Documentation / git-push.txton commit Merge branch 'mh/doc-remote-helpers' (538d123)
   1git-push(1)
   2===========
   3
   4NAME
   5----
   6git-push - Update remote refs along with associated objects
   7
   8
   9SYNOPSIS
  10--------
  11[verse]
  12'git push' [--all | --mirror | --tags] [-n | --dry-run] [--receive-pack=<git-receive-pack>]
  13           [--repo=<repository>] [-f | --force] [--prune] [-v | --verbose] [-u | --set-upstream]
  14           [<repository> [<refspec>...]]
  15
  16DESCRIPTION
  17-----------
  18
  19Updates remote refs using local refs, while sending objects
  20necessary to complete the given refs.
  21
  22You can make interesting things happen to a repository
  23every time you push into it, by setting up 'hooks' there.  See
  24documentation for linkgit:git-receive-pack[1].
  25
  26
  27OPTIONS[[OPTIONS]]
  28------------------
  29<repository>::
  30        The "remote" repository that is destination of a push
  31        operation.  This parameter can be either a URL
  32        (see the section <<URLS,GIT URLS>> below) or the name
  33        of a remote (see the section <<REMOTES,REMOTES>> below).
  34
  35<refspec>...::
  36        The format of a <refspec> parameter is an optional plus
  37        `+`, followed by the source ref <src>, followed
  38        by a colon `:`, followed by the destination ref <dst>.
  39        It is used to specify with what <src> object the <dst> ref
  40        in the remote repository is to be updated.  If not specified,
  41        the behavior of the command is controlled by the `push.default`
  42        configuration variable.
  43+
  44The <src> is often the name of the branch you would want to push, but
  45it can be any arbitrary "SHA-1 expression", such as `master~4` or
  46`HEAD` (see linkgit:gitrevisions[7]).
  47+
  48The <dst> tells which ref on the remote side is updated with this
  49push. Arbitrary expressions cannot be used here, an actual ref must
  50be named. If `:`<dst> is omitted, the same ref as <src> will be
  51updated.
  52+
  53The object referenced by <src> is used to update the <dst> reference
  54on the remote side, but by default this is only allowed if the
  55update can fast-forward <dst>.  By having the optional leading `+`,
  56you can tell git to update the <dst> ref even when the update is not a
  57fast-forward.  This does *not* attempt to merge <src> into <dst>.  See
  58EXAMPLES below for details.
  59+
  60`tag <tag>` means the same as `refs/tags/<tag>:refs/tags/<tag>`.
  61+
  62Pushing an empty <src> allows you to delete the <dst> ref from
  63the remote repository.
  64+
  65The special refspec `:` (or `+:` to allow non-fast-forward updates)
  66directs git to push "matching" branches: for every branch that exists on
  67the local side, the remote side is updated if a branch of the same name
  68already exists on the remote side.  This is the default operation mode
  69if no explicit refspec is found (that is neither on the command line
  70nor in any Push line of the corresponding remotes file---see below) and
  71no `push.default` configuration variable is set.
  72
  73--all::
  74        Instead of naming each ref to push, specifies that all
  75        refs under `refs/heads/` be pushed.
  76
  77--prune::
  78        Remove remote branches that don't have a local counterpart. For example
  79        a remote branch `tmp` will be removed if a local branch with the same
  80        name doesn't exist any more. This also respects refspecs, e.g.
  81        `git push --prune remote refs/heads/*:refs/tmp/*` would
  82        make sure that remote `refs/tmp/foo` will be removed if `refs/heads/foo`
  83        doesn't exist.
  84
  85--mirror::
  86        Instead of naming each ref to push, specifies that all
  87        refs under `refs/` (which includes but is not
  88        limited to `refs/heads/`, `refs/remotes/`, and `refs/tags/`)
  89        be mirrored to the remote repository.  Newly created local
  90        refs will be pushed to the remote end, locally updated refs
  91        will be force updated on the remote end, and deleted refs
  92        will be removed from the remote end.  This is the default
  93        if the configuration option `remote.<remote>.mirror` is
  94        set.
  95
  96-n::
  97--dry-run::
  98        Do everything except actually send the updates.
  99
 100--porcelain::
 101        Produce machine-readable output.  The output status line for each ref
 102        will be tab-separated and sent to stdout instead of stderr.  The full
 103        symbolic names of the refs will be given.
 104
 105--delete::
 106        All listed refs are deleted from the remote repository. This is
 107        the same as prefixing all refs with a colon.
 108
 109--tags::
 110        All refs under `refs/tags` are pushed, in
 111        addition to refspecs explicitly listed on the command
 112        line.
 113
 114--receive-pack=<git-receive-pack>::
 115--exec=<git-receive-pack>::
 116        Path to the 'git-receive-pack' program on the remote
 117        end.  Sometimes useful when pushing to a remote
 118        repository over ssh, and you do not have the program in
 119        a directory on the default $PATH.
 120
 121-f::
 122--force::
 123        Usually, the command refuses to update a remote ref that is
 124        not an ancestor of the local ref used to overwrite it.
 125        This flag disables the check.  This can cause the
 126        remote repository to lose commits; use it with care.
 127
 128--repo=<repository>::
 129        This option is only relevant if no <repository> argument is
 130        passed in the invocation. In this case, 'git push' derives the
 131        remote name from the current branch: If it tracks a remote
 132        branch, then that remote repository is pushed to. Otherwise,
 133        the name "origin" is used. For this latter case, this option
 134        can be used to override the name "origin". In other words,
 135        the difference between these two commands
 136+
 137--------------------------
 138git push public         #1
 139git push --repo=public  #2
 140--------------------------
 141+
 142is that #1 always pushes to "public" whereas #2 pushes to "public"
 143only if the current branch does not track a remote branch. This is
 144useful if you write an alias or script around 'git push'.
 145
 146-u::
 147--set-upstream::
 148        For every branch that is up to date or successfully pushed, add
 149        upstream (tracking) reference, used by argument-less
 150        linkgit:git-pull[1] and other commands. For more information,
 151        see 'branch.<name>.merge' in linkgit:git-config[1].
 152
 153--thin::
 154--no-thin::
 155        These options are passed to linkgit:git-send-pack[1]. A thin transfer
 156        significantly reduces the amount of sent data when the sender and
 157        receiver share many of the same objects in common. The default is
 158        \--thin.
 159
 160-q::
 161--quiet::
 162        Suppress all output, including the listing of updated refs,
 163        unless an error occurs. Progress is not reported to the standard
 164        error stream.
 165
 166-v::
 167--verbose::
 168        Run verbosely.
 169
 170--progress::
 171        Progress status is reported on the standard error stream
 172        by default when it is attached to a terminal, unless -q
 173        is specified. This flag forces progress status even if the
 174        standard error stream is not directed to a terminal.
 175
 176--recurse-submodules=check|on-demand::
 177        Make sure all submodule commits used by the revisions to be
 178        pushed are available on a remote-tracking branch. If 'check' is
 179        used git will verify that all submodule commits that changed in
 180        the revisions to be pushed are available on at least one remote
 181        of the submodule. If any commits are missing the push will be
 182        aborted and exit with non-zero status. If 'on-demand' is used
 183        all submodules that changed in the revisions to be pushed will
 184        be pushed. If on-demand was not able to push all necessary
 185        revisions it will also be aborted and exit with non-zero status.
 186
 187
 188include::urls-remotes.txt[]
 189
 190OUTPUT
 191------
 192
 193The output of "git push" depends on the transport method used; this
 194section describes the output when pushing over the git protocol (either
 195locally or via ssh).
 196
 197The status of the push is output in tabular form, with each line
 198representing the status of a single ref. Each line is of the form:
 199
 200-------------------------------
 201 <flag> <summary> <from> -> <to> (<reason>)
 202-------------------------------
 203
 204If --porcelain is used, then each line of the output is of the form:
 205
 206-------------------------------
 207 <flag> \t <from>:<to> \t <summary> (<reason>)
 208-------------------------------
 209
 210The status of up-to-date refs is shown only if --porcelain or --verbose
 211option is used.
 212
 213flag::
 214        A single character indicating the status of the ref:
 215(space);; for a successfully pushed fast-forward;
 216`+`;; for a successful forced update;
 217`-`;; for a successfully deleted ref;
 218`*`;; for a successfully pushed new ref;
 219`!`;; for a ref that was rejected or failed to push; and
 220`=`;; for a ref that was up to date and did not need pushing.
 221
 222summary::
 223        For a successfully pushed ref, the summary shows the old and new
 224        values of the ref in a form suitable for using as an argument to
 225        `git log` (this is `<old>..<new>` in most cases, and
 226        `<old>...<new>` for forced non-fast-forward updates).
 227+
 228For a failed update, more details are given:
 229+
 230--
 231rejected::
 232        Git did not try to send the ref at all, typically because it
 233        is not a fast-forward and you did not force the update.
 234
 235remote rejected::
 236        The remote end refused the update.  Usually caused by a hook
 237        on the remote side, or because the remote repository has one
 238        of the following safety options in effect:
 239        `receive.denyCurrentBranch` (for pushes to the checked out
 240        branch), `receive.denyNonFastForwards` (for forced
 241        non-fast-forward updates), `receive.denyDeletes` or
 242        `receive.denyDeleteCurrent`.  See linkgit:git-config[1].
 243
 244remote failure::
 245        The remote end did not report the successful update of the ref,
 246        perhaps because of a temporary error on the remote side, a
 247        break in the network connection, or other transient error.
 248--
 249
 250from::
 251        The name of the local ref being pushed, minus its
 252        `refs/<type>/` prefix. In the case of deletion, the
 253        name of the local ref is omitted.
 254
 255to::
 256        The name of the remote ref being updated, minus its
 257        `refs/<type>/` prefix.
 258
 259reason::
 260        A human-readable explanation. In the case of successfully pushed
 261        refs, no explanation is needed. For a failed ref, the reason for
 262        failure is described.
 263
 264Note about fast-forwards
 265------------------------
 266
 267When an update changes a branch (or more in general, a ref) that used to
 268point at commit A to point at another commit B, it is called a
 269fast-forward update if and only if B is a descendant of A.
 270
 271In a fast-forward update from A to B, the set of commits that the original
 272commit A built on top of is a subset of the commits the new commit B
 273builds on top of.  Hence, it does not lose any history.
 274
 275In contrast, a non-fast-forward update will lose history.  For example,
 276suppose you and somebody else started at the same commit X, and you built
 277a history leading to commit B while the other person built a history
 278leading to commit A.  The history looks like this:
 279
 280----------------
 281
 282      B
 283     /
 284 ---X---A
 285
 286----------------
 287
 288Further suppose that the other person already pushed changes leading to A
 289back to the original repository from which you two obtained the original
 290commit X.
 291
 292The push done by the other person updated the branch that used to point at
 293commit X to point at commit A.  It is a fast-forward.
 294
 295But if you try to push, you will attempt to update the branch (that
 296now points at A) with commit B.  This does _not_ fast-forward.  If you did
 297so, the changes introduced by commit A will be lost, because everybody
 298will now start building on top of B.
 299
 300The command by default does not allow an update that is not a fast-forward
 301to prevent such loss of history.
 302
 303If you do not want to lose your work (history from X to B) nor the work by
 304the other person (history from X to A), you would need to first fetch the
 305history from the repository, create a history that contains changes done
 306by both parties, and push the result back.
 307
 308You can perform "git pull", resolve potential conflicts, and "git push"
 309the result.  A "git pull" will create a merge commit C between commits A
 310and B.
 311
 312----------------
 313
 314      B---C
 315     /   /
 316 ---X---A
 317
 318----------------
 319
 320Updating A with the resulting merge commit will fast-forward and your
 321push will be accepted.
 322
 323Alternatively, you can rebase your change between X and B on top of A,
 324with "git pull --rebase", and push the result back.  The rebase will
 325create a new commit D that builds the change between X and B on top of
 326A.
 327
 328----------------
 329
 330      B   D
 331     /   /
 332 ---X---A
 333
 334----------------
 335
 336Again, updating A with this commit will fast-forward and your push will be
 337accepted.
 338
 339There is another common situation where you may encounter non-fast-forward
 340rejection when you try to push, and it is possible even when you are
 341pushing into a repository nobody else pushes into. After you push commit
 342A yourself (in the first picture in this section), replace it with "git
 343commit --amend" to produce commit B, and you try to push it out, because
 344forgot that you have pushed A out already. In such a case, and only if
 345you are certain that nobody in the meantime fetched your earlier commit A
 346(and started building on top of it), you can run "git push --force" to
 347overwrite it. In other words, "git push --force" is a method reserved for
 348a case where you do mean to lose history.
 349
 350
 351Examples
 352--------
 353
 354`git push`::
 355        Works like `git push <remote>`, where <remote> is the
 356        current branch's remote (or `origin`, if no remote is
 357        configured for the current branch).
 358
 359`git push origin`::
 360        Without additional configuration, works like
 361        `git push origin :`.
 362+
 363The default behavior of this command when no <refspec> is given can be
 364configured by setting the `push` option of the remote, or the `push.default`
 365configuration variable.
 366+
 367For example, to default to pushing only the current branch to `origin`
 368use `git config remote.origin.push HEAD`.  Any valid <refspec> (like
 369the ones in the examples below) can be configured as the default for
 370`git push origin`.
 371
 372`git push origin :`::
 373        Push "matching" branches to `origin`. See
 374        <refspec> in the <<OPTIONS,OPTIONS>> section above for a
 375        description of "matching" branches.
 376
 377`git push origin master`::
 378        Find a ref that matches `master` in the source repository
 379        (most likely, it would find `refs/heads/master`), and update
 380        the same ref (e.g. `refs/heads/master`) in `origin` repository
 381        with it.  If `master` did not exist remotely, it would be
 382        created.
 383
 384`git push origin HEAD`::
 385        A handy way to push the current branch to the same name on the
 386        remote.
 387
 388`git push mothership master:satellite/master dev:satellite/dev`::
 389        Use the source ref that matches `master` (e.g. `refs/heads/master`)
 390        to update the ref that matches `satellite/master` (most probably
 391        `refs/remotes/satellite/master`) in the `mothership` repository;
 392        do the same for `dev` and `satellite/dev`.
 393+
 394This is to emulate `git fetch` run on the `mothership` using `git
 395push` that is run in the opposite direction in order to integrate
 396the work done on `satellite`, and is often necessary when you can
 397only make connection in one way (i.e. satellite can ssh into
 398mothership but mothership cannot initiate connection to satellite
 399because the latter is behind a firewall or does not run sshd).
 400+
 401After running this `git push` on the `satellite` machine, you would
 402ssh into the `mothership` and run `git merge` there to complete the
 403emulation of `git pull` that were run on `mothership` to pull changes
 404made on `satellite`.
 405
 406`git push origin HEAD:master`::
 407        Push the current branch to the remote ref matching `master` in the
 408        `origin` repository. This form is convenient to push the current
 409        branch without thinking about its local name.
 410
 411`git push origin master:refs/heads/experimental`::
 412        Create the branch `experimental` in the `origin` repository
 413        by copying the current `master` branch.  This form is only
 414        needed to create a new branch or tag in the remote repository when
 415        the local name and the remote name are different; otherwise,
 416        the ref name on its own will work.
 417
 418`git push origin :experimental`::
 419        Find a ref that matches `experimental` in the `origin` repository
 420        (e.g. `refs/heads/experimental`), and delete it.
 421
 422`git push origin +dev:master`::
 423        Update the origin repository's master branch with the dev branch,
 424        allowing non-fast-forward updates.  *This can leave unreferenced
 425        commits dangling in the origin repository.*  Consider the
 426        following situation, where a fast-forward is not possible:
 427+
 428----
 429            o---o---o---A---B  origin/master
 430                     \
 431                      X---Y---Z  dev
 432----
 433+
 434The above command would change the origin repository to
 435+
 436----
 437                      A---B  (unnamed branch)
 438                     /
 439            o---o---o---X---Y---Z  master
 440----
 441+
 442Commits A and B would no longer belong to a branch with a symbolic name,
 443and so would be unreachable.  As such, these commits would be removed by
 444a `git gc` command on the origin repository.
 445
 446GIT
 447---
 448Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite