Documentation / git-push.txton commit Merge branch 'maint' (c5926ac)
   1git-push(1)
   2===========
   3
   4NAME
   5----
   6git-push - Update remote refs along with associated objects
   7
   8
   9SYNOPSIS
  10--------
  11[verse]
  12'git push' [--all | --mirror | --tags] [--follow-tags] [-n | --dry-run] [--receive-pack=<git-receive-pack>]
  13           [--repo=<repository>] [-f | --force] [--prune] [-v | --verbose] [-u | --set-upstream]
  14           [<repository> [<refspec>...]]
  15
  16DESCRIPTION
  17-----------
  18
  19Updates remote refs using local refs, while sending objects
  20necessary to complete the given refs.
  21
  22You can make interesting things happen to a repository
  23every time you push into it, by setting up 'hooks' there.  See
  24documentation for linkgit:git-receive-pack[1].
  25
  26When the command line does not specify where to push with the
  27`<repository>` argument, `branch.*.remote` configuration for the
  28current branch is consulted to determine where to push.  If the
  29configuration is missing, it defaults to 'origin'.
  30
  31When the command line does not specify what to push with `<refspec>...`
  32arguments or `--all`, `--mirror`, `--tags` options, the command finds
  33the default `<refspec>` by consulting `remote.*.push` configuration,
  34and if it is not found, honors `push.default` configuration to decide
  35what to push (See gitlink:git-config[1] for the meaning of `push.default`).
  36
  37
  38OPTIONS[[OPTIONS]]
  39------------------
  40<repository>::
  41        The "remote" repository that is destination of a push
  42        operation.  This parameter can be either a URL
  43        (see the section <<URLS,GIT URLS>> below) or the name
  44        of a remote (see the section <<REMOTES,REMOTES>> below).
  45
  46<refspec>...::
  47        Specify what destination ref to update with what source object.
  48        The format of a <refspec> parameter is an optional plus
  49        `+`, followed by the source object <src>, followed
  50        by a colon `:`, followed by the destination ref <dst>.
  51+
  52The <src> is often the name of the branch you would want to push, but
  53it can be any arbitrary "SHA-1 expression", such as `master~4` or
  54`HEAD` (see linkgit:gitrevisions[7]).
  55+
  56The <dst> tells which ref on the remote side is updated with this
  57push. Arbitrary expressions cannot be used here, an actual ref must
  58be named. If `:`<dst> is omitted, the same ref as <src> will be
  59updated.
  60+
  61The object referenced by <src> is used to update the <dst> reference
  62on the remote side.  By default this is only allowed if <dst> is not
  63a tag (annotated or lightweight), and then only if it can fast-forward
  64<dst>.  By having the optional leading `+`, you can tell Git to update
  65the <dst> ref even if it is not allowed by default (e.g., it is not a
  66fast-forward.)  This does *not* attempt to merge <src> into <dst>.  See
  67EXAMPLES below for details.
  68+
  69`tag <tag>` means the same as `refs/tags/<tag>:refs/tags/<tag>`.
  70+
  71Pushing an empty <src> allows you to delete the <dst> ref from
  72the remote repository.
  73+
  74The special refspec `:` (or `+:` to allow non-fast-forward updates)
  75directs Git to push "matching" branches: for every branch that exists on
  76the local side, the remote side is updated if a branch of the same name
  77already exists on the remote side.
  78
  79--all::
  80        Instead of naming each ref to push, specifies that all
  81        refs under `refs/heads/` be pushed.
  82
  83--prune::
  84        Remove remote branches that don't have a local counterpart. For example
  85        a remote branch `tmp` will be removed if a local branch with the same
  86        name doesn't exist any more. This also respects refspecs, e.g.
  87        `git push --prune remote refs/heads/*:refs/tmp/*` would
  88        make sure that remote `refs/tmp/foo` will be removed if `refs/heads/foo`
  89        doesn't exist.
  90
  91--mirror::
  92        Instead of naming each ref to push, specifies that all
  93        refs under `refs/` (which includes but is not
  94        limited to `refs/heads/`, `refs/remotes/`, and `refs/tags/`)
  95        be mirrored to the remote repository.  Newly created local
  96        refs will be pushed to the remote end, locally updated refs
  97        will be force updated on the remote end, and deleted refs
  98        will be removed from the remote end.  This is the default
  99        if the configuration option `remote.<remote>.mirror` is
 100        set.
 101
 102-n::
 103--dry-run::
 104        Do everything except actually send the updates.
 105
 106--porcelain::
 107        Produce machine-readable output.  The output status line for each ref
 108        will be tab-separated and sent to stdout instead of stderr.  The full
 109        symbolic names of the refs will be given.
 110
 111--delete::
 112        All listed refs are deleted from the remote repository. This is
 113        the same as prefixing all refs with a colon.
 114
 115--tags::
 116        All refs under `refs/tags` are pushed, in
 117        addition to refspecs explicitly listed on the command
 118        line.
 119
 120--follow-tags::
 121        Push all the refs that would be pushed without this option,
 122        and also push annotated tags in `refs/tags` that are missing
 123        from the remote but are pointing at committish that are
 124        reachable from the refs being pushed.
 125
 126--receive-pack=<git-receive-pack>::
 127--exec=<git-receive-pack>::
 128        Path to the 'git-receive-pack' program on the remote
 129        end.  Sometimes useful when pushing to a remote
 130        repository over ssh, and you do not have the program in
 131        a directory on the default $PATH.
 132
 133-f::
 134--force::
 135        Usually, the command refuses to update a remote ref that is
 136        not an ancestor of the local ref used to overwrite it.
 137        This flag disables the check.  This can cause the
 138        remote repository to lose commits; use it with care.
 139
 140--repo=<repository>::
 141        This option is only relevant if no <repository> argument is
 142        passed in the invocation. In this case, 'git push' derives the
 143        remote name from the current branch: If it tracks a remote
 144        branch, then that remote repository is pushed to. Otherwise,
 145        the name "origin" is used. For this latter case, this option
 146        can be used to override the name "origin". In other words,
 147        the difference between these two commands
 148+
 149--------------------------
 150git push public         #1
 151git push --repo=public  #2
 152--------------------------
 153+
 154is that #1 always pushes to "public" whereas #2 pushes to "public"
 155only if the current branch does not track a remote branch. This is
 156useful if you write an alias or script around 'git push'.
 157
 158-u::
 159--set-upstream::
 160        For every branch that is up to date or successfully pushed, add
 161        upstream (tracking) reference, used by argument-less
 162        linkgit:git-pull[1] and other commands. For more information,
 163        see 'branch.<name>.merge' in linkgit:git-config[1].
 164
 165--thin::
 166--no-thin::
 167        These options are passed to linkgit:git-send-pack[1]. A thin transfer
 168        significantly reduces the amount of sent data when the sender and
 169        receiver share many of the same objects in common. The default is
 170        \--thin.
 171
 172-q::
 173--quiet::
 174        Suppress all output, including the listing of updated refs,
 175        unless an error occurs. Progress is not reported to the standard
 176        error stream.
 177
 178-v::
 179--verbose::
 180        Run verbosely.
 181
 182--progress::
 183        Progress status is reported on the standard error stream
 184        by default when it is attached to a terminal, unless -q
 185        is specified. This flag forces progress status even if the
 186        standard error stream is not directed to a terminal.
 187
 188--recurse-submodules=check|on-demand::
 189        Make sure all submodule commits used by the revisions to be
 190        pushed are available on a remote-tracking branch. If 'check' is
 191        used Git will verify that all submodule commits that changed in
 192        the revisions to be pushed are available on at least one remote
 193        of the submodule. If any commits are missing the push will be
 194        aborted and exit with non-zero status. If 'on-demand' is used
 195        all submodules that changed in the revisions to be pushed will
 196        be pushed. If on-demand was not able to push all necessary
 197        revisions it will also be aborted and exit with non-zero status.
 198
 199
 200include::urls-remotes.txt[]
 201
 202OUTPUT
 203------
 204
 205The output of "git push" depends on the transport method used; this
 206section describes the output when pushing over the Git protocol (either
 207locally or via ssh).
 208
 209The status of the push is output in tabular form, with each line
 210representing the status of a single ref. Each line is of the form:
 211
 212-------------------------------
 213 <flag> <summary> <from> -> <to> (<reason>)
 214-------------------------------
 215
 216If --porcelain is used, then each line of the output is of the form:
 217
 218-------------------------------
 219 <flag> \t <from>:<to> \t <summary> (<reason>)
 220-------------------------------
 221
 222The status of up-to-date refs is shown only if --porcelain or --verbose
 223option is used.
 224
 225flag::
 226        A single character indicating the status of the ref:
 227(space);; for a successfully pushed fast-forward;
 228`+`;; for a successful forced update;
 229`-`;; for a successfully deleted ref;
 230`*`;; for a successfully pushed new ref;
 231`!`;; for a ref that was rejected or failed to push; and
 232`=`;; for a ref that was up to date and did not need pushing.
 233
 234summary::
 235        For a successfully pushed ref, the summary shows the old and new
 236        values of the ref in a form suitable for using as an argument to
 237        `git log` (this is `<old>..<new>` in most cases, and
 238        `<old>...<new>` for forced non-fast-forward updates).
 239+
 240For a failed update, more details are given:
 241+
 242--
 243rejected::
 244        Git did not try to send the ref at all, typically because it
 245        is not a fast-forward and you did not force the update.
 246
 247remote rejected::
 248        The remote end refused the update.  Usually caused by a hook
 249        on the remote side, or because the remote repository has one
 250        of the following safety options in effect:
 251        `receive.denyCurrentBranch` (for pushes to the checked out
 252        branch), `receive.denyNonFastForwards` (for forced
 253        non-fast-forward updates), `receive.denyDeletes` or
 254        `receive.denyDeleteCurrent`.  See linkgit:git-config[1].
 255
 256remote failure::
 257        The remote end did not report the successful update of the ref,
 258        perhaps because of a temporary error on the remote side, a
 259        break in the network connection, or other transient error.
 260--
 261
 262from::
 263        The name of the local ref being pushed, minus its
 264        `refs/<type>/` prefix. In the case of deletion, the
 265        name of the local ref is omitted.
 266
 267to::
 268        The name of the remote ref being updated, minus its
 269        `refs/<type>/` prefix.
 270
 271reason::
 272        A human-readable explanation. In the case of successfully pushed
 273        refs, no explanation is needed. For a failed ref, the reason for
 274        failure is described.
 275
 276Note about fast-forwards
 277------------------------
 278
 279When an update changes a branch (or more in general, a ref) that used to
 280point at commit A to point at another commit B, it is called a
 281fast-forward update if and only if B is a descendant of A.
 282
 283In a fast-forward update from A to B, the set of commits that the original
 284commit A built on top of is a subset of the commits the new commit B
 285builds on top of.  Hence, it does not lose any history.
 286
 287In contrast, a non-fast-forward update will lose history.  For example,
 288suppose you and somebody else started at the same commit X, and you built
 289a history leading to commit B while the other person built a history
 290leading to commit A.  The history looks like this:
 291
 292----------------
 293
 294      B
 295     /
 296 ---X---A
 297
 298----------------
 299
 300Further suppose that the other person already pushed changes leading to A
 301back to the original repository from which you two obtained the original
 302commit X.
 303
 304The push done by the other person updated the branch that used to point at
 305commit X to point at commit A.  It is a fast-forward.
 306
 307But if you try to push, you will attempt to update the branch (that
 308now points at A) with commit B.  This does _not_ fast-forward.  If you did
 309so, the changes introduced by commit A will be lost, because everybody
 310will now start building on top of B.
 311
 312The command by default does not allow an update that is not a fast-forward
 313to prevent such loss of history.
 314
 315If you do not want to lose your work (history from X to B) nor the work by
 316the other person (history from X to A), you would need to first fetch the
 317history from the repository, create a history that contains changes done
 318by both parties, and push the result back.
 319
 320You can perform "git pull", resolve potential conflicts, and "git push"
 321the result.  A "git pull" will create a merge commit C between commits A
 322and B.
 323
 324----------------
 325
 326      B---C
 327     /   /
 328 ---X---A
 329
 330----------------
 331
 332Updating A with the resulting merge commit will fast-forward and your
 333push will be accepted.
 334
 335Alternatively, you can rebase your change between X and B on top of A,
 336with "git pull --rebase", and push the result back.  The rebase will
 337create a new commit D that builds the change between X and B on top of
 338A.
 339
 340----------------
 341
 342      B   D
 343     /   /
 344 ---X---A
 345
 346----------------
 347
 348Again, updating A with this commit will fast-forward and your push will be
 349accepted.
 350
 351There is another common situation where you may encounter non-fast-forward
 352rejection when you try to push, and it is possible even when you are
 353pushing into a repository nobody else pushes into. After you push commit
 354A yourself (in the first picture in this section), replace it with "git
 355commit --amend" to produce commit B, and you try to push it out, because
 356forgot that you have pushed A out already. In such a case, and only if
 357you are certain that nobody in the meantime fetched your earlier commit A
 358(and started building on top of it), you can run "git push --force" to
 359overwrite it. In other words, "git push --force" is a method reserved for
 360a case where you do mean to lose history.
 361
 362
 363Examples
 364--------
 365
 366`git push`::
 367        Works like `git push <remote>`, where <remote> is the
 368        current branch's remote (or `origin`, if no remote is
 369        configured for the current branch).
 370
 371`git push origin`::
 372        Without additional configuration, works like
 373        `git push origin :`.
 374+
 375The default behavior of this command when no <refspec> is given can be
 376configured by setting the `push` option of the remote, or the `push.default`
 377configuration variable.
 378+
 379For example, to default to pushing only the current branch to `origin`
 380use `git config remote.origin.push HEAD`.  Any valid <refspec> (like
 381the ones in the examples below) can be configured as the default for
 382`git push origin`.
 383
 384`git push origin :`::
 385        Push "matching" branches to `origin`. See
 386        <refspec> in the <<OPTIONS,OPTIONS>> section above for a
 387        description of "matching" branches.
 388
 389`git push origin master`::
 390        Find a ref that matches `master` in the source repository
 391        (most likely, it would find `refs/heads/master`), and update
 392        the same ref (e.g. `refs/heads/master`) in `origin` repository
 393        with it.  If `master` did not exist remotely, it would be
 394        created.
 395
 396`git push origin HEAD`::
 397        A handy way to push the current branch to the same name on the
 398        remote.
 399
 400`git push mothership master:satellite/master dev:satellite/dev`::
 401        Use the source ref that matches `master` (e.g. `refs/heads/master`)
 402        to update the ref that matches `satellite/master` (most probably
 403        `refs/remotes/satellite/master`) in the `mothership` repository;
 404        do the same for `dev` and `satellite/dev`.
 405+
 406This is to emulate `git fetch` run on the `mothership` using `git
 407push` that is run in the opposite direction in order to integrate
 408the work done on `satellite`, and is often necessary when you can
 409only make connection in one way (i.e. satellite can ssh into
 410mothership but mothership cannot initiate connection to satellite
 411because the latter is behind a firewall or does not run sshd).
 412+
 413After running this `git push` on the `satellite` machine, you would
 414ssh into the `mothership` and run `git merge` there to complete the
 415emulation of `git pull` that were run on `mothership` to pull changes
 416made on `satellite`.
 417
 418`git push origin HEAD:master`::
 419        Push the current branch to the remote ref matching `master` in the
 420        `origin` repository. This form is convenient to push the current
 421        branch without thinking about its local name.
 422
 423`git push origin master:refs/heads/experimental`::
 424        Create the branch `experimental` in the `origin` repository
 425        by copying the current `master` branch.  This form is only
 426        needed to create a new branch or tag in the remote repository when
 427        the local name and the remote name are different; otherwise,
 428        the ref name on its own will work.
 429
 430`git push origin :experimental`::
 431        Find a ref that matches `experimental` in the `origin` repository
 432        (e.g. `refs/heads/experimental`), and delete it.
 433
 434`git push origin +dev:master`::
 435        Update the origin repository's master branch with the dev branch,
 436        allowing non-fast-forward updates.  *This can leave unreferenced
 437        commits dangling in the origin repository.*  Consider the
 438        following situation, where a fast-forward is not possible:
 439+
 440----
 441            o---o---o---A---B  origin/master
 442                     \
 443                      X---Y---Z  dev
 444----
 445+
 446The above command would change the origin repository to
 447+
 448----
 449                      A---B  (unnamed branch)
 450                     /
 451            o---o---o---X---Y---Z  master
 452----
 453+
 454Commits A and B would no longer belong to a branch with a symbolic name,
 455and so would be unreachable.  As such, these commits would be removed by
 456a `git gc` command on the origin repository.
 457
 458GIT
 459---
 460Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite