Documentation / git.txton commit Merge branch 'jk/path-name-safety-2.4' into jk/path-name-safety-2.5 (253ce7a)
   1git(1)
   2======
   3
   4NAME
   5----
   6git - the stupid content tracker
   7
   8
   9SYNOPSIS
  10--------
  11[verse]
  12'git' [--version] [--help] [-C <path>] [-c <name>=<value>]
  13    [--exec-path[=<path>]] [--html-path] [--man-path] [--info-path]
  14    [-p|--paginate|--no-pager] [--no-replace-objects] [--bare]
  15    [--git-dir=<path>] [--work-tree=<path>] [--namespace=<name>]
  16    <command> [<args>]
  17
  18DESCRIPTION
  19-----------
  20Git is a fast, scalable, distributed revision control system with an
  21unusually rich command set that provides both high-level operations
  22and full access to internals.
  23
  24See linkgit:gittutorial[7] to get started, then see
  25linkgit:giteveryday[7] for a useful minimum set of
  26commands.  The link:user-manual.html[Git User's Manual] has a more
  27in-depth introduction.
  28
  29After you mastered the basic concepts, you can come back to this
  30page to learn what commands Git offers.  You can learn more about
  31individual Git commands with "git help command".  linkgit:gitcli[7]
  32manual page gives you an overview of the command-line command syntax.
  33
  34Formatted and hyperlinked version of the latest Git documentation
  35can be viewed at `http://git-htmldocs.googlecode.com/git/git.html`.
  36
  37ifdef::stalenotes[]
  38[NOTE]
  39============
  40
  41You are reading the documentation for the latest (possibly
  42unreleased) version of Git, that is available from the 'master'
  43branch of the `git.git` repository.
  44Documentation for older releases are available here:
  45
  46* link:v2.5.4/git.html[documentation for release 2.5.4]
  47
  48* release notes for
  49  link:RelNotes/2.5.4.txt[2.5.4],
  50  link:RelNotes/2.5.3.txt[2.5.3],
  51  link:RelNotes/2.5.2.txt[2.5.2],
  52  link:RelNotes/2.5.1.txt[2.5.1],
  53  link:RelNotes/2.5.0.txt[2.5].
  54
  55* link:v2.4.10/git.html[documentation for release 2.4.10]
  56
  57* release notes for
  58  link:RelNotes/2.4.10.txt[2.4.10],
  59  link:RelNotes/2.4.9.txt[2.4.9],
  60  link:RelNotes/2.4.8.txt[2.4.8],
  61  link:RelNotes/2.4.7.txt[2.4.7],
  62  link:RelNotes/2.4.6.txt[2.4.6],
  63  link:RelNotes/2.4.5.txt[2.4.5],
  64  link:RelNotes/2.4.4.txt[2.4.4],
  65  link:RelNotes/2.4.3.txt[2.4.3],
  66  link:RelNotes/2.4.2.txt[2.4.2],
  67  link:RelNotes/2.4.1.txt[2.4.1],
  68  link:RelNotes/2.4.0.txt[2.4].
  69
  70* link:v2.3.10/git.html[documentation for release 2.3.10]
  71
  72* release notes for
  73  link:RelNotes/2.3.10.txt[2.3.10],
  74  link:RelNotes/2.3.9.txt[2.3.9],
  75  link:RelNotes/2.3.8.txt[2.3.8],
  76  link:RelNotes/2.3.7.txt[2.3.7],
  77  link:RelNotes/2.3.6.txt[2.3.6],
  78  link:RelNotes/2.3.5.txt[2.3.5],
  79  link:RelNotes/2.3.4.txt[2.3.4],
  80  link:RelNotes/2.3.3.txt[2.3.3],
  81  link:RelNotes/2.3.2.txt[2.3.2],
  82  link:RelNotes/2.3.1.txt[2.3.1],
  83  link:RelNotes/2.3.0.txt[2.3].
  84
  85* link:v2.2.3/git.html[documentation for release 2.2.3]
  86
  87* release notes for
  88  link:RelNotes/2.2.3.txt[2.2.3],
  89  link:RelNotes/2.2.2.txt[2.2.2],
  90  link:RelNotes/2.2.1.txt[2.2.1],
  91  link:RelNotes/2.2.0.txt[2.2].
  92
  93* link:v2.1.4/git.html[documentation for release 2.1.4]
  94
  95* release notes for
  96  link:RelNotes/2.1.4.txt[2.1.4],
  97  link:RelNotes/2.1.3.txt[2.1.3],
  98  link:RelNotes/2.1.2.txt[2.1.2],
  99  link:RelNotes/2.1.1.txt[2.1.1],
 100  link:RelNotes/2.1.0.txt[2.1].
 101
 102* link:v2.0.5/git.html[documentation for release 2.0.5]
 103
 104* release notes for
 105  link:RelNotes/2.0.5.txt[2.0.5],
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 107  link:RelNotes/2.0.3.txt[2.0.3],
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 109  link:RelNotes/2.0.1.txt[2.0.1],
 110  link:RelNotes/2.0.0.txt[2.0.0].
 111
 112* link:v1.9.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.9.5]
 113
 114* release notes for
 115  link:RelNotes/1.9.5.txt[1.9.5],
 116  link:RelNotes/1.9.4.txt[1.9.4],
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 120  link:RelNotes/1.9.0.txt[1.9.0].
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 123
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 131  link:RelNotes/1.8.5.txt[1.8.5].
 132
 133* link:v1.8.4.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.8.4.5]
 134
 135* release notes for
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 140  link:RelNotes/1.8.4.1.txt[1.8.4.1],
 141  link:RelNotes/1.8.4.txt[1.8.4].
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 145* release notes for
 146  link:RelNotes/1.8.3.4.txt[1.8.3.4],
 147  link:RelNotes/1.8.3.3.txt[1.8.3.3],
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 149  link:RelNotes/1.8.3.1.txt[1.8.3.1],
 150  link:RelNotes/1.8.3.txt[1.8.3].
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 152* link:v1.8.2.3/git.html[documentation for release 1.8.2.3]
 153
 154* release notes for
 155  link:RelNotes/1.8.2.3.txt[1.8.2.3],
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 158  link:RelNotes/1.8.2.txt[1.8.2].
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 177  link:RelNotes/1.8.0.txt[1.8.0].
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 179* link:v1.7.12.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.12.4]
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 188* link:v1.7.11.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.11.7]
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 198  link:RelNotes/1.7.11.txt[1.7.11].
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 204  link:RelNotes/1.7.10.4.txt[1.7.10.4],
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 208  link:RelNotes/1.7.10.txt[1.7.10].
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 210* link:v1.7.9.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.9.7]
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 231  link:RelNotes/1.7.8.txt[1.7.8].
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 245* link:v1.7.6.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.6.6]
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 247* release notes for
 248  link:RelNotes/1.7.6.6.txt[1.7.6.6],
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 256* link:v1.7.5.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.5.4]
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 265* link:v1.7.4.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.4.5]
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 275* link:v1.7.3.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.3.5]
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 278  link:RelNotes/1.7.3.5.txt[1.7.3.5],
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 285* link:v1.7.2.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.2.5]
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 293  link:RelNotes/1.7.2.txt[1.7.2].
 294
 295* link:v1.7.1.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.1.4]
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 297* release notes for
 298  link:RelNotes/1.7.1.4.txt[1.7.1.4],
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 304* link:v1.7.0.9/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.0.9]
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 318* link:v1.6.6.3/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.6.3]
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 320* release notes for
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 326* link:v1.6.5.9/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.5.9]
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 350* link:v1.6.3.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.3.4]
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 423  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.8.txt[1.5.3.8],
 424  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.7.txt[1.5.3.7],
 425  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.6.txt[1.5.3.6],
 426  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.5.txt[1.5.3.5],
 427  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.4.txt[1.5.3.4],
 428  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.3.txt[1.5.3.3],
 429  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.2.txt[1.5.3.2],
 430  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.1.txt[1.5.3.1],
 431  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.txt[1.5.3].
 432
 433* link:v1.5.2.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.2.5]
 434
 435* release notes for
 436  link:RelNotes/1.5.2.5.txt[1.5.2.5],
 437  link:RelNotes/1.5.2.4.txt[1.5.2.4],
 438  link:RelNotes/1.5.2.3.txt[1.5.2.3],
 439  link:RelNotes/1.5.2.2.txt[1.5.2.2],
 440  link:RelNotes/1.5.2.1.txt[1.5.2.1],
 441  link:RelNotes/1.5.2.txt[1.5.2].
 442
 443* link:v1.5.1.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.1.6]
 444
 445* release notes for
 446  link:RelNotes/1.5.1.6.txt[1.5.1.6],
 447  link:RelNotes/1.5.1.5.txt[1.5.1.5],
 448  link:RelNotes/1.5.1.4.txt[1.5.1.4],
 449  link:RelNotes/1.5.1.3.txt[1.5.1.3],
 450  link:RelNotes/1.5.1.2.txt[1.5.1.2],
 451  link:RelNotes/1.5.1.1.txt[1.5.1.1],
 452  link:RelNotes/1.5.1.txt[1.5.1].
 453
 454* link:v1.5.0.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.0.7]
 455
 456* release notes for
 457  link:RelNotes/1.5.0.7.txt[1.5.0.7],
 458  link:RelNotes/1.5.0.6.txt[1.5.0.6],
 459  link:RelNotes/1.5.0.5.txt[1.5.0.5],
 460  link:RelNotes/1.5.0.3.txt[1.5.0.3],
 461  link:RelNotes/1.5.0.2.txt[1.5.0.2],
 462  link:RelNotes/1.5.0.1.txt[1.5.0.1],
 463  link:RelNotes/1.5.0.txt[1.5.0].
 464
 465* documentation for release link:v1.4.4.4/git.html[1.4.4.4],
 466  link:v1.3.3/git.html[1.3.3],
 467  link:v1.2.6/git.html[1.2.6],
 468  link:v1.0.13/git.html[1.0.13].
 469
 470============
 471
 472endif::stalenotes[]
 473
 474OPTIONS
 475-------
 476--version::
 477        Prints the Git suite version that the 'git' program came from.
 478
 479--help::
 480        Prints the synopsis and a list of the most commonly used
 481        commands. If the option '--all' or '-a' is given then all
 482        available commands are printed. If a Git command is named this
 483        option will bring up the manual page for that command.
 484+
 485Other options are available to control how the manual page is
 486displayed. See linkgit:git-help[1] for more information,
 487because `git --help ...` is converted internally into `git
 488help ...`.
 489
 490-C <path>::
 491        Run as if git was started in '<path>' instead of the current working
 492        directory.  When multiple `-C` options are given, each subsequent
 493        non-absolute `-C <path>` is interpreted relative to the preceding `-C
 494        <path>`.
 495+
 496This option affects options that expect path name like `--git-dir` and
 497`--work-tree` in that their interpretations of the path names would be
 498made relative to the working directory caused by the `-C` option. For
 499example the following invocations are equivalent:
 500
 501    git --git-dir=a.git --work-tree=b -C c status
 502    git --git-dir=c/a.git --work-tree=c/b status
 503
 504-c <name>=<value>::
 505        Pass a configuration parameter to the command. The value
 506        given will override values from configuration files.
 507        The <name> is expected in the same format as listed by
 508        'git config' (subkeys separated by dots).
 509+
 510Note that omitting the `=` in `git -c foo.bar ...` is allowed and sets
 511`foo.bar` to the boolean true value (just like `[foo]bar` would in a
 512config file). Including the equals but with an empty value (like `git -c
 513foo.bar= ...`) sets `foo.bar` to the empty string.
 514
 515--exec-path[=<path>]::
 516        Path to wherever your core Git programs are installed.
 517        This can also be controlled by setting the GIT_EXEC_PATH
 518        environment variable. If no path is given, 'git' will print
 519        the current setting and then exit.
 520
 521--html-path::
 522        Print the path, without trailing slash, where Git's HTML
 523        documentation is installed and exit.
 524
 525--man-path::
 526        Print the manpath (see `man(1)`) for the man pages for
 527        this version of Git and exit.
 528
 529--info-path::
 530        Print the path where the Info files documenting this
 531        version of Git are installed and exit.
 532
 533-p::
 534--paginate::
 535        Pipe all output into 'less' (or if set, $PAGER) if standard
 536        output is a terminal.  This overrides the `pager.<cmd>`
 537        configuration options (see the "Configuration Mechanism" section
 538        below).
 539
 540--no-pager::
 541        Do not pipe Git output into a pager.
 542
 543--git-dir=<path>::
 544        Set the path to the repository. This can also be controlled by
 545        setting the GIT_DIR environment variable. It can be an absolute
 546        path or relative path to current working directory.
 547
 548--work-tree=<path>::
 549        Set the path to the working tree. It can be an absolute path
 550        or a path relative to the current working directory.
 551        This can also be controlled by setting the GIT_WORK_TREE
 552        environment variable and the core.worktree configuration
 553        variable (see core.worktree in linkgit:git-config[1] for a
 554        more detailed discussion).
 555
 556--namespace=<path>::
 557        Set the Git namespace.  See linkgit:gitnamespaces[7] for more
 558        details.  Equivalent to setting the `GIT_NAMESPACE` environment
 559        variable.
 560
 561--bare::
 562        Treat the repository as a bare repository.  If GIT_DIR
 563        environment is not set, it is set to the current working
 564        directory.
 565
 566--no-replace-objects::
 567        Do not use replacement refs to replace Git objects. See
 568        linkgit:git-replace[1] for more information.
 569
 570--literal-pathspecs::
 571        Treat pathspecs literally (i.e. no globbing, no pathspec magic).
 572        This is equivalent to setting the `GIT_LITERAL_PATHSPECS` environment
 573        variable to `1`.
 574
 575--glob-pathspecs::
 576        Add "glob" magic to all pathspec. This is equivalent to setting
 577        the `GIT_GLOB_PATHSPECS` environment variable to `1`. Disabling
 578        globbing on individual pathspecs can be done using pathspec
 579        magic ":(literal)"
 580
 581--noglob-pathspecs::
 582        Add "literal" magic to all pathspec. This is equivalent to setting
 583        the `GIT_NOGLOB_PATHSPECS` environment variable to `1`. Enabling
 584        globbing on individual pathspecs can be done using pathspec
 585        magic ":(glob)"
 586
 587--icase-pathspecs::
 588        Add "icase" magic to all pathspec. This is equivalent to setting
 589        the `GIT_ICASE_PATHSPECS` environment variable to `1`.
 590
 591GIT COMMANDS
 592------------
 593
 594We divide Git into high level ("porcelain") commands and low level
 595("plumbing") commands.
 596
 597High-level commands (porcelain)
 598-------------------------------
 599
 600We separate the porcelain commands into the main commands and some
 601ancillary user utilities.
 602
 603Main porcelain commands
 604~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 605
 606include::cmds-mainporcelain.txt[]
 607
 608Ancillary Commands
 609~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 610Manipulators:
 611
 612include::cmds-ancillarymanipulators.txt[]
 613
 614Interrogators:
 615
 616include::cmds-ancillaryinterrogators.txt[]
 617
 618
 619Interacting with Others
 620~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 621
 622These commands are to interact with foreign SCM and with other
 623people via patch over e-mail.
 624
 625include::cmds-foreignscminterface.txt[]
 626
 627
 628Low-level commands (plumbing)
 629-----------------------------
 630
 631Although Git includes its
 632own porcelain layer, its low-level commands are sufficient to support
 633development of alternative porcelains.  Developers of such porcelains
 634might start by reading about linkgit:git-update-index[1] and
 635linkgit:git-read-tree[1].
 636
 637The interface (input, output, set of options and the semantics)
 638to these low-level commands are meant to be a lot more stable
 639than Porcelain level commands, because these commands are
 640primarily for scripted use.  The interface to Porcelain commands
 641on the other hand are subject to change in order to improve the
 642end user experience.
 643
 644The following description divides
 645the low-level commands into commands that manipulate objects (in
 646the repository, index, and working tree), commands that interrogate and
 647compare objects, and commands that move objects and references between
 648repositories.
 649
 650
 651Manipulation commands
 652~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 653
 654include::cmds-plumbingmanipulators.txt[]
 655
 656
 657Interrogation commands
 658~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 659
 660include::cmds-plumbinginterrogators.txt[]
 661
 662In general, the interrogate commands do not touch the files in
 663the working tree.
 664
 665
 666Synching repositories
 667~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 668
 669include::cmds-synchingrepositories.txt[]
 670
 671The following are helper commands used by the above; end users
 672typically do not use them directly.
 673
 674include::cmds-synchelpers.txt[]
 675
 676
 677Internal helper commands
 678~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 679
 680These are internal helper commands used by other commands; end
 681users typically do not use them directly.
 682
 683include::cmds-purehelpers.txt[]
 684
 685
 686Configuration Mechanism
 687-----------------------
 688
 689Git uses a simple text format to store customizations that are per
 690repository and are per user.  Such a configuration file may look
 691like this:
 692
 693------------
 694#
 695# A '#' or ';' character indicates a comment.
 696#
 697
 698; core variables
 699[core]
 700        ; Don't trust file modes
 701        filemode = false
 702
 703; user identity
 704[user]
 705        name = "Junio C Hamano"
 706        email = "gitster@pobox.com"
 707
 708------------
 709
 710Various commands read from the configuration file and adjust
 711their operation accordingly.  See linkgit:git-config[1] for a
 712list and more details about the configuration mechanism.
 713
 714
 715Identifier Terminology
 716----------------------
 717<object>::
 718        Indicates the object name for any type of object.
 719
 720<blob>::
 721        Indicates a blob object name.
 722
 723<tree>::
 724        Indicates a tree object name.
 725
 726<commit>::
 727        Indicates a commit object name.
 728
 729<tree-ish>::
 730        Indicates a tree, commit or tag object name.  A
 731        command that takes a <tree-ish> argument ultimately wants to
 732        operate on a <tree> object but automatically dereferences
 733        <commit> and <tag> objects that point at a <tree>.
 734
 735<commit-ish>::
 736        Indicates a commit or tag object name.  A
 737        command that takes a <commit-ish> argument ultimately wants to
 738        operate on a <commit> object but automatically dereferences
 739        <tag> objects that point at a <commit>.
 740
 741<type>::
 742        Indicates that an object type is required.
 743        Currently one of: `blob`, `tree`, `commit`, or `tag`.
 744
 745<file>::
 746        Indicates a filename - almost always relative to the
 747        root of the tree structure `GIT_INDEX_FILE` describes.
 748
 749Symbolic Identifiers
 750--------------------
 751Any Git command accepting any <object> can also use the following
 752symbolic notation:
 753
 754HEAD::
 755        indicates the head of the current branch.
 756
 757<tag>::
 758        a valid tag 'name'
 759        (i.e. a `refs/tags/<tag>` reference).
 760
 761<head>::
 762        a valid head 'name'
 763        (i.e. a `refs/heads/<head>` reference).
 764
 765For a more complete list of ways to spell object names, see
 766"SPECIFYING REVISIONS" section in linkgit:gitrevisions[7].
 767
 768
 769File/Directory Structure
 770------------------------
 771
 772Please see the linkgit:gitrepository-layout[5] document.
 773
 774Read linkgit:githooks[5] for more details about each hook.
 775
 776Higher level SCMs may provide and manage additional information in the
 777`$GIT_DIR`.
 778
 779
 780Terminology
 781-----------
 782Please see linkgit:gitglossary[7].
 783
 784
 785Environment Variables
 786---------------------
 787Various Git commands use the following environment variables:
 788
 789The Git Repository
 790~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 791These environment variables apply to 'all' core Git commands. Nb: it
 792is worth noting that they may be used/overridden by SCMS sitting above
 793Git so take care if using a foreign front-end.
 794
 795'GIT_INDEX_FILE'::
 796        This environment allows the specification of an alternate
 797        index file. If not specified, the default of `$GIT_DIR/index`
 798        is used.
 799
 800'GIT_INDEX_VERSION'::
 801        This environment variable allows the specification of an index
 802        version for new repositories.  It won't affect existing index
 803        files.  By default index file version 2 or 3 is used. See
 804        linkgit:git-update-index[1] for more information.
 805
 806'GIT_OBJECT_DIRECTORY'::
 807        If the object storage directory is specified via this
 808        environment variable then the sha1 directories are created
 809        underneath - otherwise the default `$GIT_DIR/objects`
 810        directory is used.
 811
 812'GIT_ALTERNATE_OBJECT_DIRECTORIES'::
 813        Due to the immutable nature of Git objects, old objects can be
 814        archived into shared, read-only directories. This variable
 815        specifies a ":" separated (on Windows ";" separated) list
 816        of Git object directories which can be used to search for Git
 817        objects. New objects will not be written to these directories.
 818
 819'GIT_DIR'::
 820        If the 'GIT_DIR' environment variable is set then it
 821        specifies a path to use instead of the default `.git`
 822        for the base of the repository.
 823        The '--git-dir' command-line option also sets this value.
 824
 825'GIT_WORK_TREE'::
 826        Set the path to the root of the working tree.
 827        This can also be controlled by the '--work-tree' command-line
 828        option and the core.worktree configuration variable.
 829
 830'GIT_NAMESPACE'::
 831        Set the Git namespace; see linkgit:gitnamespaces[7] for details.
 832        The '--namespace' command-line option also sets this value.
 833
 834'GIT_CEILING_DIRECTORIES'::
 835        This should be a colon-separated list of absolute paths.  If
 836        set, it is a list of directories that Git should not chdir up
 837        into while looking for a repository directory (useful for
 838        excluding slow-loading network directories).  It will not
 839        exclude the current working directory or a GIT_DIR set on the
 840        command line or in the environment.  Normally, Git has to read
 841        the entries in this list and resolve any symlink that
 842        might be present in order to compare them with the current
 843        directory.  However, if even this access is slow, you
 844        can add an empty entry to the list to tell Git that the
 845        subsequent entries are not symlinks and needn't be resolved;
 846        e.g.,
 847        'GIT_CEILING_DIRECTORIES=/maybe/symlink::/very/slow/non/symlink'.
 848
 849'GIT_DISCOVERY_ACROSS_FILESYSTEM'::
 850        When run in a directory that does not have ".git" repository
 851        directory, Git tries to find such a directory in the parent
 852        directories to find the top of the working tree, but by default it
 853        does not cross filesystem boundaries.  This environment variable
 854        can be set to true to tell Git not to stop at filesystem
 855        boundaries.  Like 'GIT_CEILING_DIRECTORIES', this will not affect
 856        an explicit repository directory set via 'GIT_DIR' or on the
 857        command line.
 858
 859'GIT_COMMON_DIR'::
 860        If this variable is set to a path, non-worktree files that are
 861        normally in $GIT_DIR will be taken from this path
 862        instead. Worktree-specific files such as HEAD or index are
 863        taken from $GIT_DIR. See linkgit:gitrepository-layout[5] and
 864        linkgit:git-worktree[1] for
 865        details. This variable has lower precedence than other path
 866        variables such as GIT_INDEX_FILE, GIT_OBJECT_DIRECTORY...
 867
 868Git Commits
 869~~~~~~~~~~~
 870'GIT_AUTHOR_NAME'::
 871'GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL'::
 872'GIT_AUTHOR_DATE'::
 873'GIT_COMMITTER_NAME'::
 874'GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL'::
 875'GIT_COMMITTER_DATE'::
 876'EMAIL'::
 877        see linkgit:git-commit-tree[1]
 878
 879Git Diffs
 880~~~~~~~~~
 881'GIT_DIFF_OPTS'::
 882        Only valid setting is "--unified=??" or "-u??" to set the
 883        number of context lines shown when a unified diff is created.
 884        This takes precedence over any "-U" or "--unified" option
 885        value passed on the Git diff command line.
 886
 887'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF'::
 888        When the environment variable 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is set, the
 889        program named by it is called, instead of the diff invocation
 890        described above.  For a path that is added, removed, or modified,
 891        'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called with 7 parameters:
 892
 893        path old-file old-hex old-mode new-file new-hex new-mode
 894+
 895where:
 896
 897        <old|new>-file:: are files GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF can use to read the
 898                         contents of <old|new>,
 899        <old|new>-hex:: are the 40-hexdigit SHA-1 hashes,
 900        <old|new>-mode:: are the octal representation of the file modes.
 901+
 902The file parameters can point at the user's working file
 903(e.g. `new-file` in "git-diff-files"), `/dev/null` (e.g. `old-file`
 904when a new file is added), or a temporary file (e.g. `old-file` in the
 905index).  'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' should not worry about unlinking the
 906temporary file --- it is removed when 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' exits.
 907+
 908For a path that is unmerged, 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called with 1
 909parameter, <path>.
 910+
 911For each path 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called, two environment variables,
 912'GIT_DIFF_PATH_COUNTER' and 'GIT_DIFF_PATH_TOTAL' are set.
 913
 914'GIT_DIFF_PATH_COUNTER'::
 915        A 1-based counter incremented by one for every path.
 916
 917'GIT_DIFF_PATH_TOTAL'::
 918        The total number of paths.
 919
 920other
 921~~~~~
 922'GIT_MERGE_VERBOSITY'::
 923        A number controlling the amount of output shown by
 924        the recursive merge strategy.  Overrides merge.verbosity.
 925        See linkgit:git-merge[1]
 926
 927'GIT_PAGER'::
 928        This environment variable overrides `$PAGER`. If it is set
 929        to an empty string or to the value "cat", Git will not launch
 930        a pager.  See also the `core.pager` option in
 931        linkgit:git-config[1].
 932
 933'GIT_EDITOR'::
 934        This environment variable overrides `$EDITOR` and `$VISUAL`.
 935        It is used by several Git commands when, on interactive mode,
 936        an editor is to be launched. See also linkgit:git-var[1]
 937        and the `core.editor` option in linkgit:git-config[1].
 938
 939'GIT_SSH'::
 940'GIT_SSH_COMMAND'::
 941        If either of these environment variables is set then 'git fetch'
 942        and 'git push' will use the specified command instead of 'ssh'
 943        when they need to connect to a remote system.
 944        The command will be given exactly two or four arguments: the
 945        'username@host' (or just 'host') from the URL and the shell
 946        command to execute on that remote system, optionally preceded by
 947        '-p' (literally) and the 'port' from the URL when it specifies
 948        something other than the default SSH port.
 949+
 950`$GIT_SSH_COMMAND` takes precedence over `$GIT_SSH`, and is interpreted
 951by the shell, which allows additional arguments to be included.
 952`$GIT_SSH` on the other hand must be just the path to a program
 953(which can be a wrapper shell script, if additional arguments are
 954needed).
 955+
 956Usually it is easier to configure any desired options through your
 957personal `.ssh/config` file.  Please consult your ssh documentation
 958for further details.
 959
 960'GIT_ASKPASS'::
 961        If this environment variable is set, then Git commands which need to
 962        acquire passwords or passphrases (e.g. for HTTP or IMAP authentication)
 963        will call this program with a suitable prompt as command-line argument
 964        and read the password from its STDOUT. See also the 'core.askPass'
 965        option in linkgit:git-config[1].
 966
 967'GIT_TERMINAL_PROMPT'::
 968        If this environment variable is set to `0`, git will not prompt
 969        on the terminal (e.g., when asking for HTTP authentication).
 970
 971'GIT_CONFIG_NOSYSTEM'::
 972        Whether to skip reading settings from the system-wide
 973        `$(prefix)/etc/gitconfig` file.  This environment variable can
 974        be used along with `$HOME` and `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME` to create a
 975        predictable environment for a picky script, or you can set it
 976        temporarily to avoid using a buggy `/etc/gitconfig` file while
 977        waiting for someone with sufficient permissions to fix it.
 978
 979'GIT_FLUSH'::
 980        If this environment variable is set to "1", then commands such
 981        as 'git blame' (in incremental mode), 'git rev-list', 'git log',
 982        'git check-attr' and 'git check-ignore' will
 983        force a flush of the output stream after each record have been
 984        flushed. If this
 985        variable is set to "0", the output of these commands will be done
 986        using completely buffered I/O.   If this environment variable is
 987        not set, Git will choose buffered or record-oriented flushing
 988        based on whether stdout appears to be redirected to a file or not.
 989
 990'GIT_TRACE'::
 991        Enables general trace messages, e.g. alias expansion, built-in
 992        command execution and external command execution.
 993+
 994If this variable is set to "1", "2" or "true" (comparison
 995is case insensitive), trace messages will be printed to
 996stderr.
 997+
 998If the variable is set to an integer value greater than 2
 999and lower than 10 (strictly) then Git will interpret this
1000value as an open file descriptor and will try to write the
1001trace messages into this file descriptor.
1002+
1003Alternatively, if the variable is set to an absolute path
1004(starting with a '/' character), Git will interpret this
1005as a file path and will try to write the trace messages
1006into it.
1007+
1008Unsetting the variable, or setting it to empty, "0" or
1009"false" (case insensitive) disables trace messages.
1010
1011'GIT_TRACE_PACK_ACCESS'::
1012        Enables trace messages for all accesses to any packs. For each
1013        access, the pack file name and an offset in the pack is
1014        recorded. This may be helpful for troubleshooting some
1015        pack-related performance problems.
1016        See 'GIT_TRACE' for available trace output options.
1017
1018'GIT_TRACE_PACKET'::
1019        Enables trace messages for all packets coming in or out of a
1020        given program. This can help with debugging object negotiation
1021        or other protocol issues. Tracing is turned off at a packet
1022        starting with "PACK".
1023        See 'GIT_TRACE' for available trace output options.
1024
1025'GIT_TRACE_PERFORMANCE'::
1026        Enables performance related trace messages, e.g. total execution
1027        time of each Git command.
1028        See 'GIT_TRACE' for available trace output options.
1029
1030'GIT_TRACE_SETUP'::
1031        Enables trace messages printing the .git, working tree and current
1032        working directory after Git has completed its setup phase.
1033        See 'GIT_TRACE' for available trace output options.
1034
1035'GIT_TRACE_SHALLOW'::
1036        Enables trace messages that can help debugging fetching /
1037        cloning of shallow repositories.
1038        See 'GIT_TRACE' for available trace output options.
1039
1040GIT_LITERAL_PATHSPECS::
1041        Setting this variable to `1` will cause Git to treat all
1042        pathspecs literally, rather than as glob patterns. For example,
1043        running `GIT_LITERAL_PATHSPECS=1 git log -- '*.c'` will search
1044        for commits that touch the path `*.c`, not any paths that the
1045        glob `*.c` matches. You might want this if you are feeding
1046        literal paths to Git (e.g., paths previously given to you by
1047        `git ls-tree`, `--raw` diff output, etc).
1048
1049GIT_GLOB_PATHSPECS::
1050        Setting this variable to `1` will cause Git to treat all
1051        pathspecs as glob patterns (aka "glob" magic).
1052
1053GIT_NOGLOB_PATHSPECS::
1054        Setting this variable to `1` will cause Git to treat all
1055        pathspecs as literal (aka "literal" magic).
1056
1057GIT_ICASE_PATHSPECS::
1058        Setting this variable to `1` will cause Git to treat all
1059        pathspecs as case-insensitive.
1060
1061'GIT_REFLOG_ACTION'::
1062        When a ref is updated, reflog entries are created to keep
1063        track of the reason why the ref was updated (which is
1064        typically the name of the high-level command that updated
1065        the ref), in addition to the old and new values of the ref.
1066        A scripted Porcelain command can use set_reflog_action
1067        helper function in `git-sh-setup` to set its name to this
1068        variable when it is invoked as the top level command by the
1069        end user, to be recorded in the body of the reflog.
1070
1071`GIT_REF_PARANOIA`::
1072        If set to `1`, include broken or badly named refs when iterating
1073        over lists of refs. In a normal, non-corrupted repository, this
1074        does nothing. However, enabling it may help git to detect and
1075        abort some operations in the presence of broken refs. Git sets
1076        this variable automatically when performing destructive
1077        operations like linkgit:git-prune[1]. You should not need to set
1078        it yourself unless you want to be paranoid about making sure
1079        an operation has touched every ref (e.g., because you are
1080        cloning a repository to make a backup).
1081
1082`GIT_ALLOW_PROTOCOL`::
1083        If set, provide a colon-separated list of protocols which are
1084        allowed to be used with fetch/push/clone. This is useful to
1085        restrict recursive submodule initialization from an untrusted
1086        repository. Any protocol not mentioned will be disallowed (i.e.,
1087        this is a whitelist, not a blacklist). If the variable is not
1088        set at all, all protocols are enabled.  The protocol names
1089        currently used by git are:
1090
1091          - `file`: any local file-based path (including `file://` URLs,
1092            or local paths)
1093
1094          - `git`: the anonymous git protocol over a direct TCP
1095            connection (or proxy, if configured)
1096
1097          - `ssh`: git over ssh (including `host:path` syntax,
1098            `git+ssh://`, etc).
1099
1100          - `rsync`: git over rsync
1101
1102          - `http`: git over http, both "smart http" and "dumb http".
1103            Note that this does _not_ include `https`; if you want both,
1104            you should specify both as `http:https`.
1105
1106          - any external helpers are named by their protocol (e.g., use
1107            `hg` to allow the `git-remote-hg` helper)
1108
1109
1110Discussion[[Discussion]]
1111------------------------
1112
1113More detail on the following is available from the
1114link:user-manual.html#git-concepts[Git concepts chapter of the
1115user-manual] and linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7].
1116
1117A Git project normally consists of a working directory with a ".git"
1118subdirectory at the top level.  The .git directory contains, among other
1119things, a compressed object database representing the complete history
1120of the project, an "index" file which links that history to the current
1121contents of the working tree, and named pointers into that history such
1122as tags and branch heads.
1123
1124The object database contains objects of three main types: blobs, which
1125hold file data; trees, which point to blobs and other trees to build up
1126directory hierarchies; and commits, which each reference a single tree
1127and some number of parent commits.
1128
1129The commit, equivalent to what other systems call a "changeset" or
1130"version", represents a step in the project's history, and each parent
1131represents an immediately preceding step.  Commits with more than one
1132parent represent merges of independent lines of development.
1133
1134All objects are named by the SHA-1 hash of their contents, normally
1135written as a string of 40 hex digits.  Such names are globally unique.
1136The entire history leading up to a commit can be vouched for by signing
1137just that commit.  A fourth object type, the tag, is provided for this
1138purpose.
1139
1140When first created, objects are stored in individual files, but for
1141efficiency may later be compressed together into "pack files".
1142
1143Named pointers called refs mark interesting points in history.  A ref
1144may contain the SHA-1 name of an object or the name of another ref.  Refs
1145with names beginning `ref/head/` contain the SHA-1 name of the most
1146recent commit (or "head") of a branch under development.  SHA-1 names of
1147tags of interest are stored under `ref/tags/`.  A special ref named
1148`HEAD` contains the name of the currently checked-out branch.
1149
1150The index file is initialized with a list of all paths and, for each
1151path, a blob object and a set of attributes.  The blob object represents
1152the contents of the file as of the head of the current branch.  The
1153attributes (last modified time, size, etc.) are taken from the
1154corresponding file in the working tree.  Subsequent changes to the
1155working tree can be found by comparing these attributes.  The index may
1156be updated with new content, and new commits may be created from the
1157content stored in the index.
1158
1159The index is also capable of storing multiple entries (called "stages")
1160for a given pathname.  These stages are used to hold the various
1161unmerged version of a file when a merge is in progress.
1162
1163FURTHER DOCUMENTATION
1164---------------------
1165
1166See the references in the "description" section to get started
1167using Git.  The following is probably more detail than necessary
1168for a first-time user.
1169
1170The link:user-manual.html#git-concepts[Git concepts chapter of the
1171user-manual] and linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7] both provide
1172introductions to the underlying Git architecture.
1173
1174See linkgit:gitworkflows[7] for an overview of recommended workflows.
1175
1176See also the link:howto-index.html[howto] documents for some useful
1177examples.
1178
1179The internals are documented in the
1180link:technical/api-index.html[Git API documentation].
1181
1182Users migrating from CVS may also want to
1183read linkgit:gitcvs-migration[7].
1184
1185
1186Authors
1187-------
1188Git was started by Linus Torvalds, and is currently maintained by Junio
1189C Hamano. Numerous contributions have come from the Git mailing list
1190<git@vger.kernel.org>.  http://www.openhub.net/p/git/contributors/summary
1191gives you a more complete list of contributors.
1192
1193If you have a clone of git.git itself, the
1194output of linkgit:git-shortlog[1] and linkgit:git-blame[1] can show you
1195the authors for specific parts of the project.
1196
1197Reporting Bugs
1198--------------
1199
1200Report bugs to the Git mailing list <git@vger.kernel.org> where the
1201development and maintenance is primarily done.  You do not have to be
1202subscribed to the list to send a message there.
1203
1204SEE ALSO
1205--------
1206linkgit:gittutorial[7], linkgit:gittutorial-2[7],
1207linkgit:giteveryday[7], linkgit:gitcvs-migration[7],
1208linkgit:gitglossary[7], linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7],
1209linkgit:gitcli[7], link:user-manual.html[The Git User's Manual],
1210linkgit:gitworkflows[7]
1211
1212GIT
1213---
1214Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite