1git(1) 2====== 3 4NAME 5---- 6git - the stupid content tracker 7 8 9SYNOPSIS 10-------- 11[verse] 12'git' [--version] [--help] [-c <name>=<value>] 13 [--exec-path[=<path>]] [--html-path] [--man-path] [--info-path] 14 [-p|--paginate|--no-pager] [--no-replace-objects] [--bare] 15 [--git-dir=<path>] [--work-tree=<path>] [--namespace=<name>] 16 <command> [<args>] 17 18DESCRIPTION 19----------- 20Git is a fast, scalable, distributed revision control system with an 21unusually rich command set that provides both high-level operations 22and full access to internals. 23 24See linkgit:gittutorial[7] to get started, then see 25link:everyday.html[Everyday Git] for a useful minimum set of 26commands. The link:user-manual.html[Git User's Manual] has a more 27in-depth introduction. 28 29After you mastered the basic concepts, you can come back to this 30page to learn what commands git offers. You can learn more about 31individual git commands with "git help command". linkgit:gitcli[7] 32manual page gives you an overview of the command line command syntax. 33 34Formatted and hyperlinked version of the latest git documentation 35can be viewed at `http://git-htmldocs.googlecode.com/git/git.html`. 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:v1.8.1.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.8.1.5] 47 48* release notes for 49 link:RelNotes/1.8.1.5.txt[1.8.1.5], 50 link:RelNotes/1.8.1.4.txt[1.8.1.4], 51 link:RelNotes/1.8.1.3.txt[1.8.1.3], 52 link:RelNotes/1.8.1.2.txt[1.8.1.2], 53 link:RelNotes/1.8.1.1.txt[1.8.1.1], 54 link:RelNotes/1.8.1.txt[1.8.1]. 55 56* link:v1.8.0.3/git.html[documentation for release 1.8.0.3] 57 58* release notes for 59 link:RelNotes/1.8.0.3.txt[1.8.0.3], 60 link:RelNotes/1.8.0.2.txt[1.8.0.2], 61 link:RelNotes/1.8.0.1.txt[1.8.0.1], 62 link:RelNotes/1.8.0.txt[1.8.0]. 63 64* link:v1.7.12.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.12.4] 65 66* release notes for 67 link:RelNotes/1.7.12.4.txt[1.7.12.4], 68 link:RelNotes/1.7.12.3.txt[1.7.12.3], 69 link:RelNotes/1.7.12.2.txt[1.7.12.2], 70 link:RelNotes/1.7.12.1.txt[1.7.12.1], 71 link:RelNotes/1.7.12.txt[1.7.12]. 72 73* link:v1.7.11.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.11.7] 74 75* release notes for 76 link:RelNotes/1.7.11.7.txt[1.7.11.7], 77 link:RelNotes/1.7.11.6.txt[1.7.11.6], 78 link:RelNotes/1.7.11.5.txt[1.7.11.5], 79 link:RelNotes/1.7.11.4.txt[1.7.11.4], 80 link:RelNotes/1.7.11.3.txt[1.7.11.3], 81 link:RelNotes/1.7.11.2.txt[1.7.11.2], 82 link:RelNotes/1.7.11.1.txt[1.7.11.1], 83 link:RelNotes/1.7.11.txt[1.7.11]. 84 85* link:v1.7.10.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.10.5] 86 87* release notes for 88 link:RelNotes/1.7.10.5.txt[1.7.10.5], 89 link:RelNotes/1.7.10.4.txt[1.7.10.4], 90 link:RelNotes/1.7.10.3.txt[1.7.10.3], 91 link:RelNotes/1.7.10.2.txt[1.7.10.2], 92 link:RelNotes/1.7.10.1.txt[1.7.10.1], 93 link:RelNotes/1.7.10.txt[1.7.10]. 94 95* link:v1.7.9.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.9.7] 96 97* release notes for 98 link:RelNotes/1.7.9.7.txt[1.7.9.7], 99 link:RelNotes/1.7.9.6.txt[1.7.9.6], 100 link:RelNotes/1.7.9.5.txt[1.7.9.5], 101 link:RelNotes/1.7.9.4.txt[1.7.9.4], 102 link:RelNotes/1.7.9.3.txt[1.7.9.3], 103 link:RelNotes/1.7.9.2.txt[1.7.9.2], 104 link:RelNotes/1.7.9.1.txt[1.7.9.1], 105 link:RelNotes/1.7.9.txt[1.7.9]. 106 107* link:v1.7.8.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.8.6] 108 109* release notes for 110 link:RelNotes/1.7.8.6.txt[1.7.8.6], 111 link:RelNotes/1.7.8.5.txt[1.7.8.5], 112 link:RelNotes/1.7.8.4.txt[1.7.8.4], 113 link:RelNotes/1.7.8.3.txt[1.7.8.3], 114 link:RelNotes/1.7.8.2.txt[1.7.8.2], 115 link:RelNotes/1.7.8.1.txt[1.7.8.1], 116 link:RelNotes/1.7.8.txt[1.7.8]. 117 118* link:v1.7.7.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.7.7] 119 120* release notes for 121 link:RelNotes/1.7.7.7.txt[1.7.7.7], 122 link:RelNotes/1.7.7.6.txt[1.7.7.6], 123 link:RelNotes/1.7.7.5.txt[1.7.7.5], 124 link:RelNotes/1.7.7.4.txt[1.7.7.4], 125 link:RelNotes/1.7.7.3.txt[1.7.7.3], 126 link:RelNotes/1.7.7.2.txt[1.7.7.2], 127 link:RelNotes/1.7.7.1.txt[1.7.7.1], 128 link:RelNotes/1.7.7.txt[1.7.7]. 129 130* link:v1.7.6.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.6.6] 131 132* release notes for 133 link:RelNotes/1.7.6.6.txt[1.7.6.6], 134 link:RelNotes/1.7.6.5.txt[1.7.6.5], 135 link:RelNotes/1.7.6.4.txt[1.7.6.4], 136 link:RelNotes/1.7.6.3.txt[1.7.6.3], 137 link:RelNotes/1.7.6.2.txt[1.7.6.2], 138 link:RelNotes/1.7.6.1.txt[1.7.6.1], 139 link:RelNotes/1.7.6.txt[1.7.6]. 140 141* link:v1.7.5.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.5.4] 142 143* release notes for 144 link:RelNotes/1.7.5.4.txt[1.7.5.4], 145 link:RelNotes/1.7.5.3.txt[1.7.5.3], 146 link:RelNotes/1.7.5.2.txt[1.7.5.2], 147 link:RelNotes/1.7.5.1.txt[1.7.5.1], 148 link:RelNotes/1.7.5.txt[1.7.5]. 149 150* link:v1.7.4.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.4.5] 151 152* release notes for 153 link:RelNotes/1.7.4.5.txt[1.7.4.5], 154 link:RelNotes/1.7.4.4.txt[1.7.4.4], 155 link:RelNotes/1.7.4.3.txt[1.7.4.3], 156 link:RelNotes/1.7.4.2.txt[1.7.4.2], 157 link:RelNotes/1.7.4.1.txt[1.7.4.1], 158 link:RelNotes/1.7.4.txt[1.7.4]. 159 160* link:v1.7.3.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.3.5] 161 162* release notes for 163 link:RelNotes/1.7.3.5.txt[1.7.3.5], 164 link:RelNotes/1.7.3.4.txt[1.7.3.4], 165 link:RelNotes/1.7.3.3.txt[1.7.3.3], 166 link:RelNotes/1.7.3.2.txt[1.7.3.2], 167 link:RelNotes/1.7.3.1.txt[1.7.3.1], 168 link:RelNotes/1.7.3.txt[1.7.3]. 169 170* link:v1.7.2.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.2.5] 171 172* release notes for 173 link:RelNotes/1.7.2.5.txt[1.7.2.5], 174 link:RelNotes/1.7.2.4.txt[1.7.2.4], 175 link:RelNotes/1.7.2.3.txt[1.7.2.3], 176 link:RelNotes/1.7.2.2.txt[1.7.2.2], 177 link:RelNotes/1.7.2.1.txt[1.7.2.1], 178 link:RelNotes/1.7.2.txt[1.7.2]. 179 180* link:v1.7.1.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.1.4] 181 182* release notes for 183 link:RelNotes/1.7.1.4.txt[1.7.1.4], 184 link:RelNotes/1.7.1.3.txt[1.7.1.3], 185 link:RelNotes/1.7.1.2.txt[1.7.1.2], 186 link:RelNotes/1.7.1.1.txt[1.7.1.1], 187 link:RelNotes/1.7.1.txt[1.7.1]. 188 189* link:v1.7.0.9/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.0.9] 190 191* release notes for 192 link:RelNotes/1.7.0.9.txt[1.7.0.9], 193 link:RelNotes/1.7.0.8.txt[1.7.0.8], 194 link:RelNotes/1.7.0.7.txt[1.7.0.7], 195 link:RelNotes/1.7.0.6.txt[1.7.0.6], 196 link:RelNotes/1.7.0.5.txt[1.7.0.5], 197 link:RelNotes/1.7.0.4.txt[1.7.0.4], 198 link:RelNotes/1.7.0.3.txt[1.7.0.3], 199 link:RelNotes/1.7.0.2.txt[1.7.0.2], 200 link:RelNotes/1.7.0.1.txt[1.7.0.1], 201 link:RelNotes/1.7.0.txt[1.7.0]. 202 203* link:v1.6.6.3/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.6.3] 204 205* release notes for 206 link:RelNotes/1.6.6.3.txt[1.6.6.3], 207 link:RelNotes/1.6.6.2.txt[1.6.6.2], 208 link:RelNotes/1.6.6.1.txt[1.6.6.1], 209 link:RelNotes/1.6.6.txt[1.6.6]. 210 211* link:v1.6.5.9/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.5.9] 212 213* release notes for 214 link:RelNotes/1.6.5.9.txt[1.6.5.9], 215 link:RelNotes/1.6.5.8.txt[1.6.5.8], 216 link:RelNotes/1.6.5.7.txt[1.6.5.7], 217 link:RelNotes/1.6.5.6.txt[1.6.5.6], 218 link:RelNotes/1.6.5.5.txt[1.6.5.5], 219 link:RelNotes/1.6.5.4.txt[1.6.5.4], 220 link:RelNotes/1.6.5.3.txt[1.6.5.3], 221 link:RelNotes/1.6.5.2.txt[1.6.5.2], 222 link:RelNotes/1.6.5.1.txt[1.6.5.1], 223 link:RelNotes/1.6.5.txt[1.6.5]. 224 225* link:v1.6.4.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.4.5] 226 227* release notes for 228 link:RelNotes/1.6.4.5.txt[1.6.4.5], 229 link:RelNotes/1.6.4.4.txt[1.6.4.4], 230 link:RelNotes/1.6.4.3.txt[1.6.4.3], 231 link:RelNotes/1.6.4.2.txt[1.6.4.2], 232 link:RelNotes/1.6.4.1.txt[1.6.4.1], 233 link:RelNotes/1.6.4.txt[1.6.4]. 234 235* link:v1.6.3.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.3.4] 236 237* release notes for 238 link:RelNotes/1.6.3.4.txt[1.6.3.4], 239 link:RelNotes/1.6.3.3.txt[1.6.3.3], 240 link:RelNotes/1.6.3.2.txt[1.6.3.2], 241 link:RelNotes/1.6.3.1.txt[1.6.3.1], 242 link:RelNotes/1.6.3.txt[1.6.3]. 243 244* release notes for 245 link:RelNotes/1.6.2.5.txt[1.6.2.5], 246 link:RelNotes/1.6.2.4.txt[1.6.2.4], 247 link:RelNotes/1.6.2.3.txt[1.6.2.3], 248 link:RelNotes/1.6.2.2.txt[1.6.2.2], 249 link:RelNotes/1.6.2.1.txt[1.6.2.1], 250 link:RelNotes/1.6.2.txt[1.6.2]. 251 252* link:v1.6.1.3/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.1.3] 253 254* release notes for 255 link:RelNotes/1.6.1.3.txt[1.6.1.3], 256 link:RelNotes/1.6.1.2.txt[1.6.1.2], 257 link:RelNotes/1.6.1.1.txt[1.6.1.1], 258 link:RelNotes/1.6.1.txt[1.6.1]. 259 260* link:v1.6.0.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.0.6] 261 262* release notes for 263 link:RelNotes/1.6.0.6.txt[1.6.0.6], 264 link:RelNotes/1.6.0.5.txt[1.6.0.5], 265 link:RelNotes/1.6.0.4.txt[1.6.0.4], 266 link:RelNotes/1.6.0.3.txt[1.6.0.3], 267 link:RelNotes/1.6.0.2.txt[1.6.0.2], 268 link:RelNotes/1.6.0.1.txt[1.6.0.1], 269 link:RelNotes/1.6.0.txt[1.6.0]. 270 271* link:v1.5.6.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.6.6] 272 273* release notes for 274 link:RelNotes/1.5.6.6.txt[1.5.6.6], 275 link:RelNotes/1.5.6.5.txt[1.5.6.5], 276 link:RelNotes/1.5.6.4.txt[1.5.6.4], 277 link:RelNotes/1.5.6.3.txt[1.5.6.3], 278 link:RelNotes/1.5.6.2.txt[1.5.6.2], 279 link:RelNotes/1.5.6.1.txt[1.5.6.1], 280 link:RelNotes/1.5.6.txt[1.5.6]. 281 282* link:v1.5.5.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.5.6] 283 284* release notes for 285 link:RelNotes/1.5.5.6.txt[1.5.5.6], 286 link:RelNotes/1.5.5.5.txt[1.5.5.5], 287 link:RelNotes/1.5.5.4.txt[1.5.5.4], 288 link:RelNotes/1.5.5.3.txt[1.5.5.3], 289 link:RelNotes/1.5.5.2.txt[1.5.5.2], 290 link:RelNotes/1.5.5.1.txt[1.5.5.1], 291 link:RelNotes/1.5.5.txt[1.5.5]. 292 293* link:v1.5.4.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.4.7] 294 295* release notes for 296 link:RelNotes/1.5.4.7.txt[1.5.4.7], 297 link:RelNotes/1.5.4.6.txt[1.5.4.6], 298 link:RelNotes/1.5.4.5.txt[1.5.4.5], 299 link:RelNotes/1.5.4.4.txt[1.5.4.4], 300 link:RelNotes/1.5.4.3.txt[1.5.4.3], 301 link:RelNotes/1.5.4.2.txt[1.5.4.2], 302 link:RelNotes/1.5.4.1.txt[1.5.4.1], 303 link:RelNotes/1.5.4.txt[1.5.4]. 304 305* link:v1.5.3.8/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.3.8] 306 307* release notes for 308 link:RelNotes/1.5.3.8.txt[1.5.3.8], 309 link:RelNotes/1.5.3.7.txt[1.5.3.7], 310 link:RelNotes/1.5.3.6.txt[1.5.3.6], 311 link:RelNotes/1.5.3.5.txt[1.5.3.5], 312 link:RelNotes/1.5.3.4.txt[1.5.3.4], 313 link:RelNotes/1.5.3.3.txt[1.5.3.3], 314 link:RelNotes/1.5.3.2.txt[1.5.3.2], 315 link:RelNotes/1.5.3.1.txt[1.5.3.1], 316 link:RelNotes/1.5.3.txt[1.5.3]. 317 318* link:v1.5.2.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.2.5] 319 320* release notes for 321 link:RelNotes/1.5.2.5.txt[1.5.2.5], 322 link:RelNotes/1.5.2.4.txt[1.5.2.4], 323 link:RelNotes/1.5.2.3.txt[1.5.2.3], 324 link:RelNotes/1.5.2.2.txt[1.5.2.2], 325 link:RelNotes/1.5.2.1.txt[1.5.2.1], 326 link:RelNotes/1.5.2.txt[1.5.2]. 327 328* link:v1.5.1.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.1.6] 329 330* release notes for 331 link:RelNotes/1.5.1.6.txt[1.5.1.6], 332 link:RelNotes/1.5.1.5.txt[1.5.1.5], 333 link:RelNotes/1.5.1.4.txt[1.5.1.4], 334 link:RelNotes/1.5.1.3.txt[1.5.1.3], 335 link:RelNotes/1.5.1.2.txt[1.5.1.2], 336 link:RelNotes/1.5.1.1.txt[1.5.1.1], 337 link:RelNotes/1.5.1.txt[1.5.1]. 338 339* link:v1.5.0.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.0.7] 340 341* release notes for 342 link:RelNotes/1.5.0.7.txt[1.5.0.7], 343 link:RelNotes/1.5.0.6.txt[1.5.0.6], 344 link:RelNotes/1.5.0.5.txt[1.5.0.5], 345 link:RelNotes/1.5.0.3.txt[1.5.0.3], 346 link:RelNotes/1.5.0.2.txt[1.5.0.2], 347 link:RelNotes/1.5.0.1.txt[1.5.0.1], 348 link:RelNotes/1.5.0.txt[1.5.0]. 349 350* documentation for release link:v1.4.4.4/git.html[1.4.4.4], 351 link:v1.3.3/git.html[1.3.3], 352 link:v1.2.6/git.html[1.2.6], 353 link:v1.0.13/git.html[1.0.13]. 354 355============ 356 357endif::stalenotes[] 358 359OPTIONS 360------- 361--version:: 362 Prints the git suite version that the 'git' program came from. 363 364--help:: 365 Prints the synopsis and a list of the most commonly used 366 commands. If the option '--all' or '-a' is given then all 367 available commands are printed. If a git command is named this 368 option will bring up the manual page for that command. 369+ 370Other options are available to control how the manual page is 371displayed. See linkgit:git-help[1] for more information, 372because `git --help ...` is converted internally into `git 373help ...`. 374 375-c <name>=<value>:: 376 Pass a configuration parameter to the command. The value 377 given will override values from configuration files. 378 The <name> is expected in the same format as listed by 379 'git config' (subkeys separated by dots). 380 381--exec-path[=<path>]:: 382 Path to wherever your core git programs are installed. 383 This can also be controlled by setting the GIT_EXEC_PATH 384 environment variable. If no path is given, 'git' will print 385 the current setting and then exit. 386 387--html-path:: 388 Print the path, without trailing slash, where git's HTML 389 documentation is installed and exit. 390 391--man-path:: 392 Print the manpath (see `man(1)`) for the man pages for 393 this version of git and exit. 394 395--info-path:: 396 Print the path where the Info files documenting this 397 version of git are installed and exit. 398 399-p:: 400--paginate:: 401 Pipe all output into 'less' (or if set, $PAGER) if standard 402 output is a terminal. This overrides the `pager.<cmd>` 403 configuration options (see the "Configuration Mechanism" section 404 below). 405 406--no-pager:: 407 Do not pipe git output into a pager. 408 409--git-dir=<path>:: 410 Set the path to the repository. This can also be controlled by 411 setting the GIT_DIR environment variable. It can be an absolute 412 path or relative path to current working directory. 413 414--work-tree=<path>:: 415 Set the path to the working tree. It can be an absolute path 416 or a path relative to the current working directory. 417 This can also be controlled by setting the GIT_WORK_TREE 418 environment variable and the core.worktree configuration 419 variable (see core.worktree in linkgit:git-config[1] for a 420 more detailed discussion). 421 422--namespace=<path>:: 423 Set the git namespace. See linkgit:gitnamespaces[7] for more 424 details. Equivalent to setting the `GIT_NAMESPACE` environment 425 variable. 426 427--bare:: 428 Treat the repository as a bare repository. If GIT_DIR 429 environment is not set, it is set to the current working 430 directory. 431 432--no-replace-objects:: 433 Do not use replacement refs to replace git objects. See 434 linkgit:git-replace[1] for more information. 435 436 437GIT COMMANDS 438------------ 439 440We divide git into high level ("porcelain") commands and low level 441("plumbing") commands. 442 443High-level commands (porcelain) 444------------------------------- 445 446We separate the porcelain commands into the main commands and some 447ancillary user utilities. 448 449Main porcelain commands 450~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 451 452include::cmds-mainporcelain.txt[] 453 454Ancillary Commands 455~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 456Manipulators: 457 458include::cmds-ancillarymanipulators.txt[] 459 460Interrogators: 461 462include::cmds-ancillaryinterrogators.txt[] 463 464 465Interacting with Others 466~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 467 468These commands are to interact with foreign SCM and with other 469people via patch over e-mail. 470 471include::cmds-foreignscminterface.txt[] 472 473 474Low-level commands (plumbing) 475----------------------------- 476 477Although git includes its 478own porcelain layer, its low-level commands are sufficient to support 479development of alternative porcelains. Developers of such porcelains 480might start by reading about linkgit:git-update-index[1] and 481linkgit:git-read-tree[1]. 482 483The interface (input, output, set of options and the semantics) 484to these low-level commands are meant to be a lot more stable 485than Porcelain level commands, because these commands are 486primarily for scripted use. The interface to Porcelain commands 487on the other hand are subject to change in order to improve the 488end user experience. 489 490The following description divides 491the low-level commands into commands that manipulate objects (in 492the repository, index, and working tree), commands that interrogate and 493compare objects, and commands that move objects and references between 494repositories. 495 496 497Manipulation commands 498~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 499 500include::cmds-plumbingmanipulators.txt[] 501 502 503Interrogation commands 504~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 505 506include::cmds-plumbinginterrogators.txt[] 507 508In general, the interrogate commands do not touch the files in 509the working tree. 510 511 512Synching repositories 513~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 514 515include::cmds-synchingrepositories.txt[] 516 517The following are helper commands used by the above; end users 518typically do not use them directly. 519 520include::cmds-synchelpers.txt[] 521 522 523Internal helper commands 524~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 525 526These are internal helper commands used by other commands; end 527users typically do not use them directly. 528 529include::cmds-purehelpers.txt[] 530 531 532Configuration Mechanism 533----------------------- 534 535Git uses a simple text format to store customizations that are per 536repository and are per user. Such a configuration file may look 537like this: 538 539------------ 540# 541# A '#' or ';' character indicates a comment. 542# 543 544; core variables 545[core] 546 ; Don't trust file modes 547 filemode = false 548 549; user identity 550[user] 551 name = "Junio C Hamano" 552 email = "gitster@pobox.com" 553 554------------ 555 556Various commands read from the configuration file and adjust 557their operation accordingly. See linkgit:git-config[1] for a 558list and more details about the configuration mechanism. 559 560 561Identifier Terminology 562---------------------- 563<object>:: 564 Indicates the object name for any type of object. 565 566<blob>:: 567 Indicates a blob object name. 568 569<tree>:: 570 Indicates a tree object name. 571 572<commit>:: 573 Indicates a commit object name. 574 575<tree-ish>:: 576 Indicates a tree, commit or tag object name. A 577 command that takes a <tree-ish> argument ultimately wants to 578 operate on a <tree> object but automatically dereferences 579 <commit> and <tag> objects that point at a <tree>. 580 581<commit-ish>:: 582 Indicates a commit or tag object name. A 583 command that takes a <commit-ish> argument ultimately wants to 584 operate on a <commit> object but automatically dereferences 585 <tag> objects that point at a <commit>. 586 587<type>:: 588 Indicates that an object type is required. 589 Currently one of: `blob`, `tree`, `commit`, or `tag`. 590 591<file>:: 592 Indicates a filename - almost always relative to the 593 root of the tree structure `GIT_INDEX_FILE` describes. 594 595Symbolic Identifiers 596-------------------- 597Any git command accepting any <object> can also use the following 598symbolic notation: 599 600HEAD:: 601 indicates the head of the current branch. 602 603<tag>:: 604 a valid tag 'name' 605 (i.e. a `refs/tags/<tag>` reference). 606 607<head>:: 608 a valid head 'name' 609 (i.e. a `refs/heads/<head>` reference). 610 611For a more complete list of ways to spell object names, see 612"SPECIFYING REVISIONS" section in linkgit:gitrevisions[7]. 613 614 615File/Directory Structure 616------------------------ 617 618Please see the linkgit:gitrepository-layout[5] document. 619 620Read linkgit:githooks[5] for more details about each hook. 621 622Higher level SCMs may provide and manage additional information in the 623`$GIT_DIR`. 624 625 626Terminology 627----------- 628Please see linkgit:gitglossary[7]. 629 630 631Environment Variables 632--------------------- 633Various git commands use the following environment variables: 634 635The git Repository 636~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 637These environment variables apply to 'all' core git commands. Nb: it 638is worth noting that they may be used/overridden by SCMS sitting above 639git so take care if using Cogito etc. 640 641'GIT_INDEX_FILE':: 642 This environment allows the specification of an alternate 643 index file. If not specified, the default of `$GIT_DIR/index` 644 is used. 645 646'GIT_OBJECT_DIRECTORY':: 647 If the object storage directory is specified via this 648 environment variable then the sha1 directories are created 649 underneath - otherwise the default `$GIT_DIR/objects` 650 directory is used. 651 652'GIT_ALTERNATE_OBJECT_DIRECTORIES':: 653 Due to the immutable nature of git objects, old objects can be 654 archived into shared, read-only directories. This variable 655 specifies a ":" separated (on Windows ";" separated) list 656 of git object directories which can be used to search for git 657 objects. New objects will not be written to these directories. 658 659'GIT_DIR':: 660 If the 'GIT_DIR' environment variable is set then it 661 specifies a path to use instead of the default `.git` 662 for the base of the repository. 663 The '--git-dir' command-line option also sets this value. 664 665'GIT_WORK_TREE':: 666 Set the path to the working tree. The value will not be 667 used in combination with repositories found automatically in 668 a .git directory (i.e. $GIT_DIR is not set). 669 This can also be controlled by the '--work-tree' command line 670 option and the core.worktree configuration variable. 671 672'GIT_NAMESPACE':: 673 Set the git namespace; see linkgit:gitnamespaces[7] for details. 674 The '--namespace' command-line option also sets this value. 675 676'GIT_CEILING_DIRECTORIES':: 677 This should be a colon-separated list of absolute paths. 678 If set, it is a list of directories that git should not chdir 679 up into while looking for a repository directory. 680 It will not exclude the current working directory or 681 a GIT_DIR set on the command line or in the environment. 682 (Useful for excluding slow-loading network directories.) 683 684'GIT_DISCOVERY_ACROSS_FILESYSTEM':: 685 When run in a directory that does not have ".git" repository 686 directory, git tries to find such a directory in the parent 687 directories to find the top of the working tree, but by default it 688 does not cross filesystem boundaries. This environment variable 689 can be set to true to tell git not to stop at filesystem 690 boundaries. Like 'GIT_CEILING_DIRECTORIES', this will not affect 691 an explicit repository directory set via 'GIT_DIR' or on the 692 command line. 693 694git Commits 695~~~~~~~~~~~ 696'GIT_AUTHOR_NAME':: 697'GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL':: 698'GIT_AUTHOR_DATE':: 699'GIT_COMMITTER_NAME':: 700'GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL':: 701'GIT_COMMITTER_DATE':: 702'EMAIL':: 703 see linkgit:git-commit-tree[1] 704 705git Diffs 706~~~~~~~~~ 707'GIT_DIFF_OPTS':: 708 Only valid setting is "--unified=??" or "-u??" to set the 709 number of context lines shown when a unified diff is created. 710 This takes precedence over any "-U" or "--unified" option 711 value passed on the git diff command line. 712 713'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF':: 714 When the environment variable 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is set, the 715 program named by it is called, instead of the diff invocation 716 described above. For a path that is added, removed, or modified, 717 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called with 7 parameters: 718 719 path old-file old-hex old-mode new-file new-hex new-mode 720+ 721where: 722 723 <old|new>-file:: are files GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF can use to read the 724 contents of <old|new>, 725 <old|new>-hex:: are the 40-hexdigit SHA1 hashes, 726 <old|new>-mode:: are the octal representation of the file modes. 727+ 728The file parameters can point at the user's working file 729(e.g. `new-file` in "git-diff-files"), `/dev/null` (e.g. `old-file` 730when a new file is added), or a temporary file (e.g. `old-file` in the 731index). 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' should not worry about unlinking the 732temporary file --- it is removed when 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' exits. 733+ 734For a path that is unmerged, 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called with 1 735parameter, <path>. 736 737other 738~~~~~ 739'GIT_MERGE_VERBOSITY':: 740 A number controlling the amount of output shown by 741 the recursive merge strategy. Overrides merge.verbosity. 742 See linkgit:git-merge[1] 743 744'GIT_PAGER':: 745 This environment variable overrides `$PAGER`. If it is set 746 to an empty string or to the value "cat", git will not launch 747 a pager. See also the `core.pager` option in 748 linkgit:git-config[1]. 749 750'GIT_EDITOR':: 751 This environment variable overrides `$EDITOR` and `$VISUAL`. 752 It is used by several git commands when, on interactive mode, 753 an editor is to be launched. See also linkgit:git-var[1] 754 and the `core.editor` option in linkgit:git-config[1]. 755 756'GIT_SSH':: 757 If this environment variable is set then 'git fetch' 758 and 'git push' will use this command instead 759 of 'ssh' when they need to connect to a remote system. 760 The '$GIT_SSH' command will be given exactly two arguments: 761 the 'username@host' (or just 'host') from the URL and the 762 shell command to execute on that remote system. 763+ 764To pass options to the program that you want to list in GIT_SSH 765you will need to wrap the program and options into a shell script, 766then set GIT_SSH to refer to the shell script. 767+ 768Usually it is easier to configure any desired options through your 769personal `.ssh/config` file. Please consult your ssh documentation 770for further details. 771 772'GIT_ASKPASS':: 773 If this environment variable is set, then git commands which need to 774 acquire passwords or passphrases (e.g. for HTTP or IMAP authentication) 775 will call this program with a suitable prompt as command line argument 776 and read the password from its STDOUT. See also the 'core.askpass' 777 option in linkgit:git-config[1]. 778 779'GIT_CONFIG_NOSYSTEM':: 780 Whether to skip reading settings from the system-wide 781 `$(prefix)/etc/gitconfig` file. This environment variable can 782 be used along with `$HOME` and `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME` to create a 783 predictable environment for a picky script, or you can set it 784 temporarily to avoid using a buggy `/etc/gitconfig` file while 785 waiting for someone with sufficient permissions to fix it. 786 787'GIT_FLUSH':: 788 If this environment variable is set to "1", then commands such 789 as 'git blame' (in incremental mode), 'git rev-list', 'git log', 790 and 'git whatchanged' will force a flush of the output stream 791 after each commit-oriented record have been flushed. If this 792 variable is set to "0", the output of these commands will be done 793 using completely buffered I/O. If this environment variable is 794 not set, git will choose buffered or record-oriented flushing 795 based on whether stdout appears to be redirected to a file or not. 796 797'GIT_TRACE':: 798 If this variable is set to "1", "2" or "true" (comparison 799 is case insensitive), git will print `trace:` messages on 800 stderr telling about alias expansion, built-in command 801 execution and external command execution. 802 If this variable is set to an integer value greater than 1 803 and lower than 10 (strictly) then git will interpret this 804 value as an open file descriptor and will try to write the 805 trace messages into this file descriptor. 806 Alternatively, if this variable is set to an absolute path 807 (starting with a '/' character), git will interpret this 808 as a file path and will try to write the trace messages 809 into it. 810 811Discussion[[Discussion]] 812------------------------ 813 814More detail on the following is available from the 815link:user-manual.html#git-concepts[git concepts chapter of the 816user-manual] and linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7]. 817 818A git project normally consists of a working directory with a ".git" 819subdirectory at the top level. The .git directory contains, among other 820things, a compressed object database representing the complete history 821of the project, an "index" file which links that history to the current 822contents of the working tree, and named pointers into that history such 823as tags and branch heads. 824 825The object database contains objects of three main types: blobs, which 826hold file data; trees, which point to blobs and other trees to build up 827directory hierarchies; and commits, which each reference a single tree 828and some number of parent commits. 829 830The commit, equivalent to what other systems call a "changeset" or 831"version", represents a step in the project's history, and each parent 832represents an immediately preceding step. Commits with more than one 833parent represent merges of independent lines of development. 834 835All objects are named by the SHA1 hash of their contents, normally 836written as a string of 40 hex digits. Such names are globally unique. 837The entire history leading up to a commit can be vouched for by signing 838just that commit. A fourth object type, the tag, is provided for this 839purpose. 840 841When first created, objects are stored in individual files, but for 842efficiency may later be compressed together into "pack files". 843 844Named pointers called refs mark interesting points in history. A ref 845may contain the SHA1 name of an object or the name of another ref. Refs 846with names beginning `ref/head/` contain the SHA1 name of the most 847recent commit (or "head") of a branch under development. SHA1 names of 848tags of interest are stored under `ref/tags/`. A special ref named 849`HEAD` contains the name of the currently checked-out branch. 850 851The index file is initialized with a list of all paths and, for each 852path, a blob object and a set of attributes. The blob object represents 853the contents of the file as of the head of the current branch. The 854attributes (last modified time, size, etc.) are taken from the 855corresponding file in the working tree. Subsequent changes to the 856working tree can be found by comparing these attributes. The index may 857be updated with new content, and new commits may be created from the 858content stored in the index. 859 860The index is also capable of storing multiple entries (called "stages") 861for a given pathname. These stages are used to hold the various 862unmerged version of a file when a merge is in progress. 863 864FURTHER DOCUMENTATION 865--------------------- 866 867See the references in the "description" section to get started 868using git. The following is probably more detail than necessary 869for a first-time user. 870 871The link:user-manual.html#git-concepts[git concepts chapter of the 872user-manual] and linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7] both provide 873introductions to the underlying git architecture. 874 875See linkgit:gitworkflows[7] for an overview of recommended workflows. 876 877See also the link:howto-index.html[howto] documents for some useful 878examples. 879 880The internals are documented in the 881link:technical/api-index.html[GIT API documentation]. 882 883Users migrating from CVS may also want to 884read linkgit:gitcvs-migration[7]. 885 886 887Authors 888------- 889Git was started by Linus Torvalds, and is currently maintained by Junio 890C Hamano. Numerous contributions have come from the git mailing list 891<git@vger.kernel.org>. http://www.ohloh.net/p/git/contributors/summary 892gives you a more complete list of contributors. 893 894If you have a clone of git.git itself, the 895output of linkgit:git-shortlog[1] and linkgit:git-blame[1] can show you 896the authors for specific parts of the project. 897 898Reporting Bugs 899-------------- 900 901Report bugs to the Git mailing list <git@vger.kernel.org> where the 902development and maintenance is primarily done. You do not have to be 903subscribed to the list to send a message there. 904 905SEE ALSO 906-------- 907linkgit:gittutorial[7], linkgit:gittutorial-2[7], 908link:everyday.html[Everyday Git], linkgit:gitcvs-migration[7], 909linkgit:gitglossary[7], linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7], 910linkgit:gitcli[7], link:user-manual.html[The Git User's Manual], 911linkgit:gitworkflows[7] 912 913GIT 914--- 915Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite