Klaus pointed out that there are two problems that keep git-annex from being used on USB keys, that would typically be VFAT formatted:

  • Use of symlinks, which VFAT does not support. Very hard to fix. One possibility is to add bare git repos support, then a git repo on a thumb drive could be used to transfer data.
  • Use of ":" in filenames of object files, also not supported. Could easily be fixed by reorganizing the object directory.