Documentation / git-push.txton commit Merge commit 'v1.7.0' into jc/checkout-reflog-fix (71ee7fd)
   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] [-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        `{plus}`, 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.
  41+
  42The <src> is often the name of the branch you would want to push, but
  43it can be any arbitrary "SHA-1 expression", such as `master~4` or
  44`HEAD` (see linkgit:git-rev-parse[1]).
  45+
  46The <dst> tells which ref on the remote side is updated with this
  47push. Arbitrary expressions cannot be used here, an actual ref must
  48be named. If `:`<dst> is omitted, the same ref as <src> will be
  49updated.
  50+
  51The object referenced by <src> is used to update the <dst> reference
  52on the remote side, but by default this is only allowed if the
  53update can fast-forward <dst>.  By having the optional leading `{plus}`,
  54you can tell git to update the <dst> ref even when the update is not a
  55fast-forward.  This does *not* attempt to merge <src> into <dst>.  See
  56EXAMPLES below for details.
  57+
  58`tag <tag>` means the same as `refs/tags/<tag>:refs/tags/<tag>`.
  59+
  60Pushing an empty <src> allows you to delete the <dst> ref from
  61the remote repository.
  62+
  63The special refspec `:` (or `{plus}:` to allow non-fast-forward updates)
  64directs git to push "matching" branches: for every branch that exists on
  65the local side, the remote side is updated if a branch of the same name
  66already exists on the remote side.  This is the default operation mode
  67if no explicit refspec is found (that is neither on the command line
  68nor in any Push line of the corresponding remotes file---see below).
  69
  70--all::
  71        Instead of naming each ref to push, specifies that all
  72        refs under `$GIT_DIR/refs/heads/` be pushed.
  73
  74--mirror::
  75        Instead of naming each ref to push, specifies that all
  76        refs under `$GIT_DIR/refs/` (which includes but is not
  77        limited to `refs/heads/`, `refs/remotes/`, and `refs/tags/`)
  78        be mirrored to the remote repository.  Newly created local
  79        refs will be pushed to the remote end, locally updated refs
  80        will be force updated on the remote end, and deleted refs
  81        will be removed from the remote end.  This is the default
  82        if the configuration option `remote.<remote>.mirror` is
  83        set.
  84
  85-n::
  86--dry-run::
  87        Do everything except actually send the updates.
  88
  89--porcelain::
  90        Produce machine-readable output.  The output status line for each ref
  91        will be tab-separated and sent to stdout instead of stderr.  The full
  92        symbolic names of the refs will be given.
  93
  94--delete::
  95        All listed refs are deleted from the remote repository. This is
  96        the same as prefixing all refs with a colon.
  97
  98--tags::
  99        All refs under `$GIT_DIR/refs/tags` are pushed, in
 100        addition to refspecs explicitly listed on the command
 101        line.
 102
 103--receive-pack=<git-receive-pack>::
 104--exec=<git-receive-pack>::
 105        Path to the 'git-receive-pack' program on the remote
 106        end.  Sometimes useful when pushing to a remote
 107        repository over ssh, and you do not have the program in
 108        a directory on the default $PATH.
 109
 110-f::
 111--force::
 112        Usually, the command refuses to update a remote ref that is
 113        not an ancestor of the local ref used to overwrite it.
 114        This flag disables the check.  This can cause the
 115        remote repository to lose commits; use it with care.
 116
 117--repo=<repository>::
 118        This option is only relevant if no <repository> argument is
 119        passed in the invocation. In this case, 'git push' derives the
 120        remote name from the current branch: If it tracks a remote
 121        branch, then that remote repository is pushed to. Otherwise,
 122        the name "origin" is used. For this latter case, this option
 123        can be used to override the name "origin". In other words,
 124        the difference between these two commands
 125+
 126--------------------------
 127git push public         #1
 128git push --repo=public  #2
 129--------------------------
 130+
 131is that #1 always pushes to "public" whereas #2 pushes to "public"
 132only if the current branch does not track a remote branch. This is
 133useful if you write an alias or script around 'git push'.
 134
 135-u::
 136--set-upstream::
 137        For every branch that is up to date or successfully pushed, add
 138        upstream (tracking) reference, used by argument-less
 139        linkgit:git-pull[1] and other commands. For more information,
 140        see 'branch.<name>.merge' in linkgit:git-config[1].
 141
 142--thin::
 143--no-thin::
 144        These options are passed to 'git send-pack'.  Thin
 145        transfer spends extra cycles to minimize the number of
 146        objects to be sent and meant to be used on slower connection.
 147
 148-v::
 149--verbose::
 150        Run verbosely.
 151
 152-q::
 153--quiet::
 154        Suppress all output, including the listing of updated refs,
 155        unless an error occurs.
 156
 157include::urls-remotes.txt[]
 158
 159OUTPUT
 160------
 161
 162The output of "git push" depends on the transport method used; this
 163section describes the output when pushing over the git protocol (either
 164locally or via ssh).
 165
 166The status of the push is output in tabular form, with each line
 167representing the status of a single ref. Each line is of the form:
 168
 169-------------------------------
 170 <flag> <summary> <from> -> <to> (<reason>)
 171-------------------------------
 172
 173If --porcelain is used, then each line of the output is of the form:
 174
 175-------------------------------
 176 <flag> \t <from>:<to> \t <summary> (<reason>)
 177-------------------------------
 178
 179The status of up-to-date refs is shown only if --porcelain or --verbose
 180option is used.
 181
 182flag::
 183        A single character indicating the status of the ref:
 184(space);; for a successfully pushed fast-forward;
 185`{plus}`;; for a successful forced update;
 186`-`;; for a successfully deleted ref;
 187`*`;; for a successfully pushed new ref;
 188`!`;; for a ref that was rejected or failed to push; and
 189`=`;; for a ref that was up to date and did not need pushing.
 190
 191summary::
 192        For a successfully pushed ref, the summary shows the old and new
 193        values of the ref in a form suitable for using as an argument to
 194        `git log` (this is `<old>..<new>` in most cases, and
 195        `<old>...<new>` for forced non-fast-forward updates). For a
 196        failed update, more details are given for the failure.
 197        The string `rejected` indicates that git did not try to send the
 198        ref at all (typically because it is not a fast-forward). The
 199        string `remote rejected` indicates that the remote end refused
 200        the update; this rejection is typically caused by a hook on the
 201        remote side. The string `remote failure` indicates that the
 202        remote end did not report the successful update of the ref
 203        (perhaps because of a temporary error on the remote side, a
 204        break in the network connection, or other transient error).
 205
 206from::
 207        The name of the local ref being pushed, minus its
 208        `refs/<type>/` prefix. In the case of deletion, the
 209        name of the local ref is omitted.
 210
 211to::
 212        The name of the remote ref being updated, minus its
 213        `refs/<type>/` prefix.
 214
 215reason::
 216        A human-readable explanation. In the case of successfully pushed
 217        refs, no explanation is needed. For a failed ref, the reason for
 218        failure is described.
 219
 220Note about fast-forwards
 221------------------------
 222
 223When an update changes a branch (or more in general, a ref) that used to
 224point at commit A to point at another commit B, it is called a
 225fast-forward update if and only if B is a descendant of A.
 226
 227In a fast-forward update from A to B, the set of commits that the original
 228commit A built on top of is a subset of the commits the new commit B
 229builds on top of.  Hence, it does not lose any history.
 230
 231In contrast, a non-fast-forward update will lose history.  For example,
 232suppose you and somebody else started at the same commit X, and you built
 233a history leading to commit B while the other person built a history
 234leading to commit A.  The history looks like this:
 235
 236----------------
 237
 238      B
 239     /
 240 ---X---A
 241
 242----------------
 243
 244Further suppose that the other person already pushed changes leading to A
 245back to the original repository you two obtained the original commit X.
 246
 247The push done by the other person updated the branch that used to point at
 248commit X to point at commit A.  It is a fast-forward.
 249
 250But if you try to push, you will attempt to update the branch (that
 251now points at A) with commit B.  This does _not_ fast-forward.  If you did
 252so, the changes introduced by commit A will be lost, because everybody
 253will now start building on top of B.
 254
 255The command by default does not allow an update that is not a fast-forward
 256to prevent such loss of history.
 257
 258If you do not want to lose your work (history from X to B) nor the work by
 259the other person (history from X to A), you would need to first fetch the
 260history from the repository, create a history that contains changes done
 261by both parties, and push the result back.
 262
 263You can perform "git pull", resolve potential conflicts, and "git push"
 264the result.  A "git pull" will create a merge commit C between commits A
 265and B.
 266
 267----------------
 268
 269      B---C
 270     /   /
 271 ---X---A
 272
 273----------------
 274
 275Updating A with the resulting merge commit will fast-forward and your
 276push will be accepted.
 277
 278Alternatively, you can rebase your change between X and B on top of A,
 279with "git pull --rebase", and push the result back.  The rebase will
 280create a new commit D that builds the change between X and B on top of
 281A.
 282
 283----------------
 284
 285      B   D
 286     /   /
 287 ---X---A
 288
 289----------------
 290
 291Again, updating A with this commit will fast-forward and your push will be
 292accepted.
 293
 294There is another common situation where you may encounter non-fast-forward
 295rejection when you try to push, and it is possible even when you are
 296pushing into a repository nobody else pushes into. After you push commit
 297A yourself (in the first picture in this section), replace it with "git
 298commit --amend" to produce commit B, and you try to push it out, because
 299forgot that you have pushed A out already. In such a case, and only if
 300you are certain that nobody in the meantime fetched your earlier commit A
 301(and started building on top of it), you can run "git push --force" to
 302overwrite it. In other words, "git push --force" is a method reserved for
 303a case where you do mean to lose history.
 304
 305
 306Examples
 307--------
 308
 309git push::
 310        Works like `git push <remote>`, where <remote> is the
 311        current branch's remote (or `origin`, if no remote is
 312        configured for the current branch).
 313
 314git push origin::
 315        Without additional configuration, works like
 316        `git push origin :`.
 317+
 318The default behavior of this command when no <refspec> is given can be
 319configured by setting the `push` option of the remote.
 320+
 321For example, to default to pushing only the current branch to `origin`
 322use `git config remote.origin.push HEAD`.  Any valid <refspec> (like
 323the ones in the examples below) can be configured as the default for
 324`git push origin`.
 325
 326git push origin :::
 327        Push "matching" branches to `origin`. See
 328        <refspec> in the <<OPTIONS,OPTIONS>> section above for a
 329        description of "matching" branches.
 330
 331git push origin master::
 332        Find a ref that matches `master` in the source repository
 333        (most likely, it would find `refs/heads/master`), and update
 334        the same ref (e.g. `refs/heads/master`) in `origin` repository
 335        with it.  If `master` did not exist remotely, it would be
 336        created.
 337
 338git push origin HEAD::
 339        A handy way to push the current branch to the same name on the
 340        remote.
 341
 342git push origin master:satellite/master dev:satellite/dev::
 343        Use the source ref that matches `master` (e.g. `refs/heads/master`)
 344        to update the ref that matches `satellite/master` (most probably
 345        `refs/remotes/satellite/master`) in the `origin` repository, then
 346        do the same for `dev` and `satellite/dev`.
 347
 348git push origin HEAD:master::
 349        Push the current branch to the remote ref matching `master` in the
 350        `origin` repository. This form is convenient to push the current
 351        branch without thinking about its local name.
 352
 353git push origin master:refs/heads/experimental::
 354        Create the branch `experimental` in the `origin` repository
 355        by copying the current `master` branch.  This form is only
 356        needed to create a new branch or tag in the remote repository when
 357        the local name and the remote name are different; otherwise,
 358        the ref name on its own will work.
 359
 360git push origin :experimental::
 361        Find a ref that matches `experimental` in the `origin` repository
 362        (e.g. `refs/heads/experimental`), and delete it.
 363
 364git push origin {plus}dev:master::
 365        Update the origin repository's master branch with the dev branch,
 366        allowing non-fast-forward updates.  *This can leave unreferenced
 367        commits dangling in the origin repository.*  Consider the
 368        following situation, where a fast-forward is not possible:
 369+
 370----
 371            o---o---o---A---B  origin/master
 372                     \
 373                      X---Y---Z  dev
 374----
 375+
 376The above command would change the origin repository to
 377+
 378----
 379                      A---B  (unnamed branch)
 380                     /
 381            o---o---o---X---Y---Z  master
 382----
 383+
 384Commits A and B would no longer belong to a branch with a symbolic name,
 385and so would be unreachable.  As such, these commits would be removed by
 386a `git gc` command on the origin repository.
 387
 388
 389Author
 390------
 391Written by Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>, later rewritten in C
 392by Linus Torvalds <torvalds@osdl.org>
 393
 394Documentation
 395--------------
 396Documentation by Junio C Hamano and the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>.
 397
 398GIT
 399---
 400Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite