1git(7) 2====== 3v0.99.6, Sep 2005 4 5NAME 6---- 7git - the stupid content tracker 8 9 10SYNOPSIS 11-------- 12'git-<command>' <args> 13 14DESCRIPTION 15----------- 16 17This is reference information for the core git commands. 18 19Before reading this cover to cover, you may want to take a look 20at the link:tutorial.html[tutorial] document. 21 22The <<Discussion>> section below contains much useful definition and 23clarification info - read that first. And of the commands, I suggest 24reading gitlink:git-update-index[1] and 25gitlink:git-read-tree[1] first - I wish I had! 26 27If you are migrating from CVS, link:cvs-migration.html[cvs migration] 28document may be helpful after you finish the tutorial. 29 30After you get the general feel from the tutorial and this 31overview page, you may want to take a look at the 32link:howto-index.html[howto] documents. 33 34 35David Greaves <david@dgreaves.com> 3608/05/05 37 38Updated by Junio C Hamano <junkio@cox.net> on 2005-05-05 to 39reflect recent changes. 40 41Commands Overview 42----------------- 43The git commands can helpfully be split into those that manipulate 44the repository, the cache and the working fileset, those that 45interrogate and compare them, and those that moves objects and 46references between repositories. 47 48In addition, git itself comes with a spartan set of porcelain 49commands. They are usable but are not meant to compete with real 50Porcelains. 51 52There are also some ancillary programs that can be viewed as useful 53aids for using the core commands but which are unlikely to be used by 54SCMs layered over git. 55 56Manipulation commands 57~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 58gitlink:git-apply[1]:: 59 Reads a "diff -up1" or git generated patch file and 60 applies it to the working tree. 61 62gitlink:git-checkout-index[1]:: 63 Copy files from the cache to the working directory 64 Previously this command was known as git-checkout-cache. 65 66gitlink:git-commit-tree[1]:: 67 Creates a new commit object 68 69gitlink:git-hash-object[1]:: 70 Computes the object ID from a file. 71 72gitlink:git-init-db[1]:: 73 Creates an empty git object database 74 75gitlink:git-merge-index[1]:: 76 Runs a merge for files needing merging 77 Previously this command was known as git-merge-cache. 78 79gitlink:git-mktag[1]:: 80 Creates a tag object 81 82gitlink:git-pack-objects[1]:: 83 Creates a packed archive of objects. 84 85gitlink:git-prune-packed[1]:: 86 Remove extra objects that are already in pack files. 87 88gitlink:git-read-tree[1]:: 89 Reads tree information into the directory cache 90 91gitlink:git-unpack-objects[1]:: 92 Unpacks objects out of a packed archive. 93 94gitlink:git-update-index[1]:: 95 Modifies the index or directory cache 96 Previously this command was known as git-update-cache. 97 98gitlink:git-write-tree[1]:: 99 Creates a tree from the current cache 100 101 102Interrogation commands 103~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 104 105gitlink:git-cat-file[1]:: 106 Provide content or type information for repository objects 107 108gitlink:git-diff-index[1]:: 109 Compares content and mode of blobs between the cache and repository 110 Previously this command was known as git-diff-cache. 111 112gitlink:git-diff-files[1]:: 113 Compares files in the working tree and the cache 114 115gitlink:git-diff-stages[1]:: 116 Compares two "merge stages" in the index file. 117 118gitlink:git-diff-tree[1]:: 119 Compares the content and mode of blobs found via two tree objects 120 121gitlink:git-fsck-objects[1]:: 122 Verifies the connectivity and validity of the objects in the database 123 Previously this command was known as git-fsck-cache. 124 125gitlink:git-ls-files[1]:: 126 Information about files in the cache/working directory 127 128gitlink:git-ls-tree[1]:: 129 Displays a tree object in human readable form 130 131gitlink:git-merge-base[1]:: 132 Finds as good a common ancestor as possible for a merge 133 134gitlink:git-rev-list[1]:: 135 Lists commit objects in reverse chronological order 136 137gitlink:git-show-index[1]:: 138 Displays contents of a pack idx file. 139 140gitlink:git-tar-tree[1]:: 141 Creates a tar archive of the files in the named tree 142 143gitlink:git-unpack-file[1]:: 144 Creates a temporary file with a blob's contents 145 146gitlink:git-var[1]:: 147 Displays a git logical variable 148 149gitlink:git-verify-pack[1]:: 150 Validates packed GIT archive files 151 152The interrogate commands may create files - and you can force them to 153touch the working file set - but in general they don't 154 155 156Synching repositories 157~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 158 159gitlink:git-clone-pack[1]:: 160 Clones a repository into the current repository (engine 161 for ssh and local transport) 162 163gitlink:git-fetch-pack[1]:: 164 Updates from a remote repository. 165 166gitlink:git-http-fetch[1]:: 167 Downloads a remote GIT repository via HTTP 168 Previously this command was known as git-http-pull. 169 170gitlink:git-local-fetch[1]:: 171 Duplicates another GIT repository on a local system 172 Previously this command was known as git-local-pull. 173 174gitlink:git-peek-remote[1]:: 175 Lists references on a remote repository using upload-pack protocol. 176 177gitlink:git-receive-pack[1]:: 178 Invoked by 'git-send-pack' to receive what is pushed to it. 179 180gitlink:git-send-pack[1]:: 181 Pushes to a remote repository, intelligently. 182 183gitlink:git-ssh-fetch[1]:: 184 Pulls from a remote repository over ssh connection 185 Previously this command was known as git-ssh-pull. 186 187gitlink:git-ssh-upload[1]:: 188 Helper "server-side" program used by git-ssh-fetch 189 Previously this command was known as git-ssh-push. 190 191gitlink:git-update-server-info[1]:: 192 Updates auxiliary information on a dumb server to help 193 clients discover references and packs on it. 194 195gitlink:git-upload-pack[1]:: 196 Invoked by 'git-clone-pack' and 'git-fetch-pack' to push 197 what are asked for. 198 199 200Porcelain-ish Commands 201---------------------- 202 203gitlink:git-add[1]:: 204 Add paths to the index file. 205 Previously this command was known as git-add-script. 206 207gitlink:git-applymbox[1]:: 208 Apply patches from a mailbox. 209 210gitlink:git-bisect[1]:: 211 Find the change that introduced a bug. 212 Previously this command was known as git-bisect-script. 213 214gitlink:git-branch[1]:: 215 Create and Show branches. 216 Previously this command was known as git-branch-script. 217 218gitlink:git-checkout[1]:: 219 Checkout and switch to a branch. 220 Previously this command was known as git-checkout-script. 221 222gitlink:git-cherry-pick[1]:: 223 Cherry-pick the effect of an existing commit. 224 Previously this command was known as git-cherry-pick-script. 225 226gitlink:git-clone[1]:: 227 Clones a repository into a new directory. 228 Previously this command was known as git-clone-script. 229 230gitlink:git-commit[1]:: 231 Record changes to the repository. 232 Previously this command was known as git-commit-script. 233 234gitlink:git-diff[1]:: 235 Show changes between commits, commit and working tree, etc. 236 Previously this command was known as git-diff-script. 237 238gitlink:git-fetch[1]:: 239 Download from a remote repository via various protocols. 240 Previously this command was known as git-fetch-script. 241 242gitlink:git-format-patch[1]:: 243 Prepare patches for e-mail submission. 244 Previously this command was known as git-format-patch-script. 245 246gitlink:git-grep[1]:: 247 Print lines matching a pattern 248 249gitlink:git-log[1]:: 250 Shows commit logs. 251 Previously this command was known as git-log-script. 252 253gitlink:git-ls-remote[1]:: 254 Shows references in a remote or local repository. 255 Previously this command was known as git-ls-remote-script. 256 257gitlink:git-merge[1]:: 258 Grand unified merge driver. 259 260gitlink:git-octopus[1]:: 261 Merge more than two commits. 262 Previously this command was known as git-octopus-script. 263 264gitlink:git-pull[1]:: 265 Fetch from and merge with a remote repository. 266 Previously this command was known as git-pull-script. 267 268gitlink:git-push[1]:: 269 Update remote refs along with associated objects. 270 Previously this command was known as git-push-script. 271 272gitlink:git-rebase[1]:: 273 Rebase local commits to new upstream head. 274 Previously this command was known as git-rebase-script. 275 276gitlink:git-rename[1]:: 277 Rename files and directories. 278 Previously this command was known as git-rename-script. 279 280gitlink:git-repack[1]:: 281 Pack unpacked objects in a repository. 282 Previously this command was known as git-repack-script. 283 284gitlink:git-reset[1]:: 285 Reset current HEAD to the specified state. 286 Previously this command was known as git-reset-script. 287 288gitlink:git-resolve[1]:: 289 Merge two commits. 290 Previously this command was known as git-resolve-script. 291 292gitlink:git-revert[1]:: 293 Revert an existing commit. 294 Previously this command was known as git-revert-script. 295 296gitlink:git-shortlog[1]:: 297 Summarizes 'git log' output. 298 299gitlink:git-show-branch[1]:: 300 Show branches and their commits. 301 302gitlink:git-status[1]:: 303 Shows the working tree status. 304 Previously this command was known as git-status-script. 305 306gitlink:git-verify-tag[1]:: 307 Check the GPG signature of tag. 308 Previously this command was known as git-verify-tag-script. 309 310gitlink:git-whatchanged[1]:: 311 Shows commit logs and differences they introduce. 312 313 314Ancillary Commands 315------------------ 316Manipulators: 317 318gitlink:git-applypatch[1]:: 319 Apply one patch extracted from an e-mail. 320 321gitlink:git-archimport[1]:: 322 Import an arch repository into git. 323 Previously this command was known as git-archimport-script. 324 325gitlink:git-convert-objects[1]:: 326 Converts old-style GIT repository 327 Previously this command was known as git-convert-cache. 328 329gitlink:git-cvsimport[1]:: 330 Salvage your data out of another SCM people love to hate. 331 Previously this command was known as git-cvsimport-script. 332 333gitlink:git-merge-one-file[1]:: 334 The standard helper program to use with "git-merge-index" 335 Previously this command was known as git-merge-one-file-script. 336 337gitlink:git-prune[1]:: 338 Prunes all unreachable objects from the object database 339 Previously this command was known as git-prune-script. 340 341gitlink:git-relink[1]:: 342 Hardlink common objects in local repositories. 343 Previously this command was known as git-relink-script. 344 345gitlink:git-sh-setup[1]:: 346 Common git shell script setup code. 347 Previously this command was known as git-sh-setup-script. 348 349gitlink:git-tag[1]:: 350 An example script to create a tag object signed with GPG 351 Previously this command was known as git-tag-script. 352 353 354Interrogators: 355 356gitlink:git-cherry[1]:: 357 Find commits not merged upstream. 358 359gitlink:git-count-objects[1]:: 360 Count unpacked number of objects and their disk consumption. 361 Previously this command was known as git-count-objects-script. 362 363gitlink:git-daemon[1]:: 364 A really simple server for GIT repositories. 365 366gitlink:git-diff-helper[1]:: 367 Generates patch format output for git-diff-* 368 369gitlink:git-get-tar-commit-id[1]:: 370 Extract commit ID from an archive created using git-tar-tree. 371 372gitlink:git-mailinfo[1]:: 373 Extracts patch from a single e-mail message. 374 375gitlink:git-mailsplit[1]:: 376 git-mailsplit. 377 378gitlink:git-patch-id[1]:: 379 Compute unique ID for a patch. 380 381gitlink:git-parse-remote[1]:: 382 Routines to help parsing $GIT_DIR/remotes/ 383 Previously this command was known as git-parse-remote-script. 384 385gitlink:git-request-pull[1]:: 386 git-request-pull. 387 Previously this command was known as git-request-pull-script. 388 389gitlink:git-rev-parse[1]:: 390 Pick out and massage parameters. 391 392gitlink:git-send-email[1]:: 393 Send patch e-mails out of "format-patch --mbox" output. 394 Previously this command was known as git-send-email-script. 395 396gitlink:git-stripspace[1]:: 397 Filter out empty lines. 398 399 400Commands not yet documented 401--------------------------- 402 403gitlink:gitk[1]:: 404 gitk. 405 406 407Identifier Terminology 408---------------------- 409<object>:: 410 Indicates the sha1 identifier for any type of object 411 412<blob>:: 413 Indicates a blob object sha1 identifier 414 415<tree>:: 416 Indicates a tree object sha1 identifier 417 418<commit>:: 419 Indicates a commit object sha1 identifier 420 421<tree-ish>:: 422 Indicates a tree, commit or tag object sha1 identifier. A 423 command that takes a <tree-ish> argument ultimately wants to 424 operate on a <tree> object but automatically dereferences 425 <commit> and <tag> objects that point at a <tree>. 426 427<type>:: 428 Indicates that an object type is required. 429 Currently one of: blob/tree/commit/tag 430 431<file>:: 432 Indicates a filename - always relative to the root of 433 the tree structure GIT_INDEX_FILE describes. 434 435Symbolic Identifiers 436-------------------- 437Any git command accepting any <object> can also use the following 438symbolic notation: 439 440HEAD:: 441 indicates the head of the repository (ie the contents of 442 `$GIT_DIR/HEAD`) 443<tag>:: 444 a valid tag 'name'+ 445 (ie the contents of `$GIT_DIR/refs/tags/<tag>`) 446<head>:: 447 a valid head 'name'+ 448 (ie the contents of `$GIT_DIR/refs/heads/<head>`) 449<snap>:: 450 a valid snapshot 'name'+ 451 (ie the contents of `$GIT_DIR/refs/snap/<snap>`) 452 453 454File/Directory Structure 455------------------------ 456 457Please see link:repository-layout.html[repository layout] document. 458 459Higher level SCMs may provide and manage additional information in the 460GIT_DIR. 461 462 463Terminology 464----------- 465Please see link:glossary.html[glossary] document. 466 467 468Environment Variables 469--------------------- 470Various git commands use the following environment variables: 471 472The git Repository 473~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 474These environment variables apply to 'all' core git commands. Nb: it 475is worth noting that they may be used/overridden by SCMS sitting above 476git so take care if using Cogito etc 477 478'GIT_INDEX_FILE':: 479 This environment allows the specification of an alternate 480 cache/index file. If not specified, the default of 481 `$GIT_DIR/index` is used. 482 483'GIT_OBJECT_DIRECTORY':: 484 If the object storage directory is specified via this 485 environment variable then the sha1 directories are created 486 underneath - otherwise the default `$GIT_DIR/objects` 487 directory is used. 488 489'GIT_ALTERNATE_OBJECT_DIRECTORIES':: 490 Due to the immutable nature of git objects, old objects can be 491 archived into shared, read-only directories. This variable 492 specifies a ":" separated list of git object directories which 493 can be used to search for git objects. New objects will not be 494 written to these directories. 495 496'GIT_DIR':: 497 If the 'GIT_DIR' environment variable is set then it specifies 498 a path to use instead of `./.git` for the base of the 499 repository. 500 501git Commits 502~~~~~~~~~~~ 503'GIT_AUTHOR_NAME':: 504'GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL':: 505'GIT_AUTHOR_DATE':: 506'GIT_COMMITTER_NAME':: 507'GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL':: 508 see gitlink:git-commit-tree[1] 509 510git Diffs 511~~~~~~~~~ 512'GIT_DIFF_OPTS':: 513'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF':: 514 see the "generating patches" section in : 515 gitlink:git-diff-index[1]; 516 gitlink:git-diff-files[1]; 517 gitlink:git-diff-tree[1] 518 519Discussion[[Discussion]] 520------------------------ 521include::../README[] 522 523Author 524------ 525Written by Linus Torvalds <torvalds@osdl.org> and the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>. 526 527Documentation 528-------------- 529Documentation by David Greaves, Junio C Hamano and the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>. 530 531GIT 532--- 533Part of the gitlink:git[7] suite 534