Documentation / git-branch.txton commit Git 2.22-rc0 (ab15ad1)
   1git-branch(1)
   2=============
   3
   4NAME
   5----
   6git-branch - List, create, or delete branches
   7
   8SYNOPSIS
   9--------
  10[verse]
  11'git branch' [--color[=<when>] | --no-color] [-r | -a]
  12        [--list] [--show-current] [-v [--abbrev=<length> | --no-abbrev]]
  13        [--column[=<options>] | --no-column] [--sort=<key>]
  14        [(--merged | --no-merged) [<commit>]]
  15        [--contains [<commit]] [--no-contains [<commit>]]
  16        [--points-at <object>] [--format=<format>] [<pattern>...]
  17'git branch' [--track | --no-track] [-f] <branchname> [<start-point>]
  18'git branch' (--set-upstream-to=<upstream> | -u <upstream>) [<branchname>]
  19'git branch' --unset-upstream [<branchname>]
  20'git branch' (-m | -M) [<oldbranch>] <newbranch>
  21'git branch' (-c | -C) [<oldbranch>] <newbranch>
  22'git branch' (-d | -D) [-r] <branchname>...
  23'git branch' --edit-description [<branchname>]
  24
  25DESCRIPTION
  26-----------
  27
  28If `--list` is given, or if there are no non-option arguments, existing
  29branches are listed; the current branch will be highlighted with an
  30asterisk.  Option `-r` causes the remote-tracking branches to be listed,
  31and option `-a` shows both local and remote branches. If a `<pattern>`
  32is given, it is used as a shell wildcard to restrict the output to
  33matching branches. If multiple patterns are given, a branch is shown if
  34it matches any of the patterns.  Note that when providing a
  35`<pattern>`, you must use `--list`; otherwise the command is interpreted
  36as branch creation.
  37
  38With `--contains`, shows only the branches that contain the named commit
  39(in other words, the branches whose tip commits are descendants of the
  40named commit), `--no-contains` inverts it. With `--merged`, only branches
  41merged into the named commit (i.e. the branches whose tip commits are
  42reachable from the named commit) will be listed.  With `--no-merged` only
  43branches not merged into the named commit will be listed.  If the <commit>
  44argument is missing it defaults to `HEAD` (i.e. the tip of the current
  45branch).
  46
  47The command's second form creates a new branch head named <branchname>
  48which points to the current `HEAD`, or <start-point> if given.
  49
  50Note that this will create the new branch, but it will not switch the
  51working tree to it; use "git checkout <newbranch>" to switch to the
  52new branch.
  53
  54When a local branch is started off a remote-tracking branch, Git sets up the
  55branch (specifically the `branch.<name>.remote` and `branch.<name>.merge`
  56configuration entries) so that 'git pull' will appropriately merge from
  57the remote-tracking branch. This behavior may be changed via the global
  58`branch.autoSetupMerge` configuration flag. That setting can be
  59overridden by using the `--track` and `--no-track` options, and
  60changed later using `git branch --set-upstream-to`.
  61
  62With a `-m` or `-M` option, <oldbranch> will be renamed to <newbranch>.
  63If <oldbranch> had a corresponding reflog, it is renamed to match
  64<newbranch>, and a reflog entry is created to remember the branch
  65renaming. If <newbranch> exists, -M must be used to force the rename
  66to happen.
  67
  68The `-c` and `-C` options have the exact same semantics as `-m` and
  69`-M`, except instead of the branch being renamed it along with its
  70config and reflog will be copied to a new name.
  71
  72With a `-d` or `-D` option, `<branchname>` will be deleted.  You may
  73specify more than one branch for deletion.  If the branch currently
  74has a reflog then the reflog will also be deleted.
  75
  76Use `-r` together with `-d` to delete remote-tracking branches. Note, that it
  77only makes sense to delete remote-tracking branches if they no longer exist
  78in the remote repository or if 'git fetch' was configured not to fetch
  79them again. See also the 'prune' subcommand of linkgit:git-remote[1] for a
  80way to clean up all obsolete remote-tracking branches.
  81
  82
  83OPTIONS
  84-------
  85-d::
  86--delete::
  87        Delete a branch. The branch must be fully merged in its
  88        upstream branch, or in `HEAD` if no upstream was set with
  89        `--track` or `--set-upstream-to`.
  90
  91-D::
  92        Shortcut for `--delete --force`.
  93
  94--create-reflog::
  95        Create the branch's reflog.  This activates recording of
  96        all changes made to the branch ref, enabling use of date
  97        based sha1 expressions such as "<branchname>@\{yesterday}".
  98        Note that in non-bare repositories, reflogs are usually
  99        enabled by default by the `core.logAllRefUpdates` config option.
 100        The negated form `--no-create-reflog` only overrides an earlier
 101        `--create-reflog`, but currently does not negate the setting of
 102        `core.logAllRefUpdates`.
 103
 104-f::
 105--force::
 106        Reset <branchname> to <startpoint>, even if <branchname> exists
 107        already. Without `-f`, 'git branch' refuses to change an existing branch.
 108        In combination with `-d` (or `--delete`), allow deleting the
 109        branch irrespective of its merged status. In combination with
 110        `-m` (or `--move`), allow renaming the branch even if the new
 111        branch name already exists, the same applies for `-c` (or `--copy`).
 112
 113-m::
 114--move::
 115        Move/rename a branch and the corresponding reflog.
 116
 117-M::
 118        Shortcut for `--move --force`.
 119
 120-c::
 121--copy::
 122        Copy a branch and the corresponding reflog.
 123
 124-C::
 125        Shortcut for `--copy --force`.
 126
 127--color[=<when>]::
 128        Color branches to highlight current, local, and
 129        remote-tracking branches.
 130        The value must be always (the default), never, or auto.
 131
 132--no-color::
 133        Turn off branch colors, even when the configuration file gives the
 134        default to color output.
 135        Same as `--color=never`.
 136
 137-i::
 138--ignore-case::
 139        Sorting and filtering branches are case insensitive.
 140
 141--column[=<options>]::
 142--no-column::
 143        Display branch listing in columns. See configuration variable
 144        column.branch for option syntax.`--column` and `--no-column`
 145        without options are equivalent to 'always' and 'never' respectively.
 146+
 147This option is only applicable in non-verbose mode.
 148
 149-r::
 150--remotes::
 151        List or delete (if used with -d) the remote-tracking branches.
 152
 153-a::
 154--all::
 155        List both remote-tracking branches and local branches.
 156
 157-l::
 158--list::
 159        List branches.  With optional `<pattern>...`, e.g. `git
 160        branch --list 'maint-*'`, list only the branches that match
 161        the pattern(s).
 162
 163--show-current::
 164        Print the name of the current branch. In detached HEAD state,
 165        nothing is printed.
 166
 167-v::
 168-vv::
 169--verbose::
 170        When in list mode,
 171        show sha1 and commit subject line for each head, along with
 172        relationship to upstream branch (if any). If given twice, print
 173        the name of the upstream branch, as well (see also `git remote
 174        show <remote>`).
 175
 176-q::
 177--quiet::
 178        Be more quiet when creating or deleting a branch, suppressing
 179        non-error messages.
 180
 181--abbrev=<length>::
 182        Alter the sha1's minimum display length in the output listing.
 183        The default value is 7 and can be overridden by the `core.abbrev`
 184        config option.
 185
 186--no-abbrev::
 187        Display the full sha1s in the output listing rather than abbreviating them.
 188
 189-t::
 190--track::
 191        When creating a new branch, set up `branch.<name>.remote` and
 192        `branch.<name>.merge` configuration entries to mark the
 193        start-point branch as "upstream" from the new branch. This
 194        configuration will tell git to show the relationship between the
 195        two branches in `git status` and `git branch -v`. Furthermore,
 196        it directs `git pull` without arguments to pull from the
 197        upstream when the new branch is checked out.
 198+
 199This behavior is the default when the start point is a remote-tracking branch.
 200Set the branch.autoSetupMerge configuration variable to `false` if you
 201want `git checkout` and `git branch` to always behave as if `--no-track`
 202were given. Set it to `always` if you want this behavior when the
 203start-point is either a local or remote-tracking branch.
 204
 205--no-track::
 206        Do not set up "upstream" configuration, even if the
 207        branch.autoSetupMerge configuration variable is true.
 208
 209--set-upstream::
 210        As this option had confusing syntax, it is no longer supported.
 211        Please use `--track` or `--set-upstream-to` instead.
 212
 213-u <upstream>::
 214--set-upstream-to=<upstream>::
 215        Set up <branchname>'s tracking information so <upstream> is
 216        considered <branchname>'s upstream branch. If no <branchname>
 217        is specified, then it defaults to the current branch.
 218
 219--unset-upstream::
 220        Remove the upstream information for <branchname>. If no branch
 221        is specified it defaults to the current branch.
 222
 223--edit-description::
 224        Open an editor and edit the text to explain what the branch is
 225        for, to be used by various other commands (e.g. `format-patch`,
 226        `request-pull`, and `merge` (if enabled)). Multi-line explanations
 227        may be used.
 228
 229--contains [<commit>]::
 230        Only list branches which contain the specified commit (HEAD
 231        if not specified). Implies `--list`.
 232
 233--no-contains [<commit>]::
 234        Only list branches which don't contain the specified commit
 235        (HEAD if not specified). Implies `--list`.
 236
 237--merged [<commit>]::
 238        Only list branches whose tips are reachable from the
 239        specified commit (HEAD if not specified). Implies `--list`,
 240        incompatible with `--no-merged`.
 241
 242--no-merged [<commit>]::
 243        Only list branches whose tips are not reachable from the
 244        specified commit (HEAD if not specified). Implies `--list`,
 245        incompatible with `--merged`.
 246
 247<branchname>::
 248        The name of the branch to create or delete.
 249        The new branch name must pass all checks defined by
 250        linkgit:git-check-ref-format[1].  Some of these checks
 251        may restrict the characters allowed in a branch name.
 252
 253<start-point>::
 254        The new branch head will point to this commit.  It may be
 255        given as a branch name, a commit-id, or a tag.  If this
 256        option is omitted, the current HEAD will be used instead.
 257
 258<oldbranch>::
 259        The name of an existing branch to rename.
 260
 261<newbranch>::
 262        The new name for an existing branch. The same restrictions as for
 263        <branchname> apply.
 264
 265--sort=<key>::
 266        Sort based on the key given. Prefix `-` to sort in descending
 267        order of the value. You may use the --sort=<key> option
 268        multiple times, in which case the last key becomes the primary
 269        key. The keys supported are the same as those in `git
 270        for-each-ref`. Sort order defaults to the value configured for the
 271        `branch.sort` variable if exists, or to sorting based on the
 272        full refname (including `refs/...` prefix). This lists
 273        detached HEAD (if present) first, then local branches and
 274        finally remote-tracking branches. See linkgit:git-config[1].
 275
 276
 277--points-at <object>::
 278        Only list branches of the given object.
 279
 280--format <format>::
 281        A string that interpolates `%(fieldname)` from a branch ref being shown
 282        and the object it points at.  The format is the same as
 283        that of linkgit:git-for-each-ref[1].
 284
 285CONFIGURATION
 286-------------
 287`pager.branch` is only respected when listing branches, i.e., when
 288`--list` is used or implied. The default is to use a pager.
 289See linkgit:git-config[1].
 290
 291EXAMPLES
 292--------
 293
 294Start development from a known tag::
 295+
 296------------
 297$ git clone git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/.../linux-2.6 my2.6
 298$ cd my2.6
 299$ git branch my2.6.14 v2.6.14   <1>
 300$ git checkout my2.6.14
 301------------
 302+
 303<1> This step and the next one could be combined into a single step with
 304    "checkout -b my2.6.14 v2.6.14".
 305
 306Delete an unneeded branch::
 307+
 308------------
 309$ git clone git://git.kernel.org/.../git.git my.git
 310$ cd my.git
 311$ git branch -d -r origin/todo origin/html origin/man   <1>
 312$ git branch -D test                                    <2>
 313------------
 314+
 315<1> Delete the remote-tracking branches "todo", "html" and "man". The next
 316    'fetch' or 'pull' will create them again unless you configure them not to.
 317    See linkgit:git-fetch[1].
 318<2> Delete the "test" branch even if the "master" branch (or whichever branch
 319    is currently checked out) does not have all commits from the test branch.
 320
 321
 322NOTES
 323-----
 324
 325If you are creating a branch that you want to checkout immediately, it is
 326easier to use the git checkout command with its `-b` option to create
 327a branch and check it out with a single command.
 328
 329The options `--contains`, `--no-contains`, `--merged` and `--no-merged`
 330serve four related but different purposes:
 331
 332- `--contains <commit>` is used to find all branches which will need
 333  special attention if <commit> were to be rebased or amended, since those
 334  branches contain the specified <commit>.
 335
 336- `--no-contains <commit>` is the inverse of that, i.e. branches that don't
 337  contain the specified <commit>.
 338
 339- `--merged` is used to find all branches which can be safely deleted,
 340  since those branches are fully contained by HEAD.
 341
 342- `--no-merged` is used to find branches which are candidates for merging
 343  into HEAD, since those branches are not fully contained by HEAD.
 344
 345SEE ALSO
 346--------
 347linkgit:git-check-ref-format[1],
 348linkgit:git-fetch[1],
 349linkgit:git-remote[1],
 350link:user-manual.html#what-is-a-branch[``Understanding history: What is
 351a branch?''] in the Git User's Manual.
 352
 353GIT
 354---
 355Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite