_;
+    return 0 unless(length $gitadddir);
+
+    my $plpath = catfile($gitadddir, $srcdir, $plname);
+    return 0 unless(-x $plpath);
+
+    print STDERR "RunningOverride $plpath\n" if($opt_v);
+
+	# current directory is top of target repo
+    unless($opt_n){
+	system("$plpath $opt_v") and die "Callout $plpath failed: $?\n";
+    }
+    return 1;
 }
 
 sub add_alias {
-	my($name, $def) = @_;
-	&add_config("alias.$name",$def);
+    my($name, $def) = @_;
+    &add_config("alias.$name",$def);
 }
 
 sub add_config {
-	my($name, $val) = @_;
-	system('git', 'config', '--local', $name, $val) unless($opt_n);
+    my($name, $val) = @_;
+    system('git', 'config', '--local', $name, $val) unless($opt_n);
+}
+
+sub check_gitvars {
+    &check_prefix("substprefix");
+    &check_prefix("projectname");
 }
 
 sub check_prefix {
-	my $lcl = `git config --local --get nethack.substprefix`;
-	chomp($lcl);
-	if(0==length $lcl){
-		my $other = `git config --get nethack.substprefix`;
-		chomp($other);
-		if(0==length $other){
-			print STDERR "ERROR: nethack.substprefix is not set anywhere.  Set it and re-run.\n";
-			exit 2;
-		} else {
-			&add_config('nethack.substprefix', $other);
-			print STDERR "Copying prefix '$other' to local repository.\n" if($opt_v);
-		}
-		$lcl = $other;	# for display below
+    my $which = $_[0];
+    my $lcl = `git config --local --get nethack.$which`;
+    chomp($lcl);
+    if(0==length $lcl){
+	my $other = `git config --get nethack.$which`;
+	chomp($other);
+	if(0==length $other){
+	    print STDERR "ERROR: nethack.$which is not set anywhere.  Set it and re-run.\n";
+	    exit 2;
+	} else {
+	    &add_config('nethack.$which', $other);
+	    print STDERR "Copying prefix '$other' to local repository.\n" if($opt_v);
 	}
-	print "\n\nUsing prefix '$lcl' - PLEASE MAKE SURE THIS IS CORRECT\n\n";
+	$lcl = $other;	# for display below
+    }
+    print "Using $which '$lcl' - PLEASE MAKE SURE THIS IS CORRECT\n";
 }
 
 sub do_dir_DOTGIT {
-if(1){
-	# We are NOT going to mess with config now.
-	return;
-} else {
-	my($srcdir, $targetdir) = @_;
-#warn "do_dir_DOTGIT($srcdir, $targetdir)\n";
-	my $cname = "$srcdir/config";
-	if(-e $cname){
-		print STDERR "Appending to .git/config\n" if($opt_v);
-		open CONFIG, ">>.git/config" or die "open .git/config: $!";
-		open IN, "<", $cname or die "open $cname: $!";
-		my @data = <IN>;
-		print CONFIG @data;
-		close IN;
-		close CONFIG;
-	} else {
-		print STDERR " Nothing to add to .git/config\n" if($opt_v);
-	}
-# XXX are there other files in .git that we might want to handle?
-# So just in case:
-	for my $file ( glob("$srcdir/*") ){
-		next if( $file =~ m!.*/TARGET$! );
-		next if( $file =~ m!.*/config$! );
-		die "ERROR: no handler for $file\n";
-	}
-}
+    my($srcdir, $targetdir) = @_;
+	# not currently in use so just bail
+    return;
+	# are there other files in .git that we might want to handle?
+	# So just in case:
+    for my $file ( glob("$srcdir/*") ){
+	next if( $file =~ m!.*/TARGET$! );
+	next if( $file =~ m!.*/config$! );
+	die "ERROR: no handler for $file\n";
+    }
 }
 
 sub do_dir_hooksdir {
-	my($srcdir, $targetdir) = @_;
+    my($srcdir, $targetdir) = @_;
 
-	unless (-d $targetdir){
+    unless (-d $targetdir){
 		# Older versions of git, when cloning a repo and
 		# the expected source templates directory does not
 		# exist, does not create .git/hooks.  So do it here.
-	    mkdir $targetdir;
-	    print STDERR "WARNING: .git/hooks had to be created.\n";
-	    print STDERR "  You may want to update git.\n";
+	mkdir $targetdir;
+	print STDERR "WARNING: .git/hooks had to be created.\n";
+	print STDERR "  You may want to update git.\n";
+    }
+
+    for my $path ( glob("$srcdir$DS*") ){
+	next if( $path =~ m!.*${DS}TARGET$! );
+
+	my $file = $path;
+
+	$file =~ s!.*$DS!!;
+	$file = catfile($targetdir, $file);
+
+	next if($opt_n);
+
+	open IN, "<", $path or die "Can't open $path: $!";
+	open OUT, ">", "$file" or die "Can't open $file: $!";
+	while(<IN>){
+	    print OUT;
 	}
+	close OUT;
+	close IN;
 
-	for my $path ( glob("$srcdir$DS*") ){
-
-		next if( $path =~ m!.*${DS}TARGET$! );
-
-		my $file = $path;
-
-		$file =~ s!.*$DS!!;
-
-		$file = catfile($targetdir, $file);
-
-		next if($opt_n);
-
-		open IN, "<", $path or die "Can't open $path: $!";
-		open OUT, ">", "$file" or die "Can't open $file: $!";
-		while(<IN>){
-			print OUT;
-		}
-		close OUT;
-		close IN;
-
-		if(! -x $file){
-			chmod 0755 ,$file;
-		}
+	if(! -x $file){
+	    chmod 0755 ,$file;
 	}
+    }
 }
 
 __END__
@@ -308,11 +369,29 @@ nhgitset.pl).
 
 The following options are available:
 
-B<-f>	Force.  Do not use this unless the program requests it.
+=over
 
-B<-n>	Make no changes.
+=item B<-f>
 
-B<-v>	Verbose output.
+Force.  Do not use this unless the program requests it or the hooks are broken.
+
+=back
+
+=over
+
+=item B<-n>
+
+Dry-run - make no changes.
+
+=back
+
+=over
+
+=item B<-v>
+
+Verbose output.
+
+=back
 
 =head1 CONFIG
 
@@ -329,8 +408,35 @@ nethack.gitadddir
 
 nethack.setupversion
 
+   The version for nhgitset.pl and friends; has no relationship
+   to NetHack version numbers.
+
 nethack.substprefix
 
+   The prefix this repo uses for variable substitution.
+
+nethack.projectname
+
+   The name of the game being built - see C<Project()>.
+
+nethack.is-sourcerepo
+
+   Does this repo contain NetHack source code? (1 = yes, 0 = no)
+
+nethack.setuppath
+
+   Path to (and including) the DEVEL directory used including the
+   copy of nhgitset.pl used to set up this repo.
+
+nethack.aliashelp.*
+
+   The last element of the variable is the name used with C<git nhhelp>
+   and the value is the name of a file to display with C<perldoc>.
+
+nethack.aliasdesc.*
+
+   The last element of the variable is the name used with C<git nhhelp>
+   and the value is short help displayed with C<git nhhelp -a>.
 
 =head1 EXIT STATUS
 
diff --git a/doc/Guidebook.mn b/doc/Guidebook.mn
index 549f9c0b7..e850311e9 100644
--- a/doc/Guidebook.mn
+++ b/doc/Guidebook.mn
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-.\" $NHDT-Branch: NetHack-3.7 $:$NHDT-Revision: 1.574 $ $NHDT-Date: 1711040379 2024/03/21 16:59:39 $
+.\" $NHDT-Branch: keni-gitset $:$NHDT-Revision: 1.593 $ $NHDT-Date: 1730681007 2024/11/04 00:43:27 $
 .\"
 .\" This is an excerpt from the 'roff' man page from the 'groff' package.
 .\"+--
@@ -46,8 +46,8 @@
 .ds vr NetHack 3.7.0
 .ds f0 \*(vr
 .ds f1 \" empty
-.\"DO NOT REMOVE NH_DATESUB .ds f2 DATE(%B %-d, %Y)
-.ds f2 September 13, 2024
+.\"DO NOT REMOVE NH_DATESUB .ds f2 Date(%B %-d, %Y)
+.ds f2 November 4, 2024
 .
 .\" A note on some special characters:
 .\" \(lq = left double quote
@@ -6671,3 +6671,4 @@ Izchak Miller	Mike Stephenson
 .sm "Brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks \
 of their respective holders."
 .\"EOF
+changes
diff --git a/doc/Guidebook.tex b/doc/Guidebook.tex
index d71cbd330..d9e2ebeb9 100644
--- a/doc/Guidebook.tex
+++ b/doc/Guidebook.tex
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@
 %.au
 \author{Original version - Eric S. Raymond\\
 (Edited and expanded for 3.7.0 by Mike Stephenson and others)}
-%DO NOT REMOVE NH_DATESUB \date{DATE(%B %-d, %Y)}
+%DO NOT REMOVE NH_DATESUB \date{Date(%B %-d, %Y)}
 \date{September 13, 2024}
 
 \maketitle
diff --git a/doc/dlb.6 b/doc/dlb.6
index 785120aa2..058c6b42f 100644
--- a/doc/dlb.6
+++ b/doc/dlb.6
@@ -1,16 +1,16 @@
-.\" $NHDT-Branch: NetHack-3.7 $:$NHDT-Revision: 1.12 $ $NHDT-Date: 1693253316 2023/08/28 20:08:36 $
-.\"DO NOT REMOVE NH_DATESUB .TH DLB 6 "DATE(%-d %B %Y)" NETHACK
-.TH DLB 6 "8 February 2022" NETHACK
+.\" $NHDT-Branch: keni-gitset $:$NHDT-Revision: 1.13 $ $NHDT-Date: 1730949315 2024/11/06 22:15:15 $
+.\"DO NOT REMOVE NH_DATESUB .TH DLB 6 "DATE(%-d %B %Y)" Project(uc)
+.TH DLB 6 "DATE(%-d %B %Y)" NETHACK
 .\"DO NOT REMOVE NH_DATESUB .ds Nd DATE(%Y)
-.ds Nd 2022
+.ds Nd DATE(%Y)
 .de NB
 .ds Nb \\$2
 ..
 .de NR
 .ds Nr \\$2
 ..
-.NB $NHDT-Branch: NetHack-3.7 $
-.NR $NHDT-Revision: 1.12 $
+.NB $NHDT-Branch: keni-gitset $
+.NR $NHDT-Revision: 1.13 $
 .ds Na Kenneth Lorber
 .SH NAME
 dlb \- NetHack data librarian
diff --git a/doc/makedefs.6 b/doc/makedefs.6
index 1c2129f7d..4c4a65dd6 100644
--- a/doc/makedefs.6
+++ b/doc/makedefs.6
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-.\"DO NOT REMOVE NH_DATESUB .TH MAKEDEFS 6 "DATE(%-d %B %Y)" NETHACK
+.\"DO NOT REMOVE NH_DATESUB .TH MAKEDEFS 6 "DATE(%-d %B %Y)" Project(uc)
 .TH MAKEDEFS 6 "8 February 2022" NETHACK
 .\"DO NOT REMOVE NH_DATESUB .ds Nd DATE(%Y)
 .ds Nd 2022
diff --git a/doc/nethack.6 b/doc/nethack.6
index 478f99f5d..735ffa46e 100644
--- a/doc/nethack.6
+++ b/doc/nethack.6
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-.\"DO NOT REMOVE NH_DATESUB .TH NETHACK 6 "DATE(%-d %B %Y)" NETHACK
+.\"DO NOT REMOVE NH_DATESUB .TH NETHACK 6 "DATE(%-d %B %Y)" Project(uc)
 .TH NETHACK 6 "21 February 2022" NETHACK
 .\"DO NOT REMOVE NH_DATESUB .ds Nd DATE(%Y)
 .ds Nd 2022
diff --git a/doc/recover.6 b/doc/recover.6
index b94efda65..9972ff6d6 100644
--- a/doc/recover.6
+++ b/doc/recover.6
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-.\"DO NOT REMOVE NH_DATESUB .TH RECOVER 6 "DATE(%-d %B %Y)" NETHACK
+.\"DO NOT REMOVE NH_DATESUB .TH RECOVER 6 "DATE(%-d %B %Y)" Project(uc)
 .TH RECOVER 6 "8 February 2022" NETHACK
 .\"DO NOT REMOVE NH_DATESUB .ds Nd DATE(%Y)
 .ds Nd 2022
diff --git a/sys/windows/build-msys2.txt b/sys/windows/build-msys2.txt
index c9efc6859..4ce421f2e 100644
--- a/sys/windows/build-msys2.txt
+++ b/sys/windows/build-msys2.txt
@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@ Prerequisite Requirements:
           pacman -S make
           pacman -S vim (or your editor of choice)
           pacman -S man (otherwise "git help foo" will not work)
+          pacman -S perl-doc (otherwise "git nhhelp foo" will not work,
+                              so only needed if you use nhgitset.pl)
   o Lua
   o pdcursesmod (Only required if curses interface support is desired)
      Instructions for obtaining these are later in this file.