Andrew's git - gitweb.git/blob - Documentation/git.txt

   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:v1.8.3.1/git.html[documentation for release 1.8.3.1]
  47
  48* release notes for
  49  link:RelNotes/1.8.3.1.txt[1.8.3.1],
  50  link:RelNotes/1.8.3.txt[1.8.3].
  51
  52* link:v1.8.2.3/git.html[documentation for release 1.8.2.3]
  53
  54* release notes for
  55  link:RelNotes/1.8.2.3.txt[1.8.2.3],
  56  link:RelNotes/1.8.2.2.txt[1.8.2.2],
  57  link:RelNotes/1.8.2.1.txt[1.8.2.1],
  58  link:RelNotes/1.8.2.txt[1.8.2].
  59
  60* link:v1.8.1.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.8.1.6]
  61
  62* release notes for
  63  link:RelNotes/1.8.1.6.txt[1.8.1.6],
  64  link:RelNotes/1.8.1.5.txt[1.8.1.5],
  65  link:RelNotes/1.8.1.4.txt[1.8.1.4],
  66  link:RelNotes/1.8.1.3.txt[1.8.1.3],
  67  link:RelNotes/1.8.1.2.txt[1.8.1.2],
  68  link:RelNotes/1.8.1.1.txt[1.8.1.1],
  69  link:RelNotes/1.8.1.txt[1.8.1].
  70
  71* link:v1.8.0.3/git.html[documentation for release 1.8.0.3]
  72
  73* release notes for
  74  link:RelNotes/1.8.0.3.txt[1.8.0.3],
  75  link:RelNotes/1.8.0.2.txt[1.8.0.2],
  76  link:RelNotes/1.8.0.1.txt[1.8.0.1],
  77  link:RelNotes/1.8.0.txt[1.8.0].
  78
  79* link:v1.7.12.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.12.4]
  80
  81* release notes for
  82  link:RelNotes/1.7.12.4.txt[1.7.12.4],
  83  link:RelNotes/1.7.12.3.txt[1.7.12.3],
  84  link:RelNotes/1.7.12.2.txt[1.7.12.2],
  85  link:RelNotes/1.7.12.1.txt[1.7.12.1],
  86  link:RelNotes/1.7.12.txt[1.7.12].
  87
  88* link:v1.7.11.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.11.7]
  89
  90* release notes for
  91  link:RelNotes/1.7.11.7.txt[1.7.11.7],
  92  link:RelNotes/1.7.11.6.txt[1.7.11.6],
  93  link:RelNotes/1.7.11.5.txt[1.7.11.5],
  94  link:RelNotes/1.7.11.4.txt[1.7.11.4],
  95  link:RelNotes/1.7.11.3.txt[1.7.11.3],
  96  link:RelNotes/1.7.11.2.txt[1.7.11.2],
  97  link:RelNotes/1.7.11.1.txt[1.7.11.1],
  98  link:RelNotes/1.7.11.txt[1.7.11].
  99
 100* link:v1.7.10.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.10.5]
 101
 102* release notes for
 103  link:RelNotes/1.7.10.5.txt[1.7.10.5],
 104  link:RelNotes/1.7.10.4.txt[1.7.10.4],
 105  link:RelNotes/1.7.10.3.txt[1.7.10.3],
 106  link:RelNotes/1.7.10.2.txt[1.7.10.2],
 107  link:RelNotes/1.7.10.1.txt[1.7.10.1],
 108  link:RelNotes/1.7.10.txt[1.7.10].
 109
 110* link:v1.7.9.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.9.7]
 111
 112* release notes for
 113  link:RelNotes/1.7.9.7.txt[1.7.9.7],
 114  link:RelNotes/1.7.9.6.txt[1.7.9.6],
 115  link:RelNotes/1.7.9.5.txt[1.7.9.5],
 116  link:RelNotes/1.7.9.4.txt[1.7.9.4],
 117  link:RelNotes/1.7.9.3.txt[1.7.9.3],
 118  link:RelNotes/1.7.9.2.txt[1.7.9.2],
 119  link:RelNotes/1.7.9.1.txt[1.7.9.1],
 120  link:RelNotes/1.7.9.txt[1.7.9].
 121
 122* link:v1.7.8.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.8.6]
 123
 124* release notes for
 125  link:RelNotes/1.7.8.6.txt[1.7.8.6],
 126  link:RelNotes/1.7.8.5.txt[1.7.8.5],
 127  link:RelNotes/1.7.8.4.txt[1.7.8.4],
 128  link:RelNotes/1.7.8.3.txt[1.7.8.3],
 129  link:RelNotes/1.7.8.2.txt[1.7.8.2],
 130  link:RelNotes/1.7.8.1.txt[1.7.8.1],
 131  link:RelNotes/1.7.8.txt[1.7.8].
 132
 133* link:v1.7.7.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.7.7]
 134
 135* release notes for
 136  link:RelNotes/1.7.7.7.txt[1.7.7.7],
 137  link:RelNotes/1.7.7.6.txt[1.7.7.6],
 138  link:RelNotes/1.7.7.5.txt[1.7.7.5],
 139  link:RelNotes/1.7.7.4.txt[1.7.7.4],
 140  link:RelNotes/1.7.7.3.txt[1.7.7.3],
 141  link:RelNotes/1.7.7.2.txt[1.7.7.2],
 142  link:RelNotes/1.7.7.1.txt[1.7.7.1],
 143  link:RelNotes/1.7.7.txt[1.7.7].
 144
 145* link:v1.7.6.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.6.6]
 146
 147* release notes for
 148  link:RelNotes/1.7.6.6.txt[1.7.6.6],
 149  link:RelNotes/1.7.6.5.txt[1.7.6.5],
 150  link:RelNotes/1.7.6.4.txt[1.7.6.4],
 151  link:RelNotes/1.7.6.3.txt[1.7.6.3],
 152  link:RelNotes/1.7.6.2.txt[1.7.6.2],
 153  link:RelNotes/1.7.6.1.txt[1.7.6.1],
 154  link:RelNotes/1.7.6.txt[1.7.6].
 155
 156* link:v1.7.5.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.5.4]
 157
 158* release notes for
 159  link:RelNotes/1.7.5.4.txt[1.7.5.4],
 160  link:RelNotes/1.7.5.3.txt[1.7.5.3],
 161  link:RelNotes/1.7.5.2.txt[1.7.5.2],
 162  link:RelNotes/1.7.5.1.txt[1.7.5.1],
 163  link:RelNotes/1.7.5.txt[1.7.5].
 164
 165* link:v1.7.4.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.4.5]
 166
 167* release notes for
 168  link:RelNotes/1.7.4.5.txt[1.7.4.5],
 169  link:RelNotes/1.7.4.4.txt[1.7.4.4],
 170  link:RelNotes/1.7.4.3.txt[1.7.4.3],
 171  link:RelNotes/1.7.4.2.txt[1.7.4.2],
 172  link:RelNotes/1.7.4.1.txt[1.7.4.1],
 173  link:RelNotes/1.7.4.txt[1.7.4].
 174
 175* link:v1.7.3.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.3.5]
 176
 177* release notes for
 178  link:RelNotes/1.7.3.5.txt[1.7.3.5],
 179  link:RelNotes/1.7.3.4.txt[1.7.3.4],
 180  link:RelNotes/1.7.3.3.txt[1.7.3.3],
 181  link:RelNotes/1.7.3.2.txt[1.7.3.2],
 182  link:RelNotes/1.7.3.1.txt[1.7.3.1],
 183  link:RelNotes/1.7.3.txt[1.7.3].
 184
 185* link:v1.7.2.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.2.5]
 186
 187* release notes for
 188  link:RelNotes/1.7.2.5.txt[1.7.2.5],
 189  link:RelNotes/1.7.2.4.txt[1.7.2.4],
 190  link:RelNotes/1.7.2.3.txt[1.7.2.3],
 191  link:RelNotes/1.7.2.2.txt[1.7.2.2],
 192  link:RelNotes/1.7.2.1.txt[1.7.2.1],
 193  link:RelNotes/1.7.2.txt[1.7.2].
 194
 195* link:v1.7.1.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.1.4]
 196
 197* release notes for
 198  link:RelNotes/1.7.1.4.txt[1.7.1.4],
 199  link:RelNotes/1.7.1.3.txt[1.7.1.3],
 200  link:RelNotes/1.7.1.2.txt[1.7.1.2],
 201  link:RelNotes/1.7.1.1.txt[1.7.1.1],
 202  link:RelNotes/1.7.1.txt[1.7.1].
 203
 204* link:v1.7.0.9/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.0.9]
 205
 206* release notes for
 207  link:RelNotes/1.7.0.9.txt[1.7.0.9],
 208  link:RelNotes/1.7.0.8.txt[1.7.0.8],
 209  link:RelNotes/1.7.0.7.txt[1.7.0.7],
 210  link:RelNotes/1.7.0.6.txt[1.7.0.6],
 211  link:RelNotes/1.7.0.5.txt[1.7.0.5],
 212  link:RelNotes/1.7.0.4.txt[1.7.0.4],
 213  link:RelNotes/1.7.0.3.txt[1.7.0.3],
 214  link:RelNotes/1.7.0.2.txt[1.7.0.2],
 215  link:RelNotes/1.7.0.1.txt[1.7.0.1],
 216  link:RelNotes/1.7.0.txt[1.7.0].
 217
 218* link:v1.6.6.3/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.6.3]
 219
 220* release notes for
 221  link:RelNotes/1.6.6.3.txt[1.6.6.3],
 222  link:RelNotes/1.6.6.2.txt[1.6.6.2],
 223  link:RelNotes/1.6.6.1.txt[1.6.6.1],
 224  link:RelNotes/1.6.6.txt[1.6.6].
 225
 226* link:v1.6.5.9/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.5.9]
 227
 228* release notes for
 229  link:RelNotes/1.6.5.9.txt[1.6.5.9],
 230  link:RelNotes/1.6.5.8.txt[1.6.5.8],
 231  link:RelNotes/1.6.5.7.txt[1.6.5.7],
 232  link:RelNotes/1.6.5.6.txt[1.6.5.6],
 233  link:RelNotes/1.6.5.5.txt[1.6.5.5],
 234  link:RelNotes/1.6.5.4.txt[1.6.5.4],
 235  link:RelNotes/1.6.5.3.txt[1.6.5.3],
 236  link:RelNotes/1.6.5.2.txt[1.6.5.2],
 237  link:RelNotes/1.6.5.1.txt[1.6.5.1],
 238  link:RelNotes/1.6.5.txt[1.6.5].
 239
 240* link:v1.6.4.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.4.5]
 241
 242* release notes for
 243  link:RelNotes/1.6.4.5.txt[1.6.4.5],
 244  link:RelNotes/1.6.4.4.txt[1.6.4.4],
 245  link:RelNotes/1.6.4.3.txt[1.6.4.3],
 246  link:RelNotes/1.6.4.2.txt[1.6.4.2],
 247  link:RelNotes/1.6.4.1.txt[1.6.4.1],
 248  link:RelNotes/1.6.4.txt[1.6.4].
 249
 250* link:v1.6.3.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.3.4]
 251
 252* release notes for
 253  link:RelNotes/1.6.3.4.txt[1.6.3.4],
 254  link:RelNotes/1.6.3.3.txt[1.6.3.3],
 255  link:RelNotes/1.6.3.2.txt[1.6.3.2],
 256  link:RelNotes/1.6.3.1.txt[1.6.3.1],
 257  link:RelNotes/1.6.3.txt[1.6.3].
 258
 259* release notes for
 260  link:RelNotes/1.6.2.5.txt[1.6.2.5],
 261  link:RelNotes/1.6.2.4.txt[1.6.2.4],
 262  link:RelNotes/1.6.2.3.txt[1.6.2.3],
 263  link:RelNotes/1.6.2.2.txt[1.6.2.2],
 264  link:RelNotes/1.6.2.1.txt[1.6.2.1],
 265  link:RelNotes/1.6.2.txt[1.6.2].
 266
 267* link:v1.6.1.3/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.1.3]
 268
 269* release notes for
 270  link:RelNotes/1.6.1.3.txt[1.6.1.3],
 271  link:RelNotes/1.6.1.2.txt[1.6.1.2],
 272  link:RelNotes/1.6.1.1.txt[1.6.1.1],
 273  link:RelNotes/1.6.1.txt[1.6.1].
 274
 275* link:v1.6.0.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.0.6]
 276
 277* release notes for
 278  link:RelNotes/1.6.0.6.txt[1.6.0.6],
 279  link:RelNotes/1.6.0.5.txt[1.6.0.5],
 280  link:RelNotes/1.6.0.4.txt[1.6.0.4],
 281  link:RelNotes/1.6.0.3.txt[1.6.0.3],
 282  link:RelNotes/1.6.0.2.txt[1.6.0.2],
 283  link:RelNotes/1.6.0.1.txt[1.6.0.1],
 284  link:RelNotes/1.6.0.txt[1.6.0].
 285
 286* link:v1.5.6.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.6.6]
 287
 288* release notes for
 289  link:RelNotes/1.5.6.6.txt[1.5.6.6],
 290  link:RelNotes/1.5.6.5.txt[1.5.6.5],
 291  link:RelNotes/1.5.6.4.txt[1.5.6.4],
 292  link:RelNotes/1.5.6.3.txt[1.5.6.3],
 293  link:RelNotes/1.5.6.2.txt[1.5.6.2],
 294  link:RelNotes/1.5.6.1.txt[1.5.6.1],
 295  link:RelNotes/1.5.6.txt[1.5.6].
 296
 297* link:v1.5.5.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.5.6]
 298
 299* release notes for
 300  link:RelNotes/1.5.5.6.txt[1.5.5.6],
 301  link:RelNotes/1.5.5.5.txt[1.5.5.5],
 302  link:RelNotes/1.5.5.4.txt[1.5.5.4],
 303  link:RelNotes/1.5.5.3.txt[1.5.5.3],
 304  link:RelNotes/1.5.5.2.txt[1.5.5.2],
 305  link:RelNotes/1.5.5.1.txt[1.5.5.1],
 306  link:RelNotes/1.5.5.txt[1.5.5].
 307
 308* link:v1.5.4.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.4.7]
 309
 310* release notes for
 311  link:RelNotes/1.5.4.7.txt[1.5.4.7],
 312  link:RelNotes/1.5.4.6.txt[1.5.4.6],
 313  link:RelNotes/1.5.4.5.txt[1.5.4.5],
 314  link:RelNotes/1.5.4.4.txt[1.5.4.4],
 315  link:RelNotes/1.5.4.3.txt[1.5.4.3],
 316  link:RelNotes/1.5.4.2.txt[1.5.4.2],
 317  link:RelNotes/1.5.4.1.txt[1.5.4.1],
 318  link:RelNotes/1.5.4.txt[1.5.4].
 319
 320* link:v1.5.3.8/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.3.8]
 321
 322* release notes for
 323  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.8.txt[1.5.3.8],
 324  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.7.txt[1.5.3.7],
 325  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.6.txt[1.5.3.6],
 326  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.5.txt[1.5.3.5],
 327  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.4.txt[1.5.3.4],
 328  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.3.txt[1.5.3.3],
 329  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.2.txt[1.5.3.2],
 330  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.1.txt[1.5.3.1],
 331  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.txt[1.5.3].
 332
 333* link:v1.5.2.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.2.5]
 334
 335* release notes for
 336  link:RelNotes/1.5.2.5.txt[1.5.2.5],
 337  link:RelNotes/1.5.2.4.txt[1.5.2.4],
 338  link:RelNotes/1.5.2.3.txt[1.5.2.3],
 339  link:RelNotes/1.5.2.2.txt[1.5.2.2],
 340  link:RelNotes/1.5.2.1.txt[1.5.2.1],
 341  link:RelNotes/1.5.2.txt[1.5.2].
 342
 343* link:v1.5.1.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.1.6]
 344
 345* release notes for
 346  link:RelNotes/1.5.1.6.txt[1.5.1.6],
 347  link:RelNotes/1.5.1.5.txt[1.5.1.5],
 348  link:RelNotes/1.5.1.4.txt[1.5.1.4],
 349  link:RelNotes/1.5.1.3.txt[1.5.1.3],
 350  link:RelNotes/1.5.1.2.txt[1.5.1.2],
 351  link:RelNotes/1.5.1.1.txt[1.5.1.1],
 352  link:RelNotes/1.5.1.txt[1.5.1].
 353
 354* link:v1.5.0.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.0.7]
 355
 356* release notes for
 357  link:RelNotes/1.5.0.7.txt[1.5.0.7],
 358  link:RelNotes/1.5.0.6.txt[1.5.0.6],
 359  link:RelNotes/1.5.0.5.txt[1.5.0.5],
 360  link:RelNotes/1.5.0.3.txt[1.5.0.3],
 361  link:RelNotes/1.5.0.2.txt[1.5.0.2],
 362  link:RelNotes/1.5.0.1.txt[1.5.0.1],
 363  link:RelNotes/1.5.0.txt[1.5.0].
 364
 365* documentation for release link:v1.4.4.4/git.html[1.4.4.4],
 366  link:v1.3.3/git.html[1.3.3],
 367  link:v1.2.6/git.html[1.2.6],
 368  link:v1.0.13/git.html[1.0.13].
 369
 370============
 371
 372endif::stalenotes[]
 373
 374OPTIONS
 375-------
 376--version::
 377        Prints the Git suite version that the 'git' program came from.
 378
 379--help::
 380        Prints the synopsis and a list of the most commonly used
 381        commands. If the option '--all' or '-a' is given then all
 382        available commands are printed. If a Git command is named this
 383        option will bring up the manual page for that command.
 384+
 385Other options are available to control how the manual page is
 386displayed. See linkgit:git-help[1] for more information,
 387because `git --help ...` is converted internally into `git
 388help ...`.
 389
 390-c <name>=<value>::
 391        Pass a configuration parameter to the command. The value
 392        given will override values from configuration files.
 393        The <name> is expected in the same format as listed by
 394        'git config' (subkeys separated by dots).
 395
 396--exec-path[=<path>]::
 397        Path to wherever your core Git programs are installed.
 398        This can also be controlled by setting the GIT_EXEC_PATH
 399        environment variable. If no path is given, 'git' will print
 400        the current setting and then exit.
 401
 402--html-path::
 403        Print the path, without trailing slash, where Git's HTML
 404        documentation is installed and exit.
 405
 406--man-path::
 407        Print the manpath (see `man(1)`) for the man pages for
 408        this version of Git and exit.
 409
 410--info-path::
 411        Print the path where the Info files documenting this
 412        version of Git are installed and exit.
 413
 414-p::
 415--paginate::
 416        Pipe all output into 'less' (or if set, $PAGER) if standard
 417        output is a terminal.  This overrides the `pager.<cmd>`
 418        configuration options (see the "Configuration Mechanism" section
 419        below).
 420
 421--no-pager::
 422        Do not pipe Git output into a pager.
 423
 424--git-dir=<path>::
 425        Set the path to the repository. This can also be controlled by
 426        setting the GIT_DIR environment variable. It can be an absolute
 427        path or relative path to current working directory.
 428
 429--work-tree=<path>::
 430        Set the path to the working tree. It can be an absolute path
 431        or a path relative to the current working directory.
 432        This can also be controlled by setting the GIT_WORK_TREE
 433        environment variable and the core.worktree configuration
 434        variable (see core.worktree in linkgit:git-config[1] for a
 435        more detailed discussion).
 436
 437--namespace=<path>::
 438        Set the Git namespace.  See linkgit:gitnamespaces[7] for more
 439        details.  Equivalent to setting the `GIT_NAMESPACE` environment
 440        variable.
 441
 442--bare::
 443        Treat the repository as a bare repository.  If GIT_DIR
 444        environment is not set, it is set to the current working
 445        directory.
 446
 447--no-replace-objects::
 448        Do not use replacement refs to replace Git objects. See
 449        linkgit:git-replace[1] for more information.
 450
 451--literal-pathspecs::
 452        Treat pathspecs literally, rather than as glob patterns. This is
 453        equivalent to setting the `GIT_LITERAL_PATHSPECS` environment
 454        variable to `1`.
 455
 456
 457GIT COMMANDS
 458------------
 459
 460We divide Git into high level ("porcelain") commands and low level
 461("plumbing") commands.
 462
 463High-level commands (porcelain)
 464-------------------------------
 465
 466We separate the porcelain commands into the main commands and some
 467ancillary user utilities.
 468
 469Main porcelain commands
 470~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 471
 472include::cmds-mainporcelain.txt[]
 473
 474Ancillary Commands
 475~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 476Manipulators:
 477
 478include::cmds-ancillarymanipulators.txt[]
 479
 480Interrogators:
 481
 482include::cmds-ancillaryinterrogators.txt[]
 483
 484
 485Interacting with Others
 486~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 487
 488These commands are to interact with foreign SCM and with other
 489people via patch over e-mail.
 490
 491include::cmds-foreignscminterface.txt[]
 492
 493
 494Low-level commands (plumbing)
 495-----------------------------
 496
 497Although Git includes its
 498own porcelain layer, its low-level commands are sufficient to support
 499development of alternative porcelains.  Developers of such porcelains
 500might start by reading about linkgit:git-update-index[1] and
 501linkgit:git-read-tree[1].
 502
 503The interface (input, output, set of options and the semantics)
 504to these low-level commands are meant to be a lot more stable
 505than Porcelain level commands, because these commands are
 506primarily for scripted use.  The interface to Porcelain commands
 507on the other hand are subject to change in order to improve the
 508end user experience.
 509
 510The following description divides
 511the low-level commands into commands that manipulate objects (in
 512the repository, index, and working tree), commands that interrogate and
 513compare objects, and commands that move objects and references between
 514repositories.
 515
 516
 517Manipulation commands
 518~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 519
 520include::cmds-plumbingmanipulators.txt[]
 521
 522
 523Interrogation commands
 524~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 525
 526include::cmds-plumbinginterrogators.txt[]
 527
 528In general, the interrogate commands do not touch the files in
 529the working tree.
 530
 531
 532Synching repositories
 533~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 534
 535include::cmds-synchingrepositories.txt[]
 536
 537The following are helper commands used by the above; end users
 538typically do not use them directly.
 539
 540include::cmds-synchelpers.txt[]
 541
 542
 543Internal helper commands
 544~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 545
 546These are internal helper commands used by other commands; end
 547users typically do not use them directly.
 548
 549include::cmds-purehelpers.txt[]
 550
 551
 552Configuration Mechanism
 553-----------------------
 554
 555Git uses a simple text format to store customizations that are per
 556repository and are per user.  Such a configuration file may look
 557like this:
 558
 559------------
 560#
 561# A '#' or ';' character indicates a comment.
 562#
 563
 564; core variables
 565[core]
 566        ; Don't trust file modes
 567        filemode = false
 568
 569; user identity
 570[user]
 571        name = "Junio C Hamano"
 572        email = "gitster@pobox.com"
 573
 574------------
 575
 576Various commands read from the configuration file and adjust
 577their operation accordingly.  See linkgit:git-config[1] for a
 578list and more details about the configuration mechanism.
 579
 580
 581Identifier Terminology
 582----------------------
 583<object>::
 584        Indicates the object name for any type of object.
 585
 586<blob>::
 587        Indicates a blob object name.
 588
 589<tree>::
 590        Indicates a tree object name.
 591
 592<commit>::
 593        Indicates a commit object name.
 594
 595<tree-ish>::
 596        Indicates a tree, commit or tag object name.  A
 597        command that takes a <tree-ish> argument ultimately wants to
 598        operate on a <tree> object but automatically dereferences
 599        <commit> and <tag> objects that point at a <tree>.
 600
 601<commit-ish>::
 602        Indicates a commit or tag object name.  A
 603        command that takes a <commit-ish> argument ultimately wants to
 604        operate on a <commit> object but automatically dereferences
 605        <tag> objects that point at a <commit>.
 606
 607<type>::
 608        Indicates that an object type is required.
 609        Currently one of: `blob`, `tree`, `commit`, or `tag`.
 610
 611<file>::
 612        Indicates a filename - almost always relative to the
 613        root of the tree structure `GIT_INDEX_FILE` describes.
 614
 615Symbolic Identifiers
 616--------------------
 617Any Git command accepting any <object> can also use the following
 618symbolic notation:
 619
 620HEAD::
 621        indicates the head of the current branch.
 622
 623<tag>::
 624        a valid tag 'name'
 625        (i.e. a `refs/tags/<tag>` reference).
 626
 627<head>::
 628        a valid head 'name'
 629        (i.e. a `refs/heads/<head>` reference).
 630
 631For a more complete list of ways to spell object names, see
 632"SPECIFYING REVISIONS" section in linkgit:gitrevisions[7].
 633
 634
 635File/Directory Structure
 636------------------------
 637
 638Please see the linkgit:gitrepository-layout[5] document.
 639
 640Read linkgit:githooks[5] for more details about each hook.
 641
 642Higher level SCMs may provide and manage additional information in the
 643`$GIT_DIR`.
 644
 645
 646Terminology
 647-----------
 648Please see linkgit:gitglossary[7].
 649
 650
 651Environment Variables
 652---------------------
 653Various Git commands use the following environment variables:
 654
 655The Git Repository
 656~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 657These environment variables apply to 'all' core Git commands. Nb: it
 658is worth noting that they may be used/overridden by SCMS sitting above
 659Git so take care if using Cogito etc.
 660
 661'GIT_INDEX_FILE'::
 662        This environment allows the specification of an alternate
 663        index file. If not specified, the default of `$GIT_DIR/index`
 664        is used.
 665
 666'GIT_OBJECT_DIRECTORY'::
 667        If the object storage directory is specified via this
 668        environment variable then the sha1 directories are created
 669        underneath - otherwise the default `$GIT_DIR/objects`
 670        directory is used.
 671
 672'GIT_ALTERNATE_OBJECT_DIRECTORIES'::
 673        Due to the immutable nature of Git objects, old objects can be
 674        archived into shared, read-only directories. This variable
 675        specifies a ":" separated (on Windows ";" separated) list
 676        of Git object directories which can be used to search for Git
 677        objects. New objects will not be written to these directories.
 678
 679'GIT_DIR'::
 680        If the 'GIT_DIR' environment variable is set then it
 681        specifies a path to use instead of the default `.git`
 682        for the base of the repository.
 683        The '--git-dir' command-line option also sets this value.
 684
 685'GIT_WORK_TREE'::
 686        Set the path to the working tree.  The value will not be
 687        used in combination with repositories found automatically in
 688        a .git directory (i.e. $GIT_DIR is not set).
 689        This can also be controlled by the '--work-tree' command line
 690        option and the core.worktree configuration variable.
 691
 692'GIT_NAMESPACE'::
 693        Set the Git namespace; see linkgit:gitnamespaces[7] for details.
 694        The '--namespace' command-line option also sets this value.
 695
 696'GIT_CEILING_DIRECTORIES'::
 697        This should be a colon-separated list of absolute paths.  If
 698        set, it is a list of directories that Git should not chdir up
 699        into while looking for a repository directory (useful for
 700        excluding slow-loading network directories).  It will not
 701        exclude the current working directory or a GIT_DIR set on the
 702        command line or in the environment.  Normally, Git has to read
 703        the entries in this list and resolve any symlink that
 704        might be present in order to compare them with the current
 705        directory.  However, if even this access is slow, you
 706        can add an empty entry to the list to tell Git that the
 707        subsequent entries are not symlinks and needn't be resolved;
 708        e.g.,
 709        'GIT_CEILING_DIRECTORIES=/maybe/symlink::/very/slow/non/symlink'.
 710
 711'GIT_DISCOVERY_ACROSS_FILESYSTEM'::
 712        When run in a directory that does not have ".git" repository
 713        directory, Git tries to find such a directory in the parent
 714        directories to find the top of the working tree, but by default it
 715        does not cross filesystem boundaries.  This environment variable
 716        can be set to true to tell Git not to stop at filesystem
 717        boundaries.  Like 'GIT_CEILING_DIRECTORIES', this will not affect
 718        an explicit repository directory set via 'GIT_DIR' or on the
 719        command line.
 720
 721Git Commits
 722~~~~~~~~~~~
 723'GIT_AUTHOR_NAME'::
 724'GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL'::
 725'GIT_AUTHOR_DATE'::
 726'GIT_COMMITTER_NAME'::
 727'GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL'::
 728'GIT_COMMITTER_DATE'::
 729'EMAIL'::
 730        see linkgit:git-commit-tree[1]
 731
 732Git Diffs
 733~~~~~~~~~
 734'GIT_DIFF_OPTS'::
 735        Only valid setting is "--unified=??" or "-u??" to set the
 736        number of context lines shown when a unified diff is created.
 737        This takes precedence over any "-U" or "--unified" option
 738        value passed on the Git diff command line.
 739
 740'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF'::
 741        When the environment variable 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is set, the
 742        program named by it is called, instead of the diff invocation
 743        described above.  For a path that is added, removed, or modified,
 744        'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called with 7 parameters:
 745
 746        path old-file old-hex old-mode new-file new-hex new-mode
 747+
 748where:
 749
 750        <old|new>-file:: are files GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF can use to read the
 751                         contents of <old|new>,
 752        <old|new>-hex:: are the 40-hexdigit SHA-1 hashes,
 753        <old|new>-mode:: are the octal representation of the file modes.
 754+
 755The file parameters can point at the user's working file
 756(e.g. `new-file` in "git-diff-files"), `/dev/null` (e.g. `old-file`
 757when a new file is added), or a temporary file (e.g. `old-file` in the
 758index).  'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' should not worry about unlinking the
 759temporary file --- it is removed when 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' exits.
 760+
 761For a path that is unmerged, 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called with 1
 762parameter, <path>.
 763
 764other
 765~~~~~
 766'GIT_MERGE_VERBOSITY'::
 767        A number controlling the amount of output shown by
 768        the recursive merge strategy.  Overrides merge.verbosity.
 769        See linkgit:git-merge[1]
 770
 771'GIT_PAGER'::
 772        This environment variable overrides `$PAGER`. If it is set
 773        to an empty string or to the value "cat", Git will not launch
 774        a pager.  See also the `core.pager` option in
 775        linkgit:git-config[1].
 776
 777'GIT_EDITOR'::
 778        This environment variable overrides `$EDITOR` and `$VISUAL`.
 779        It is used by several Git commands when, on interactive mode,
 780        an editor is to be launched. See also linkgit:git-var[1]
 781        and the `core.editor` option in linkgit:git-config[1].
 782
 783'GIT_SSH'::
 784        If this environment variable is set then 'git fetch'
 785        and 'git push' will use this command instead
 786        of 'ssh' when they need to connect to a remote system.
 787        The '$GIT_SSH' command will be given exactly two or
 788        four arguments: the 'username@host' (or just 'host')
 789        from the URL and the shell command to execute on that
 790        remote system, optionally preceded by '-p' (literally) and
 791        the 'port' from the URL when it specifies something other
 792        than the default SSH port.
 793+
 794To pass options to the program that you want to list in GIT_SSH
 795you will need to wrap the program and options into a shell script,
 796then set GIT_SSH to refer to the shell script.
 797+
 798Usually it is easier to configure any desired options through your
 799personal `.ssh/config` file.  Please consult your ssh documentation
 800for further details.
 801
 802'GIT_ASKPASS'::
 803        If this environment variable is set, then Git commands which need to
 804        acquire passwords or passphrases (e.g. for HTTP or IMAP authentication)
 805        will call this program with a suitable prompt as command line argument
 806        and read the password from its STDOUT. See also the 'core.askpass'
 807        option in linkgit:git-config[1].
 808
 809'GIT_CONFIG_NOSYSTEM'::
 810        Whether to skip reading settings from the system-wide
 811        `$(prefix)/etc/gitconfig` file.  This environment variable can
 812        be used along with `$HOME` and `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME` to create a
 813        predictable environment for a picky script, or you can set it
 814        temporarily to avoid using a buggy `/etc/gitconfig` file while
 815        waiting for someone with sufficient permissions to fix it.
 816
 817'GIT_FLUSH'::
 818        If this environment variable is set to "1", then commands such
 819        as 'git blame' (in incremental mode), 'git rev-list', 'git log',
 820        'git check-attr', 'git check-ignore', and 'git whatchanged' will
 821        force a flush of the output stream after each record have been
 822        flushed. If this
 823        variable is set to "0", the output of these commands will be done
 824        using completely buffered I/O.   If this environment variable is
 825        not set, Git will choose buffered or record-oriented flushing
 826        based on whether stdout appears to be redirected to a file or not.
 827
 828'GIT_TRACE'::
 829        If this variable is set to "1", "2" or "true" (comparison
 830        is case insensitive), Git will print `trace:` messages on
 831        stderr telling about alias expansion, built-in command
 832        execution and external command execution.
 833        If this variable is set to an integer value greater than 1
 834        and lower than 10 (strictly) then Git will interpret this
 835        value as an open file descriptor and will try to write the
 836        trace messages into this file descriptor.
 837        Alternatively, if this variable is set to an absolute path
 838        (starting with a '/' character), Git will interpret this
 839        as a file path and will try to write the trace messages
 840        into it.
 841
 842GIT_LITERAL_PATHSPECS::
 843        Setting this variable to `1` will cause Git to treat all
 844        pathspecs literally, rather than as glob patterns. For example,
 845        running `GIT_LITERAL_PATHSPECS=1 git log -- '*.c'` will search
 846        for commits that touch the path `*.c`, not any paths that the
 847        glob `*.c` matches. You might want this if you are feeding
 848        literal paths to Git (e.g., paths previously given to you by
 849        `git ls-tree`, `--raw` diff output, etc).
 850
 851
 852Discussion[[Discussion]]
 853------------------------
 854
 855More detail on the following is available from the
 856link:user-manual.html#git-concepts[Git concepts chapter of the
 857user-manual] and linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7].
 858
 859A Git project normally consists of a working directory with a ".git"
 860subdirectory at the top level.  The .git directory contains, among other
 861things, a compressed object database representing the complete history
 862of the project, an "index" file which links that history to the current
 863contents of the working tree, and named pointers into that history such
 864as tags and branch heads.
 865
 866The object database contains objects of three main types: blobs, which
 867hold file data; trees, which point to blobs and other trees to build up
 868directory hierarchies; and commits, which each reference a single tree
 869and some number of parent commits.
 870
 871The commit, equivalent to what other systems call a "changeset" or
 872"version", represents a step in the project's history, and each parent
 873represents an immediately preceding step.  Commits with more than one
 874parent represent merges of independent lines of development.
 875
 876All objects are named by the SHA-1 hash of their contents, normally
 877written as a string of 40 hex digits.  Such names are globally unique.
 878The entire history leading up to a commit can be vouched for by signing
 879just that commit.  A fourth object type, the tag, is provided for this
 880purpose.
 881
 882When first created, objects are stored in individual files, but for
 883efficiency may later be compressed together into "pack files".
 884
 885Named pointers called refs mark interesting points in history.  A ref
 886may contain the SHA-1 name of an object or the name of another ref.  Refs
 887with names beginning `ref/head/` contain the SHA-1 name of the most
 888recent commit (or "head") of a branch under development.  SHA-1 names of
 889tags of interest are stored under `ref/tags/`.  A special ref named
 890`HEAD` contains the name of the currently checked-out branch.
 891
 892The index file is initialized with a list of all paths and, for each
 893path, a blob object and a set of attributes.  The blob object represents
 894the contents of the file as of the head of the current branch.  The
 895attributes (last modified time, size, etc.) are taken from the
 896corresponding file in the working tree.  Subsequent changes to the
 897working tree can be found by comparing these attributes.  The index may
 898be updated with new content, and new commits may be created from the
 899content stored in the index.
 900
 901The index is also capable of storing multiple entries (called "stages")
 902for a given pathname.  These stages are used to hold the various
 903unmerged version of a file when a merge is in progress.
 904
 905FURTHER DOCUMENTATION
 906---------------------
 907
 908See the references in the "description" section to get started
 909using Git.  The following is probably more detail than necessary
 910for a first-time user.
 911
 912The link:user-manual.html#git-concepts[Git concepts chapter of the
 913user-manual] and linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7] both provide
 914introductions to the underlying Git architecture.
 915
 916See linkgit:gitworkflows[7] for an overview of recommended workflows.
 917
 918See also the link:howto-index.html[howto] documents for some useful
 919examples.
 920
 921The internals are documented in the
 922link:technical/api-index.html[Git API documentation].
 923
 924Users migrating from CVS may also want to
 925read linkgit:gitcvs-migration[7].
 926
 927
 928Authors
 929-------
 930Git was started by Linus Torvalds, and is currently maintained by Junio
 931C Hamano. Numerous contributions have come from the Git mailing list
 932<git@vger.kernel.org>.  http://www.ohloh.net/p/git/contributors/summary
 933gives you a more complete list of contributors.
 934
 935If you have a clone of git.git itself, the
 936output of linkgit:git-shortlog[1] and linkgit:git-blame[1] can show you
 937the authors for specific parts of the project.
 938
 939Reporting Bugs
 940--------------
 941
 942Report bugs to the Git mailing list <git@vger.kernel.org> where the
 943development and maintenance is primarily done.  You do not have to be
 944subscribed to the list to send a message there.
 945
 946SEE ALSO
 947--------
 948linkgit:gittutorial[7], linkgit:gittutorial-2[7],
 949link:everyday.html[Everyday Git], linkgit:gitcvs-migration[7],
 950linkgit:gitglossary[7], linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7],
 951linkgit:gitcli[7], link:user-manual.html[The Git User's Manual],
 952linkgit:gitworkflows[7]
 953
 954GIT
 955---
 956Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite