1git(7) 2====== 3v0.99.5, Aug 2005 4 5NAME 6---- 7git - the stupid content tracker 8 9 10SYNOPSIS 11-------- 12'git-<command>' <args> 13 14DESCRIPTION 15----------- 16 17This is reference information for the core git commands. 18 19Before reading this cover to cover, you may want to take a look 20at the link:tutorial.html[tutorial] document. 21 22The <<Discussion>> section below contains much useful definition and 23clarification info - read that first. And of the commands, I suggest 24reading link:git-update-index.html[git-update-index] and 25link:git-read-tree.html[git-read-tree] first - I wish I had! 26 27If you are migrating from CVS, link:cvs-migration.html[cvs migration] 28document may be helpful after you finish the tutorial. 29 30After you get the general feel from the tutorial and this 31overview page, you may want to take a look at the 32link:howto-index.html[howto] documents. 33 34 35David Greaves <david@dgreaves.com> 3608/05/05 37 38Updated by Junio C Hamano <junkio@cox.net> on 2005-05-05 to 39reflect recent changes. 40 41Commands Overview 42----------------- 43The git commands can helpfully be split into those that manipulate 44the repository, the cache and the working fileset, those that 45interrogate and compare them, and those that moves objects and 46references between repositories. 47 48In addition, git itself comes with a spartan set of porcelain 49commands. They are usable but are not meant to compete with real 50Porcelains. 51 52There are also some ancillary programs that can be viewed as useful 53aids for using the core commands but which are unlikely to be used by 54SCMs layered over git. 55 56Manipulation commands 57~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 58link:git-apply.html[git-apply]:: 59 Reads a "diff -up1" or git generated patch file and 60 applies it to the working tree. 61 62link:git-checkout-index.html[git-checkout-index]:: 63 Copy files from the cache to the working directory 64 Previously this command was known as git-checkout-cache. 65 66link:git-commit-tree.html[git-commit-tree]:: 67 Creates a new commit object 68 69link:git-hash-object.html[git-hash-object]:: 70 Computes the object ID from a file. 71 72link:git-init-db.html[git-init-db]:: 73 Creates an empty git object database 74 75link:git-merge-index.html[git-merge-index]:: 76 Runs a merge for files needing merging 77 Previously this command was known as git-merge-cache. 78 79link:git-mktag.html[git-mktag]:: 80 Creates a tag object 81 82link:git-pack-objects.html[git-pack-objects]:: 83 Creates a packed archive of objects. 84 85link:git-prune-packed.html[git-prune-packed]:: 86 Remove extra objects that are already in pack files. 87 88link:git-read-tree.html[git-read-tree]:: 89 Reads tree information into the directory cache 90 91link:git-unpack-objects.html[git-unpack-objects]:: 92 Unpacks objects out of a packed archive. 93 94link:git-update-index.html[git-update-index]:: 95 Modifies the index or directory cache 96 Previously this command was known as git-update-cache. 97 98link:git-write-tree.html[git-write-tree]:: 99 Creates a tree from the current cache 100 101 102Interrogation commands 103~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 104 105link:git-cat-file.html[git-cat-file]:: 106 Provide content or type information for repository objects 107 108link:git-diff-index.html[git-diff-index]:: 109 Compares content and mode of blobs between the cache and repository 110 Previously this command was known as git-diff-cache. 111 112link:git-diff-files.html[git-diff-files]:: 113 Compares files in the working tree and the cache 114 115link:git-diff-stages.html[git-diff-stages]:: 116 Compares two "merge stages" in the index file. 117 118link:git-diff-tree.html[git-diff-tree]:: 119 Compares the content and mode of blobs found via two tree objects 120 121link:git-export.html[git-export]:: 122 Exports each commit and a diff against each of its parents 123 124link:git-fsck-objects.html[git-fsck-objects]:: 125 Verifies the connectivity and validity of the objects in the database 126 Previously this command was known as git-fsck-cache. 127 128link:git-ls-files.html[git-ls-files]:: 129 Information about files in the cache/working directory 130 131link:git-ls-tree.html[git-ls-tree]:: 132 Displays a tree object in human readable form 133 134link:git-merge-base.html[git-merge-base]:: 135 Finds as good a common ancestor as possible for a merge 136 137link:git-rev-list.html[git-rev-list]:: 138 Lists commit objects in reverse chronological order 139 140link:git-rev-tree.html[git-rev-tree]:: 141 Provides the revision tree for one or more commits 142 143link:git-show-index.html[git-show-index]:: 144 Displays contents of a pack idx file. 145 146link:git-tar-tree.html[git-tar-tree]:: 147 Creates a tar archive of the files in the named tree 148 149link:git-unpack-file.html[git-unpack-file]:: 150 Creates a temporary file with a blob's contents 151 152link:git-var.html[git-var]:: 153 Displays a git logical variable 154 155link:git-verify-pack.html[git-verify-pack]:: 156 Validates packed GIT archive files 157 158The interrogate commands may create files - and you can force them to 159touch the working file set - but in general they don't 160 161 162Synching repositories 163~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 164 165link:git-clone-pack.html[git-clone-pack]:: 166 Clones a repository into the current repository (engine 167 for ssh and local transport) 168 169link:git-fetch-pack.html[git-fetch-pack]:: 170 Updates from a remote repository. 171 172link:git-http-fetch.html[git-http-fetch]:: 173 Downloads a remote GIT repository via HTTP 174 Previously this command was known as git-http-pull. 175 176link:git-local-fetch.html[git-local-fetch]:: 177 Duplicates another GIT repository on a local system 178 Previously this command was known as git-local-pull. 179 180link:git-peek-remote.html[git-peek-remote]:: 181 Lists references on a remote repository using upload-pack protocol. 182 183link:git-receive-pack.html[git-receive-pack]:: 184 Invoked by 'git-send-pack' to receive what is pushed to it. 185 186link:git-send-pack.html[git-send-pack]:: 187 Pushes to a remote repository, intelligently. 188 189link:git-ssh-fetch.html[git-ssh-fetch]:: 190 Pulls from a remote repository over ssh connection 191 Previously this command was known as git-ssh-pull. 192 193link:git-ssh-upload.html[git-ssh-upload]:: 194 Helper "server-side" program used by git-ssh-fetch 195 Previously this command was known as git-ssh-push. 196 197link:git-update-server-info.html[git-update-server-info]:: 198 Updates auxiliary information on a dumb server to help 199 clients discover references and packs on it. 200 201link:git-upload-pack.html[git-upload-pack]:: 202 Invoked by 'git-clone-pack' and 'git-fetch-pack' to push 203 what are asked for. 204 205 206Porcelain-ish Commands 207---------------------- 208 209link:git-add.html[git-add]:: 210 Add paths to the index file. 211 Previously this command was known as git-add-script. 212 213link:git-applymbox.html[git-applymbox]:: 214 Apply patches from a mailbox. 215 216link:git-bisect.html[git-bisect]:: 217 Find the change that introduced a bug. 218 Previously this command was known as git-bisect-script. 219 220link:git-branch.html[git-branch]:: 221 Create and Show branches. 222 Previously this command was known as git-branch-script. 223 224link:git-checkout.html[git-checkout]:: 225 Checkout and switch to a branch. 226 Previously this command was known as git-checkout-script. 227 228link:git-cherry-pick.html[git-cherry-pick]:: 229 Cherry-pick the effect of an existing commit. 230 Previously this command was known as git-cherry-pick-script. 231 232link:git-clone.html[git-clone]:: 233 Clones a repository into a new directory. 234 Previously this command was known as git-clone-script. 235 236link:git-commit.html[git-commit]:: 237 Record changes to the repository. 238 Previously this command was known as git-commit-script. 239 240link:git-diff.html[git-diff]:: 241 git-diff. 242 Previously this command was known as git-diff-script. 243 244link:git-fetch.html[git-fetch]:: 245 Download from a remote repository via various protocols. 246 Previously this command was known as git-fetch-script. 247 248link:git-format-patch.html[git-format-patch]:: 249 git-format-patch. 250 Previously this command was known as git-format-patch-script. 251 252link:git-log.html[git-log]:: 253 Shows commit logs. 254 Previously this command was known as git-log-script. 255 256link:git-ls-remote.html[git-ls-remote]:: 257 Shows references in a remote or local repository. 258 Previously this command was known as git-ls-remote-script. 259 260link:git-octopus.html[git-octopus]:: 261 Merge more than two commits. 262 Previously this command was known as git-octopus-script. 263 264link:git-pull.html[git-pull]:: 265 Fetch from and merge with a remote repository. 266 Previously this command was known as git-pull-script. 267 268link:git-push.html[git-push]:: 269 Update remote refs along with associated objects. 270 Previously this command was known as git-push-script. 271 272link:git-rebase.html[git-rebase]:: 273 Rebase local commits to new upstream head. 274 Previously this command was known as git-rebase-script. 275 276link:git-rename.html[git-rename]:: 277 Rename files and directories. 278 Previously this command was known as git-rename-script. 279 280link:git-repack.html[git-repack]:: 281 Pack unpacked objects in a repository. 282 Previously this command was known as git-repack-script. 283 284link:git-reset.html[git-reset]:: 285 Reset current HEAD to the specified state. 286 Previously this command was known as git-reset-script. 287 288link:git-resolve.html[git-resolve]:: 289 Merge two commits. 290 Previously this command was known as git-resolve-script. 291 292link:git-revert.html[git-revert]:: 293 Revert an existing commit. 294 Previously this command was known as git-revert-script. 295 296link:git-shortlog.html[git-shortlog]:: 297 Summarizes 'git log' output. 298 299link:git-show-branch.html[git-show-branch]:: 300 Show branches and their commits. 301 302link:git-status.html[git-status]:: 303 Shows the working tree status. 304 Previously this command was known as git-status-script. 305 306link:git-verify-tag.html[git-verify-tag]:: 307 Check the GPG signature of tag. 308 Previously this command was known as git-verify-tag-script. 309 310link:git-whatchanged.html[git-whatchanged]:: 311 Shows commit logs and differences they introduce. 312 313 314Ancillary Commands 315------------------ 316Manipulators: 317 318link:git-applypatch.html[git-applypatch]:: 319 Apply one patch extracted from an e-mail. 320 321link:git-archimport.html[git-archimport]:: 322 Import an arch repository into git. 323 Previously this command was known as git-archimport-script. 324 325link:git-convert-objects.html[git-convert-objects]:: 326 Converts old-style GIT repository 327 Previously this command was known as git-convert-cache. 328 329link:git-cvsimport.html[git-cvsimport]:: 330 Salvage your data out of another SCM people love to hate. 331 Previously this command was known as git-cvsimport-script. 332 333link:git-merge-one-file.html[git-merge-one-file]:: 334 The standard helper program to use with "git-merge-index" 335 Previously this command was known as git-merge-one-file-script. 336 337link:git-prune.html[git-prune]:: 338 Prunes all unreachable objects from the object database 339 Previously this command was known as git-prune-script. 340 341link:git-relink.html[git-relink]:: 342 Hardlink common objects in local repositories. 343 Previously this command was known as git-relink-script. 344 345link:git-sh-setup.html[git-sh-setup]:: 346 Common git shell script setup code. 347 Previously this command was known as git-sh-setup-script. 348 349link:git-tag.html[git-tag]:: 350 An example script to create a tag object signed with GPG 351 Previously this command was known as git-tag-script. 352 353 354Interrogators: 355 356link:git-build-rev-cache.html[git-build-rev-cache]:: 357 Create or update a rev-cache file. 358 359link:git-cherry.html[git-cherry]:: 360 Find commits not merged upstream. 361 362link:git-count-objects.html[git-count-objects]:: 363 Count unpacked number of objects and their disk consumption. 364 Previously this command was known as git-count-objects-script. 365 366link:git-daemon.html[git-daemon]:: 367 A really simple server for GIT repositories. 368 369link:git-diff-helper.html[git-diff-helper]:: 370 Generates patch format output for git-diff-* 371 372link:git-get-tar-commit-id.html[git-get-tar-commit-id]:: 373 Extract commit ID from an archive created using git-tar-tree. 374 375link:git-mailinfo.html[git-mailinfo]:: 376 Extracts patch from a single e-mail message. 377 378link:git-mailsplit.html[git-mailsplit]:: 379 git-mailsplit. 380 381link:git-patch-id.html[git-patch-id]:: 382 Compute unique ID for a patch. 383 384link:git-parse-remote.html[git-parse-remote]:: 385 Routines to help parsing $GIT_DIR/remotes/ 386 Previously this command was known as git-parse-remote-script. 387 388link:git-request-pull.html[git-request-pull]:: 389 git-request-pull. 390 Previously this command was known as git-request-pull-script. 391 392link:git-rev-parse.html[git-rev-parse]:: 393 Pick out and massage parameters. 394 395link:git-send-email.html[git-send-email]:: 396 Send patch e-mails out of "format-patch --mbox" output. 397 Previously this command was known as git-send-email-script. 398 399link:git-show-rev-cache.html[git-show-rev-cache]:: 400 Show the contents of a rev-cache file. 401 402link:git-stripspace.html[git-stripspace]:: 403 Filter out empty lines. 404 405 406Commands not yet documented 407--------------------------- 408 409link:gitk.html[gitk]:: 410 gitk. 411 412 413Identifier Terminology 414---------------------- 415<object>:: 416 Indicates the sha1 identifier for any type of object 417 418<blob>:: 419 Indicates a blob object sha1 identifier 420 421<tree>:: 422 Indicates a tree object sha1 identifier 423 424<commit>:: 425 Indicates a commit object sha1 identifier 426 427<tree-ish>:: 428 Indicates a tree, commit or tag object sha1 identifier. A 429 command that takes a <tree-ish> argument ultimately wants to 430 operate on a <tree> object but automatically dereferences 431 <commit> and <tag> objects that point at a <tree>. 432 433<type>:: 434 Indicates that an object type is required. 435 Currently one of: blob/tree/commit/tag 436 437<file>:: 438 Indicates a filename - always relative to the root of 439 the tree structure GIT_INDEX_FILE describes. 440 441Symbolic Identifiers 442-------------------- 443Any git command accepting any <object> can also use the following 444symbolic notation: 445 446HEAD:: 447 indicates the head of the repository (ie the contents of 448 `$GIT_DIR/HEAD`) 449<tag>:: 450 a valid tag 'name'+ 451 (ie the contents of `$GIT_DIR/refs/tags/<tag>`) 452<head>:: 453 a valid head 'name'+ 454 (ie the contents of `$GIT_DIR/refs/heads/<head>`) 455<snap>:: 456 a valid snapshot 'name'+ 457 (ie the contents of `$GIT_DIR/refs/snap/<snap>`) 458 459 460File/Directory Structure 461------------------------ 462 463Please see link:repository-layout.html[repository layout] document. 464 465Higher level SCMs may provide and manage additional information in the 466GIT_DIR. 467 468 469Terminology 470----------- 471Please see link:glossary.html[glossary] document. 472 473 474Environment Variables 475--------------------- 476Various git commands use the following environment variables: 477 478The git Repository 479~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 480These environment variables apply to 'all' core git commands. Nb: it 481is worth noting that they may be used/overridden by SCMS sitting above 482git so take care if using Cogito etc 483 484'GIT_INDEX_FILE':: 485 This environment allows the specification of an alternate 486 cache/index file. If not specified, the default of 487 `$GIT_DIR/index` is used. 488 489'GIT_OBJECT_DIRECTORY':: 490 If the object storage directory is specified via this 491 environment variable then the sha1 directories are created 492 underneath - otherwise the default `$GIT_DIR/objects` 493 directory is used. 494 495'GIT_ALTERNATE_OBJECT_DIRECTORIES':: 496 Due to the immutable nature of git objects, old objects can be 497 archived into shared, read-only directories. This variable 498 specifies a ":" separated list of git object directories which 499 can be used to search for git objects. New objects will not be 500 written to these directories. 501 502'GIT_DIR':: 503 If the 'GIT_DIR' environment variable is set then it specifies 504 a path to use instead of `./.git` for the base of the 505 repository. 506 507git Commits 508~~~~~~~~~~~ 509'GIT_AUTHOR_NAME':: 510'GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL':: 511'GIT_AUTHOR_DATE':: 512'GIT_COMMITTER_NAME':: 513'GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL':: 514 see link:git-commit-tree.html[git-commit-tree] 515 516git Diffs 517~~~~~~~~~ 518'GIT_DIFF_OPTS':: 519'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF':: 520 see the "generating patches" section in : 521 link:git-diff-index.html[git-diff-index]; 522 link:git-diff-files.html[git-diff-files]; 523 link:git-diff-tree.html[git-diff-tree] 524 525Discussion[[Discussion]] 526------------------------ 527include::../README[] 528 529Author 530------ 531Written by Linus Torvalds <torvalds@osdl.org> and the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>. 532 533Documentation 534-------------- 535Documentation by David Greaves, Junio C Hamano and the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>. 536 537GIT 538--- 539Part of the link:git.html[git] suite 540