> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.peoplebot.me/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# 3. Let PeopleBot identify your file

> See how a saved Git version becomes an exact PeopleBot State.

**Goal:** have PeopleBot identify both versions of your greeting and show their contents. **AI calls:** none.

Finish [lesson 2](/tutorials/snapshots) first. Keep using the outer tutorial folder containing `.venv` and `practice-project`.

## 1. Save a small helper

Open a plain-text editor, such as Notepad on Windows or Text Editor on Ubuntu. Create a new file and paste the complete code below. Save it in the outer tutorial folder as **`inspect_greeting.py`**.

On Windows, select **All files** in Notepad's Save dialog so the filename does not become `inspect_greeting.py.txt`. This is a Python file, not a Word document. You do not need to understand every line before running it.

```python theme={null}
import subprocess
from peoplebot import StateRef, resolve_state

checkout = "practice-project"
repository = "local:peoplebot-practice"


def git(*arguments):
    return subprocess.run(
        ["git", "-C", checkout, *arguments],
        check=True,
        capture_output=True,
        text=True,
        timeout=15,
    ).stdout.strip()


for label, saved_version in (("Latest", "HEAD"), ("Previous", "HEAD~1")):
    commit = git("rev-parse", saved_version)
    reference = StateRef(repository, commit, "welcome.txt")
    result = resolve_state(checkout, reference)
    print(f"{label} saved version")
    print(f"  Full commit: {reference.commit}")
    print(f"  File: {reference.path}")
    print(f"  Object type: {result.selected_type}")
    print(f"  Contents: {git('show', commit + ':welcome.txt')}")
    print()
```

The helper uses Git to turn “latest” and “previous” into full commit IDs. It then passes those exact IDs to PeopleBot. Git reads the displayed text; PeopleBot verifies which committed object the reference selects.

`local:peoplebot-practice` is the label we have chosen for this local repository. It is not a web address, password, or instruction to upload the project.

## 2. Run it

Windows PowerShell:

```powershell theme={null}
.\.venv\Scripts\python.exe ./inspect_greeting.py
```

Linux:

```bash theme={null}
./.venv/bin/python ./inspect_greeting.py
```

## 3. Check the result

You should see two sections:

| Section                | Contents                          | Object type |
| ---------------------- | --------------------------------- | ----------- |
| Latest saved version   | `Hello from the updated project.` | `blob`      |
| Previous saved version | `Hello from PeopleBot.`           | `blob`      |

A `blob` is Git's term for a stored file's contents. The full commit codes will be long and different from one another. You do not need to memorize them; software records and reuses them.

A PeopleBot State reference answers three questions: **which repository, which saved version, and optionally which file?** This is more precise than “use the latest file,” which can mean something different tomorrow.

## If you get stuck

* **Python cannot open the helper:** check its name and that it is beside `practice-project`, not inside it.
* **Python reports a syntax error:** compare the saved code with the complete block, including indentation.
* **The previous version cannot be found:** complete both commits in lesson 2.
* **“No module named peoplebot”:** use the virtual environment's Python shown above.

You have now used PeopleBot on your own local project. Next: [choose what information reaches a task](/tutorials/choose-context).