Documentation / git-branch.txton commit Second batch after 2.12 (625568c)
   1git-branch(1)
   2=============
   3
   4NAME
   5----
   6git-branch - List, create, or delete branches
   7
   8SYNOPSIS
   9--------
  10[verse]
  11'git branch' [--color[=<when>] | --no-color] [-r | -a]
  12        [--list] [-v [--abbrev=<length> | --no-abbrev]]
  13        [--column[=<options>] | --no-column]
  14        [(--merged | --no-merged | --contains) [<commit>]] [--sort=<key>]
  15        [--points-at <object>] [--format=<format>] [<pattern>...]
  16'git branch' [--set-upstream | --track | --no-track] [-l] [-f] <branchname> [<start-point>]
  17'git branch' (--set-upstream-to=<upstream> | -u <upstream>) [<branchname>]
  18'git branch' --unset-upstream [<branchname>]
  19'git branch' (-m | -M) [<oldbranch>] <newbranch>
  20'git branch' (-d | -D) [-r] <branchname>...
  21'git branch' --edit-description [<branchname>]
  22
  23DESCRIPTION
  24-----------
  25
  26If `--list` is given, or if there are no non-option arguments, existing
  27branches are listed; the current branch will be highlighted with an
  28asterisk.  Option `-r` causes the remote-tracking branches to be listed,
  29and option `-a` shows both local and remote branches. If a `<pattern>`
  30is given, it is used as a shell wildcard to restrict the output to
  31matching branches. If multiple patterns are given, a branch is shown if
  32it matches any of the patterns.  Note that when providing a
  33`<pattern>`, you must use `--list`; otherwise the command is interpreted
  34as branch creation.
  35
  36With `--contains`, shows only the branches that contain the named commit
  37(in other words, the branches whose tip commits are descendants of the
  38named commit).  With `--merged`, only branches merged into the named
  39commit (i.e. the branches whose tip commits are reachable from the named
  40commit) will be listed.  With `--no-merged` only branches not merged into
  41the named commit will be listed.  If the <commit> argument is missing it
  42defaults to `HEAD` (i.e. the tip of the current branch).
  43
  44The command's second form creates a new branch head named <branchname>
  45which points to the current `HEAD`, or <start-point> if given.
  46
  47Note that this will create the new branch, but it will not switch the
  48working tree to it; use "git checkout <newbranch>" to switch to the
  49new branch.
  50
  51When a local branch is started off a remote-tracking branch, Git sets up the
  52branch (specifically the `branch.<name>.remote` and `branch.<name>.merge`
  53configuration entries) so that 'git pull' will appropriately merge from
  54the remote-tracking branch. This behavior may be changed via the global
  55`branch.autoSetupMerge` configuration flag. That setting can be
  56overridden by using the `--track` and `--no-track` options, and
  57changed later using `git branch --set-upstream-to`.
  58
  59With a `-m` or `-M` option, <oldbranch> will be renamed to <newbranch>.
  60If <oldbranch> had a corresponding reflog, it is renamed to match
  61<newbranch>, and a reflog entry is created to remember the branch
  62renaming. If <newbranch> exists, -M must be used to force the rename
  63to happen.
  64
  65With a `-d` or `-D` option, `<branchname>` will be deleted.  You may
  66specify more than one branch for deletion.  If the branch currently
  67has a reflog then the reflog will also be deleted.
  68
  69Use `-r` together with `-d` to delete remote-tracking branches. Note, that it
  70only makes sense to delete remote-tracking branches if they no longer exist
  71in the remote repository or if 'git fetch' was configured not to fetch
  72them again. See also the 'prune' subcommand of linkgit:git-remote[1] for a
  73way to clean up all obsolete remote-tracking branches.
  74
  75
  76OPTIONS
  77-------
  78-d::
  79--delete::
  80        Delete a branch. The branch must be fully merged in its
  81        upstream branch, or in `HEAD` if no upstream was set with
  82        `--track` or `--set-upstream`.
  83
  84-D::
  85        Shortcut for `--delete --force`.
  86
  87-l::
  88--create-reflog::
  89        Create the branch's reflog.  This activates recording of
  90        all changes made to the branch ref, enabling use of date
  91        based sha1 expressions such as "<branchname>@\{yesterday}".
  92        Note that in non-bare repositories, reflogs are usually
  93        enabled by default by the `core.logallrefupdates` config option.
  94        The negated form `--no-create-reflog` only overrides an earlier
  95        `--create-reflog`, but currently does not negate the setting of
  96        `core.logallrefupdates`.
  97
  98-f::
  99--force::
 100        Reset <branchname> to <startpoint> if <branchname> exists
 101        already. Without `-f` 'git branch' refuses to change an existing branch.
 102        In combination with `-d` (or `--delete`), allow deleting the
 103        branch irrespective of its merged status. In combination with
 104        `-m` (or `--move`), allow renaming the branch even if the new
 105        branch name already exists.
 106
 107-m::
 108--move::
 109        Move/rename a branch and the corresponding reflog.
 110
 111-M::
 112        Shortcut for `--move --force`.
 113
 114--color[=<when>]::
 115        Color branches to highlight current, local, and
 116        remote-tracking branches.
 117        The value must be always (the default), never, or auto.
 118
 119--no-color::
 120        Turn off branch colors, even when the configuration file gives the
 121        default to color output.
 122        Same as `--color=never`.
 123
 124-i::
 125--ignore-case::
 126        Sorting and filtering branches are case insensitive.
 127
 128--column[=<options>]::
 129--no-column::
 130        Display branch listing in columns. See configuration variable
 131        column.branch for option syntax.`--column` and `--no-column`
 132        without options are equivalent to 'always' and 'never' respectively.
 133+
 134This option is only applicable in non-verbose mode.
 135
 136-r::
 137--remotes::
 138        List or delete (if used with -d) the remote-tracking branches.
 139
 140-a::
 141--all::
 142        List both remote-tracking branches and local branches.
 143
 144--list::
 145        Activate the list mode. `git branch <pattern>` would try to create a branch,
 146        use `git branch --list <pattern>` to list matching branches.
 147
 148-v::
 149-vv::
 150--verbose::
 151        When in list mode,
 152        show sha1 and commit subject line for each head, along with
 153        relationship to upstream branch (if any). If given twice, print
 154        the name of the upstream branch, as well (see also `git remote
 155        show <remote>`).
 156
 157-q::
 158--quiet::
 159        Be more quiet when creating or deleting a branch, suppressing
 160        non-error messages.
 161
 162--abbrev=<length>::
 163        Alter the sha1's minimum display length in the output listing.
 164        The default value is 7 and can be overridden by the `core.abbrev`
 165        config option.
 166
 167--no-abbrev::
 168        Display the full sha1s in the output listing rather than abbreviating them.
 169
 170-t::
 171--track::
 172        When creating a new branch, set up `branch.<name>.remote` and
 173        `branch.<name>.merge` configuration entries to mark the
 174        start-point branch as "upstream" from the new branch. This
 175        configuration will tell git to show the relationship between the
 176        two branches in `git status` and `git branch -v`. Furthermore,
 177        it directs `git pull` without arguments to pull from the
 178        upstream when the new branch is checked out.
 179+
 180This behavior is the default when the start point is a remote-tracking branch.
 181Set the branch.autoSetupMerge configuration variable to `false` if you
 182want `git checkout` and `git branch` to always behave as if `--no-track`
 183were given. Set it to `always` if you want this behavior when the
 184start-point is either a local or remote-tracking branch.
 185
 186--no-track::
 187        Do not set up "upstream" configuration, even if the
 188        branch.autoSetupMerge configuration variable is true.
 189
 190--set-upstream::
 191        If specified branch does not exist yet or if `--force` has been
 192        given, acts exactly like `--track`. Otherwise sets up configuration
 193        like `--track` would when creating the branch, except that where
 194        branch points to is not changed.
 195
 196-u <upstream>::
 197--set-upstream-to=<upstream>::
 198        Set up <branchname>'s tracking information so <upstream> is
 199        considered <branchname>'s upstream branch. If no <branchname>
 200        is specified, then it defaults to the current branch.
 201
 202--unset-upstream::
 203        Remove the upstream information for <branchname>. If no branch
 204        is specified it defaults to the current branch.
 205
 206--edit-description::
 207        Open an editor and edit the text to explain what the branch is
 208        for, to be used by various other commands (e.g. `format-patch`,
 209        `request-pull`, and `merge` (if enabled)). Multi-line explanations
 210        may be used.
 211
 212--contains [<commit>]::
 213        Only list branches which contain the specified commit (HEAD
 214        if not specified). Implies `--list`.
 215
 216--merged [<commit>]::
 217        Only list branches whose tips are reachable from the
 218        specified commit (HEAD if not specified). Implies `--list`.
 219
 220--no-merged [<commit>]::
 221        Only list branches whose tips are not reachable from the
 222        specified commit (HEAD if not specified). Implies `--list`.
 223
 224<branchname>::
 225        The name of the branch to create or delete.
 226        The new branch name must pass all checks defined by
 227        linkgit:git-check-ref-format[1].  Some of these checks
 228        may restrict the characters allowed in a branch name.
 229
 230<start-point>::
 231        The new branch head will point to this commit.  It may be
 232        given as a branch name, a commit-id, or a tag.  If this
 233        option is omitted, the current HEAD will be used instead.
 234
 235<oldbranch>::
 236        The name of an existing branch to rename.
 237
 238<newbranch>::
 239        The new name for an existing branch. The same restrictions as for
 240        <branchname> apply.
 241
 242--sort=<key>::
 243        Sort based on the key given. Prefix `-` to sort in descending
 244        order of the value. You may use the --sort=<key> option
 245        multiple times, in which case the last key becomes the primary
 246        key. The keys supported are the same as those in `git
 247        for-each-ref`. Sort order defaults to sorting based on the
 248        full refname (including `refs/...` prefix). This lists
 249        detached HEAD (if present) first, then local branches and
 250        finally remote-tracking branches.
 251
 252
 253--points-at <object>::
 254        Only list branches of the given object.
 255
 256--format <format>::
 257        A string that interpolates `%(fieldname)` from the object
 258        pointed at by a ref being shown.  The format is the same as
 259        that of linkgit:git-for-each-ref[1].
 260
 261Examples
 262--------
 263
 264Start development from a known tag::
 265+
 266------------
 267$ git clone git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/.../linux-2.6 my2.6
 268$ cd my2.6
 269$ git branch my2.6.14 v2.6.14   <1>
 270$ git checkout my2.6.14
 271------------
 272+
 273<1> This step and the next one could be combined into a single step with
 274"checkout -b my2.6.14 v2.6.14".
 275
 276Delete an unneeded branch::
 277+
 278------------
 279$ git clone git://git.kernel.org/.../git.git my.git
 280$ cd my.git
 281$ git branch -d -r origin/todo origin/html origin/man   <1>
 282$ git branch -D test                                    <2>
 283------------
 284+
 285<1> Delete the remote-tracking branches "todo", "html" and "man". The next
 286'fetch' or 'pull' will create them again unless you configure them not to.
 287See linkgit:git-fetch[1].
 288<2> Delete the "test" branch even if the "master" branch (or whichever branch
 289is currently checked out) does not have all commits from the test branch.
 290
 291
 292Notes
 293-----
 294
 295If you are creating a branch that you want to checkout immediately, it is
 296easier to use the git checkout command with its `-b` option to create
 297a branch and check it out with a single command.
 298
 299The options `--contains`, `--merged` and `--no-merged` serve three related
 300but different purposes:
 301
 302- `--contains <commit>` is used to find all branches which will need
 303  special attention if <commit> were to be rebased or amended, since those
 304  branches contain the specified <commit>.
 305
 306- `--merged` is used to find all branches which can be safely deleted,
 307  since those branches are fully contained by HEAD.
 308
 309- `--no-merged` is used to find branches which are candidates for merging
 310  into HEAD, since those branches are not fully contained by HEAD.
 311
 312SEE ALSO
 313--------
 314linkgit:git-check-ref-format[1],
 315linkgit:git-fetch[1],
 316linkgit:git-remote[1],
 317link:user-manual.html#what-is-a-branch[``Understanding history: What is
 318a branch?''] in the Git User's Manual.
 319
 320GIT
 321---
 322Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite