Andrew's git - gitweb.git/blob - Documentation/git.txt

   1git(1)
   2======
   3
   4NAME
   5----
   6git - the stupid content tracker
   7
   8
   9SYNOPSIS
  10--------
  11[verse]
  12'git' [--version] [--help] [-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
  25link:everyday.html[Everyday Git] 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 'master'
  43branch of the `git.git` repository.
  44Documentation for older releases are available here:
  45
  46* link:v1.8.4.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.8.4.5]
  47
  48* release notes for
  49  link:RelNotes/1.8.4.5.txt[1.8.4.5],
  50  link:RelNotes/1.8.4.4.txt[1.8.4.4],
  51  link:RelNotes/1.8.4.3.txt[1.8.4.3],
  52  link:RelNotes/1.8.4.2.txt[1.8.4.2],
  53  link:RelNotes/1.8.4.1.txt[1.8.4.1],
  54  link:RelNotes/1.8.4.txt[1.8.4].
  55
  56* link:v1.8.3.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.8.3.4]
  57
  58* release notes for
  59  link:RelNotes/1.8.3.4.txt[1.8.3.4],
  60  link:RelNotes/1.8.3.3.txt[1.8.3.3],
  61  link:RelNotes/1.8.3.2.txt[1.8.3.2],
  62  link:RelNotes/1.8.3.1.txt[1.8.3.1],
  63  link:RelNotes/1.8.3.txt[1.8.3].
  64
  65* link:v1.8.2.3/git.html[documentation for release 1.8.2.3]
  66
  67* release notes for
  68  link:RelNotes/1.8.2.3.txt[1.8.2.3],
  69  link:RelNotes/1.8.2.2.txt[1.8.2.2],
  70  link:RelNotes/1.8.2.1.txt[1.8.2.1],
  71  link:RelNotes/1.8.2.txt[1.8.2].
  72
  73* link:v1.8.1.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.8.1.6]
  74
  75* release notes for
  76  link:RelNotes/1.8.1.6.txt[1.8.1.6],
  77  link:RelNotes/1.8.1.5.txt[1.8.1.5],
  78  link:RelNotes/1.8.1.4.txt[1.8.1.4],
  79  link:RelNotes/1.8.1.3.txt[1.8.1.3],
  80  link:RelNotes/1.8.1.2.txt[1.8.1.2],
  81  link:RelNotes/1.8.1.1.txt[1.8.1.1],
  82  link:RelNotes/1.8.1.txt[1.8.1].
  83
  84* link:v1.8.0.3/git.html[documentation for release 1.8.0.3]
  85
  86* release notes for
  87  link:RelNotes/1.8.0.3.txt[1.8.0.3],
  88  link:RelNotes/1.8.0.2.txt[1.8.0.2],
  89  link:RelNotes/1.8.0.1.txt[1.8.0.1],
  90  link:RelNotes/1.8.0.txt[1.8.0].
  91
  92* link:v1.7.12.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.12.4]
  93
  94* release notes for
  95  link:RelNotes/1.7.12.4.txt[1.7.12.4],
  96  link:RelNotes/1.7.12.3.txt[1.7.12.3],
  97  link:RelNotes/1.7.12.2.txt[1.7.12.2],
  98  link:RelNotes/1.7.12.1.txt[1.7.12.1],
  99  link:RelNotes/1.7.12.txt[1.7.12].
 100
 101* link:v1.7.11.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.11.7]
 102
 103* release notes for
 104  link:RelNotes/1.7.11.7.txt[1.7.11.7],
 105  link:RelNotes/1.7.11.6.txt[1.7.11.6],
 106  link:RelNotes/1.7.11.5.txt[1.7.11.5],
 107  link:RelNotes/1.7.11.4.txt[1.7.11.4],
 108  link:RelNotes/1.7.11.3.txt[1.7.11.3],
 109  link:RelNotes/1.7.11.2.txt[1.7.11.2],
 110  link:RelNotes/1.7.11.1.txt[1.7.11.1],
 111  link:RelNotes/1.7.11.txt[1.7.11].
 112
 113* link:v1.7.10.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.10.5]
 114
 115* release notes for
 116  link:RelNotes/1.7.10.5.txt[1.7.10.5],
 117  link:RelNotes/1.7.10.4.txt[1.7.10.4],
 118  link:RelNotes/1.7.10.3.txt[1.7.10.3],
 119  link:RelNotes/1.7.10.2.txt[1.7.10.2],
 120  link:RelNotes/1.7.10.1.txt[1.7.10.1],
 121  link:RelNotes/1.7.10.txt[1.7.10].
 122
 123* link:v1.7.9.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.9.7]
 124
 125* release notes for
 126  link:RelNotes/1.7.9.7.txt[1.7.9.7],
 127  link:RelNotes/1.7.9.6.txt[1.7.9.6],
 128  link:RelNotes/1.7.9.5.txt[1.7.9.5],
 129  link:RelNotes/1.7.9.4.txt[1.7.9.4],
 130  link:RelNotes/1.7.9.3.txt[1.7.9.3],
 131  link:RelNotes/1.7.9.2.txt[1.7.9.2],
 132  link:RelNotes/1.7.9.1.txt[1.7.9.1],
 133  link:RelNotes/1.7.9.txt[1.7.9].
 134
 135* link:v1.7.8.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.8.6]
 136
 137* release notes for
 138  link:RelNotes/1.7.8.6.txt[1.7.8.6],
 139  link:RelNotes/1.7.8.5.txt[1.7.8.5],
 140  link:RelNotes/1.7.8.4.txt[1.7.8.4],
 141  link:RelNotes/1.7.8.3.txt[1.7.8.3],
 142  link:RelNotes/1.7.8.2.txt[1.7.8.2],
 143  link:RelNotes/1.7.8.1.txt[1.7.8.1],
 144  link:RelNotes/1.7.8.txt[1.7.8].
 145
 146* link:v1.7.7.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.7.7]
 147
 148* release notes for
 149  link:RelNotes/1.7.7.7.txt[1.7.7.7],
 150  link:RelNotes/1.7.7.6.txt[1.7.7.6],
 151  link:RelNotes/1.7.7.5.txt[1.7.7.5],
 152  link:RelNotes/1.7.7.4.txt[1.7.7.4],
 153  link:RelNotes/1.7.7.3.txt[1.7.7.3],
 154  link:RelNotes/1.7.7.2.txt[1.7.7.2],
 155  link:RelNotes/1.7.7.1.txt[1.7.7.1],
 156  link:RelNotes/1.7.7.txt[1.7.7].
 157
 158* link:v1.7.6.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.6.6]
 159
 160* release notes for
 161  link:RelNotes/1.7.6.6.txt[1.7.6.6],
 162  link:RelNotes/1.7.6.5.txt[1.7.6.5],
 163  link:RelNotes/1.7.6.4.txt[1.7.6.4],
 164  link:RelNotes/1.7.6.3.txt[1.7.6.3],
 165  link:RelNotes/1.7.6.2.txt[1.7.6.2],
 166  link:RelNotes/1.7.6.1.txt[1.7.6.1],
 167  link:RelNotes/1.7.6.txt[1.7.6].
 168
 169* link:v1.7.5.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.5.4]
 170
 171* release notes for
 172  link:RelNotes/1.7.5.4.txt[1.7.5.4],
 173  link:RelNotes/1.7.5.3.txt[1.7.5.3],
 174  link:RelNotes/1.7.5.2.txt[1.7.5.2],
 175  link:RelNotes/1.7.5.1.txt[1.7.5.1],
 176  link:RelNotes/1.7.5.txt[1.7.5].
 177
 178* link:v1.7.4.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.4.5]
 179
 180* release notes for
 181  link:RelNotes/1.7.4.5.txt[1.7.4.5],
 182  link:RelNotes/1.7.4.4.txt[1.7.4.4],
 183  link:RelNotes/1.7.4.3.txt[1.7.4.3],
 184  link:RelNotes/1.7.4.2.txt[1.7.4.2],
 185  link:RelNotes/1.7.4.1.txt[1.7.4.1],
 186  link:RelNotes/1.7.4.txt[1.7.4].
 187
 188* link:v1.7.3.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.3.5]
 189
 190* release notes for
 191  link:RelNotes/1.7.3.5.txt[1.7.3.5],
 192  link:RelNotes/1.7.3.4.txt[1.7.3.4],
 193  link:RelNotes/1.7.3.3.txt[1.7.3.3],
 194  link:RelNotes/1.7.3.2.txt[1.7.3.2],
 195  link:RelNotes/1.7.3.1.txt[1.7.3.1],
 196  link:RelNotes/1.7.3.txt[1.7.3].
 197
 198* link:v1.7.2.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.2.5]
 199
 200* release notes for
 201  link:RelNotes/1.7.2.5.txt[1.7.2.5],
 202  link:RelNotes/1.7.2.4.txt[1.7.2.4],
 203  link:RelNotes/1.7.2.3.txt[1.7.2.3],
 204  link:RelNotes/1.7.2.2.txt[1.7.2.2],
 205  link:RelNotes/1.7.2.1.txt[1.7.2.1],
 206  link:RelNotes/1.7.2.txt[1.7.2].
 207
 208* link:v1.7.1.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.1.4]
 209
 210* release notes for
 211  link:RelNotes/1.7.1.4.txt[1.7.1.4],
 212  link:RelNotes/1.7.1.3.txt[1.7.1.3],
 213  link:RelNotes/1.7.1.2.txt[1.7.1.2],
 214  link:RelNotes/1.7.1.1.txt[1.7.1.1],
 215  link:RelNotes/1.7.1.txt[1.7.1].
 216
 217* link:v1.7.0.9/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.0.9]
 218
 219* release notes for
 220  link:RelNotes/1.7.0.9.txt[1.7.0.9],
 221  link:RelNotes/1.7.0.8.txt[1.7.0.8],
 222  link:RelNotes/1.7.0.7.txt[1.7.0.7],
 223  link:RelNotes/1.7.0.6.txt[1.7.0.6],
 224  link:RelNotes/1.7.0.5.txt[1.7.0.5],
 225  link:RelNotes/1.7.0.4.txt[1.7.0.4],
 226  link:RelNotes/1.7.0.3.txt[1.7.0.3],
 227  link:RelNotes/1.7.0.2.txt[1.7.0.2],
 228  link:RelNotes/1.7.0.1.txt[1.7.0.1],
 229  link:RelNotes/1.7.0.txt[1.7.0].
 230
 231* link:v1.6.6.3/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.6.3]
 232
 233* release notes for
 234  link:RelNotes/1.6.6.3.txt[1.6.6.3],
 235  link:RelNotes/1.6.6.2.txt[1.6.6.2],
 236  link:RelNotes/1.6.6.1.txt[1.6.6.1],
 237  link:RelNotes/1.6.6.txt[1.6.6].
 238
 239* link:v1.6.5.9/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.5.9]
 240
 241* release notes for
 242  link:RelNotes/1.6.5.9.txt[1.6.5.9],
 243  link:RelNotes/1.6.5.8.txt[1.6.5.8],
 244  link:RelNotes/1.6.5.7.txt[1.6.5.7],
 245  link:RelNotes/1.6.5.6.txt[1.6.5.6],
 246  link:RelNotes/1.6.5.5.txt[1.6.5.5],
 247  link:RelNotes/1.6.5.4.txt[1.6.5.4],
 248  link:RelNotes/1.6.5.3.txt[1.6.5.3],
 249  link:RelNotes/1.6.5.2.txt[1.6.5.2],
 250  link:RelNotes/1.6.5.1.txt[1.6.5.1],
 251  link:RelNotes/1.6.5.txt[1.6.5].
 252
 253* link:v1.6.4.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.4.5]
 254
 255* release notes for
 256  link:RelNotes/1.6.4.5.txt[1.6.4.5],
 257  link:RelNotes/1.6.4.4.txt[1.6.4.4],
 258  link:RelNotes/1.6.4.3.txt[1.6.4.3],
 259  link:RelNotes/1.6.4.2.txt[1.6.4.2],
 260  link:RelNotes/1.6.4.1.txt[1.6.4.1],
 261  link:RelNotes/1.6.4.txt[1.6.4].
 262
 263* link:v1.6.3.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.3.4]
 264
 265* release notes for
 266  link:RelNotes/1.6.3.4.txt[1.6.3.4],
 267  link:RelNotes/1.6.3.3.txt[1.6.3.3],
 268  link:RelNotes/1.6.3.2.txt[1.6.3.2],
 269  link:RelNotes/1.6.3.1.txt[1.6.3.1],
 270  link:RelNotes/1.6.3.txt[1.6.3].
 271
 272* release notes for
 273  link:RelNotes/1.6.2.5.txt[1.6.2.5],
 274  link:RelNotes/1.6.2.4.txt[1.6.2.4],
 275  link:RelNotes/1.6.2.3.txt[1.6.2.3],
 276  link:RelNotes/1.6.2.2.txt[1.6.2.2],
 277  link:RelNotes/1.6.2.1.txt[1.6.2.1],
 278  link:RelNotes/1.6.2.txt[1.6.2].
 279
 280* link:v1.6.1.3/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.1.3]
 281
 282* release notes for
 283  link:RelNotes/1.6.1.3.txt[1.6.1.3],
 284  link:RelNotes/1.6.1.2.txt[1.6.1.2],
 285  link:RelNotes/1.6.1.1.txt[1.6.1.1],
 286  link:RelNotes/1.6.1.txt[1.6.1].
 287
 288* link:v1.6.0.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.0.6]
 289
 290* release notes for
 291  link:RelNotes/1.6.0.6.txt[1.6.0.6],
 292  link:RelNotes/1.6.0.5.txt[1.6.0.5],
 293  link:RelNotes/1.6.0.4.txt[1.6.0.4],
 294  link:RelNotes/1.6.0.3.txt[1.6.0.3],
 295  link:RelNotes/1.6.0.2.txt[1.6.0.2],
 296  link:RelNotes/1.6.0.1.txt[1.6.0.1],
 297  link:RelNotes/1.6.0.txt[1.6.0].
 298
 299* link:v1.5.6.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.6.6]
 300
 301* release notes for
 302  link:RelNotes/1.5.6.6.txt[1.5.6.6],
 303  link:RelNotes/1.5.6.5.txt[1.5.6.5],
 304  link:RelNotes/1.5.6.4.txt[1.5.6.4],
 305  link:RelNotes/1.5.6.3.txt[1.5.6.3],
 306  link:RelNotes/1.5.6.2.txt[1.5.6.2],
 307  link:RelNotes/1.5.6.1.txt[1.5.6.1],
 308  link:RelNotes/1.5.6.txt[1.5.6].
 309
 310* link:v1.5.5.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.5.6]
 311
 312* release notes for
 313  link:RelNotes/1.5.5.6.txt[1.5.5.6],
 314  link:RelNotes/1.5.5.5.txt[1.5.5.5],
 315  link:RelNotes/1.5.5.4.txt[1.5.5.4],
 316  link:RelNotes/1.5.5.3.txt[1.5.5.3],
 317  link:RelNotes/1.5.5.2.txt[1.5.5.2],
 318  link:RelNotes/1.5.5.1.txt[1.5.5.1],
 319  link:RelNotes/1.5.5.txt[1.5.5].
 320
 321* link:v1.5.4.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.4.7]
 322
 323* release notes for
 324  link:RelNotes/1.5.4.7.txt[1.5.4.7],
 325  link:RelNotes/1.5.4.6.txt[1.5.4.6],
 326  link:RelNotes/1.5.4.5.txt[1.5.4.5],
 327  link:RelNotes/1.5.4.4.txt[1.5.4.4],
 328  link:RelNotes/1.5.4.3.txt[1.5.4.3],
 329  link:RelNotes/1.5.4.2.txt[1.5.4.2],
 330  link:RelNotes/1.5.4.1.txt[1.5.4.1],
 331  link:RelNotes/1.5.4.txt[1.5.4].
 332
 333* link:v1.5.3.8/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.3.8]
 334
 335* release notes for
 336  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.8.txt[1.5.3.8],
 337  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.7.txt[1.5.3.7],
 338  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.6.txt[1.5.3.6],
 339  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.5.txt[1.5.3.5],
 340  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.4.txt[1.5.3.4],
 341  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.3.txt[1.5.3.3],
 342  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.2.txt[1.5.3.2],
 343  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.1.txt[1.5.3.1],
 344  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.txt[1.5.3].
 345
 346* link:v1.5.2.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.2.5]
 347
 348* release notes for
 349  link:RelNotes/1.5.2.5.txt[1.5.2.5],
 350  link:RelNotes/1.5.2.4.txt[1.5.2.4],
 351  link:RelNotes/1.5.2.3.txt[1.5.2.3],
 352  link:RelNotes/1.5.2.2.txt[1.5.2.2],
 353  link:RelNotes/1.5.2.1.txt[1.5.2.1],
 354  link:RelNotes/1.5.2.txt[1.5.2].
 355
 356* link:v1.5.1.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.1.6]
 357
 358* release notes for
 359  link:RelNotes/1.5.1.6.txt[1.5.1.6],
 360  link:RelNotes/1.5.1.5.txt[1.5.1.5],
 361  link:RelNotes/1.5.1.4.txt[1.5.1.4],
 362  link:RelNotes/1.5.1.3.txt[1.5.1.3],
 363  link:RelNotes/1.5.1.2.txt[1.5.1.2],
 364  link:RelNotes/1.5.1.1.txt[1.5.1.1],
 365  link:RelNotes/1.5.1.txt[1.5.1].
 366
 367* link:v1.5.0.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.0.7]
 368
 369* release notes for
 370  link:RelNotes/1.5.0.7.txt[1.5.0.7],
 371  link:RelNotes/1.5.0.6.txt[1.5.0.6],
 372  link:RelNotes/1.5.0.5.txt[1.5.0.5],
 373  link:RelNotes/1.5.0.3.txt[1.5.0.3],
 374  link:RelNotes/1.5.0.2.txt[1.5.0.2],
 375  link:RelNotes/1.5.0.1.txt[1.5.0.1],
 376  link:RelNotes/1.5.0.txt[1.5.0].
 377
 378* documentation for release link:v1.4.4.4/git.html[1.4.4.4],
 379  link:v1.3.3/git.html[1.3.3],
 380  link:v1.2.6/git.html[1.2.6],
 381  link:v1.0.13/git.html[1.0.13].
 382
 383============
 384
 385endif::stalenotes[]
 386
 387OPTIONS
 388-------
 389--version::
 390        Prints the Git suite version that the 'git' program came from.
 391
 392--help::
 393        Prints the synopsis and a list of the most commonly used
 394        commands. If the option '--all' or '-a' is given then all
 395        available commands are printed. If a Git command is named this
 396        option will bring up the manual page for that command.
 397+
 398Other options are available to control how the manual page is
 399displayed. See linkgit:git-help[1] for more information,
 400because `git --help ...` is converted internally into `git
 401help ...`.
 402
 403-c <name>=<value>::
 404        Pass a configuration parameter to the command. The value
 405        given will override values from configuration files.
 406        The <name> is expected in the same format as listed by
 407        'git config' (subkeys separated by dots).
 408
 409--exec-path[=<path>]::
 410        Path to wherever your core Git programs are installed.
 411        This can also be controlled by setting the GIT_EXEC_PATH
 412        environment variable. If no path is given, 'git' will print
 413        the current setting and then exit.
 414
 415--html-path::
 416        Print the path, without trailing slash, where Git's HTML
 417        documentation is installed and exit.
 418
 419--man-path::
 420        Print the manpath (see `man(1)`) for the man pages for
 421        this version of Git and exit.
 422
 423--info-path::
 424        Print the path where the Info files documenting this
 425        version of Git are installed and exit.
 426
 427-p::
 428--paginate::
 429        Pipe all output into 'less' (or if set, $PAGER) if standard
 430        output is a terminal.  This overrides the `pager.<cmd>`
 431        configuration options (see the "Configuration Mechanism" section
 432        below).
 433
 434--no-pager::
 435        Do not pipe Git output into a pager.
 436
 437--git-dir=<path>::
 438        Set the path to the repository. This can also be controlled by
 439        setting the GIT_DIR environment variable. It can be an absolute
 440        path or relative path to current working directory.
 441
 442--work-tree=<path>::
 443        Set the path to the working tree. It can be an absolute path
 444        or a path relative to the current working directory.
 445        This can also be controlled by setting the GIT_WORK_TREE
 446        environment variable and the core.worktree configuration
 447        variable (see core.worktree in linkgit:git-config[1] for a
 448        more detailed discussion).
 449
 450--namespace=<path>::
 451        Set the Git namespace.  See linkgit:gitnamespaces[7] for more
 452        details.  Equivalent to setting the `GIT_NAMESPACE` environment
 453        variable.
 454
 455--bare::
 456        Treat the repository as a bare repository.  If GIT_DIR
 457        environment is not set, it is set to the current working
 458        directory.
 459
 460--no-replace-objects::
 461        Do not use replacement refs to replace Git objects. See
 462        linkgit:git-replace[1] for more information.
 463
 464--literal-pathspecs::
 465        Treat pathspecs literally, rather than as glob patterns. This is
 466        equivalent to setting the `GIT_LITERAL_PATHSPECS` environment
 467        variable to `1`.
 468
 469
 470GIT COMMANDS
 471------------
 472
 473We divide Git into high level ("porcelain") commands and low level
 474("plumbing") commands.
 475
 476High-level commands (porcelain)
 477-------------------------------
 478
 479We separate the porcelain commands into the main commands and some
 480ancillary user utilities.
 481
 482Main porcelain commands
 483~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 484
 485include::cmds-mainporcelain.txt[]
 486
 487Ancillary Commands
 488~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 489Manipulators:
 490
 491include::cmds-ancillarymanipulators.txt[]
 492
 493Interrogators:
 494
 495include::cmds-ancillaryinterrogators.txt[]
 496
 497
 498Interacting with Others
 499~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 500
 501These commands are to interact with foreign SCM and with other
 502people via patch over e-mail.
 503
 504include::cmds-foreignscminterface.txt[]
 505
 506
 507Low-level commands (plumbing)
 508-----------------------------
 509
 510Although Git includes its
 511own porcelain layer, its low-level commands are sufficient to support
 512development of alternative porcelains.  Developers of such porcelains
 513might start by reading about linkgit:git-update-index[1] and
 514linkgit:git-read-tree[1].
 515
 516The interface (input, output, set of options and the semantics)
 517to these low-level commands are meant to be a lot more stable
 518than Porcelain level commands, because these commands are
 519primarily for scripted use.  The interface to Porcelain commands
 520on the other hand are subject to change in order to improve the
 521end user experience.
 522
 523The following description divides
 524the low-level commands into commands that manipulate objects (in
 525the repository, index, and working tree), commands that interrogate and
 526compare objects, and commands that move objects and references between
 527repositories.
 528
 529
 530Manipulation commands
 531~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 532
 533include::cmds-plumbingmanipulators.txt[]
 534
 535
 536Interrogation commands
 537~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 538
 539include::cmds-plumbinginterrogators.txt[]
 540
 541In general, the interrogate commands do not touch the files in
 542the working tree.
 543
 544
 545Synching repositories
 546~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 547
 548include::cmds-synchingrepositories.txt[]
 549
 550The following are helper commands used by the above; end users
 551typically do not use them directly.
 552
 553include::cmds-synchelpers.txt[]
 554
 555
 556Internal helper commands
 557~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 558
 559These are internal helper commands used by other commands; end
 560users typically do not use them directly.
 561
 562include::cmds-purehelpers.txt[]
 563
 564
 565Configuration Mechanism
 566-----------------------
 567
 568Git uses a simple text format to store customizations that are per
 569repository and are per user.  Such a configuration file may look
 570like this:
 571
 572------------
 573#
 574# A '#' or ';' character indicates a comment.
 575#
 576
 577; core variables
 578[core]
 579        ; Don't trust file modes
 580        filemode = false
 581
 582; user identity
 583[user]
 584        name = "Junio C Hamano"
 585        email = "gitster@pobox.com"
 586
 587------------
 588
 589Various commands read from the configuration file and adjust
 590their operation accordingly.  See linkgit:git-config[1] for a
 591list and more details about the configuration mechanism.
 592
 593
 594Identifier Terminology
 595----------------------
 596<object>::
 597        Indicates the object name for any type of object.
 598
 599<blob>::
 600        Indicates a blob object name.
 601
 602<tree>::
 603        Indicates a tree object name.
 604
 605<commit>::
 606        Indicates a commit object name.
 607
 608<tree-ish>::
 609        Indicates a tree, commit or tag object name.  A
 610        command that takes a <tree-ish> argument ultimately wants to
 611        operate on a <tree> object but automatically dereferences
 612        <commit> and <tag> objects that point at a <tree>.
 613
 614<commit-ish>::
 615        Indicates a commit or tag object name.  A
 616        command that takes a <commit-ish> argument ultimately wants to
 617        operate on a <commit> object but automatically dereferences
 618        <tag> objects that point at a <commit>.
 619
 620<type>::
 621        Indicates that an object type is required.
 622        Currently one of: `blob`, `tree`, `commit`, or `tag`.
 623
 624<file>::
 625        Indicates a filename - almost always relative to the
 626        root of the tree structure `GIT_INDEX_FILE` describes.
 627
 628Symbolic Identifiers
 629--------------------
 630Any Git command accepting any <object> can also use the following
 631symbolic notation:
 632
 633HEAD::
 634        indicates the head of the current branch.
 635
 636<tag>::
 637        a valid tag 'name'
 638        (i.e. a `refs/tags/<tag>` reference).
 639
 640<head>::
 641        a valid head 'name'
 642        (i.e. a `refs/heads/<head>` reference).
 643
 644For a more complete list of ways to spell object names, see
 645"SPECIFYING REVISIONS" section in linkgit:gitrevisions[7].
 646
 647
 648File/Directory Structure
 649------------------------
 650
 651Please see the linkgit:gitrepository-layout[5] document.
 652
 653Read linkgit:githooks[5] for more details about each hook.
 654
 655Higher level SCMs may provide and manage additional information in the
 656`$GIT_DIR`.
 657
 658
 659Terminology
 660-----------
 661Please see linkgit:gitglossary[7].
 662
 663
 664Environment Variables
 665---------------------
 666Various Git commands use the following environment variables:
 667
 668The Git Repository
 669~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 670These environment variables apply to 'all' core Git commands. Nb: it
 671is worth noting that they may be used/overridden by SCMS sitting above
 672Git so take care if using Cogito etc.
 673
 674'GIT_INDEX_FILE'::
 675        This environment allows the specification of an alternate
 676        index file. If not specified, the default of `$GIT_DIR/index`
 677        is used.
 678
 679'GIT_OBJECT_DIRECTORY'::
 680        If the object storage directory is specified via this
 681        environment variable then the sha1 directories are created
 682        underneath - otherwise the default `$GIT_DIR/objects`
 683        directory is used.
 684
 685'GIT_ALTERNATE_OBJECT_DIRECTORIES'::
 686        Due to the immutable nature of Git objects, old objects can be
 687        archived into shared, read-only directories. This variable
 688        specifies a ":" separated (on Windows ";" separated) list
 689        of Git object directories which can be used to search for Git
 690        objects. New objects will not be written to these directories.
 691
 692'GIT_DIR'::
 693        If the 'GIT_DIR' environment variable is set then it
 694        specifies a path to use instead of the default `.git`
 695        for the base of the repository.
 696        The '--git-dir' command-line option also sets this value.
 697
 698'GIT_WORK_TREE'::
 699        Set the path to the root of the working tree.
 700        This can also be controlled by the '--work-tree' command line
 701        option and the core.worktree configuration variable.
 702
 703'GIT_NAMESPACE'::
 704        Set the Git namespace; see linkgit:gitnamespaces[7] for details.
 705        The '--namespace' command-line option also sets this value.
 706
 707'GIT_CEILING_DIRECTORIES'::
 708        This should be a colon-separated list of absolute paths.  If
 709        set, it is a list of directories that Git should not chdir up
 710        into while looking for a repository directory (useful for
 711        excluding slow-loading network directories).  It will not
 712        exclude the current working directory or a GIT_DIR set on the
 713        command line or in the environment.  Normally, Git has to read
 714        the entries in this list and resolve any symlink that
 715        might be present in order to compare them with the current
 716        directory.  However, if even this access is slow, you
 717        can add an empty entry to the list to tell Git that the
 718        subsequent entries are not symlinks and needn't be resolved;
 719        e.g.,
 720        'GIT_CEILING_DIRECTORIES=/maybe/symlink::/very/slow/non/symlink'.
 721
 722'GIT_DISCOVERY_ACROSS_FILESYSTEM'::
 723        When run in a directory that does not have ".git" repository
 724        directory, Git tries to find such a directory in the parent
 725        directories to find the top of the working tree, but by default it
 726        does not cross filesystem boundaries.  This environment variable
 727        can be set to true to tell Git not to stop at filesystem
 728        boundaries.  Like 'GIT_CEILING_DIRECTORIES', this will not affect
 729        an explicit repository directory set via 'GIT_DIR' or on the
 730        command line.
 731
 732Git Commits
 733~~~~~~~~~~~
 734'GIT_AUTHOR_NAME'::
 735'GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL'::
 736'GIT_AUTHOR_DATE'::
 737'GIT_COMMITTER_NAME'::
 738'GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL'::
 739'GIT_COMMITTER_DATE'::
 740'EMAIL'::
 741        see linkgit:git-commit-tree[1]
 742
 743Git Diffs
 744~~~~~~~~~
 745'GIT_DIFF_OPTS'::
 746        Only valid setting is "--unified=??" or "-u??" to set the
 747        number of context lines shown when a unified diff is created.
 748        This takes precedence over any "-U" or "--unified" option
 749        value passed on the Git diff command line.
 750
 751'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF'::
 752        When the environment variable 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is set, the
 753        program named by it is called, instead of the diff invocation
 754        described above.  For a path that is added, removed, or modified,
 755        'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called with 7 parameters:
 756
 757        path old-file old-hex old-mode new-file new-hex new-mode
 758+
 759where:
 760
 761        <old|new>-file:: are files GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF can use to read the
 762                         contents of <old|new>,
 763        <old|new>-hex:: are the 40-hexdigit SHA-1 hashes,
 764        <old|new>-mode:: are the octal representation of the file modes.
 765+
 766The file parameters can point at the user's working file
 767(e.g. `new-file` in "git-diff-files"), `/dev/null` (e.g. `old-file`
 768when a new file is added), or a temporary file (e.g. `old-file` in the
 769index).  'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' should not worry about unlinking the
 770temporary file --- it is removed when 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' exits.
 771+
 772For a path that is unmerged, 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called with 1
 773parameter, <path>.
 774
 775other
 776~~~~~
 777'GIT_MERGE_VERBOSITY'::
 778        A number controlling the amount of output shown by
 779        the recursive merge strategy.  Overrides merge.verbosity.
 780        See linkgit:git-merge[1]
 781
 782'GIT_PAGER'::
 783        This environment variable overrides `$PAGER`. If it is set
 784        to an empty string or to the value "cat", Git will not launch
 785        a pager.  See also the `core.pager` option in
 786        linkgit:git-config[1].
 787
 788'GIT_EDITOR'::
 789        This environment variable overrides `$EDITOR` and `$VISUAL`.
 790        It is used by several Git commands when, on interactive mode,
 791        an editor is to be launched. See also linkgit:git-var[1]
 792        and the `core.editor` option in linkgit:git-config[1].
 793
 794'GIT_SSH'::
 795        If this environment variable is set then 'git fetch'
 796        and 'git push' will use this command instead
 797        of 'ssh' when they need to connect to a remote system.
 798        The '$GIT_SSH' command will be given exactly two or
 799        four arguments: the 'username@host' (or just 'host')
 800        from the URL and the shell command to execute on that
 801        remote system, optionally preceded by '-p' (literally) and
 802        the 'port' from the URL when it specifies something other
 803        than the default SSH port.
 804+
 805To pass options to the program that you want to list in GIT_SSH
 806you will need to wrap the program and options into a shell script,
 807then set GIT_SSH to refer to the shell script.
 808+
 809Usually it is easier to configure any desired options through your
 810personal `.ssh/config` file.  Please consult your ssh documentation
 811for further details.
 812
 813'GIT_ASKPASS'::
 814        If this environment variable is set, then Git commands which need to
 815        acquire passwords or passphrases (e.g. for HTTP or IMAP authentication)
 816        will call this program with a suitable prompt as command line argument
 817        and read the password from its STDOUT. See also the 'core.askpass'
 818        option in linkgit:git-config[1].
 819
 820'GIT_CONFIG_NOSYSTEM'::
 821        Whether to skip reading settings from the system-wide
 822        `$(prefix)/etc/gitconfig` file.  This environment variable can
 823        be used along with `$HOME` and `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME` to create a
 824        predictable environment for a picky script, or you can set it
 825        temporarily to avoid using a buggy `/etc/gitconfig` file while
 826        waiting for someone with sufficient permissions to fix it.
 827
 828'GIT_FLUSH'::
 829        If this environment variable is set to "1", then commands such
 830        as 'git blame' (in incremental mode), 'git rev-list', 'git log',
 831        'git check-attr', 'git check-ignore', and 'git whatchanged' will
 832        force a flush of the output stream after each record have been
 833        flushed. If this
 834        variable is set to "0", the output of these commands will be done
 835        using completely buffered I/O.   If this environment variable is
 836        not set, Git will choose buffered or record-oriented flushing
 837        based on whether stdout appears to be redirected to a file or not.
 838
 839'GIT_TRACE'::
 840        If this variable is set to "1", "2" or "true" (comparison
 841        is case insensitive), Git will print `trace:` messages on
 842        stderr telling about alias expansion, built-in command
 843        execution and external command execution.
 844        If this variable is set to an integer value greater than 1
 845        and lower than 10 (strictly) then Git will interpret this
 846        value as an open file descriptor and will try to write the
 847        trace messages into this file descriptor.
 848        Alternatively, if this variable is set to an absolute path
 849        (starting with a '/' character), Git will interpret this
 850        as a file path and will try to write the trace messages
 851        into it.
 852
 853'GIT_TRACE_PACK_ACCESS'::
 854        If this variable is set to a path, a file will be created at
 855        the given path logging all accesses to any packs. For each
 856        access, the pack file name and an offset in the pack is
 857        recorded. This may be helpful for troubleshooting some
 858        pack-related performance problems.
 859
 860'GIT_TRACE_PACKET'::
 861        If this variable is set, it shows a trace of all packets
 862        coming in or out of a given program. This can help with
 863        debugging object negotiation or other protocol issues. Tracing
 864        is turned off at a packet starting with "PACK".
 865
 866GIT_LITERAL_PATHSPECS::
 867        Setting this variable to `1` will cause Git to treat all
 868        pathspecs literally, rather than as glob patterns. For example,
 869        running `GIT_LITERAL_PATHSPECS=1 git log -- '*.c'` will search
 870        for commits that touch the path `*.c`, not any paths that the
 871        glob `*.c` matches. You might want this if you are feeding
 872        literal paths to Git (e.g., paths previously given to you by
 873        `git ls-tree`, `--raw` diff output, etc).
 874
 875
 876Discussion[[Discussion]]
 877------------------------
 878
 879More detail on the following is available from the
 880link:user-manual.html#git-concepts[Git concepts chapter of the
 881user-manual] and linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7].
 882
 883A Git project normally consists of a working directory with a ".git"
 884subdirectory at the top level.  The .git directory contains, among other
 885things, a compressed object database representing the complete history
 886of the project, an "index" file which links that history to the current
 887contents of the working tree, and named pointers into that history such
 888as tags and branch heads.
 889
 890The object database contains objects of three main types: blobs, which
 891hold file data; trees, which point to blobs and other trees to build up
 892directory hierarchies; and commits, which each reference a single tree
 893and some number of parent commits.
 894
 895The commit, equivalent to what other systems call a "changeset" or
 896"version", represents a step in the project's history, and each parent
 897represents an immediately preceding step.  Commits with more than one
 898parent represent merges of independent lines of development.
 899
 900All objects are named by the SHA-1 hash of their contents, normally
 901written as a string of 40 hex digits.  Such names are globally unique.
 902The entire history leading up to a commit can be vouched for by signing
 903just that commit.  A fourth object type, the tag, is provided for this
 904purpose.
 905
 906When first created, objects are stored in individual files, but for
 907efficiency may later be compressed together into "pack files".
 908
 909Named pointers called refs mark interesting points in history.  A ref
 910may contain the SHA-1 name of an object or the name of another ref.  Refs
 911with names beginning `ref/head/` contain the SHA-1 name of the most
 912recent commit (or "head") of a branch under development.  SHA-1 names of
 913tags of interest are stored under `ref/tags/`.  A special ref named
 914`HEAD` contains the name of the currently checked-out branch.
 915
 916The index file is initialized with a list of all paths and, for each
 917path, a blob object and a set of attributes.  The blob object represents
 918the contents of the file as of the head of the current branch.  The
 919attributes (last modified time, size, etc.) are taken from the
 920corresponding file in the working tree.  Subsequent changes to the
 921working tree can be found by comparing these attributes.  The index may
 922be updated with new content, and new commits may be created from the
 923content stored in the index.
 924
 925The index is also capable of storing multiple entries (called "stages")
 926for a given pathname.  These stages are used to hold the various
 927unmerged version of a file when a merge is in progress.
 928
 929FURTHER DOCUMENTATION
 930---------------------
 931
 932See the references in the "description" section to get started
 933using Git.  The following is probably more detail than necessary
 934for a first-time user.
 935
 936The link:user-manual.html#git-concepts[Git concepts chapter of the
 937user-manual] and linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7] both provide
 938introductions to the underlying Git architecture.
 939
 940See linkgit:gitworkflows[7] for an overview of recommended workflows.
 941
 942See also the link:howto-index.html[howto] documents for some useful
 943examples.
 944
 945The internals are documented in the
 946link:technical/api-index.html[Git API documentation].
 947
 948Users migrating from CVS may also want to
 949read linkgit:gitcvs-migration[7].
 950
 951
 952Authors
 953-------
 954Git was started by Linus Torvalds, and is currently maintained by Junio
 955C Hamano. Numerous contributions have come from the Git mailing list
 956<git@vger.kernel.org>.  http://www.ohloh.net/p/git/contributors/summary
 957gives you a more complete list of contributors.
 958
 959If you have a clone of git.git itself, the
 960output of linkgit:git-shortlog[1] and linkgit:git-blame[1] can show you
 961the authors for specific parts of the project.
 962
 963Reporting Bugs
 964--------------
 965
 966Report bugs to the Git mailing list <git@vger.kernel.org> where the
 967development and maintenance is primarily done.  You do not have to be
 968subscribed to the list to send a message there.
 969
 970SEE ALSO
 971--------
 972linkgit:gittutorial[7], linkgit:gittutorial-2[7],
 973link:everyday.html[Everyday Git], linkgit:gitcvs-migration[7],
 974linkgit:gitglossary[7], linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7],
 975linkgit:gitcli[7], link:user-manual.html[The Git User's Manual],
 976linkgit:gitworkflows[7]
 977
 978GIT
 979---
 980Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite