Documentation / git.txton commit Merge branch 'qq/maint' into maint (30161e7)
   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]]
  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 this linkgit:gittutorial[7][tutorial] 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][CVS migration].  See
  27link: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:v1.5.6.2/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.6.2]
  47
  48* release notes for
  49  link:RelNotes-1.5.6.2.txt[1.5.6.2].
  50  link:RelNotes-1.5.6.1.txt[1.5.6.1].
  51  link:RelNotes-1.5.6.txt[1.5.6].
  52
  53* link:v1.5.5.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.5.4]
  54
  55* release notes for
  56  link:RelNotes-1.5.5.4.txt[1.5.5.4],
  57  link:RelNotes-1.5.5.3.txt[1.5.5.3],
  58  link:RelNotes-1.5.5.2.txt[1.5.5.2],
  59  link:RelNotes-1.5.5.1.txt[1.5.5.1],
  60  link:RelNotes-1.5.5.txt[1.5.5].
  61
  62* link:v1.5.4.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.4.5]
  63
  64* release notes for
  65  link:RelNotes-1.5.4.5.txt[1.5.4.5],
  66  link:RelNotes-1.5.4.4.txt[1.5.4.4],
  67  link:RelNotes-1.5.4.3.txt[1.5.4.3],
  68  link:RelNotes-1.5.4.2.txt[1.5.4.2],
  69  link:RelNotes-1.5.4.1.txt[1.5.4.1],
  70  link:RelNotes-1.5.4.txt[1.5.4].
  71
  72* link:v1.5.3.8/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.3.8]
  73
  74* release notes for
  75  link:RelNotes-1.5.3.8.txt[1.5.3.8],
  76  link:RelNotes-1.5.3.7.txt[1.5.3.7],
  77  link:RelNotes-1.5.3.6.txt[1.5.3.6],
  78  link:RelNotes-1.5.3.5.txt[1.5.3.5],
  79  link:RelNotes-1.5.3.4.txt[1.5.3.4],
  80  link:RelNotes-1.5.3.3.txt[1.5.3.3],
  81  link:RelNotes-1.5.3.2.txt[1.5.3.2],
  82  link:RelNotes-1.5.3.1.txt[1.5.3.1],
  83  link:RelNotes-1.5.3.txt[1.5.3].
  84
  85* link:v1.5.2.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.2.5]
  86
  87* release notes for
  88  link:RelNotes-1.5.2.5.txt[1.5.2.5],
  89  link:RelNotes-1.5.2.4.txt[1.5.2.4],
  90  link:RelNotes-1.5.2.3.txt[1.5.2.3],
  91  link:RelNotes-1.5.2.2.txt[1.5.2.2],
  92  link:RelNotes-1.5.2.1.txt[1.5.2.1],
  93  link:RelNotes-1.5.2.txt[1.5.2].
  94
  95* link:v1.5.1.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.1.6]
  96
  97* release notes for
  98  link:RelNotes-1.5.1.6.txt[1.5.1.6],
  99  link:RelNotes-1.5.1.5.txt[1.5.1.5],
 100  link:RelNotes-1.5.1.4.txt[1.5.1.4],
 101  link:RelNotes-1.5.1.3.txt[1.5.1.3],
 102  link:RelNotes-1.5.1.2.txt[1.5.1.2],
 103  link:RelNotes-1.5.1.1.txt[1.5.1.1],
 104  link:RelNotes-1.5.1.txt[1.5.1].
 105
 106* link:v1.5.0.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.0.7]
 107
 108* release notes for
 109  link:RelNotes-1.5.0.7.txt[1.5.0.7],
 110  link:RelNotes-1.5.0.6.txt[1.5.0.6],
 111  link:RelNotes-1.5.0.5.txt[1.5.0.5],
 112  link:RelNotes-1.5.0.3.txt[1.5.0.3],
 113  link:RelNotes-1.5.0.2.txt[1.5.0.2],
 114  link:RelNotes-1.5.0.1.txt[1.5.0.1],
 115  link:RelNotes-1.5.0.txt[1.5.0].
 116
 117* documentation for release link:v1.4.4.4/git.html[1.4.4.4],
 118  link:v1.3.3/git.html[1.3.3],
 119  link:v1.2.6/git.html[1.2.6],
 120  link:v1.0.13/git.html[1.0.13].
 121
 122============
 123
 124endif::stalenotes[]
 125
 126OPTIONS
 127-------
 128--version::
 129        Prints the git suite version that the 'git' program came from.
 130
 131--help::
 132        Prints the synopsis and a list of the most commonly used
 133        commands. If the option '--all' or '-a' is given then all
 134        available commands are printed. If a git command is named this
 135        option will bring up the manual page for that command.
 136+
 137Other options are available to control how the manual page is
 138displayed. See linkgit:git-help[1] for more information,
 139because 'git --help ...' is converted internally into 'git
 140help ...'.
 141
 142--exec-path::
 143        Path to wherever your core git programs are installed.
 144        This can also be controlled by setting the GIT_EXEC_PATH
 145        environment variable. If no path is given 'git' will print
 146        the current setting and then exit.
 147
 148-p::
 149--paginate::
 150        Pipe all output into 'less' (or if set, $PAGER).
 151
 152--no-pager::
 153        Do not pipe git output into a pager.
 154
 155--git-dir=<path>::
 156        Set the path to the repository. This can also be controlled by
 157        setting the GIT_DIR environment variable. It can be an absolute
 158        path or relative path to current working directory.
 159
 160--work-tree=<path>::
 161        Set the path to the working tree.  The value will not be
 162        used in combination with repositories found automatically in
 163        a .git directory (i.e. $GIT_DIR is not set).
 164        This can also be controlled by setting the GIT_WORK_TREE
 165        environment variable and the core.worktree configuration
 166        variable. It can be an absolute path or relative path to
 167        the directory specified by --git-dir or GIT_DIR.
 168        Note: If --git-dir or GIT_DIR are specified but none of
 169        --work-tree, GIT_WORK_TREE and core.worktree is specified,
 170        the current working directory is regarded as the top directory
 171        of your working tree.
 172
 173--bare::
 174        Treat the repository as a bare repository.  If GIT_DIR
 175        environment is not set, it is set to the current working
 176        directory.
 177
 178
 179FURTHER DOCUMENTATION
 180---------------------
 181
 182See the references above to get started using git.  The following is
 183probably more detail than necessary for a first-time user.
 184
 185The link:user-manual.html#git-concepts[git concepts chapter of the
 186user-manual] and the linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7][Core tutorial] both provide
 187introductions to the underlying git architecture.
 188
 189See also the link:howto-index.html[howto] documents for some useful
 190examples.
 191
 192The internals are documented link:technical/api-index.html[here].
 193
 194GIT COMMANDS
 195------------
 196
 197We divide git into high level ("porcelain") commands and low level
 198("plumbing") commands.
 199
 200High-level commands (porcelain)
 201-------------------------------
 202
 203We separate the porcelain commands into the main commands and some
 204ancillary user utilities.
 205
 206Main porcelain commands
 207~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 208
 209include::cmds-mainporcelain.txt[]
 210
 211Ancillary Commands
 212~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 213Manipulators:
 214
 215include::cmds-ancillarymanipulators.txt[]
 216
 217Interrogators:
 218
 219include::cmds-ancillaryinterrogators.txt[]
 220
 221
 222Interacting with Others
 223~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 224
 225These commands are to interact with foreign SCM and with other
 226people via patch over e-mail.
 227
 228include::cmds-foreignscminterface.txt[]
 229
 230
 231Low-level commands (plumbing)
 232-----------------------------
 233
 234Although git includes its
 235own porcelain layer, its low-level commands are sufficient to support
 236development of alternative porcelains.  Developers of such porcelains
 237might start by reading about linkgit:git-update-index[1] and
 238linkgit:git-read-tree[1].
 239
 240The interface (input, output, set of options and the semantics)
 241to these low-level commands are meant to be a lot more stable
 242than Porcelain level commands, because these commands are
 243primarily for scripted use.  The interface to Porcelain commands
 244on the other hand are subject to change in order to improve the
 245end user experience.
 246
 247The following description divides
 248the low-level commands into commands that manipulate objects (in
 249the repository, index, and working tree), commands that interrogate and
 250compare objects, and commands that move objects and references between
 251repositories.
 252
 253
 254Manipulation commands
 255~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 256
 257include::cmds-plumbingmanipulators.txt[]
 258
 259
 260Interrogation commands
 261~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 262
 263include::cmds-plumbinginterrogators.txt[]
 264
 265In general, the interrogate commands do not touch the files in
 266the working tree.
 267
 268
 269Synching repositories
 270~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 271
 272include::cmds-synchingrepositories.txt[]
 273
 274The following are helper programs used by the above; end users
 275typically do not use them directly.
 276
 277include::cmds-synchelpers.txt[]
 278
 279
 280Internal helper commands
 281~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 282
 283These are internal helper commands used by other commands; end
 284users typically do not use them directly.
 285
 286include::cmds-purehelpers.txt[]
 287
 288
 289Configuration Mechanism
 290-----------------------
 291
 292Starting from 0.99.9 (actually mid 0.99.8.GIT), `.git/config` file
 293is used to hold per-repository configuration options.  It is a
 294simple text file modeled after `.ini` format familiar to some
 295people.  Here is an example:
 296
 297------------
 298#
 299# A '#' or ';' character indicates a comment.
 300#
 301
 302; core variables
 303[core]
 304        ; Don't trust file modes
 305        filemode = false
 306
 307; user identity
 308[user]
 309        name = "Junio C Hamano"
 310        email = "junkio@twinsun.com"
 311
 312------------
 313
 314Various commands read from the configuration file and adjust
 315their operation accordingly.
 316
 317
 318Identifier Terminology
 319----------------------
 320<object>::
 321        Indicates the object name for any type of object.
 322
 323<blob>::
 324        Indicates a blob object name.
 325
 326<tree>::
 327        Indicates a tree object name.
 328
 329<commit>::
 330        Indicates a commit object name.
 331
 332<tree-ish>::
 333        Indicates a tree, commit or tag object name.  A
 334        command that takes a <tree-ish> argument ultimately wants to
 335        operate on a <tree> object but automatically dereferences
 336        <commit> and <tag> objects that point at a <tree>.
 337
 338<commit-ish>::
 339        Indicates a commit or tag object name.  A
 340        command that takes a <commit-ish> argument ultimately wants to
 341        operate on a <commit> object but automatically dereferences
 342        <tag> objects that point at a <commit>.
 343
 344<type>::
 345        Indicates that an object type is required.
 346        Currently one of: `blob`, `tree`, `commit`, or `tag`.
 347
 348<file>::
 349        Indicates a filename - almost always relative to the
 350        root of the tree structure `GIT_INDEX_FILE` describes.
 351
 352Symbolic Identifiers
 353--------------------
 354Any git command accepting any <object> can also use the following
 355symbolic notation:
 356
 357HEAD::
 358        indicates the head of the current branch (i.e. the
 359        contents of `$GIT_DIR/HEAD`).
 360
 361<tag>::
 362        a valid tag 'name'
 363        (i.e. the contents of `$GIT_DIR/refs/tags/<tag>`).
 364
 365<head>::
 366        a valid head 'name'
 367        (i.e. the contents of `$GIT_DIR/refs/heads/<head>`).
 368
 369For a more complete list of ways to spell object names, see
 370"SPECIFYING REVISIONS" section in linkgit:git-rev-parse[1].
 371
 372
 373File/Directory Structure
 374------------------------
 375
 376Please see the linkgit:gitrepository-layout[5][repository layout]
 377document.
 378
 379Read linkgit:githooks[5][hooks] for more details about each hook.
 380
 381Higher level SCMs may provide and manage additional information in the
 382`$GIT_DIR`.
 383
 384
 385Terminology
 386-----------
 387Please see the linkgit:gitglossary[7][glossary] document.
 388
 389
 390Environment Variables
 391---------------------
 392Various git commands use the following environment variables:
 393
 394The git Repository
 395~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 396These environment variables apply to 'all' core git commands. Nb: it
 397is worth noting that they may be used/overridden by SCMS sitting above
 398git so take care if using Cogito etc.
 399
 400'GIT_INDEX_FILE'::
 401        This environment allows the specification of an alternate
 402        index file. If not specified, the default of `$GIT_DIR/index`
 403        is used.
 404
 405'GIT_OBJECT_DIRECTORY'::
 406        If the object storage directory is specified via this
 407        environment variable then the sha1 directories are created
 408        underneath - otherwise the default `$GIT_DIR/objects`
 409        directory is used.
 410
 411'GIT_ALTERNATE_OBJECT_DIRECTORIES'::
 412        Due to the immutable nature of git objects, old objects can be
 413        archived into shared, read-only directories. This variable
 414        specifies a ":" separated list of git object directories which
 415        can be used to search for git objects. New objects will not be
 416        written to these directories.
 417
 418'GIT_DIR'::
 419        If the 'GIT_DIR' environment variable is set then it
 420        specifies a path to use instead of the default `.git`
 421        for the base of the repository.
 422
 423'GIT_WORK_TREE'::
 424        Set the path to the working tree.  The value will not be
 425        used in combination with repositories found automatically in
 426        a .git directory (i.e. $GIT_DIR is not set).
 427        This can also be controlled by the '--work-tree' command line
 428        option and the core.worktree configuration variable.
 429
 430git Commits
 431~~~~~~~~~~~
 432'GIT_AUTHOR_NAME'::
 433'GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL'::
 434'GIT_AUTHOR_DATE'::
 435'GIT_COMMITTER_NAME'::
 436'GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL'::
 437'GIT_COMMITTER_DATE'::
 438'EMAIL'::
 439        see linkgit:git-commit-tree[1]
 440
 441git Diffs
 442~~~~~~~~~
 443'GIT_DIFF_OPTS'::
 444        Only valid setting is "--unified=??" or "-u??" to set the
 445        number of context lines shown when a unified diff is created.
 446        This takes precedence over any "-U" or "--unified" option
 447        value passed on the git diff command line.
 448
 449'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF'::
 450        When the environment variable 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is set, the
 451        program named by it is called, instead of the diff invocation
 452        described above.  For a path that is added, removed, or modified,
 453        'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called with 7 parameters:
 454
 455        path old-file old-hex old-mode new-file new-hex new-mode
 456+
 457where:
 458
 459        <old|new>-file:: are files GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF can use to read the
 460                         contents of <old|new>,
 461        <old|new>-hex:: are the 40-hexdigit SHA1 hashes,
 462        <old|new>-mode:: are the octal representation of the file modes.
 463
 464+
 465The file parameters can point at the user's working file
 466(e.g. `new-file` in "git-diff-files"), `/dev/null` (e.g. `old-file`
 467when a new file is added), or a temporary file (e.g. `old-file` in the
 468index).  'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' should not worry about unlinking the
 469temporary file --- it is removed when 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' exits.
 470+
 471For a path that is unmerged, 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called with 1
 472parameter, <path>.
 473
 474other
 475~~~~~
 476'GIT_MERGE_VERBOSITY'::
 477        A number controlling the amount of output shown by
 478        the recursive merge strategy.  Overrides merge.verbosity.
 479        See linkgit:git-merge[1]
 480
 481'GIT_PAGER'::
 482        This environment variable overrides `$PAGER`. If it is set
 483        to an empty string or to the value "cat", git will not launch
 484        a pager.
 485
 486'GIT_SSH'::
 487        If this environment variable is set then linkgit:git-fetch[1]
 488        and linkgit:git-push[1] will use this command instead
 489        of `ssh` when they need to connect to a remote system.
 490        The 'GIT_SSH' command will be given exactly two arguments:
 491        the 'username@host' (or just 'host') from the URL and the
 492        shell command to execute on that remote system.
 493+
 494To pass options to the program that you want to list in GIT_SSH
 495you will need to wrap the program and options into a shell script,
 496then set GIT_SSH to refer to the shell script.
 497+
 498Usually it is easier to configure any desired options through your
 499personal `.ssh/config` file.  Please consult your ssh documentation
 500for further details.
 501
 502'GIT_FLUSH'::
 503        If this environment variable is set to "1", then commands such
 504        as git-blame (in incremental mode), git-rev-list, git-log,
 505        git-whatchanged, etc., will force a flush of the output stream
 506        after each commit-oriented record have been flushed.   If this
 507        variable is set to "0", the output of these commands will be done
 508        using completely buffered I/O.   If this environment variable is
 509        not set, git will choose buffered or record-oriented flushing
 510        based on whether stdout appears to be redirected to a file or not.
 511
 512'GIT_TRACE'::
 513        If this variable is set to "1", "2" or "true" (comparison
 514        is case insensitive), git will print `trace:` messages on
 515        stderr telling about alias expansion, built-in command
 516        execution and external command execution.
 517        If this variable is set to an integer value greater than 1
 518        and lower than 10 (strictly) then git will interpret this
 519        value as an open file descriptor and will try to write the
 520        trace messages into this file descriptor.
 521        Alternatively, if this variable is set to an absolute path
 522        (starting with a '/' character), git will interpret this
 523        as a file path and will try to write the trace messages
 524        into it.
 525
 526Discussion[[Discussion]]
 527------------------------
 528
 529More detail on the following is available from the
 530link:user-manual.html#git-concepts[git concepts chapter of the
 531user-manual] and the linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7][Core tutorial].
 532
 533A git project normally consists of a working directory with a ".git"
 534subdirectory at the top level.  The .git directory contains, among other
 535things, a compressed object database representing the complete history
 536of the project, an "index" file which links that history to the current
 537contents of the working tree, and named pointers into that history such
 538as tags and branch heads.
 539
 540The object database contains objects of three main types: blobs, which
 541hold file data; trees, which point to blobs and other trees to build up
 542directory hierarchies; and commits, which each reference a single tree
 543and some number of parent commits.
 544
 545The commit, equivalent to what other systems call a "changeset" or
 546"version", represents a step in the project's history, and each parent
 547represents an immediately preceding step.  Commits with more than one
 548parent represent merges of independent lines of development.
 549
 550All objects are named by the SHA1 hash of their contents, normally
 551written as a string of 40 hex digits.  Such names are globally unique.
 552The entire history leading up to a commit can be vouched for by signing
 553just that commit.  A fourth object type, the tag, is provided for this
 554purpose.
 555
 556When first created, objects are stored in individual files, but for
 557efficiency may later be compressed together into "pack files".
 558
 559Named pointers called refs mark interesting points in history.  A ref
 560may contain the SHA1 name of an object or the name of another ref.  Refs
 561with names beginning `ref/head/` contain the SHA1 name of the most
 562recent commit (or "head") of a branch under development.  SHA1 names of
 563tags of interest are stored under `ref/tags/`.  A special ref named
 564`HEAD` contains the name of the currently checked-out branch.
 565
 566The index file is initialized with a list of all paths and, for each
 567path, a blob object and a set of attributes.  The blob object represents
 568the contents of the file as of the head of the current branch.  The
 569attributes (last modified time, size, etc.) are taken from the
 570corresponding file in the working tree.  Subsequent changes to the
 571working tree can be found by comparing these attributes.  The index may
 572be updated with new content, and new commits may be created from the
 573content stored in the index.
 574
 575The index is also capable of storing multiple entries (called "stages")
 576for a given pathname.  These stages are used to hold the various
 577unmerged version of a file when a merge is in progress.
 578
 579Authors
 580-------
 581* git's founding father is Linus Torvalds <torvalds@osdl.org>.
 582* The current git nurse is Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>.
 583* The git potty was written by Andreas Ericsson <ae@op5.se>.
 584* General upbringing is handled by the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>.
 585
 586Documentation
 587--------------
 588The documentation for git suite was started by David Greaves
 589<david@dgreaves.com>, and later enhanced greatly by the
 590contributors on the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>.
 591
 592SEE ALSO
 593--------
 594linkgit:gittutorial[7], linkgit:gittutorial-2[7],
 595linkgit:giteveryday[7], linkgit:gitcvs-migration[7],
 596linkgit:gitglossary[7], linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7],
 597link:user-manual.html[The Git User's Manual]
 598
 599GIT
 600---
 601Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite