1git(7) 2====== 3 4NAME 5---- 6git - the stupid content tracker 7 8 9SYNOPSIS 10-------- 11'git-<command>' <args> 12 13DESCRIPTION 14----------- 15 16This is reference information for the core git commands. 17 18Before reading this cover to cover, you may want to take a look 19at the link:tutorial.html[tutorial] document. 20 21The <<Discussion>> section below contains much useful definition and 22clarification info - read that first. And of the commands, I suggest 23reading gitlink:git-update-index[1] and 24gitlink:git-read-tree[1] first - I wish I had! 25 26If you are migrating from CVS, link:cvs-migration.html[cvs migration] 27document may be helpful after you finish the tutorial. 28 29After you get the general feel from the tutorial and this 30overview page, you may want to take a look at the 31link:howto-index.html[howto] documents. 32 33 34David Greaves <david@dgreaves.com> 3508/05/05 36 37Updated by Junio C Hamano <junkio@cox.net> on 2005-05-05 to 38reflect recent changes. 39 40Commands Overview 41----------------- 42The git commands can helpfully be split into those that manipulate 43the repository, the cache and the working fileset, those that 44interrogate and compare them, and those that moves objects and 45references between repositories. 46 47In addition, git itself comes with a spartan set of porcelain 48commands. They are usable but are not meant to compete with real 49Porcelains. 50 51There are also some ancillary programs that can be viewed as useful 52aids for using the core commands but which are unlikely to be used by 53SCMs layered over git. 54 55Manipulation commands 56~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 57gitlink:git-apply[1]:: 58 Reads a "diff -up1" or git generated patch file and 59 applies it to the working tree. 60 61gitlink:git-checkout-index[1]:: 62 Copy files from the cache to the working directory 63 Previously this command was known as git-checkout-cache. 64 65gitlink:git-commit-tree[1]:: 66 Creates a new commit object 67 68gitlink:git-hash-object[1]:: 69 Computes the object ID from a file. 70 71gitlink:git-index-pack.html[1]:: 72 Build pack index file for an existing packed archive. 73 74gitlink:git-init-db[1]:: 75 Creates an empty git object database 76 77gitlink:git-merge-index[1]:: 78 Runs a merge for files needing merging 79 Previously this command was known as git-merge-cache. 80 81gitlink:git-mktag[1]:: 82 Creates a tag object 83 84gitlink:git-pack-objects[1]:: 85 Creates a packed archive of objects. 86 87gitlink:git-prune-packed[1]:: 88 Remove extra objects that are already in pack files. 89 90gitlink:git-read-tree[1]:: 91 Reads tree information into the directory cache 92 93gitlink:git-unpack-objects[1]:: 94 Unpacks objects out of a packed archive. 95 96gitlink:git-update-index[1]:: 97 Modifies the index or directory cache 98 Previously this command was known as git-update-cache. 99 100gitlink:git-write-tree[1]:: 101 Creates a tree from the current cache 102 103 104Interrogation commands 105~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 106 107gitlink:git-cat-file[1]:: 108 Provide content or type information for repository objects 109 110gitlink:git-diff-index[1]:: 111 Compares content and mode of blobs between the cache and repository 112 Previously this command was known as git-diff-cache. 113 114gitlink:git-diff-files[1]:: 115 Compares files in the working tree and the cache 116 117gitlink:git-diff-stages[1]:: 118 Compares two "merge stages" in the index file. 119 120gitlink:git-diff-tree[1]:: 121 Compares the content and mode of blobs found via two tree objects 122 123gitlink:git-fsck-objects[1]:: 124 Verifies the connectivity and validity of the objects in the database 125 Previously this command was known as git-fsck-cache. 126 127gitlink:git-ls-files[1]:: 128 Information about files in the cache/working directory 129 130gitlink:git-ls-tree[1]:: 131 Displays a tree object in human readable form 132 133gitlink:git-merge-base[1]:: 134 Finds as good a common ancestor as possible for a merge 135 136gitlink:git-rev-list[1]:: 137 Lists commit objects in reverse chronological order 138 139gitlink:git-show-index[1]:: 140 Displays contents of a pack idx file. 141 142gitlink:git-tar-tree[1]:: 143 Creates a tar archive of the files in the named tree 144 145gitlink:git-unpack-file[1]:: 146 Creates a temporary file with a blob's contents 147 148gitlink:git-var[1]:: 149 Displays a git logical variable 150 151gitlink:git-verify-pack[1]:: 152 Validates packed git archive files 153 154The interrogate commands may create files - and you can force them to 155touch the working file set - but in general they don't 156 157 158Synching repositories 159~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 160 161gitlink:git-clone-pack[1]:: 162 Clones a repository into the current repository (engine 163 for ssh and local transport) 164 165gitlink:git-fetch-pack[1]:: 166 Updates from a remote repository. 167 168gitlink:git-http-fetch[1]:: 169 Downloads a remote git repository via HTTP 170 Previously this command was known as git-http-pull. 171 172gitlink:git-local-fetch[1]:: 173 Duplicates another git repository on a local system 174 Previously this command was known as git-local-pull. 175 176gitlink:git-peek-remote[1]:: 177 Lists references on a remote repository using upload-pack protocol. 178 179gitlink:git-receive-pack[1]:: 180 Invoked by 'git-send-pack' to receive what is pushed to it. 181 182gitlink:git-send-pack[1]:: 183 Pushes to a remote repository, intelligently. 184 185gitlink:git-shell[1]:: 186 Restricted shell for GIT-only SSH access. 187 188gitlink:git-ssh-fetch[1]:: 189 Pulls from a remote repository over ssh connection 190 Previously this command was known as git-ssh-pull. 191 192gitlink:git-ssh-upload[1]:: 193 Helper "server-side" program used by git-ssh-fetch 194 Previously this command was known as git-ssh-push. 195 196gitlink:git-update-server-info[1]:: 197 Updates auxiliary information on a dumb server to help 198 clients discover references and packs on it. 199 200gitlink:git-upload-pack[1]:: 201 Invoked by 'git-clone-pack' and 'git-fetch-pack' to push 202 what are asked for. 203 204 205Porcelain-ish Commands 206---------------------- 207 208gitlink:git-add[1]:: 209 Add paths to the index file. 210 Previously this command was known as git-add-script. 211 212gitlink:git-am[1]:: 213 Apply patches from a mailbox, but cooler. 214 215gitlink:git-applymbox[1]:: 216 Apply patches from a mailbox. 217 218gitlink:git-bisect[1]:: 219 Find the change that introduced a bug. 220 Previously this command was known as git-bisect-script. 221 222gitlink:git-branch[1]:: 223 Create and Show branches. 224 Previously this command was known as git-branch-script. 225 226gitlink:git-checkout[1]:: 227 Checkout and switch to a branch. 228 Previously this command was known as git-checkout-script. 229 230gitlink:git-cherry-pick[1]:: 231 Cherry-pick the effect of an existing commit. 232 Previously this command was known as git-cherry-pick-script. 233 234gitlink:git-clone[1]:: 235 Clones a repository into a new directory. 236 Previously this command was known as git-clone-script. 237 238gitlink:git-commit[1]:: 239 Record changes to the repository. 240 Previously this command was known as git-commit-script. 241 242gitlink:git-diff[1]:: 243 Show changes between commits, commit and working tree, etc. 244 Previously this command was known as git-diff-script. 245 246gitlink:git-fetch[1]:: 247 Download from a remote repository via various protocols. 248 Previously this command was known as git-fetch-script. 249 250gitlink:git-format-patch[1]:: 251 Prepare patches for e-mail submission. 252 Previously this command was known as git-format-patch-script. 253 254gitlink:git-grep[1]:: 255 Print lines matching a pattern 256 257gitlink:git-log[1]:: 258 Shows commit logs. 259 Previously this command was known as git-log-script. 260 261gitlink:git-ls-remote[1]:: 262 Shows references in a remote or local repository. 263 Previously this command was known as git-ls-remote-script. 264 265gitlink:git-merge[1]:: 266 Grand unified merge driver. 267 268gitlink:git-mv[1]:: 269 Move or rename a file, a directory, or a symlink. 270 271gitlink:git-octopus[1]:: 272 Merge more than two commits. 273 Previously this command was known as git-octopus-script. 274 275gitlink:git-pull[1]:: 276 Fetch from and merge with a remote repository. 277 Previously this command was known as git-pull-script. 278 279gitlink:git-push[1]:: 280 Update remote refs along with associated objects. 281 Previously this command was known as git-push-script. 282 283gitlink:git-rebase[1]:: 284 Rebase local commits to new upstream head. 285 Previously this command was known as git-rebase-script. 286 287gitlink:git-rename[1]:: 288 Rename files and directories. 289 Previously this command was known as git-rename-script. 290 291gitlink:git-repack[1]:: 292 Pack unpacked objects in a repository. 293 Previously this command was known as git-repack-script. 294 295gitlink:git-reset[1]:: 296 Reset current HEAD to the specified state. 297 Previously this command was known as git-reset-script. 298 299gitlink:git-resolve[1]:: 300 Merge two commits. 301 Previously this command was known as git-resolve-script. 302 303gitlink:git-revert[1]:: 304 Revert an existing commit. 305 Previously this command was known as git-revert-script. 306 307gitlink:git-shortlog[1]:: 308 Summarizes 'git log' output. 309 310gitlink:git-show-branch[1]:: 311 Show branches and their commits. 312 313gitlink:git-status[1]:: 314 Shows the working tree status. 315 Previously this command was known as git-status-script. 316 317gitlink:git-verify-tag[1]:: 318 Check the GPG signature of tag. 319 Previously this command was known as git-verify-tag-script. 320 321gitlink:git-whatchanged[1]:: 322 Shows commit logs and differences they introduce. 323 324 325Ancillary Commands 326------------------ 327Manipulators: 328 329gitlink:git-applypatch[1]:: 330 Apply one patch extracted from an e-mail. 331 332gitlink:git-archimport[1]:: 333 Import an arch repository into git. 334 Previously this command was known as git-archimport-script. 335 336gitlink:git-convert-objects[1]:: 337 Converts old-style git repository 338 Previously this command was known as git-convert-cache. 339 340gitlink:git-cvsimport[1]:: 341 Salvage your data out of another SCM people love to hate. 342 Previously this command was known as git-cvsimport-script. 343 344gitlink:git-merge-one-file[1]:: 345 The standard helper program to use with "git-merge-index" 346 Previously this command was known as git-merge-one-file-script. 347 348gitlink:git-prune[1]:: 349 Prunes all unreachable objects from the object database 350 Previously this command was known as git-prune-script. 351 352gitlink:git-relink[1]:: 353 Hardlink common objects in local repositories. 354 Previously this command was known as git-relink-script. 355 356gitlink:git-svnimport[1]:: 357 Import a SVN repository into git. 358 359gitlink:git-sh-setup[1]:: 360 Common git shell script setup code. 361 Previously this command was known as git-sh-setup-script. 362 363gitlink:git-tag[1]:: 364 An example script to create a tag object signed with GPG 365 Previously this command was known as git-tag-script. 366 367gitlink:git-update-ref[1]:: 368 Update the object name stored in a ref safely. 369 370 371Interrogators: 372 373gitlink:git-check-ref-format[1]:: 374 Make sure ref name is well formed. 375 376gitlink:git-cherry[1]:: 377 Find commits not merged upstream. 378 379gitlink:git-count-objects[1]:: 380 Count unpacked number of objects and their disk consumption. 381 Previously this command was known as git-count-objects-script. 382 383gitlink:git-daemon[1]:: 384 A really simple server for git repositories. 385 386gitlink:git-get-tar-commit-id[1]:: 387 Extract commit ID from an archive created using git-tar-tree. 388 389gitlink:git-mailinfo[1]:: 390 Extracts patch from a single e-mail message. 391 392gitlink:git-mailsplit[1]:: 393 git-mailsplit. 394 395gitlink:git-patch-id[1]:: 396 Compute unique ID for a patch. 397 398gitlink:git-parse-remote[1]:: 399 Routines to help parsing $GIT_DIR/remotes/ 400 Previously this command was known as git-parse-remote-script. 401 402gitlink:git-request-pull[1]:: 403 git-request-pull. 404 Previously this command was known as git-request-pull-script. 405 406gitlink:git-rev-parse[1]:: 407 Pick out and massage parameters. 408 409gitlink:git-send-email[1]:: 410 Send patch e-mails out of "format-patch --mbox" output. 411 Previously this command was known as git-send-email-script. 412 413gitlink:git-symbolic-refs[1]:: 414 Read and modify symbolic refs. 415 416gitlink:git-stripspace[1]:: 417 Filter out empty lines. 418 419 420Commands not yet documented 421--------------------------- 422 423gitlink:gitk[1]:: 424 gitk. 425 426 427Identifier Terminology 428---------------------- 429<object>:: 430 Indicates the sha1 identifier for any type of object 431 432<blob>:: 433 Indicates a blob object sha1 identifier 434 435<tree>:: 436 Indicates a tree object sha1 identifier 437 438<commit>:: 439 Indicates a commit object sha1 identifier 440 441<tree-ish>:: 442 Indicates a tree, commit or tag object sha1 identifier. A 443 command that takes a <tree-ish> argument ultimately wants to 444 operate on a <tree> object but automatically dereferences 445 <commit> and <tag> objects that point at a <tree>. 446 447<type>:: 448 Indicates that an object type is required. 449 Currently one of: blob/tree/commit/tag 450 451<file>:: 452 Indicates a filename - always relative to the root of 453 the tree structure GIT_INDEX_FILE describes. 454 455Symbolic Identifiers 456-------------------- 457Any git command accepting any <object> can also use the following 458symbolic notation: 459 460HEAD:: 461 indicates the head of the repository (ie the contents of 462 `$GIT_DIR/HEAD`) 463<tag>:: 464 a valid tag 'name'+ 465 (ie the contents of `$GIT_DIR/refs/tags/<tag>`) 466<head>:: 467 a valid head 'name'+ 468 (ie the contents of `$GIT_DIR/refs/heads/<head>`) 469<snap>:: 470 a valid snapshot 'name'+ 471 (ie the contents of `$GIT_DIR/refs/snap/<snap>`) 472 473 474File/Directory Structure 475------------------------ 476 477Please see link:repository-layout.html[repository layout] document. 478 479Higher level SCMs may provide and manage additional information in the 480GIT_DIR. 481 482 483Terminology 484----------- 485Please see link:glossary.html[glossary] document. 486 487 488Environment Variables 489--------------------- 490Various git commands use the following environment variables: 491 492The git Repository 493~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 494These environment variables apply to 'all' core git commands. Nb: it 495is worth noting that they may be used/overridden by SCMS sitting above 496git so take care if using Cogito etc 497 498'GIT_INDEX_FILE':: 499 This environment allows the specification of an alternate 500 cache/index file. If not specified, the default of 501 `$GIT_DIR/index` is used. 502 503'GIT_OBJECT_DIRECTORY':: 504 If the object storage directory is specified via this 505 environment variable then the sha1 directories are created 506 underneath - otherwise the default `$GIT_DIR/objects` 507 directory is used. 508 509'GIT_ALTERNATE_OBJECT_DIRECTORIES':: 510 Due to the immutable nature of git objects, old objects can be 511 archived into shared, read-only directories. This variable 512 specifies a ":" separated list of git object directories which 513 can be used to search for git objects. New objects will not be 514 written to these directories. 515 516'GIT_DIR':: 517 If the 'GIT_DIR' environment variable is set then it specifies 518 a path to use instead of `./.git` for the base of the 519 repository. 520 521git Commits 522~~~~~~~~~~~ 523'GIT_AUTHOR_NAME':: 524'GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL':: 525'GIT_AUTHOR_DATE':: 526'GIT_COMMITTER_NAME':: 527'GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL':: 528 see gitlink:git-commit-tree[1] 529 530git Diffs 531~~~~~~~~~ 532'GIT_DIFF_OPTS':: 533'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF':: 534 see the "generating patches" section in : 535 gitlink:git-diff-index[1]; 536 gitlink:git-diff-files[1]; 537 gitlink:git-diff-tree[1] 538 539Discussion[[Discussion]] 540------------------------ 541include::../README[] 542 543Author 544------ 545Written by Linus Torvalds <torvalds@osdl.org> and the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>. 546 547Documentation 548-------------- 549Documentation by David Greaves, Junio C Hamano and the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>. 550 551GIT 552--- 553Part of the gitlink:git[7] suite 554