In a project controlled under Git, I do various experiments, and release the results for testing.
Usually I use the same project, and just modify the files multiple times between generation for a release for test.
I want to be able to reproduce these test release in a lightweight way, by for example keeping a copy of the few modified files.
I would rather not fill the repository with lots of experimental commits and branches, that have no actual value. NOTE: Modified previous comment about branches being overkill, based on comments.
So I consider keeping the latest Git commit hash, using git rev-parse HEAD, and in addition generate a patch with the difference since that commit.
However, I can't figure how to generate a git patch that includes both the modified existing files (those files already under Git control) and added new files and directories (those files and directories not in the latest Git commit).
How can I make a Git patch that contains both modified existing files, and added new files and directories?
Or is there any suggestion for how to handle this task in another way?