d11a21c48cdc2cebe0a97779b510df8317b980cd
braney
  Mon Sep 7 06:29:43 2026 -0700
bigNet: gate the track type behind an hg.conf flag, refs #20824

Add the boolean hg.conf setting bigNet, default FALSE, so the type ships
dark and a machine turns it on with bigNet=on.

trackHubBigNetEnabled() in hg/lib/trackHub.c is the one read; the four
places that accept or advertise the type ask it.  validateOneTrack drops
bigNet from the hub track type allowlist, validateOneTdb drops it from the
types quickLift will lift, hubCheck drops it from VALID_TRACK_TYPES and
from the message listing the valid types, and hubApi does not add it to
supportedTypes.  netToBigNet, netTrack.c, chainNetDbLoad.c and the hgc
details code are unchanged, since they cannot be reached once a bigNet
track will not load.

With the flag off hgTracks does not abort the hub.  It draws the track row
as a bigWarn bar reading "Unsupported type 'bigNet ...'" and the rest of
the hub loads normally.

Register the flag in hgConfCatalog.py with role="gate" so the sunset
report tracks it.

diff --git src/hg/inc/trackHub.h src/hg/inc/trackHub.h
index d3eb89fc9a8..31e502f548e 100644
--- src/hg/inc/trackHub.h
+++ src/hg/inc/trackHub.h
@@ -246,17 +246,21 @@
 /* Get the genome structure for an undecorated genome name. */
 
 char *trackHubBuild(char *db, struct cart *cart, struct trackDb **badList);
 /* Build a track hub using trackDb and the cart. */
 
 struct grp *readGroupRa(char *groupFileName);
 /* Read in the ra file that describes the groups in an assembly hub. */
 
 struct trackDb *trackHubAddTracksGenome(struct trackHubGenome *hubGenome);
 /* Load up stuff from data hub and return list. */
 
 boolean trackHubIsValidSeqName(char *name);
 /* Return TRUE if name is a valid sequence name: non-empty, starts with a
  * letter or digit, and contains only [A-Za-z0-9._-]. */
 
+boolean trackHubBigNetEnabled();
+/* Return TRUE if the bigNet track type is turned on.  Off unless hg.conf says
+ * bigNet=on.  Everything that accepts or advertises the type asks this. */
+
 #endif /* TRACKHUB_H */