Documentation / git.txton commit Merge branch 'jn/gitweb-utf8' (ad68568)
   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]]
  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:v1.6.0.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.0.4]
  47
  48* release notes for
  49  link:RelNotes-1.6.0.4.txt[1.6.0.4],
  50  link:RelNotes-1.6.0.3.txt[1.6.0.3],
  51  link:RelNotes-1.6.0.2.txt[1.6.0.2],
  52  link:RelNotes-1.6.0.1.txt[1.6.0.1],
  53  link:RelNotes-1.6.0.txt[1.6.0].
  54
  55* link:v1.5.6.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.6.5]
  56
  57* release notes for
  58  link:RelNotes-1.5.6.5.txt[1.5.6.5],
  59  link:RelNotes-1.5.6.4.txt[1.5.6.4],
  60  link:RelNotes-1.5.6.3.txt[1.5.6.3],
  61  link:RelNotes-1.5.6.2.txt[1.5.6.2],
  62  link:RelNotes-1.5.6.1.txt[1.5.6.1],
  63  link:RelNotes-1.5.6.txt[1.5.6].
  64
  65* link:v1.5.5.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.5.4]
  66
  67* release notes for
  68  link:RelNotes-1.5.5.4.txt[1.5.5.4],
  69  link:RelNotes-1.5.5.3.txt[1.5.5.3],
  70  link:RelNotes-1.5.5.2.txt[1.5.5.2],
  71  link:RelNotes-1.5.5.1.txt[1.5.5.1],
  72  link:RelNotes-1.5.5.txt[1.5.5].
  73
  74* link:v1.5.4.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.4.5]
  75
  76* release notes for
  77  link:RelNotes-1.5.4.5.txt[1.5.4.5],
  78  link:RelNotes-1.5.4.4.txt[1.5.4.4],
  79  link:RelNotes-1.5.4.3.txt[1.5.4.3],
  80  link:RelNotes-1.5.4.2.txt[1.5.4.2],
  81  link:RelNotes-1.5.4.1.txt[1.5.4.1],
  82  link:RelNotes-1.5.4.txt[1.5.4].
  83
  84* link:v1.5.3.8/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.3.8]
  85
  86* release notes for
  87  link:RelNotes-1.5.3.8.txt[1.5.3.8],
  88  link:RelNotes-1.5.3.7.txt[1.5.3.7],
  89  link:RelNotes-1.5.3.6.txt[1.5.3.6],
  90  link:RelNotes-1.5.3.5.txt[1.5.3.5],
  91  link:RelNotes-1.5.3.4.txt[1.5.3.4],
  92  link:RelNotes-1.5.3.3.txt[1.5.3.3],
  93  link:RelNotes-1.5.3.2.txt[1.5.3.2],
  94  link:RelNotes-1.5.3.1.txt[1.5.3.1],
  95  link:RelNotes-1.5.3.txt[1.5.3].
  96
  97* link:v1.5.2.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.2.5]
  98
  99* release notes for
 100  link:RelNotes-1.5.2.5.txt[1.5.2.5],
 101  link:RelNotes-1.5.2.4.txt[1.5.2.4],
 102  link:RelNotes-1.5.2.3.txt[1.5.2.3],
 103  link:RelNotes-1.5.2.2.txt[1.5.2.2],
 104  link:RelNotes-1.5.2.1.txt[1.5.2.1],
 105  link:RelNotes-1.5.2.txt[1.5.2].
 106
 107* link:v1.5.1.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.1.6]
 108
 109* release notes for
 110  link:RelNotes-1.5.1.6.txt[1.5.1.6],
 111  link:RelNotes-1.5.1.5.txt[1.5.1.5],
 112  link:RelNotes-1.5.1.4.txt[1.5.1.4],
 113  link:RelNotes-1.5.1.3.txt[1.5.1.3],
 114  link:RelNotes-1.5.1.2.txt[1.5.1.2],
 115  link:RelNotes-1.5.1.1.txt[1.5.1.1],
 116  link:RelNotes-1.5.1.txt[1.5.1].
 117
 118* link:v1.5.0.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.0.7]
 119
 120* release notes for
 121  link:RelNotes-1.5.0.7.txt[1.5.0.7],
 122  link:RelNotes-1.5.0.6.txt[1.5.0.6],
 123  link:RelNotes-1.5.0.5.txt[1.5.0.5],
 124  link:RelNotes-1.5.0.3.txt[1.5.0.3],
 125  link:RelNotes-1.5.0.2.txt[1.5.0.2],
 126  link:RelNotes-1.5.0.1.txt[1.5.0.1],
 127  link:RelNotes-1.5.0.txt[1.5.0].
 128
 129* documentation for release link:v1.4.4.4/git.html[1.4.4.4],
 130  link:v1.3.3/git.html[1.3.3],
 131  link:v1.2.6/git.html[1.2.6],
 132  link:v1.0.13/git.html[1.0.13].
 133
 134============
 135
 136endif::stalenotes[]
 137
 138OPTIONS
 139-------
 140--version::
 141        Prints the git suite version that the 'git' program came from.
 142
 143--help::
 144        Prints the synopsis and a list of the most commonly used
 145        commands. If the option '--all' or '-a' is given then all
 146        available commands are printed. If a git command is named this
 147        option will bring up the manual page for that command.
 148+
 149Other options are available to control how the manual page is
 150displayed. See linkgit:git-help[1] for more information,
 151because `git --help ...` is converted internally into `git
 152help ...`.
 153
 154--exec-path::
 155        Path to wherever your core git programs are installed.
 156        This can also be controlled by setting the GIT_EXEC_PATH
 157        environment variable. If no path is given, 'git' will print
 158        the current setting and then exit.
 159
 160-p::
 161--paginate::
 162        Pipe all output into 'less' (or if set, $PAGER).
 163
 164--no-pager::
 165        Do not pipe git output into a pager.
 166
 167--git-dir=<path>::
 168        Set the path to the repository. This can also be controlled by
 169        setting the GIT_DIR environment variable. It can be an absolute
 170        path or relative path to current working directory.
 171
 172--work-tree=<path>::
 173        Set the path to the working tree.  The value will not be
 174        used in combination with repositories found automatically in
 175        a .git directory (i.e. $GIT_DIR is not set).
 176        This can also be controlled by setting the GIT_WORK_TREE
 177        environment variable and the core.worktree configuration
 178        variable. It can be an absolute path or relative path to
 179        the directory specified by --git-dir or GIT_DIR.
 180        Note: If --git-dir or GIT_DIR are specified but none of
 181        --work-tree, GIT_WORK_TREE and core.worktree is specified,
 182        the current working directory is regarded as the top directory
 183        of your working tree.
 184
 185--bare::
 186        Treat the repository as a bare repository.  If GIT_DIR
 187        environment is not set, it is set to the current working
 188        directory.
 189
 190
 191FURTHER DOCUMENTATION
 192---------------------
 193
 194See the references above to get started using git.  The following is
 195probably more detail than necessary for a first-time user.
 196
 197The link:user-manual.html#git-concepts[git concepts chapter of the
 198user-manual] and linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7] both provide
 199introductions to the underlying git architecture.
 200
 201See also the link:howto-index.html[howto] documents for some useful
 202examples.
 203
 204The internals are documented in the
 205link:technical/api-index.html[GIT API documentation].
 206
 207GIT COMMANDS
 208------------
 209
 210We divide git into high level ("porcelain") commands and low level
 211("plumbing") commands.
 212
 213High-level commands (porcelain)
 214-------------------------------
 215
 216We separate the porcelain commands into the main commands and some
 217ancillary user utilities.
 218
 219Main porcelain commands
 220~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 221
 222include::cmds-mainporcelain.txt[]
 223
 224Ancillary Commands
 225~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 226Manipulators:
 227
 228include::cmds-ancillarymanipulators.txt[]
 229
 230Interrogators:
 231
 232include::cmds-ancillaryinterrogators.txt[]
 233
 234
 235Interacting with Others
 236~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 237
 238These commands are to interact with foreign SCM and with other
 239people via patch over e-mail.
 240
 241include::cmds-foreignscminterface.txt[]
 242
 243
 244Low-level commands (plumbing)
 245-----------------------------
 246
 247Although git includes its
 248own porcelain layer, its low-level commands are sufficient to support
 249development of alternative porcelains.  Developers of such porcelains
 250might start by reading about linkgit:git-update-index[1] and
 251linkgit:git-read-tree[1].
 252
 253The interface (input, output, set of options and the semantics)
 254to these low-level commands are meant to be a lot more stable
 255than Porcelain level commands, because these commands are
 256primarily for scripted use.  The interface to Porcelain commands
 257on the other hand are subject to change in order to improve the
 258end user experience.
 259
 260The following description divides
 261the low-level commands into commands that manipulate objects (in
 262the repository, index, and working tree), commands that interrogate and
 263compare objects, and commands that move objects and references between
 264repositories.
 265
 266
 267Manipulation commands
 268~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 269
 270include::cmds-plumbingmanipulators.txt[]
 271
 272
 273Interrogation commands
 274~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 275
 276include::cmds-plumbinginterrogators.txt[]
 277
 278In general, the interrogate commands do not touch the files in
 279the working tree.
 280
 281
 282Synching repositories
 283~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 284
 285include::cmds-synchingrepositories.txt[]
 286
 287The following are helper programs used by the above; end users
 288typically do not use them directly.
 289
 290include::cmds-synchelpers.txt[]
 291
 292
 293Internal helper commands
 294~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 295
 296These are internal helper commands used by other commands; end
 297users typically do not use them directly.
 298
 299include::cmds-purehelpers.txt[]
 300
 301
 302Configuration Mechanism
 303-----------------------
 304
 305Starting from 0.99.9 (actually mid 0.99.8.GIT), `.git/config` file
 306is used to hold per-repository configuration options.  It is a
 307simple text file modeled after `.ini` format familiar to some
 308people.  Here is an example:
 309
 310------------
 311#
 312# A '#' or ';' character indicates a comment.
 313#
 314
 315; core variables
 316[core]
 317        ; Don't trust file modes
 318        filemode = false
 319
 320; user identity
 321[user]
 322        name = "Junio C Hamano"
 323        email = "junkio@twinsun.com"
 324
 325------------
 326
 327Various commands read from the configuration file and adjust
 328their operation accordingly.
 329
 330
 331Identifier Terminology
 332----------------------
 333<object>::
 334        Indicates the object name for any type of object.
 335
 336<blob>::
 337        Indicates a blob object name.
 338
 339<tree>::
 340        Indicates a tree object name.
 341
 342<commit>::
 343        Indicates a commit object name.
 344
 345<tree-ish>::
 346        Indicates a tree, commit or tag object name.  A
 347        command that takes a <tree-ish> argument ultimately wants to
 348        operate on a <tree> object but automatically dereferences
 349        <commit> and <tag> objects that point at a <tree>.
 350
 351<commit-ish>::
 352        Indicates a commit or tag object name.  A
 353        command that takes a <commit-ish> argument ultimately wants to
 354        operate on a <commit> object but automatically dereferences
 355        <tag> objects that point at a <commit>.
 356
 357<type>::
 358        Indicates that an object type is required.
 359        Currently one of: `blob`, `tree`, `commit`, or `tag`.
 360
 361<file>::
 362        Indicates a filename - almost always relative to the
 363        root of the tree structure `GIT_INDEX_FILE` describes.
 364
 365Symbolic Identifiers
 366--------------------
 367Any git command accepting any <object> can also use the following
 368symbolic notation:
 369
 370HEAD::
 371        indicates the head of the current branch (i.e. the
 372        contents of `$GIT_DIR/HEAD`).
 373
 374<tag>::
 375        a valid tag 'name'
 376        (i.e. the contents of `$GIT_DIR/refs/tags/<tag>`).
 377
 378<head>::
 379        a valid head 'name'
 380        (i.e. the contents of `$GIT_DIR/refs/heads/<head>`).
 381
 382For a more complete list of ways to spell object names, see
 383"SPECIFYING REVISIONS" section in linkgit:git-rev-parse[1].
 384
 385
 386File/Directory Structure
 387------------------------
 388
 389Please see the linkgit:gitrepository-layout[5] document.
 390
 391Read linkgit:githooks[5] for more details about each hook.
 392
 393Higher level SCMs may provide and manage additional information in the
 394`$GIT_DIR`.
 395
 396
 397Terminology
 398-----------
 399Please see linkgit:gitglossary[7].
 400
 401
 402Environment Variables
 403---------------------
 404Various git commands use the following environment variables:
 405
 406The git Repository
 407~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 408These environment variables apply to 'all' core git commands. Nb: it
 409is worth noting that they may be used/overridden by SCMS sitting above
 410git so take care if using Cogito etc.
 411
 412'GIT_INDEX_FILE'::
 413        This environment allows the specification of an alternate
 414        index file. If not specified, the default of `$GIT_DIR/index`
 415        is used.
 416
 417'GIT_OBJECT_DIRECTORY'::
 418        If the object storage directory is specified via this
 419        environment variable then the sha1 directories are created
 420        underneath - otherwise the default `$GIT_DIR/objects`
 421        directory is used.
 422
 423'GIT_ALTERNATE_OBJECT_DIRECTORIES'::
 424        Due to the immutable nature of git objects, old objects can be
 425        archived into shared, read-only directories. This variable
 426        specifies a ":" separated (on Windows ";" separated) list
 427        of git object directories which can be used to search for git
 428        objects. New objects will not be written to these directories.
 429
 430'GIT_DIR'::
 431        If the 'GIT_DIR' environment variable is set then it
 432        specifies a path to use instead of the default `.git`
 433        for the base of the repository.
 434
 435'GIT_WORK_TREE'::
 436        Set the path to the working tree.  The value will not be
 437        used in combination with repositories found automatically in
 438        a .git directory (i.e. $GIT_DIR is not set).
 439        This can also be controlled by the '--work-tree' command line
 440        option and the core.worktree configuration variable.
 441
 442'GIT_CEILING_DIRECTORIES'::
 443        This should be a colon-separated list of absolute paths.
 444        If set, it is a list of directories that git should not chdir
 445        up into while looking for a repository directory.
 446        It will not exclude the current working directory or
 447        a GIT_DIR set on the command line or in the environment.
 448        (Useful for excluding slow-loading network directories.)
 449
 450git Commits
 451~~~~~~~~~~~
 452'GIT_AUTHOR_NAME'::
 453'GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL'::
 454'GIT_AUTHOR_DATE'::
 455'GIT_COMMITTER_NAME'::
 456'GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL'::
 457'GIT_COMMITTER_DATE'::
 458'EMAIL'::
 459        see linkgit:git-commit-tree[1]
 460
 461git Diffs
 462~~~~~~~~~
 463'GIT_DIFF_OPTS'::
 464        Only valid setting is "--unified=??" or "-u??" to set the
 465        number of context lines shown when a unified diff is created.
 466        This takes precedence over any "-U" or "--unified" option
 467        value passed on the git diff command line.
 468
 469'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF'::
 470        When the environment variable 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is set, the
 471        program named by it is called, instead of the diff invocation
 472        described above.  For a path that is added, removed, or modified,
 473        'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called with 7 parameters:
 474
 475        path old-file old-hex old-mode new-file new-hex new-mode
 476+
 477where:
 478
 479        <old|new>-file:: are files GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF can use to read the
 480                         contents of <old|new>,
 481        <old|new>-hex:: are the 40-hexdigit SHA1 hashes,
 482        <old|new>-mode:: are the octal representation of the file modes.
 483
 484+
 485The file parameters can point at the user's working file
 486(e.g. `new-file` in "git-diff-files"), `/dev/null` (e.g. `old-file`
 487when a new file is added), or a temporary file (e.g. `old-file` in the
 488index).  'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' should not worry about unlinking the
 489temporary file --- it is removed when 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' exits.
 490+
 491For a path that is unmerged, 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called with 1
 492parameter, <path>.
 493
 494other
 495~~~~~
 496'GIT_MERGE_VERBOSITY'::
 497        A number controlling the amount of output shown by
 498        the recursive merge strategy.  Overrides merge.verbosity.
 499        See linkgit:git-merge[1]
 500
 501'GIT_PAGER'::
 502        This environment variable overrides `$PAGER`. If it is set
 503        to an empty string or to the value "cat", git will not launch
 504        a pager.  See also the `core.pager` option in
 505        linkgit:git-config[1].
 506
 507'GIT_SSH'::
 508        If this environment variable is set then 'git-fetch'
 509        and 'git-push' will use this command instead
 510        of 'ssh' when they need to connect to a remote system.
 511        The '$GIT_SSH' command will be given exactly two arguments:
 512        the 'username@host' (or just 'host') from the URL and the
 513        shell command to execute on that remote system.
 514+
 515To pass options to the program that you want to list in GIT_SSH
 516you will need to wrap the program and options into a shell script,
 517then set GIT_SSH to refer to the shell script.
 518+
 519Usually it is easier to configure any desired options through your
 520personal `.ssh/config` file.  Please consult your ssh documentation
 521for further details.
 522
 523'GIT_FLUSH'::
 524        If this environment variable is set to "1", then commands such
 525        as 'git-blame' (in incremental mode), 'git-rev-list', 'git-log',
 526        and 'git-whatchanged' will force a flush of the output stream
 527        after each commit-oriented record have been flushed.   If this
 528        variable is set to "0", the output of these commands will be done
 529        using completely buffered I/O.   If this environment variable is
 530        not set, git will choose buffered or record-oriented flushing
 531        based on whether stdout appears to be redirected to a file or not.
 532
 533'GIT_TRACE'::
 534        If this variable is set to "1", "2" or "true" (comparison
 535        is case insensitive), git will print `trace:` messages on
 536        stderr telling about alias expansion, built-in command
 537        execution and external command execution.
 538        If this variable is set to an integer value greater than 1
 539        and lower than 10 (strictly) then git will interpret this
 540        value as an open file descriptor and will try to write the
 541        trace messages into this file descriptor.
 542        Alternatively, if this variable is set to an absolute path
 543        (starting with a '/' character), git will interpret this
 544        as a file path and will try to write the trace messages
 545        into it.
 546
 547Discussion[[Discussion]]
 548------------------------
 549
 550More detail on the following is available from the
 551link:user-manual.html#git-concepts[git concepts chapter of the
 552user-manual] and linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7].
 553
 554A git project normally consists of a working directory with a ".git"
 555subdirectory at the top level.  The .git directory contains, among other
 556things, a compressed object database representing the complete history
 557of the project, an "index" file which links that history to the current
 558contents of the working tree, and named pointers into that history such
 559as tags and branch heads.
 560
 561The object database contains objects of three main types: blobs, which
 562hold file data; trees, which point to blobs and other trees to build up
 563directory hierarchies; and commits, which each reference a single tree
 564and some number of parent commits.
 565
 566The commit, equivalent to what other systems call a "changeset" or
 567"version", represents a step in the project's history, and each parent
 568represents an immediately preceding step.  Commits with more than one
 569parent represent merges of independent lines of development.
 570
 571All objects are named by the SHA1 hash of their contents, normally
 572written as a string of 40 hex digits.  Such names are globally unique.
 573The entire history leading up to a commit can be vouched for by signing
 574just that commit.  A fourth object type, the tag, is provided for this
 575purpose.
 576
 577When first created, objects are stored in individual files, but for
 578efficiency may later be compressed together into "pack files".
 579
 580Named pointers called refs mark interesting points in history.  A ref
 581may contain the SHA1 name of an object or the name of another ref.  Refs
 582with names beginning `ref/head/` contain the SHA1 name of the most
 583recent commit (or "head") of a branch under development.  SHA1 names of
 584tags of interest are stored under `ref/tags/`.  A special ref named
 585`HEAD` contains the name of the currently checked-out branch.
 586
 587The index file is initialized with a list of all paths and, for each
 588path, a blob object and a set of attributes.  The blob object represents
 589the contents of the file as of the head of the current branch.  The
 590attributes (last modified time, size, etc.) are taken from the
 591corresponding file in the working tree.  Subsequent changes to the
 592working tree can be found by comparing these attributes.  The index may
 593be updated with new content, and new commits may be created from the
 594content stored in the index.
 595
 596The index is also capable of storing multiple entries (called "stages")
 597for a given pathname.  These stages are used to hold the various
 598unmerged version of a file when a merge is in progress.
 599
 600Authors
 601-------
 602* git's founding father is Linus Torvalds <torvalds@osdl.org>.
 603* The current git nurse is Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>.
 604* The git potty was written by Andreas Ericsson <ae@op5.se>.
 605* General upbringing is handled by the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>.
 606
 607Documentation
 608--------------
 609The documentation for git suite was started by David Greaves
 610<david@dgreaves.com>, and later enhanced greatly by the
 611contributors on the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>.
 612
 613SEE ALSO
 614--------
 615linkgit:gittutorial[7], linkgit:gittutorial-2[7],
 616link:everyday.html[Everyday Git], linkgit:gitcvs-migration[7],
 617linkgit:gitglossary[7], linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7],
 618linkgit:gitcli[7], link:user-manual.html[The Git User's Manual]
 619
 620GIT
 621---
 622Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite