1git(1) 2====== 3 4NAME 5---- 6git - the stupid content tracker 7 8 9SYNOPSIS 10-------- 11[verse] 12'git' [--version] [--help] [-c <name>=<value>] 13 [--exec-path[=<path>]] [--html-path] [--man-path] [--info-path] 14 [-p|--paginate|--no-pager] [--no-replace-objects] [--bare] 15 [--git-dir=<path>] [--work-tree=<path>] [--namespace=<name>] 16 <command> [<args>] 17 18DESCRIPTION 19----------- 20Git is a fast, scalable, distributed revision control system with an 21unusually rich command set that provides both high-level operations 22and full access to internals. 23 24See linkgit:gittutorial[7] to get started, then see 25link:everyday.html[Everyday Git] for a useful minimum set of 26commands. The link:user-manual.html[Git User's Manual] has a more 27in-depth introduction. 28 29After you mastered the basic concepts, you can come back to this 30page to learn what commands git offers. You can learn more about 31individual git commands with "git help command". linkgit:gitcli[7] 32manual page gives you an overview of the command line command syntax. 33 34Formatted and hyperlinked version of the latest git documentation 35can be viewed at `http://git-htmldocs.googlecode.com/git/git.html`. 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:v1.8.1.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.8.1.6] 47 48* release notes for 49 link:RelNotes/1.8.1.6.txt[1.8.1.6], 50 link:RelNotes/1.8.1.5.txt[1.8.1.5], 51 link:RelNotes/1.8.1.4.txt[1.8.1.4], 52 link:RelNotes/1.8.1.3.txt[1.8.1.3], 53 link:RelNotes/1.8.1.2.txt[1.8.1.2], 54 link:RelNotes/1.8.1.1.txt[1.8.1.1], 55 link:RelNotes/1.8.1.txt[1.8.1]. 56 57* link:v1.8.0.3/git.html[documentation for release 1.8.0.3] 58 59* release notes for 60 link:RelNotes/1.8.0.3.txt[1.8.0.3], 61 link:RelNotes/1.8.0.2.txt[1.8.0.2], 62 link:RelNotes/1.8.0.1.txt[1.8.0.1], 63 link:RelNotes/1.8.0.txt[1.8.0]. 64 65* link:v1.7.12.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.12.4] 66 67* release notes for 68 link:RelNotes/1.7.12.4.txt[1.7.12.4], 69 link:RelNotes/1.7.12.3.txt[1.7.12.3], 70 link:RelNotes/1.7.12.2.txt[1.7.12.2], 71 link:RelNotes/1.7.12.1.txt[1.7.12.1], 72 link:RelNotes/1.7.12.txt[1.7.12]. 73 74* link:v1.7.11.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.11.7] 75 76* release notes for 77 link:RelNotes/1.7.11.7.txt[1.7.11.7], 78 link:RelNotes/1.7.11.6.txt[1.7.11.6], 79 link:RelNotes/1.7.11.5.txt[1.7.11.5], 80 link:RelNotes/1.7.11.4.txt[1.7.11.4], 81 link:RelNotes/1.7.11.3.txt[1.7.11.3], 82 link:RelNotes/1.7.11.2.txt[1.7.11.2], 83 link:RelNotes/1.7.11.1.txt[1.7.11.1], 84 link:RelNotes/1.7.11.txt[1.7.11]. 85 86* link:v1.7.10.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.10.5] 87 88* release notes for 89 link:RelNotes/1.7.10.5.txt[1.7.10.5], 90 link:RelNotes/1.7.10.4.txt[1.7.10.4], 91 link:RelNotes/1.7.10.3.txt[1.7.10.3], 92 link:RelNotes/1.7.10.2.txt[1.7.10.2], 93 link:RelNotes/1.7.10.1.txt[1.7.10.1], 94 link:RelNotes/1.7.10.txt[1.7.10]. 95 96* link:v1.7.9.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.9.7] 97 98* release notes for 99 link:RelNotes/1.7.9.7.txt[1.7.9.7], 100 link:RelNotes/1.7.9.6.txt[1.7.9.6], 101 link:RelNotes/1.7.9.5.txt[1.7.9.5], 102 link:RelNotes/1.7.9.4.txt[1.7.9.4], 103 link:RelNotes/1.7.9.3.txt[1.7.9.3], 104 link:RelNotes/1.7.9.2.txt[1.7.9.2], 105 link:RelNotes/1.7.9.1.txt[1.7.9.1], 106 link:RelNotes/1.7.9.txt[1.7.9]. 107 108* link:v1.7.8.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.8.6] 109 110* release notes for 111 link:RelNotes/1.7.8.6.txt[1.7.8.6], 112 link:RelNotes/1.7.8.5.txt[1.7.8.5], 113 link:RelNotes/1.7.8.4.txt[1.7.8.4], 114 link:RelNotes/1.7.8.3.txt[1.7.8.3], 115 link:RelNotes/1.7.8.2.txt[1.7.8.2], 116 link:RelNotes/1.7.8.1.txt[1.7.8.1], 117 link:RelNotes/1.7.8.txt[1.7.8]. 118 119* link:v1.7.7.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.7.7] 120 121* release notes for 122 link:RelNotes/1.7.7.7.txt[1.7.7.7], 123 link:RelNotes/1.7.7.6.txt[1.7.7.6], 124 link:RelNotes/1.7.7.5.txt[1.7.7.5], 125 link:RelNotes/1.7.7.4.txt[1.7.7.4], 126 link:RelNotes/1.7.7.3.txt[1.7.7.3], 127 link:RelNotes/1.7.7.2.txt[1.7.7.2], 128 link:RelNotes/1.7.7.1.txt[1.7.7.1], 129 link:RelNotes/1.7.7.txt[1.7.7]. 130 131* link:v1.7.6.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.6.6] 132 133* release notes for 134 link:RelNotes/1.7.6.6.txt[1.7.6.6], 135 link:RelNotes/1.7.6.5.txt[1.7.6.5], 136 link:RelNotes/1.7.6.4.txt[1.7.6.4], 137 link:RelNotes/1.7.6.3.txt[1.7.6.3], 138 link:RelNotes/1.7.6.2.txt[1.7.6.2], 139 link:RelNotes/1.7.6.1.txt[1.7.6.1], 140 link:RelNotes/1.7.6.txt[1.7.6]. 141 142* link:v1.7.5.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.5.4] 143 144* release notes for 145 link:RelNotes/1.7.5.4.txt[1.7.5.4], 146 link:RelNotes/1.7.5.3.txt[1.7.5.3], 147 link:RelNotes/1.7.5.2.txt[1.7.5.2], 148 link:RelNotes/1.7.5.1.txt[1.7.5.1], 149 link:RelNotes/1.7.5.txt[1.7.5]. 150 151* link:v1.7.4.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.4.5] 152 153* release notes for 154 link:RelNotes/1.7.4.5.txt[1.7.4.5], 155 link:RelNotes/1.7.4.4.txt[1.7.4.4], 156 link:RelNotes/1.7.4.3.txt[1.7.4.3], 157 link:RelNotes/1.7.4.2.txt[1.7.4.2], 158 link:RelNotes/1.7.4.1.txt[1.7.4.1], 159 link:RelNotes/1.7.4.txt[1.7.4]. 160 161* link:v1.7.3.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.3.5] 162 163* release notes for 164 link:RelNotes/1.7.3.5.txt[1.7.3.5], 165 link:RelNotes/1.7.3.4.txt[1.7.3.4], 166 link:RelNotes/1.7.3.3.txt[1.7.3.3], 167 link:RelNotes/1.7.3.2.txt[1.7.3.2], 168 link:RelNotes/1.7.3.1.txt[1.7.3.1], 169 link:RelNotes/1.7.3.txt[1.7.3]. 170 171* link:v1.7.2.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.2.5] 172 173* release notes for 174 link:RelNotes/1.7.2.5.txt[1.7.2.5], 175 link:RelNotes/1.7.2.4.txt[1.7.2.4], 176 link:RelNotes/1.7.2.3.txt[1.7.2.3], 177 link:RelNotes/1.7.2.2.txt[1.7.2.2], 178 link:RelNotes/1.7.2.1.txt[1.7.2.1], 179 link:RelNotes/1.7.2.txt[1.7.2]. 180 181* link:v1.7.1.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.1.4] 182 183* release notes for 184 link:RelNotes/1.7.1.4.txt[1.7.1.4], 185 link:RelNotes/1.7.1.3.txt[1.7.1.3], 186 link:RelNotes/1.7.1.2.txt[1.7.1.2], 187 link:RelNotes/1.7.1.1.txt[1.7.1.1], 188 link:RelNotes/1.7.1.txt[1.7.1]. 189 190* link:v1.7.0.9/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.0.9] 191 192* release notes for 193 link:RelNotes/1.7.0.9.txt[1.7.0.9], 194 link:RelNotes/1.7.0.8.txt[1.7.0.8], 195 link:RelNotes/1.7.0.7.txt[1.7.0.7], 196 link:RelNotes/1.7.0.6.txt[1.7.0.6], 197 link:RelNotes/1.7.0.5.txt[1.7.0.5], 198 link:RelNotes/1.7.0.4.txt[1.7.0.4], 199 link:RelNotes/1.7.0.3.txt[1.7.0.3], 200 link:RelNotes/1.7.0.2.txt[1.7.0.2], 201 link:RelNotes/1.7.0.1.txt[1.7.0.1], 202 link:RelNotes/1.7.0.txt[1.7.0]. 203 204* link:v1.6.6.3/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.6.3] 205 206* release notes for 207 link:RelNotes/1.6.6.3.txt[1.6.6.3], 208 link:RelNotes/1.6.6.2.txt[1.6.6.2], 209 link:RelNotes/1.6.6.1.txt[1.6.6.1], 210 link:RelNotes/1.6.6.txt[1.6.6]. 211 212* link:v1.6.5.9/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.5.9] 213 214* release notes for 215 link:RelNotes/1.6.5.9.txt[1.6.5.9], 216 link:RelNotes/1.6.5.8.txt[1.6.5.8], 217 link:RelNotes/1.6.5.7.txt[1.6.5.7], 218 link:RelNotes/1.6.5.6.txt[1.6.5.6], 219 link:RelNotes/1.6.5.5.txt[1.6.5.5], 220 link:RelNotes/1.6.5.4.txt[1.6.5.4], 221 link:RelNotes/1.6.5.3.txt[1.6.5.3], 222 link:RelNotes/1.6.5.2.txt[1.6.5.2], 223 link:RelNotes/1.6.5.1.txt[1.6.5.1], 224 link:RelNotes/1.6.5.txt[1.6.5]. 225 226* link:v1.6.4.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.4.5] 227 228* release notes for 229 link:RelNotes/1.6.4.5.txt[1.6.4.5], 230 link:RelNotes/1.6.4.4.txt[1.6.4.4], 231 link:RelNotes/1.6.4.3.txt[1.6.4.3], 232 link:RelNotes/1.6.4.2.txt[1.6.4.2], 233 link:RelNotes/1.6.4.1.txt[1.6.4.1], 234 link:RelNotes/1.6.4.txt[1.6.4]. 235 236* link:v1.6.3.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.3.4] 237 238* release notes for 239 link:RelNotes/1.6.3.4.txt[1.6.3.4], 240 link:RelNotes/1.6.3.3.txt[1.6.3.3], 241 link:RelNotes/1.6.3.2.txt[1.6.3.2], 242 link:RelNotes/1.6.3.1.txt[1.6.3.1], 243 link:RelNotes/1.6.3.txt[1.6.3]. 244 245* release notes for 246 link:RelNotes/1.6.2.5.txt[1.6.2.5], 247 link:RelNotes/1.6.2.4.txt[1.6.2.4], 248 link:RelNotes/1.6.2.3.txt[1.6.2.3], 249 link:RelNotes/1.6.2.2.txt[1.6.2.2], 250 link:RelNotes/1.6.2.1.txt[1.6.2.1], 251 link:RelNotes/1.6.2.txt[1.6.2]. 252 253* link:v1.6.1.3/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.1.3] 254 255* release notes for 256 link:RelNotes/1.6.1.3.txt[1.6.1.3], 257 link:RelNotes/1.6.1.2.txt[1.6.1.2], 258 link:RelNotes/1.6.1.1.txt[1.6.1.1], 259 link:RelNotes/1.6.1.txt[1.6.1]. 260 261* link:v1.6.0.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.0.6] 262 263* release notes for 264 link:RelNotes/1.6.0.6.txt[1.6.0.6], 265 link:RelNotes/1.6.0.5.txt[1.6.0.5], 266 link:RelNotes/1.6.0.4.txt[1.6.0.4], 267 link:RelNotes/1.6.0.3.txt[1.6.0.3], 268 link:RelNotes/1.6.0.2.txt[1.6.0.2], 269 link:RelNotes/1.6.0.1.txt[1.6.0.1], 270 link:RelNotes/1.6.0.txt[1.6.0]. 271 272* link:v1.5.6.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.6.6] 273 274* release notes for 275 link:RelNotes/1.5.6.6.txt[1.5.6.6], 276 link:RelNotes/1.5.6.5.txt[1.5.6.5], 277 link:RelNotes/1.5.6.4.txt[1.5.6.4], 278 link:RelNotes/1.5.6.3.txt[1.5.6.3], 279 link:RelNotes/1.5.6.2.txt[1.5.6.2], 280 link:RelNotes/1.5.6.1.txt[1.5.6.1], 281 link:RelNotes/1.5.6.txt[1.5.6]. 282 283* link:v1.5.5.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.5.6] 284 285* release notes for 286 link:RelNotes/1.5.5.6.txt[1.5.5.6], 287 link:RelNotes/1.5.5.5.txt[1.5.5.5], 288 link:RelNotes/1.5.5.4.txt[1.5.5.4], 289 link:RelNotes/1.5.5.3.txt[1.5.5.3], 290 link:RelNotes/1.5.5.2.txt[1.5.5.2], 291 link:RelNotes/1.5.5.1.txt[1.5.5.1], 292 link:RelNotes/1.5.5.txt[1.5.5]. 293 294* link:v1.5.4.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.4.7] 295 296* release notes for 297 link:RelNotes/1.5.4.7.txt[1.5.4.7], 298 link:RelNotes/1.5.4.6.txt[1.5.4.6], 299 link:RelNotes/1.5.4.5.txt[1.5.4.5], 300 link:RelNotes/1.5.4.4.txt[1.5.4.4], 301 link:RelNotes/1.5.4.3.txt[1.5.4.3], 302 link:RelNotes/1.5.4.2.txt[1.5.4.2], 303 link:RelNotes/1.5.4.1.txt[1.5.4.1], 304 link:RelNotes/1.5.4.txt[1.5.4]. 305 306* link:v1.5.3.8/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.3.8] 307 308* release notes for 309 link:RelNotes/1.5.3.8.txt[1.5.3.8], 310 link:RelNotes/1.5.3.7.txt[1.5.3.7], 311 link:RelNotes/1.5.3.6.txt[1.5.3.6], 312 link:RelNotes/1.5.3.5.txt[1.5.3.5], 313 link:RelNotes/1.5.3.4.txt[1.5.3.4], 314 link:RelNotes/1.5.3.3.txt[1.5.3.3], 315 link:RelNotes/1.5.3.2.txt[1.5.3.2], 316 link:RelNotes/1.5.3.1.txt[1.5.3.1], 317 link:RelNotes/1.5.3.txt[1.5.3]. 318 319* link:v1.5.2.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.2.5] 320 321* release notes for 322 link:RelNotes/1.5.2.5.txt[1.5.2.5], 323 link:RelNotes/1.5.2.4.txt[1.5.2.4], 324 link:RelNotes/1.5.2.3.txt[1.5.2.3], 325 link:RelNotes/1.5.2.2.txt[1.5.2.2], 326 link:RelNotes/1.5.2.1.txt[1.5.2.1], 327 link:RelNotes/1.5.2.txt[1.5.2]. 328 329* link:v1.5.1.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.1.6] 330 331* release notes for 332 link:RelNotes/1.5.1.6.txt[1.5.1.6], 333 link:RelNotes/1.5.1.5.txt[1.5.1.5], 334 link:RelNotes/1.5.1.4.txt[1.5.1.4], 335 link:RelNotes/1.5.1.3.txt[1.5.1.3], 336 link:RelNotes/1.5.1.2.txt[1.5.1.2], 337 link:RelNotes/1.5.1.1.txt[1.5.1.1], 338 link:RelNotes/1.5.1.txt[1.5.1]. 339 340* link:v1.5.0.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.0.7] 341 342* release notes for 343 link:RelNotes/1.5.0.7.txt[1.5.0.7], 344 link:RelNotes/1.5.0.6.txt[1.5.0.6], 345 link:RelNotes/1.5.0.5.txt[1.5.0.5], 346 link:RelNotes/1.5.0.3.txt[1.5.0.3], 347 link:RelNotes/1.5.0.2.txt[1.5.0.2], 348 link:RelNotes/1.5.0.1.txt[1.5.0.1], 349 link:RelNotes/1.5.0.txt[1.5.0]. 350 351* documentation for release link:v1.4.4.4/git.html[1.4.4.4], 352 link:v1.3.3/git.html[1.3.3], 353 link:v1.2.6/git.html[1.2.6], 354 link:v1.0.13/git.html[1.0.13]. 355 356============ 357 358endif::stalenotes[] 359 360OPTIONS 361------- 362--version:: 363 Prints the git suite version that the 'git' program came from. 364 365--help:: 366 Prints the synopsis and a list of the most commonly used 367 commands. If the option '--all' or '-a' is given then all 368 available commands are printed. If a git command is named this 369 option will bring up the manual page for that command. 370+ 371Other options are available to control how the manual page is 372displayed. See linkgit:git-help[1] for more information, 373because `git --help ...` is converted internally into `git 374help ...`. 375 376-c <name>=<value>:: 377 Pass a configuration parameter to the command. The value 378 given will override values from configuration files. 379 The <name> is expected in the same format as listed by 380 'git config' (subkeys separated by dots). 381 382--exec-path[=<path>]:: 383 Path to wherever your core git programs are installed. 384 This can also be controlled by setting the GIT_EXEC_PATH 385 environment variable. If no path is given, 'git' will print 386 the current setting and then exit. 387 388--html-path:: 389 Print the path, without trailing slash, where git's HTML 390 documentation is installed and exit. 391 392--man-path:: 393 Print the manpath (see `man(1)`) for the man pages for 394 this version of git and exit. 395 396--info-path:: 397 Print the path where the Info files documenting this 398 version of git are installed and exit. 399 400-p:: 401--paginate:: 402 Pipe all output into 'less' (or if set, $PAGER) if standard 403 output is a terminal. This overrides the `pager.<cmd>` 404 configuration options (see the "Configuration Mechanism" section 405 below). 406 407--no-pager:: 408 Do not pipe git output into a pager. 409 410--git-dir=<path>:: 411 Set the path to the repository. This can also be controlled by 412 setting the GIT_DIR environment variable. It can be an absolute 413 path or relative path to current working directory. 414 415--work-tree=<path>:: 416 Set the path to the working tree. It can be an absolute path 417 or a path relative to the current working directory. 418 This can also be controlled by setting the GIT_WORK_TREE 419 environment variable and the core.worktree configuration 420 variable (see core.worktree in linkgit:git-config[1] for a 421 more detailed discussion). 422 423--namespace=<path>:: 424 Set the git namespace. See linkgit:gitnamespaces[7] for more 425 details. Equivalent to setting the `GIT_NAMESPACE` environment 426 variable. 427 428--bare:: 429 Treat the repository as a bare repository. If GIT_DIR 430 environment is not set, it is set to the current working 431 directory. 432 433--no-replace-objects:: 434 Do not use replacement refs to replace git objects. See 435 linkgit:git-replace[1] for more information. 436 437 438GIT COMMANDS 439------------ 440 441We divide git into high level ("porcelain") commands and low level 442("plumbing") commands. 443 444High-level commands (porcelain) 445------------------------------- 446 447We separate the porcelain commands into the main commands and some 448ancillary user utilities. 449 450Main porcelain commands 451~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 452 453include::cmds-mainporcelain.txt[] 454 455Ancillary Commands 456~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 457Manipulators: 458 459include::cmds-ancillarymanipulators.txt[] 460 461Interrogators: 462 463include::cmds-ancillaryinterrogators.txt[] 464 465 466Interacting with Others 467~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 468 469These commands are to interact with foreign SCM and with other 470people via patch over e-mail. 471 472include::cmds-foreignscminterface.txt[] 473 474 475Low-level commands (plumbing) 476----------------------------- 477 478Although git includes its 479own porcelain layer, its low-level commands are sufficient to support 480development of alternative porcelains. Developers of such porcelains 481might start by reading about linkgit:git-update-index[1] and 482linkgit:git-read-tree[1]. 483 484The interface (input, output, set of options and the semantics) 485to these low-level commands are meant to be a lot more stable 486than Porcelain level commands, because these commands are 487primarily for scripted use. The interface to Porcelain commands 488on the other hand are subject to change in order to improve the 489end user experience. 490 491The following description divides 492the low-level commands into commands that manipulate objects (in 493the repository, index, and working tree), commands that interrogate and 494compare objects, and commands that move objects and references between 495repositories. 496 497 498Manipulation commands 499~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 500 501include::cmds-plumbingmanipulators.txt[] 502 503 504Interrogation commands 505~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 506 507include::cmds-plumbinginterrogators.txt[] 508 509In general, the interrogate commands do not touch the files in 510the working tree. 511 512 513Synching repositories 514~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 515 516include::cmds-synchingrepositories.txt[] 517 518The following are helper commands used by the above; end users 519typically do not use them directly. 520 521include::cmds-synchelpers.txt[] 522 523 524Internal helper commands 525~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 526 527These are internal helper commands used by other commands; end 528users typically do not use them directly. 529 530include::cmds-purehelpers.txt[] 531 532 533Configuration Mechanism 534----------------------- 535 536Git uses a simple text format to store customizations that are per 537repository and are per user. Such a configuration file may look 538like this: 539 540------------ 541# 542# A '#' or ';' character indicates a comment. 543# 544 545; core variables 546[core] 547 ; Don't trust file modes 548 filemode = false 549 550; user identity 551[user] 552 name = "Junio C Hamano" 553 email = "gitster@pobox.com" 554 555------------ 556 557Various commands read from the configuration file and adjust 558their operation accordingly. See linkgit:git-config[1] for a 559list and more details about the configuration mechanism. 560 561 562Identifier Terminology 563---------------------- 564<object>:: 565 Indicates the object name for any type of object. 566 567<blob>:: 568 Indicates a blob object name. 569 570<tree>:: 571 Indicates a tree object name. 572 573<commit>:: 574 Indicates a commit object name. 575 576<tree-ish>:: 577 Indicates a tree, commit or tag object name. A 578 command that takes a <tree-ish> argument ultimately wants to 579 operate on a <tree> object but automatically dereferences 580 <commit> and <tag> objects that point at a <tree>. 581 582<commit-ish>:: 583 Indicates a commit or tag object name. A 584 command that takes a <commit-ish> argument ultimately wants to 585 operate on a <commit> object but automatically dereferences 586 <tag> objects that point at a <commit>. 587 588<type>:: 589 Indicates that an object type is required. 590 Currently one of: `blob`, `tree`, `commit`, or `tag`. 591 592<file>:: 593 Indicates a filename - almost always relative to the 594 root of the tree structure `GIT_INDEX_FILE` describes. 595 596Symbolic Identifiers 597-------------------- 598Any git command accepting any <object> can also use the following 599symbolic notation: 600 601HEAD:: 602 indicates the head of the current branch. 603 604<tag>:: 605 a valid tag 'name' 606 (i.e. a `refs/tags/<tag>` reference). 607 608<head>:: 609 a valid head 'name' 610 (i.e. a `refs/heads/<head>` reference). 611 612For a more complete list of ways to spell object names, see 613"SPECIFYING REVISIONS" section in linkgit:gitrevisions[7]. 614 615 616File/Directory Structure 617------------------------ 618 619Please see the linkgit:gitrepository-layout[5] document. 620 621Read linkgit:githooks[5] for more details about each hook. 622 623Higher level SCMs may provide and manage additional information in the 624`$GIT_DIR`. 625 626 627Terminology 628----------- 629Please see linkgit:gitglossary[7]. 630 631 632Environment Variables 633--------------------- 634Various git commands use the following environment variables: 635 636The git Repository 637~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 638These environment variables apply to 'all' core git commands. Nb: it 639is worth noting that they may be used/overridden by SCMS sitting above 640git so take care if using Cogito etc. 641 642'GIT_INDEX_FILE':: 643 This environment allows the specification of an alternate 644 index file. If not specified, the default of `$GIT_DIR/index` 645 is used. 646 647'GIT_OBJECT_DIRECTORY':: 648 If the object storage directory is specified via this 649 environment variable then the sha1 directories are created 650 underneath - otherwise the default `$GIT_DIR/objects` 651 directory is used. 652 653'GIT_ALTERNATE_OBJECT_DIRECTORIES':: 654 Due to the immutable nature of git objects, old objects can be 655 archived into shared, read-only directories. This variable 656 specifies a ":" separated (on Windows ";" separated) list 657 of git object directories which can be used to search for git 658 objects. New objects will not be written to these directories. 659 660'GIT_DIR':: 661 If the 'GIT_DIR' environment variable is set then it 662 specifies a path to use instead of the default `.git` 663 for the base of the repository. 664 The '--git-dir' command-line option also sets this value. 665 666'GIT_WORK_TREE':: 667 Set the path to the working tree. The value will not be 668 used in combination with repositories found automatically in 669 a .git directory (i.e. $GIT_DIR is not set). 670 This can also be controlled by the '--work-tree' command line 671 option and the core.worktree configuration variable. 672 673'GIT_NAMESPACE':: 674 Set the git namespace; see linkgit:gitnamespaces[7] for details. 675 The '--namespace' command-line option also sets this value. 676 677'GIT_CEILING_DIRECTORIES':: 678 This should be a colon-separated list of absolute paths. If 679 set, it is a list of directories that git should not chdir up 680 into while looking for a repository directory (useful for 681 excluding slow-loading network directories). It will not 682 exclude the current working directory or a GIT_DIR set on the 683 command line or in the environment. Normally, Git has to read 684 the entries in this list and resolve any symlink that 685 might be present in order to compare them with the current 686 directory. However, if even this access is slow, you 687 can add an empty entry to the list to tell Git that the 688 subsequent entries are not symlinks and needn't be resolved; 689 e.g., 690 'GIT_CEILING_DIRECTORIES=/maybe/symlink::/very/slow/non/symlink'. 691 692'GIT_DISCOVERY_ACROSS_FILESYSTEM':: 693 When run in a directory that does not have ".git" repository 694 directory, git tries to find such a directory in the parent 695 directories to find the top of the working tree, but by default it 696 does not cross filesystem boundaries. This environment variable 697 can be set to true to tell git not to stop at filesystem 698 boundaries. Like 'GIT_CEILING_DIRECTORIES', this will not affect 699 an explicit repository directory set via 'GIT_DIR' or on the 700 command line. 701 702git Commits 703~~~~~~~~~~~ 704'GIT_AUTHOR_NAME':: 705'GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL':: 706'GIT_AUTHOR_DATE':: 707'GIT_COMMITTER_NAME':: 708'GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL':: 709'GIT_COMMITTER_DATE':: 710'EMAIL':: 711 see linkgit:git-commit-tree[1] 712 713git Diffs 714~~~~~~~~~ 715'GIT_DIFF_OPTS':: 716 Only valid setting is "--unified=??" or "-u??" to set the 717 number of context lines shown when a unified diff is created. 718 This takes precedence over any "-U" or "--unified" option 719 value passed on the git diff command line. 720 721'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF':: 722 When the environment variable 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is set, the 723 program named by it is called, instead of the diff invocation 724 described above. For a path that is added, removed, or modified, 725 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called with 7 parameters: 726 727 path old-file old-hex old-mode new-file new-hex new-mode 728+ 729where: 730 731 <old|new>-file:: are files GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF can use to read the 732 contents of <old|new>, 733 <old|new>-hex:: are the 40-hexdigit SHA1 hashes, 734 <old|new>-mode:: are the octal representation of the file modes. 735+ 736The file parameters can point at the user's working file 737(e.g. `new-file` in "git-diff-files"), `/dev/null` (e.g. `old-file` 738when a new file is added), or a temporary file (e.g. `old-file` in the 739index). 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' should not worry about unlinking the 740temporary file --- it is removed when 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' exits. 741+ 742For a path that is unmerged, 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called with 1 743parameter, <path>. 744 745other 746~~~~~ 747'GIT_MERGE_VERBOSITY':: 748 A number controlling the amount of output shown by 749 the recursive merge strategy. Overrides merge.verbosity. 750 See linkgit:git-merge[1] 751 752'GIT_PAGER':: 753 This environment variable overrides `$PAGER`. If it is set 754 to an empty string or to the value "cat", git will not launch 755 a pager. See also the `core.pager` option in 756 linkgit:git-config[1]. 757 758'GIT_EDITOR':: 759 This environment variable overrides `$EDITOR` and `$VISUAL`. 760 It is used by several git commands when, on interactive mode, 761 an editor is to be launched. See also linkgit:git-var[1] 762 and the `core.editor` option in linkgit:git-config[1]. 763 764'GIT_SSH':: 765 If this environment variable is set then 'git fetch' 766 and 'git push' will use this command instead 767 of 'ssh' when they need to connect to a remote system. 768 The '$GIT_SSH' command will be given exactly two or 769 four arguments: the 'username@host' (or just 'host') 770 from the URL and the shell command to execute on that 771 remote system, optionally preceded by '-p' (literally) and 772 the 'port' from the URL when it specifies something other 773 than the default SSH port. 774+ 775To pass options to the program that you want to list in GIT_SSH 776you will need to wrap the program and options into a shell script, 777then set GIT_SSH to refer to the shell script. 778+ 779Usually it is easier to configure any desired options through your 780personal `.ssh/config` file. Please consult your ssh documentation 781for further details. 782 783'GIT_ASKPASS':: 784 If this environment variable is set, then git commands which need to 785 acquire passwords or passphrases (e.g. for HTTP or IMAP authentication) 786 will call this program with a suitable prompt as command line argument 787 and read the password from its STDOUT. See also the 'core.askpass' 788 option in linkgit:git-config[1]. 789 790'GIT_CONFIG_NOSYSTEM':: 791 Whether to skip reading settings from the system-wide 792 `$(prefix)/etc/gitconfig` file. This environment variable can 793 be used along with `$HOME` and `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME` to create a 794 predictable environment for a picky script, or you can set it 795 temporarily to avoid using a buggy `/etc/gitconfig` file while 796 waiting for someone with sufficient permissions to fix it. 797 798'GIT_FLUSH':: 799 If this environment variable is set to "1", then commands such 800 as 'git blame' (in incremental mode), 'git rev-list', 'git log', 801 and 'git whatchanged' will force a flush of the output stream 802 after each commit-oriented record have been flushed. If this 803 variable is set to "0", the output of these commands will be done 804 using completely buffered I/O. If this environment variable is 805 not set, git will choose buffered or record-oriented flushing 806 based on whether stdout appears to be redirected to a file or not. 807 808'GIT_TRACE':: 809 If this variable is set to "1", "2" or "true" (comparison 810 is case insensitive), git will print `trace:` messages on 811 stderr telling about alias expansion, built-in command 812 execution and external command execution. 813 If this variable is set to an integer value greater than 1 814 and lower than 10 (strictly) then git will interpret this 815 value as an open file descriptor and will try to write the 816 trace messages into this file descriptor. 817 Alternatively, if this variable is set to an absolute path 818 (starting with a '/' character), git will interpret this 819 as a file path and will try to write the trace messages 820 into it. 821 822Discussion[[Discussion]] 823------------------------ 824 825More detail on the following is available from the 826link:user-manual.html#git-concepts[git concepts chapter of the 827user-manual] and linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7]. 828 829A git project normally consists of a working directory with a ".git" 830subdirectory at the top level. The .git directory contains, among other 831things, a compressed object database representing the complete history 832of the project, an "index" file which links that history to the current 833contents of the working tree, and named pointers into that history such 834as tags and branch heads. 835 836The object database contains objects of three main types: blobs, which 837hold file data; trees, which point to blobs and other trees to build up 838directory hierarchies; and commits, which each reference a single tree 839and some number of parent commits. 840 841The commit, equivalent to what other systems call a "changeset" or 842"version", represents a step in the project's history, and each parent 843represents an immediately preceding step. Commits with more than one 844parent represent merges of independent lines of development. 845 846All objects are named by the SHA1 hash of their contents, normally 847written as a string of 40 hex digits. Such names are globally unique. 848The entire history leading up to a commit can be vouched for by signing 849just that commit. A fourth object type, the tag, is provided for this 850purpose. 851 852When first created, objects are stored in individual files, but for 853efficiency may later be compressed together into "pack files". 854 855Named pointers called refs mark interesting points in history. A ref 856may contain the SHA1 name of an object or the name of another ref. Refs 857with names beginning `ref/head/` contain the SHA1 name of the most 858recent commit (or "head") of a branch under development. SHA1 names of 859tags of interest are stored under `ref/tags/`. A special ref named 860`HEAD` contains the name of the currently checked-out branch. 861 862The index file is initialized with a list of all paths and, for each 863path, a blob object and a set of attributes. The blob object represents 864the contents of the file as of the head of the current branch. The 865attributes (last modified time, size, etc.) are taken from the 866corresponding file in the working tree. Subsequent changes to the 867working tree can be found by comparing these attributes. The index may 868be updated with new content, and new commits may be created from the 869content stored in the index. 870 871The index is also capable of storing multiple entries (called "stages") 872for a given pathname. These stages are used to hold the various 873unmerged version of a file when a merge is in progress. 874 875FURTHER DOCUMENTATION 876--------------------- 877 878See the references in the "description" section to get started 879using git. The following is probably more detail than necessary 880for a first-time user. 881 882The link:user-manual.html#git-concepts[git concepts chapter of the 883user-manual] and linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7] both provide 884introductions to the underlying git architecture. 885 886See linkgit:gitworkflows[7] for an overview of recommended workflows. 887 888See also the link:howto-index.html[howto] documents for some useful 889examples. 890 891The internals are documented in the 892link:technical/api-index.html[GIT API documentation]. 893 894Users migrating from CVS may also want to 895read linkgit:gitcvs-migration[7]. 896 897 898Authors 899------- 900Git was started by Linus Torvalds, and is currently maintained by Junio 901C Hamano. Numerous contributions have come from the git mailing list 902<git@vger.kernel.org>. http://www.ohloh.net/p/git/contributors/summary 903gives you a more complete list of contributors. 904 905If you have a clone of git.git itself, the 906output of linkgit:git-shortlog[1] and linkgit:git-blame[1] can show you 907the authors for specific parts of the project. 908 909Reporting Bugs 910-------------- 911 912Report bugs to the Git mailing list <git@vger.kernel.org> where the 913development and maintenance is primarily done. You do not have to be 914subscribed to the list to send a message there. 915 916SEE ALSO 917-------- 918linkgit:gittutorial[7], linkgit:gittutorial-2[7], 919link:everyday.html[Everyday Git], linkgit:gitcvs-migration[7], 920linkgit:gitglossary[7], linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7], 921linkgit:gitcli[7], link:user-manual.html[The Git User's Manual], 922linkgit:gitworkflows[7] 923 924GIT 925--- 926Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite