Documentation / git.txton commit add-interactive: handle deletion of empty files (24ab81a)
   1git(1)
   2======
   3
   4NAME
   5----
   6git - the stupid content tracker
   7
   8
   9SYNOPSIS
  10--------
  11[verse]
  12'git' [--version] [--exec-path[=GIT_EXEC_PATH]] [--html-path]
  13    [-p|--paginate|--no-pager]
  14    [--bare] [--git-dir=GIT_DIR] [--work-tree=GIT_WORK_TREE]
  15    [--help] COMMAND [ARGS]
  16
  17DESCRIPTION
  18-----------
  19Git is a fast, scalable, distributed revision control system with an
  20unusually rich command set that provides both high-level operations
  21and full access to internals.
  22
  23See linkgit:gittutorial[7] to get started, then see
  24link:everyday.html[Everyday Git] for a useful minimum set of commands, and
  25"man git-commandname" for documentation of each command.  CVS users may
  26also want to read linkgit:gitcvs-migration[7].  See
  27the link:user-manual.html[Git User's Manual] for a more in-depth
  28introduction.
  29
  30The COMMAND is either a name of a Git command (see below) or an alias
  31as defined in the configuration file (see linkgit:git-config[1]).
  32
  33Formatted and hyperlinked version of the latest git
  34documentation can be viewed at
  35`http://www.kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/`.
  36
  37ifdef::stalenotes[]
  38[NOTE]
  39============
  40
  41You are reading the documentation for the latest (possibly
  42unreleased) version of git, that is available from 'master'
  43branch of the `git.git` repository.
  44Documentation for older releases are available here:
  45
  46* link:v1.6.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.5]
  47
  48* release notes for
  49  link:RelNotes-1.6.5.txt[1.6.5].
  50
  51* link:v1.6.4.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.4.4]
  52
  53* release notes for
  54  link:RelNotes-1.6.4.4.txt[1.6.4.4],
  55  link:RelNotes-1.6.4.3.txt[1.6.4.3],
  56  link:RelNotes-1.6.4.2.txt[1.6.4.2],
  57  link:RelNotes-1.6.4.1.txt[1.6.4.1],
  58  link:RelNotes-1.6.4.txt[1.6.4].
  59
  60* link:v1.6.3.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.3.4]
  61
  62* release notes for
  63  link:RelNotes-1.6.3.4.txt[1.6.3.4],
  64  link:RelNotes-1.6.3.3.txt[1.6.3.3],
  65  link:RelNotes-1.6.3.2.txt[1.6.3.2],
  66  link:RelNotes-1.6.3.1.txt[1.6.3.1],
  67  link:RelNotes-1.6.3.txt[1.6.3].
  68
  69* release notes for
  70  link:RelNotes-1.6.2.5.txt[1.6.2.5],
  71  link:RelNotes-1.6.2.4.txt[1.6.2.4],
  72  link:RelNotes-1.6.2.3.txt[1.6.2.3],
  73  link:RelNotes-1.6.2.2.txt[1.6.2.2],
  74  link:RelNotes-1.6.2.1.txt[1.6.2.1],
  75  link:RelNotes-1.6.2.txt[1.6.2].
  76
  77* link:v1.6.1.3/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.1.3]
  78
  79* release notes for
  80  link:RelNotes-1.6.1.3.txt[1.6.1.3],
  81  link:RelNotes-1.6.1.2.txt[1.6.1.2],
  82  link:RelNotes-1.6.1.1.txt[1.6.1.1],
  83  link:RelNotes-1.6.1.txt[1.6.1].
  84
  85* link:v1.6.0.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.0.6]
  86
  87* release notes for
  88  link:RelNotes-1.6.0.6.txt[1.6.0.6],
  89  link:RelNotes-1.6.0.5.txt[1.6.0.5],
  90  link:RelNotes-1.6.0.4.txt[1.6.0.4],
  91  link:RelNotes-1.6.0.3.txt[1.6.0.3],
  92  link:RelNotes-1.6.0.2.txt[1.6.0.2],
  93  link:RelNotes-1.6.0.1.txt[1.6.0.1],
  94  link:RelNotes-1.6.0.txt[1.6.0].
  95
  96* link:v1.5.6.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.6.6]
  97
  98* release notes for
  99  link:RelNotes-1.5.6.6.txt[1.5.6.6],
 100  link:RelNotes-1.5.6.5.txt[1.5.6.5],
 101  link:RelNotes-1.5.6.4.txt[1.5.6.4],
 102  link:RelNotes-1.5.6.3.txt[1.5.6.3],
 103  link:RelNotes-1.5.6.2.txt[1.5.6.2],
 104  link:RelNotes-1.5.6.1.txt[1.5.6.1],
 105  link:RelNotes-1.5.6.txt[1.5.6].
 106
 107* link:v1.5.5.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.5.6]
 108
 109* release notes for
 110  link:RelNotes-1.5.5.6.txt[1.5.5.6],
 111  link:RelNotes-1.5.5.5.txt[1.5.5.5],
 112  link:RelNotes-1.5.5.4.txt[1.5.5.4],
 113  link:RelNotes-1.5.5.3.txt[1.5.5.3],
 114  link:RelNotes-1.5.5.2.txt[1.5.5.2],
 115  link:RelNotes-1.5.5.1.txt[1.5.5.1],
 116  link:RelNotes-1.5.5.txt[1.5.5].
 117
 118* link:v1.5.4.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.4.7]
 119
 120* release notes for
 121  link:RelNotes-1.5.4.7.txt[1.5.4.7],
 122  link:RelNotes-1.5.4.6.txt[1.5.4.6],
 123  link:RelNotes-1.5.4.5.txt[1.5.4.5],
 124  link:RelNotes-1.5.4.4.txt[1.5.4.4],
 125  link:RelNotes-1.5.4.3.txt[1.5.4.3],
 126  link:RelNotes-1.5.4.2.txt[1.5.4.2],
 127  link:RelNotes-1.5.4.1.txt[1.5.4.1],
 128  link:RelNotes-1.5.4.txt[1.5.4].
 129
 130* link:v1.5.3.8/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.3.8]
 131
 132* release notes for
 133  link:RelNotes-1.5.3.8.txt[1.5.3.8],
 134  link:RelNotes-1.5.3.7.txt[1.5.3.7],
 135  link:RelNotes-1.5.3.6.txt[1.5.3.6],
 136  link:RelNotes-1.5.3.5.txt[1.5.3.5],
 137  link:RelNotes-1.5.3.4.txt[1.5.3.4],
 138  link:RelNotes-1.5.3.3.txt[1.5.3.3],
 139  link:RelNotes-1.5.3.2.txt[1.5.3.2],
 140  link:RelNotes-1.5.3.1.txt[1.5.3.1],
 141  link:RelNotes-1.5.3.txt[1.5.3].
 142
 143* link:v1.5.2.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.2.5]
 144
 145* release notes for
 146  link:RelNotes-1.5.2.5.txt[1.5.2.5],
 147  link:RelNotes-1.5.2.4.txt[1.5.2.4],
 148  link:RelNotes-1.5.2.3.txt[1.5.2.3],
 149  link:RelNotes-1.5.2.2.txt[1.5.2.2],
 150  link:RelNotes-1.5.2.1.txt[1.5.2.1],
 151  link:RelNotes-1.5.2.txt[1.5.2].
 152
 153* link:v1.5.1.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.1.6]
 154
 155* release notes for
 156  link:RelNotes-1.5.1.6.txt[1.5.1.6],
 157  link:RelNotes-1.5.1.5.txt[1.5.1.5],
 158  link:RelNotes-1.5.1.4.txt[1.5.1.4],
 159  link:RelNotes-1.5.1.3.txt[1.5.1.3],
 160  link:RelNotes-1.5.1.2.txt[1.5.1.2],
 161  link:RelNotes-1.5.1.1.txt[1.5.1.1],
 162  link:RelNotes-1.5.1.txt[1.5.1].
 163
 164* link:v1.5.0.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.0.7]
 165
 166* release notes for
 167  link:RelNotes-1.5.0.7.txt[1.5.0.7],
 168  link:RelNotes-1.5.0.6.txt[1.5.0.6],
 169  link:RelNotes-1.5.0.5.txt[1.5.0.5],
 170  link:RelNotes-1.5.0.3.txt[1.5.0.3],
 171  link:RelNotes-1.5.0.2.txt[1.5.0.2],
 172  link:RelNotes-1.5.0.1.txt[1.5.0.1],
 173  link:RelNotes-1.5.0.txt[1.5.0].
 174
 175* documentation for release link:v1.4.4.4/git.html[1.4.4.4],
 176  link:v1.3.3/git.html[1.3.3],
 177  link:v1.2.6/git.html[1.2.6],
 178  link:v1.0.13/git.html[1.0.13].
 179
 180============
 181
 182endif::stalenotes[]
 183
 184OPTIONS
 185-------
 186--version::
 187        Prints the git suite version that the 'git' program came from.
 188
 189--help::
 190        Prints the synopsis and a list of the most commonly used
 191        commands. If the option '--all' or '-a' is given then all
 192        available commands are printed. If a git command is named this
 193        option will bring up the manual page for that command.
 194+
 195Other options are available to control how the manual page is
 196displayed. See linkgit:git-help[1] for more information,
 197because `git --help ...` is converted internally into `git
 198help ...`.
 199
 200--exec-path::
 201        Path to wherever your core git programs are installed.
 202        This can also be controlled by setting the GIT_EXEC_PATH
 203        environment variable. If no path is given, 'git' will print
 204        the current setting and then exit.
 205
 206--html-path::
 207        Print the path to wherever your git HTML documentation is installed
 208        and exit.
 209
 210-p::
 211--paginate::
 212        Pipe all output into 'less' (or if set, $PAGER).
 213
 214--no-pager::
 215        Do not pipe git output into a pager.
 216
 217--git-dir=<path>::
 218        Set the path to the repository. This can also be controlled by
 219        setting the GIT_DIR environment variable. It can be an absolute
 220        path or relative path to current working directory.
 221
 222--work-tree=<path>::
 223        Set the path to the working tree.  The value will not be
 224        used in combination with repositories found automatically in
 225        a .git directory (i.e. $GIT_DIR is not set).
 226        This can also be controlled by setting the GIT_WORK_TREE
 227        environment variable and the core.worktree configuration
 228        variable. It can be an absolute path or relative path to
 229        the directory specified by --git-dir or GIT_DIR.
 230        Note: If --git-dir or GIT_DIR are specified but none of
 231        --work-tree, GIT_WORK_TREE and core.worktree is specified,
 232        the current working directory is regarded as the top directory
 233        of your working tree.
 234
 235--bare::
 236        Treat the repository as a bare repository.  If GIT_DIR
 237        environment is not set, it is set to the current working
 238        directory.
 239
 240
 241FURTHER DOCUMENTATION
 242---------------------
 243
 244See the references above to get started using git.  The following is
 245probably more detail than necessary for a first-time user.
 246
 247The link:user-manual.html#git-concepts[git concepts chapter of the
 248user-manual] and linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7] both provide
 249introductions to the underlying git architecture.
 250
 251See linkgit:gitworkflows[7] for an overview of recommended workflows.
 252
 253See also the link:howto-index.html[howto] documents for some useful
 254examples.
 255
 256The internals are documented in the
 257link:technical/api-index.html[GIT API documentation].
 258
 259GIT COMMANDS
 260------------
 261
 262We divide git into high level ("porcelain") commands and low level
 263("plumbing") commands.
 264
 265High-level commands (porcelain)
 266-------------------------------
 267
 268We separate the porcelain commands into the main commands and some
 269ancillary user utilities.
 270
 271Main porcelain commands
 272~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 273
 274include::cmds-mainporcelain.txt[]
 275
 276Ancillary Commands
 277~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 278Manipulators:
 279
 280include::cmds-ancillarymanipulators.txt[]
 281
 282Interrogators:
 283
 284include::cmds-ancillaryinterrogators.txt[]
 285
 286
 287Interacting with Others
 288~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 289
 290These commands are to interact with foreign SCM and with other
 291people via patch over e-mail.
 292
 293include::cmds-foreignscminterface.txt[]
 294
 295
 296Low-level commands (plumbing)
 297-----------------------------
 298
 299Although git includes its
 300own porcelain layer, its low-level commands are sufficient to support
 301development of alternative porcelains.  Developers of such porcelains
 302might start by reading about linkgit:git-update-index[1] and
 303linkgit:git-read-tree[1].
 304
 305The interface (input, output, set of options and the semantics)
 306to these low-level commands are meant to be a lot more stable
 307than Porcelain level commands, because these commands are
 308primarily for scripted use.  The interface to Porcelain commands
 309on the other hand are subject to change in order to improve the
 310end user experience.
 311
 312The following description divides
 313the low-level commands into commands that manipulate objects (in
 314the repository, index, and working tree), commands that interrogate and
 315compare objects, and commands that move objects and references between
 316repositories.
 317
 318
 319Manipulation commands
 320~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 321
 322include::cmds-plumbingmanipulators.txt[]
 323
 324
 325Interrogation commands
 326~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 327
 328include::cmds-plumbinginterrogators.txt[]
 329
 330In general, the interrogate commands do not touch the files in
 331the working tree.
 332
 333
 334Synching repositories
 335~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 336
 337include::cmds-synchingrepositories.txt[]
 338
 339The following are helper commands used by the above; end users
 340typically do not use them directly.
 341
 342include::cmds-synchelpers.txt[]
 343
 344
 345Internal helper commands
 346~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 347
 348These are internal helper commands used by other commands; end
 349users typically do not use them directly.
 350
 351include::cmds-purehelpers.txt[]
 352
 353
 354Configuration Mechanism
 355-----------------------
 356
 357Starting from 0.99.9 (actually mid 0.99.8.GIT), `.git/config` file
 358is used to hold per-repository configuration options.  It is a
 359simple text file modeled after `.ini` format familiar to some
 360people.  Here is an example:
 361
 362------------
 363#
 364# A '#' or ';' character indicates a comment.
 365#
 366
 367; core variables
 368[core]
 369        ; Don't trust file modes
 370        filemode = false
 371
 372; user identity
 373[user]
 374        name = "Junio C Hamano"
 375        email = "junkio@twinsun.com"
 376
 377------------
 378
 379Various commands read from the configuration file and adjust
 380their operation accordingly.
 381
 382
 383Identifier Terminology
 384----------------------
 385<object>::
 386        Indicates the object name for any type of object.
 387
 388<blob>::
 389        Indicates a blob object name.
 390
 391<tree>::
 392        Indicates a tree object name.
 393
 394<commit>::
 395        Indicates a commit object name.
 396
 397<tree-ish>::
 398        Indicates a tree, commit or tag object name.  A
 399        command that takes a <tree-ish> argument ultimately wants to
 400        operate on a <tree> object but automatically dereferences
 401        <commit> and <tag> objects that point at a <tree>.
 402
 403<commit-ish>::
 404        Indicates a commit or tag object name.  A
 405        command that takes a <commit-ish> argument ultimately wants to
 406        operate on a <commit> object but automatically dereferences
 407        <tag> objects that point at a <commit>.
 408
 409<type>::
 410        Indicates that an object type is required.
 411        Currently one of: `blob`, `tree`, `commit`, or `tag`.
 412
 413<file>::
 414        Indicates a filename - almost always relative to the
 415        root of the tree structure `GIT_INDEX_FILE` describes.
 416
 417Symbolic Identifiers
 418--------------------
 419Any git command accepting any <object> can also use the following
 420symbolic notation:
 421
 422HEAD::
 423        indicates the head of the current branch (i.e. the
 424        contents of `$GIT_DIR/HEAD`).
 425
 426<tag>::
 427        a valid tag 'name'
 428        (i.e. the contents of `$GIT_DIR/refs/tags/<tag>`).
 429
 430<head>::
 431        a valid head 'name'
 432        (i.e. the contents of `$GIT_DIR/refs/heads/<head>`).
 433
 434For a more complete list of ways to spell object names, see
 435"SPECIFYING REVISIONS" section in linkgit:git-rev-parse[1].
 436
 437
 438File/Directory Structure
 439------------------------
 440
 441Please see the linkgit:gitrepository-layout[5] document.
 442
 443Read linkgit:githooks[5] for more details about each hook.
 444
 445Higher level SCMs may provide and manage additional information in the
 446`$GIT_DIR`.
 447
 448
 449Terminology
 450-----------
 451Please see linkgit:gitglossary[7].
 452
 453
 454Environment Variables
 455---------------------
 456Various git commands use the following environment variables:
 457
 458The git Repository
 459~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 460These environment variables apply to 'all' core git commands. Nb: it
 461is worth noting that they may be used/overridden by SCMS sitting above
 462git so take care if using Cogito etc.
 463
 464'GIT_INDEX_FILE'::
 465        This environment allows the specification of an alternate
 466        index file. If not specified, the default of `$GIT_DIR/index`
 467        is used.
 468
 469'GIT_OBJECT_DIRECTORY'::
 470        If the object storage directory is specified via this
 471        environment variable then the sha1 directories are created
 472        underneath - otherwise the default `$GIT_DIR/objects`
 473        directory is used.
 474
 475'GIT_ALTERNATE_OBJECT_DIRECTORIES'::
 476        Due to the immutable nature of git objects, old objects can be
 477        archived into shared, read-only directories. This variable
 478        specifies a ":" separated (on Windows ";" separated) list
 479        of git object directories which can be used to search for git
 480        objects. New objects will not be written to these directories.
 481
 482'GIT_DIR'::
 483        If the 'GIT_DIR' environment variable is set then it
 484        specifies a path to use instead of the default `.git`
 485        for the base of the repository.
 486
 487'GIT_WORK_TREE'::
 488        Set the path to the working tree.  The value will not be
 489        used in combination with repositories found automatically in
 490        a .git directory (i.e. $GIT_DIR is not set).
 491        This can also be controlled by the '--work-tree' command line
 492        option and the core.worktree configuration variable.
 493
 494'GIT_CEILING_DIRECTORIES'::
 495        This should be a colon-separated list of absolute paths.
 496        If set, it is a list of directories that git should not chdir
 497        up into while looking for a repository directory.
 498        It will not exclude the current working directory or
 499        a GIT_DIR set on the command line or in the environment.
 500        (Useful for excluding slow-loading network directories.)
 501
 502git Commits
 503~~~~~~~~~~~
 504'GIT_AUTHOR_NAME'::
 505'GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL'::
 506'GIT_AUTHOR_DATE'::
 507'GIT_COMMITTER_NAME'::
 508'GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL'::
 509'GIT_COMMITTER_DATE'::
 510'EMAIL'::
 511        see linkgit:git-commit-tree[1]
 512
 513git Diffs
 514~~~~~~~~~
 515'GIT_DIFF_OPTS'::
 516        Only valid setting is "--unified=??" or "-u??" to set the
 517        number of context lines shown when a unified diff is created.
 518        This takes precedence over any "-U" or "--unified" option
 519        value passed on the git diff command line.
 520
 521'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF'::
 522        When the environment variable 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is set, the
 523        program named by it is called, instead of the diff invocation
 524        described above.  For a path that is added, removed, or modified,
 525        'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called with 7 parameters:
 526
 527        path old-file old-hex old-mode new-file new-hex new-mode
 528+
 529where:
 530
 531        <old|new>-file:: are files GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF can use to read the
 532                         contents of <old|new>,
 533        <old|new>-hex:: are the 40-hexdigit SHA1 hashes,
 534        <old|new>-mode:: are the octal representation of the file modes.
 535
 536+
 537The file parameters can point at the user's working file
 538(e.g. `new-file` in "git-diff-files"), `/dev/null` (e.g. `old-file`
 539when a new file is added), or a temporary file (e.g. `old-file` in the
 540index).  'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' should not worry about unlinking the
 541temporary file --- it is removed when 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' exits.
 542+
 543For a path that is unmerged, 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called with 1
 544parameter, <path>.
 545
 546other
 547~~~~~
 548'GIT_MERGE_VERBOSITY'::
 549        A number controlling the amount of output shown by
 550        the recursive merge strategy.  Overrides merge.verbosity.
 551        See linkgit:git-merge[1]
 552
 553'GIT_PAGER'::
 554        This environment variable overrides `$PAGER`. If it is set
 555        to an empty string or to the value "cat", git will not launch
 556        a pager.  See also the `core.pager` option in
 557        linkgit:git-config[1].
 558
 559'GIT_SSH'::
 560        If this environment variable is set then 'git-fetch'
 561        and 'git-push' will use this command instead
 562        of 'ssh' when they need to connect to a remote system.
 563        The '$GIT_SSH' command will be given exactly two arguments:
 564        the 'username@host' (or just 'host') from the URL and the
 565        shell command to execute on that remote system.
 566+
 567To pass options to the program that you want to list in GIT_SSH
 568you will need to wrap the program and options into a shell script,
 569then set GIT_SSH to refer to the shell script.
 570+
 571Usually it is easier to configure any desired options through your
 572personal `.ssh/config` file.  Please consult your ssh documentation
 573for further details.
 574
 575'GIT_FLUSH'::
 576        If this environment variable is set to "1", then commands such
 577        as 'git-blame' (in incremental mode), 'git-rev-list', 'git-log',
 578        and 'git-whatchanged' will force a flush of the output stream
 579        after each commit-oriented record have been flushed.   If this
 580        variable is set to "0", the output of these commands will be done
 581        using completely buffered I/O.   If this environment variable is
 582        not set, git will choose buffered or record-oriented flushing
 583        based on whether stdout appears to be redirected to a file or not.
 584
 585'GIT_TRACE'::
 586        If this variable is set to "1", "2" or "true" (comparison
 587        is case insensitive), git will print `trace:` messages on
 588        stderr telling about alias expansion, built-in command
 589        execution and external command execution.
 590        If this variable is set to an integer value greater than 1
 591        and lower than 10 (strictly) then git will interpret this
 592        value as an open file descriptor and will try to write the
 593        trace messages into this file descriptor.
 594        Alternatively, if this variable is set to an absolute path
 595        (starting with a '/' character), git will interpret this
 596        as a file path and will try to write the trace messages
 597        into it.
 598
 599Discussion[[Discussion]]
 600------------------------
 601
 602More detail on the following is available from the
 603link:user-manual.html#git-concepts[git concepts chapter of the
 604user-manual] and linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7].
 605
 606A git project normally consists of a working directory with a ".git"
 607subdirectory at the top level.  The .git directory contains, among other
 608things, a compressed object database representing the complete history
 609of the project, an "index" file which links that history to the current
 610contents of the working tree, and named pointers into that history such
 611as tags and branch heads.
 612
 613The object database contains objects of three main types: blobs, which
 614hold file data; trees, which point to blobs and other trees to build up
 615directory hierarchies; and commits, which each reference a single tree
 616and some number of parent commits.
 617
 618The commit, equivalent to what other systems call a "changeset" or
 619"version", represents a step in the project's history, and each parent
 620represents an immediately preceding step.  Commits with more than one
 621parent represent merges of independent lines of development.
 622
 623All objects are named by the SHA1 hash of their contents, normally
 624written as a string of 40 hex digits.  Such names are globally unique.
 625The entire history leading up to a commit can be vouched for by signing
 626just that commit.  A fourth object type, the tag, is provided for this
 627purpose.
 628
 629When first created, objects are stored in individual files, but for
 630efficiency may later be compressed together into "pack files".
 631
 632Named pointers called refs mark interesting points in history.  A ref
 633may contain the SHA1 name of an object or the name of another ref.  Refs
 634with names beginning `ref/head/` contain the SHA1 name of the most
 635recent commit (or "head") of a branch under development.  SHA1 names of
 636tags of interest are stored under `ref/tags/`.  A special ref named
 637`HEAD` contains the name of the currently checked-out branch.
 638
 639The index file is initialized with a list of all paths and, for each
 640path, a blob object and a set of attributes.  The blob object represents
 641the contents of the file as of the head of the current branch.  The
 642attributes (last modified time, size, etc.) are taken from the
 643corresponding file in the working tree.  Subsequent changes to the
 644working tree can be found by comparing these attributes.  The index may
 645be updated with new content, and new commits may be created from the
 646content stored in the index.
 647
 648The index is also capable of storing multiple entries (called "stages")
 649for a given pathname.  These stages are used to hold the various
 650unmerged version of a file when a merge is in progress.
 651
 652Authors
 653-------
 654* git's founding father is Linus Torvalds <torvalds@osdl.org>.
 655* The current git nurse is Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>.
 656* The git potty was written by Andreas Ericsson <ae@op5.se>.
 657* General upbringing is handled by the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>.
 658
 659Documentation
 660--------------
 661The documentation for git suite was started by David Greaves
 662<david@dgreaves.com>, and later enhanced greatly by the
 663contributors on the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>.
 664
 665SEE ALSO
 666--------
 667linkgit:gittutorial[7], linkgit:gittutorial-2[7],
 668link:everyday.html[Everyday Git], linkgit:gitcvs-migration[7],
 669linkgit:gitglossary[7], linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7],
 670linkgit:gitcli[7], link:user-manual.html[The Git User's Manual],
 671linkgit:gitworkflows[7]
 672
 673GIT
 674---
 675Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite