1git-init-db(1) 2============== 3 4NAME 5---- 6git-init-db - Creates an empty git repository 7 8 9SYNOPSIS 10-------- 11'git-init-db' [--template=<template_directory>] [--shared] 12 13 14OPTIONS 15------- 16--template=<template_directory>:: 17 Provide the directory from which templates will be used. 18 The default template directory is `/usr/share/git-core/templates`. 19 20--shared:: 21 Specify that the git repository is to be shared amongst several users. 22 23 24DESCRIPTION 25----------- 26This command creates an empty git repository - basically a `.git` directory 27with subdirectories for `objects`, `refs/heads`, `refs/tags`, and 28templated files. 29An initial `HEAD` file that references the HEAD of the master branch 30is also created. 31 32If `--template=<template_directory>` is specified, `<template_directory>` 33is used as the source of the template files rather than the default. 34The template files include some directory structure, some suggested 35"exclude patterns", and copies of non-executing "hook" files. The 36suggested patterns and hook files are all modifiable and extensible. 37 38If the `$GIT_DIR` environment variable is set then it specifies a path 39to use instead of `./.git` for the base of the repository. 40 41If the object storage directory is specified via the `$GIT_OBJECT_DIRECTORY` 42environment variable then the sha1 directories are created underneath - 43otherwise the default `$GIT_DIR/objects` directory is used. 44 45A shared repository allows users belonging to the same group to push into that 46repository. When specifying `--shared` the config variable "core.sharedRepository" 47is set to 'true' so that directories under `$GIT_DIR` are made group writable 48(and g+sx, since the git group may be not the primary group of all users). 49 50Running `git-init-db` in an existing repository is safe. It will not overwrite 51things that are already there. The primary reason for rerunning `git-init-db` 52is to pick up newly added templates. 53 54 55 56EXAMPLES 57-------- 58 59Start a new git repository for an existing code base:: 60+ 61---------------- 62$ cd /path/to/my/codebase 63$ git-init-db <1> 64$ git-add . <2> 65 66<1> prepare /path/to/my/codebase/.git directory 67<2> add all existing file to the index 68---------------- 69 70 71Author 72------ 73Written by Linus Torvalds <torvalds@osdl.org> 74 75Documentation 76-------------- 77Documentation by David Greaves, Junio C Hamano and the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>. 78 79GIT 80--- 81Part of the gitlink:git[7] suite 82