Documentation / git.txton commit Documentation/Makefile: allow man.base.url.for.relative.link to be set from Make (a479a56)
   1git(1)
   2======
   3
   4NAME
   5----
   6git - the stupid content tracker
   7
   8
   9SYNOPSIS
  10--------
  11[verse]
  12'git' [--version] [--exec-path[=GIT_EXEC_PATH]] [--html-path]
  13    [-p|--paginate|--no-pager]
  14    [--bare] [--git-dir=GIT_DIR] [--work-tree=GIT_WORK_TREE]
  15    [--help] COMMAND [ARGS]
  16
  17DESCRIPTION
  18-----------
  19Git is a fast, scalable, distributed revision control system with an
  20unusually rich command set that provides both high-level operations
  21and full access to internals.
  22
  23See linkgit:gittutorial[7] to get started, then see
  24link:everyday.html[Everyday Git] for a useful minimum set of commands, and
  25"man git-commandname" for documentation of each command.  CVS users may
  26also want to read linkgit:gitcvs-migration[7].  See
  27the link:user-manual.html[Git User's Manual] for a more in-depth
  28introduction.
  29
  30The COMMAND is either a name of a Git command (see below) or an alias
  31as defined in the configuration file (see linkgit:git-config[1]).
  32
  33Formatted and hyperlinked version of the latest git
  34documentation can be viewed at
  35`http://www.kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/`.
  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:v1.6.5.3/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.5.3]
  47
  48* release notes for
  49  link:RelNotes-1.6.5.3.txt[1.6.5.3],
  50  link:RelNotes-1.6.5.2.txt[1.6.5.2],
  51  link:RelNotes-1.6.5.1.txt[1.6.5.1],
  52  link:RelNotes-1.6.5.txt[1.6.5].
  53
  54* link:v1.6.4.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.4.4]
  55
  56* release notes for
  57  link:RelNotes-1.6.4.4.txt[1.6.4.4],
  58  link:RelNotes-1.6.4.3.txt[1.6.4.3],
  59  link:RelNotes-1.6.4.2.txt[1.6.4.2],
  60  link:RelNotes-1.6.4.1.txt[1.6.4.1],
  61  link:RelNotes-1.6.4.txt[1.6.4].
  62
  63* link:v1.6.3.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.3.4]
  64
  65* release notes for
  66  link:RelNotes-1.6.3.4.txt[1.6.3.4],
  67  link:RelNotes-1.6.3.3.txt[1.6.3.3],
  68  link:RelNotes-1.6.3.2.txt[1.6.3.2],
  69  link:RelNotes-1.6.3.1.txt[1.6.3.1],
  70  link:RelNotes-1.6.3.txt[1.6.3].
  71
  72* release notes for
  73  link:RelNotes-1.6.2.5.txt[1.6.2.5],
  74  link:RelNotes-1.6.2.4.txt[1.6.2.4],
  75  link:RelNotes-1.6.2.3.txt[1.6.2.3],
  76  link:RelNotes-1.6.2.2.txt[1.6.2.2],
  77  link:RelNotes-1.6.2.1.txt[1.6.2.1],
  78  link:RelNotes-1.6.2.txt[1.6.2].
  79
  80* link:v1.6.1.3/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.1.3]
  81
  82* release notes for
  83  link:RelNotes-1.6.1.3.txt[1.6.1.3],
  84  link:RelNotes-1.6.1.2.txt[1.6.1.2],
  85  link:RelNotes-1.6.1.1.txt[1.6.1.1],
  86  link:RelNotes-1.6.1.txt[1.6.1].
  87
  88* link:v1.6.0.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.0.6]
  89
  90* release notes for
  91  link:RelNotes-1.6.0.6.txt[1.6.0.6],
  92  link:RelNotes-1.6.0.5.txt[1.6.0.5],
  93  link:RelNotes-1.6.0.4.txt[1.6.0.4],
  94  link:RelNotes-1.6.0.3.txt[1.6.0.3],
  95  link:RelNotes-1.6.0.2.txt[1.6.0.2],
  96  link:RelNotes-1.6.0.1.txt[1.6.0.1],
  97  link:RelNotes-1.6.0.txt[1.6.0].
  98
  99* link:v1.5.6.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.6.6]
 100
 101* release notes for
 102  link:RelNotes-1.5.6.6.txt[1.5.6.6],
 103  link:RelNotes-1.5.6.5.txt[1.5.6.5],
 104  link:RelNotes-1.5.6.4.txt[1.5.6.4],
 105  link:RelNotes-1.5.6.3.txt[1.5.6.3],
 106  link:RelNotes-1.5.6.2.txt[1.5.6.2],
 107  link:RelNotes-1.5.6.1.txt[1.5.6.1],
 108  link:RelNotes-1.5.6.txt[1.5.6].
 109
 110* link:v1.5.5.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.5.6]
 111
 112* release notes for
 113  link:RelNotes-1.5.5.6.txt[1.5.5.6],
 114  link:RelNotes-1.5.5.5.txt[1.5.5.5],
 115  link:RelNotes-1.5.5.4.txt[1.5.5.4],
 116  link:RelNotes-1.5.5.3.txt[1.5.5.3],
 117  link:RelNotes-1.5.5.2.txt[1.5.5.2],
 118  link:RelNotes-1.5.5.1.txt[1.5.5.1],
 119  link:RelNotes-1.5.5.txt[1.5.5].
 120
 121* link:v1.5.4.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.4.7]
 122
 123* release notes for
 124  link:RelNotes-1.5.4.7.txt[1.5.4.7],
 125  link:RelNotes-1.5.4.6.txt[1.5.4.6],
 126  link:RelNotes-1.5.4.5.txt[1.5.4.5],
 127  link:RelNotes-1.5.4.4.txt[1.5.4.4],
 128  link:RelNotes-1.5.4.3.txt[1.5.4.3],
 129  link:RelNotes-1.5.4.2.txt[1.5.4.2],
 130  link:RelNotes-1.5.4.1.txt[1.5.4.1],
 131  link:RelNotes-1.5.4.txt[1.5.4].
 132
 133* link:v1.5.3.8/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.3.8]
 134
 135* release notes for
 136  link:RelNotes-1.5.3.8.txt[1.5.3.8],
 137  link:RelNotes-1.5.3.7.txt[1.5.3.7],
 138  link:RelNotes-1.5.3.6.txt[1.5.3.6],
 139  link:RelNotes-1.5.3.5.txt[1.5.3.5],
 140  link:RelNotes-1.5.3.4.txt[1.5.3.4],
 141  link:RelNotes-1.5.3.3.txt[1.5.3.3],
 142  link:RelNotes-1.5.3.2.txt[1.5.3.2],
 143  link:RelNotes-1.5.3.1.txt[1.5.3.1],
 144  link:RelNotes-1.5.3.txt[1.5.3].
 145
 146* link:v1.5.2.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.2.5]
 147
 148* release notes for
 149  link:RelNotes-1.5.2.5.txt[1.5.2.5],
 150  link:RelNotes-1.5.2.4.txt[1.5.2.4],
 151  link:RelNotes-1.5.2.3.txt[1.5.2.3],
 152  link:RelNotes-1.5.2.2.txt[1.5.2.2],
 153  link:RelNotes-1.5.2.1.txt[1.5.2.1],
 154  link:RelNotes-1.5.2.txt[1.5.2].
 155
 156* link:v1.5.1.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.1.6]
 157
 158* release notes for
 159  link:RelNotes-1.5.1.6.txt[1.5.1.6],
 160  link:RelNotes-1.5.1.5.txt[1.5.1.5],
 161  link:RelNotes-1.5.1.4.txt[1.5.1.4],
 162  link:RelNotes-1.5.1.3.txt[1.5.1.3],
 163  link:RelNotes-1.5.1.2.txt[1.5.1.2],
 164  link:RelNotes-1.5.1.1.txt[1.5.1.1],
 165  link:RelNotes-1.5.1.txt[1.5.1].
 166
 167* link:v1.5.0.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.0.7]
 168
 169* release notes for
 170  link:RelNotes-1.5.0.7.txt[1.5.0.7],
 171  link:RelNotes-1.5.0.6.txt[1.5.0.6],
 172  link:RelNotes-1.5.0.5.txt[1.5.0.5],
 173  link:RelNotes-1.5.0.3.txt[1.5.0.3],
 174  link:RelNotes-1.5.0.2.txt[1.5.0.2],
 175  link:RelNotes-1.5.0.1.txt[1.5.0.1],
 176  link:RelNotes-1.5.0.txt[1.5.0].
 177
 178* documentation for release link:v1.4.4.4/git.html[1.4.4.4],
 179  link:v1.3.3/git.html[1.3.3],
 180  link:v1.2.6/git.html[1.2.6],
 181  link:v1.0.13/git.html[1.0.13].
 182
 183============
 184
 185endif::stalenotes[]
 186
 187OPTIONS
 188-------
 189--version::
 190        Prints the git suite version that the 'git' program came from.
 191
 192--help::
 193        Prints the synopsis and a list of the most commonly used
 194        commands. If the option '--all' or '-a' is given then all
 195        available commands are printed. If a git command is named this
 196        option will bring up the manual page for that command.
 197+
 198Other options are available to control how the manual page is
 199displayed. See linkgit:git-help[1] for more information,
 200because `git --help ...` is converted internally into `git
 201help ...`.
 202
 203--exec-path::
 204        Path to wherever your core git programs are installed.
 205        This can also be controlled by setting the GIT_EXEC_PATH
 206        environment variable. If no path is given, 'git' will print
 207        the current setting and then exit.
 208
 209--html-path::
 210        Print the path to wherever your git HTML documentation is installed
 211        and exit.
 212
 213-p::
 214--paginate::
 215        Pipe all output into 'less' (or if set, $PAGER).
 216
 217--no-pager::
 218        Do not pipe git output into a pager.
 219
 220--git-dir=<path>::
 221        Set the path to the repository. This can also be controlled by
 222        setting the GIT_DIR environment variable. It can be an absolute
 223        path or relative path to current working directory.
 224
 225--work-tree=<path>::
 226        Set the path to the working tree.  The value will not be
 227        used in combination with repositories found automatically in
 228        a .git directory (i.e. $GIT_DIR is not set).
 229        This can also be controlled by setting the GIT_WORK_TREE
 230        environment variable and the core.worktree configuration
 231        variable. It can be an absolute path or relative path to
 232        the directory specified by --git-dir or GIT_DIR.
 233        Note: If --git-dir or GIT_DIR are specified but none of
 234        --work-tree, GIT_WORK_TREE and core.worktree is specified,
 235        the current working directory is regarded as the top directory
 236        of your working tree.
 237
 238--bare::
 239        Treat the repository as a bare repository.  If GIT_DIR
 240        environment is not set, it is set to the current working
 241        directory.
 242
 243
 244FURTHER DOCUMENTATION
 245---------------------
 246
 247See the references above to get started using git.  The following is
 248probably more detail than necessary for a first-time user.
 249
 250The link:user-manual.html#git-concepts[git concepts chapter of the
 251user-manual] and linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7] both provide
 252introductions to the underlying git architecture.
 253
 254See linkgit:gitworkflows[7] for an overview of recommended workflows.
 255
 256See also the link:howto-index.html[howto] documents for some useful
 257examples.
 258
 259The internals are documented in the
 260link:technical/api-index.html[GIT API documentation].
 261
 262GIT COMMANDS
 263------------
 264
 265We divide git into high level ("porcelain") commands and low level
 266("plumbing") commands.
 267
 268High-level commands (porcelain)
 269-------------------------------
 270
 271We separate the porcelain commands into the main commands and some
 272ancillary user utilities.
 273
 274Main porcelain commands
 275~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 276
 277include::cmds-mainporcelain.txt[]
 278
 279Ancillary Commands
 280~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 281Manipulators:
 282
 283include::cmds-ancillarymanipulators.txt[]
 284
 285Interrogators:
 286
 287include::cmds-ancillaryinterrogators.txt[]
 288
 289
 290Interacting with Others
 291~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 292
 293These commands are to interact with foreign SCM and with other
 294people via patch over e-mail.
 295
 296include::cmds-foreignscminterface.txt[]
 297
 298
 299Low-level commands (plumbing)
 300-----------------------------
 301
 302Although git includes its
 303own porcelain layer, its low-level commands are sufficient to support
 304development of alternative porcelains.  Developers of such porcelains
 305might start by reading about linkgit:git-update-index[1] and
 306linkgit:git-read-tree[1].
 307
 308The interface (input, output, set of options and the semantics)
 309to these low-level commands are meant to be a lot more stable
 310than Porcelain level commands, because these commands are
 311primarily for scripted use.  The interface to Porcelain commands
 312on the other hand are subject to change in order to improve the
 313end user experience.
 314
 315The following description divides
 316the low-level commands into commands that manipulate objects (in
 317the repository, index, and working tree), commands that interrogate and
 318compare objects, and commands that move objects and references between
 319repositories.
 320
 321
 322Manipulation commands
 323~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 324
 325include::cmds-plumbingmanipulators.txt[]
 326
 327
 328Interrogation commands
 329~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 330
 331include::cmds-plumbinginterrogators.txt[]
 332
 333In general, the interrogate commands do not touch the files in
 334the working tree.
 335
 336
 337Synching repositories
 338~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 339
 340include::cmds-synchingrepositories.txt[]
 341
 342The following are helper commands used by the above; end users
 343typically do not use them directly.
 344
 345include::cmds-synchelpers.txt[]
 346
 347
 348Internal helper commands
 349~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 350
 351These are internal helper commands used by other commands; end
 352users typically do not use them directly.
 353
 354include::cmds-purehelpers.txt[]
 355
 356
 357Configuration Mechanism
 358-----------------------
 359
 360Starting from 0.99.9 (actually mid 0.99.8.GIT), `.git/config` file
 361is used to hold per-repository configuration options.  It is a
 362simple text file modeled after `.ini` format familiar to some
 363people.  Here is an example:
 364
 365------------
 366#
 367# A '#' or ';' character indicates a comment.
 368#
 369
 370; core variables
 371[core]
 372        ; Don't trust file modes
 373        filemode = false
 374
 375; user identity
 376[user]
 377        name = "Junio C Hamano"
 378        email = "junkio@twinsun.com"
 379
 380------------
 381
 382Various commands read from the configuration file and adjust
 383their operation accordingly.
 384
 385
 386Identifier Terminology
 387----------------------
 388<object>::
 389        Indicates the object name for any type of object.
 390
 391<blob>::
 392        Indicates a blob object name.
 393
 394<tree>::
 395        Indicates a tree object name.
 396
 397<commit>::
 398        Indicates a commit object name.
 399
 400<tree-ish>::
 401        Indicates a tree, commit or tag object name.  A
 402        command that takes a <tree-ish> argument ultimately wants to
 403        operate on a <tree> object but automatically dereferences
 404        <commit> and <tag> objects that point at a <tree>.
 405
 406<commit-ish>::
 407        Indicates a commit or tag object name.  A
 408        command that takes a <commit-ish> argument ultimately wants to
 409        operate on a <commit> object but automatically dereferences
 410        <tag> objects that point at a <commit>.
 411
 412<type>::
 413        Indicates that an object type is required.
 414        Currently one of: `blob`, `tree`, `commit`, or `tag`.
 415
 416<file>::
 417        Indicates a filename - almost always relative to the
 418        root of the tree structure `GIT_INDEX_FILE` describes.
 419
 420Symbolic Identifiers
 421--------------------
 422Any git command accepting any <object> can also use the following
 423symbolic notation:
 424
 425HEAD::
 426        indicates the head of the current branch (i.e. the
 427        contents of `$GIT_DIR/HEAD`).
 428
 429<tag>::
 430        a valid tag 'name'
 431        (i.e. the contents of `$GIT_DIR/refs/tags/<tag>`).
 432
 433<head>::
 434        a valid head 'name'
 435        (i.e. the contents of `$GIT_DIR/refs/heads/<head>`).
 436
 437For a more complete list of ways to spell object names, see
 438"SPECIFYING REVISIONS" section in linkgit:git-rev-parse[1].
 439
 440
 441File/Directory Structure
 442------------------------
 443
 444Please see the linkgit:gitrepository-layout[5] document.
 445
 446Read linkgit:githooks[5] for more details about each hook.
 447
 448Higher level SCMs may provide and manage additional information in the
 449`$GIT_DIR`.
 450
 451
 452Terminology
 453-----------
 454Please see linkgit:gitglossary[7].
 455
 456
 457Environment Variables
 458---------------------
 459Various git commands use the following environment variables:
 460
 461The git Repository
 462~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 463These environment variables apply to 'all' core git commands. Nb: it
 464is worth noting that they may be used/overridden by SCMS sitting above
 465git so take care if using Cogito etc.
 466
 467'GIT_INDEX_FILE'::
 468        This environment allows the specification of an alternate
 469        index file. If not specified, the default of `$GIT_DIR/index`
 470        is used.
 471
 472'GIT_OBJECT_DIRECTORY'::
 473        If the object storage directory is specified via this
 474        environment variable then the sha1 directories are created
 475        underneath - otherwise the default `$GIT_DIR/objects`
 476        directory is used.
 477
 478'GIT_ALTERNATE_OBJECT_DIRECTORIES'::
 479        Due to the immutable nature of git objects, old objects can be
 480        archived into shared, read-only directories. This variable
 481        specifies a ":" separated (on Windows ";" separated) list
 482        of git object directories which can be used to search for git
 483        objects. New objects will not be written to these directories.
 484
 485'GIT_DIR'::
 486        If the 'GIT_DIR' environment variable is set then it
 487        specifies a path to use instead of the default `.git`
 488        for the base of the repository.
 489
 490'GIT_WORK_TREE'::
 491        Set the path to the working tree.  The value will not be
 492        used in combination with repositories found automatically in
 493        a .git directory (i.e. $GIT_DIR is not set).
 494        This can also be controlled by the '--work-tree' command line
 495        option and the core.worktree configuration variable.
 496
 497'GIT_CEILING_DIRECTORIES'::
 498        This should be a colon-separated list of absolute paths.
 499        If set, it is a list of directories that git should not chdir
 500        up into while looking for a repository directory.
 501        It will not exclude the current working directory or
 502        a GIT_DIR set on the command line or in the environment.
 503        (Useful for excluding slow-loading network directories.)
 504
 505git Commits
 506~~~~~~~~~~~
 507'GIT_AUTHOR_NAME'::
 508'GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL'::
 509'GIT_AUTHOR_DATE'::
 510'GIT_COMMITTER_NAME'::
 511'GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL'::
 512'GIT_COMMITTER_DATE'::
 513'EMAIL'::
 514        see linkgit:git-commit-tree[1]
 515
 516git Diffs
 517~~~~~~~~~
 518'GIT_DIFF_OPTS'::
 519        Only valid setting is "--unified=??" or "-u??" to set the
 520        number of context lines shown when a unified diff is created.
 521        This takes precedence over any "-U" or "--unified" option
 522        value passed on the git diff command line.
 523
 524'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF'::
 525        When the environment variable 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is set, the
 526        program named by it is called, instead of the diff invocation
 527        described above.  For a path that is added, removed, or modified,
 528        'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called with 7 parameters:
 529
 530        path old-file old-hex old-mode new-file new-hex new-mode
 531+
 532where:
 533
 534        <old|new>-file:: are files GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF can use to read the
 535                         contents of <old|new>,
 536        <old|new>-hex:: are the 40-hexdigit SHA1 hashes,
 537        <old|new>-mode:: are the octal representation of the file modes.
 538
 539+
 540The file parameters can point at the user's working file
 541(e.g. `new-file` in "git-diff-files"), `/dev/null` (e.g. `old-file`
 542when a new file is added), or a temporary file (e.g. `old-file` in the
 543index).  'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' should not worry about unlinking the
 544temporary file --- it is removed when 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' exits.
 545+
 546For a path that is unmerged, 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called with 1
 547parameter, <path>.
 548
 549other
 550~~~~~
 551'GIT_MERGE_VERBOSITY'::
 552        A number controlling the amount of output shown by
 553        the recursive merge strategy.  Overrides merge.verbosity.
 554        See linkgit:git-merge[1]
 555
 556'GIT_PAGER'::
 557        This environment variable overrides `$PAGER`. If it is set
 558        to an empty string or to the value "cat", git will not launch
 559        a pager.  See also the `core.pager` option in
 560        linkgit:git-config[1].
 561
 562'GIT_SSH'::
 563        If this environment variable is set then 'git-fetch'
 564        and 'git-push' will use this command instead
 565        of 'ssh' when they need to connect to a remote system.
 566        The '$GIT_SSH' command will be given exactly two arguments:
 567        the 'username@host' (or just 'host') from the URL and the
 568        shell command to execute on that remote system.
 569+
 570To pass options to the program that you want to list in GIT_SSH
 571you will need to wrap the program and options into a shell script,
 572then set GIT_SSH to refer to the shell script.
 573+
 574Usually it is easier to configure any desired options through your
 575personal `.ssh/config` file.  Please consult your ssh documentation
 576for further details.
 577
 578'GIT_FLUSH'::
 579        If this environment variable is set to "1", then commands such
 580        as 'git-blame' (in incremental mode), 'git-rev-list', 'git-log',
 581        and 'git-whatchanged' will force a flush of the output stream
 582        after each commit-oriented record have been flushed.   If this
 583        variable is set to "0", the output of these commands will be done
 584        using completely buffered I/O.   If this environment variable is
 585        not set, git will choose buffered or record-oriented flushing
 586        based on whether stdout appears to be redirected to a file or not.
 587
 588'GIT_TRACE'::
 589        If this variable is set to "1", "2" or "true" (comparison
 590        is case insensitive), git will print `trace:` messages on
 591        stderr telling about alias expansion, built-in command
 592        execution and external command execution.
 593        If this variable is set to an integer value greater than 1
 594        and lower than 10 (strictly) then git will interpret this
 595        value as an open file descriptor and will try to write the
 596        trace messages into this file descriptor.
 597        Alternatively, if this variable is set to an absolute path
 598        (starting with a '/' character), git will interpret this
 599        as a file path and will try to write the trace messages
 600        into it.
 601
 602Discussion[[Discussion]]
 603------------------------
 604
 605More detail on the following is available from the
 606link:user-manual.html#git-concepts[git concepts chapter of the
 607user-manual] and linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7].
 608
 609A git project normally consists of a working directory with a ".git"
 610subdirectory at the top level.  The .git directory contains, among other
 611things, a compressed object database representing the complete history
 612of the project, an "index" file which links that history to the current
 613contents of the working tree, and named pointers into that history such
 614as tags and branch heads.
 615
 616The object database contains objects of three main types: blobs, which
 617hold file data; trees, which point to blobs and other trees to build up
 618directory hierarchies; and commits, which each reference a single tree
 619and some number of parent commits.
 620
 621The commit, equivalent to what other systems call a "changeset" or
 622"version", represents a step in the project's history, and each parent
 623represents an immediately preceding step.  Commits with more than one
 624parent represent merges of independent lines of development.
 625
 626All objects are named by the SHA1 hash of their contents, normally
 627written as a string of 40 hex digits.  Such names are globally unique.
 628The entire history leading up to a commit can be vouched for by signing
 629just that commit.  A fourth object type, the tag, is provided for this
 630purpose.
 631
 632When first created, objects are stored in individual files, but for
 633efficiency may later be compressed together into "pack files".
 634
 635Named pointers called refs mark interesting points in history.  A ref
 636may contain the SHA1 name of an object or the name of another ref.  Refs
 637with names beginning `ref/head/` contain the SHA1 name of the most
 638recent commit (or "head") of a branch under development.  SHA1 names of
 639tags of interest are stored under `ref/tags/`.  A special ref named
 640`HEAD` contains the name of the currently checked-out branch.
 641
 642The index file is initialized with a list of all paths and, for each
 643path, a blob object and a set of attributes.  The blob object represents
 644the contents of the file as of the head of the current branch.  The
 645attributes (last modified time, size, etc.) are taken from the
 646corresponding file in the working tree.  Subsequent changes to the
 647working tree can be found by comparing these attributes.  The index may
 648be updated with new content, and new commits may be created from the
 649content stored in the index.
 650
 651The index is also capable of storing multiple entries (called "stages")
 652for a given pathname.  These stages are used to hold the various
 653unmerged version of a file when a merge is in progress.
 654
 655Authors
 656-------
 657* git's founding father is Linus Torvalds <torvalds@osdl.org>.
 658* The current git nurse is Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>.
 659* The git potty was written by Andreas Ericsson <ae@op5.se>.
 660* General upbringing is handled by the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>.
 661
 662Documentation
 663--------------
 664The documentation for git suite was started by David Greaves
 665<david@dgreaves.com>, and later enhanced greatly by the
 666contributors on the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>.
 667
 668SEE ALSO
 669--------
 670linkgit:gittutorial[7], linkgit:gittutorial-2[7],
 671link:everyday.html[Everyday Git], linkgit:gitcvs-migration[7],
 672linkgit:gitglossary[7], linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7],
 673linkgit:gitcli[7], link:user-manual.html[The Git User's Manual],
 674linkgit:gitworkflows[7]
 675
 676GIT
 677---
 678Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite