git regression hunter

I have analyzed the range between v2.1.0 and v2.4.5. With approximately 800 commits, a standard binary search will take ~10 steps (log2(800) ≈ 9.64).

Regression Hunting Plan: Login Bug

Facts

• Bad Ref: v2.4.5
• Good Ref: v2.1.0
• Test Script: test_auth.sh
• Commit Distance: ~800 commits

Analysis

We will use an automated bisect to minimize manual effort. Since this spans several minor versions, we should verify if any squash-merges exist that might obscure the history. The automated approach is preferred here to avoid human error during the 10 expected iterations.

Actions

Run the following commands in your terminal:

# Start the bisect process
git bisect start v2.4.5 v2.1.0

# Run the automated test script
git bisect run ./test_auth.sh

If you prefer to run this manually to inspect state at each step, use:

git bisect start
git bisect bad v2.4.5
git bisect good v2.1.0

# Git will now check out the midpoint. Run your test, then:
# git bisect good OR git bisect bad

Assumptions

• Assumes test_auth.sh is executable (chmod +x test_auth.sh).
• Assumes the bug is 100% reproducible and not flaky.
• Assumes no "broken" (unbuildable) commits exist in this range; if encountered, use git bisect skip.

Next steps

1. Run the git bisect run command provided above.
2. Once git identifies the culprit SHA, paste the output of git show <SHA> and git log -1 --stat <SHA> for intent analysis.
3. Verify if the culprit is a merge commit, which may require exploring the side-branch history.