Andrew's git - gitweb.git/blob - Documentation/git.txt

   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:v1.8.4.1/git.html[documentation for release 1.8.4.1]
  47
  48* release notes for
  49  link:RelNotes/1.8.4.1.txt[1.8.4.1],
  50  link:RelNotes/1.8.4.txt[1.8.4].
  51
  52* link:v1.8.3.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.8.3.4]
  53
  54* release notes for
  55  link:RelNotes/1.8.3.4.txt[1.8.3.4],
  56  link:RelNotes/1.8.3.3.txt[1.8.3.3],
  57  link:RelNotes/1.8.3.2.txt[1.8.3.2],
  58  link:RelNotes/1.8.3.1.txt[1.8.3.1],
  59  link:RelNotes/1.8.3.txt[1.8.3].
  60
  61* link:v1.8.2.3/git.html[documentation for release 1.8.2.3]
  62
  63* release notes for
  64  link:RelNotes/1.8.2.3.txt[1.8.2.3],
  65  link:RelNotes/1.8.2.2.txt[1.8.2.2],
  66  link:RelNotes/1.8.2.1.txt[1.8.2.1],
  67  link:RelNotes/1.8.2.txt[1.8.2].
  68
  69* link:v1.8.1.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.8.1.6]
  70
  71* release notes for
  72  link:RelNotes/1.8.1.6.txt[1.8.1.6],
  73  link:RelNotes/1.8.1.5.txt[1.8.1.5],
  74  link:RelNotes/1.8.1.4.txt[1.8.1.4],
  75  link:RelNotes/1.8.1.3.txt[1.8.1.3],
  76  link:RelNotes/1.8.1.2.txt[1.8.1.2],
  77  link:RelNotes/1.8.1.1.txt[1.8.1.1],
  78  link:RelNotes/1.8.1.txt[1.8.1].
  79
  80* link:v1.8.0.3/git.html[documentation for release 1.8.0.3]
  81
  82* release notes for
  83  link:RelNotes/1.8.0.3.txt[1.8.0.3],
  84  link:RelNotes/1.8.0.2.txt[1.8.0.2],
  85  link:RelNotes/1.8.0.1.txt[1.8.0.1],
  86  link:RelNotes/1.8.0.txt[1.8.0].
  87
  88* link:v1.7.12.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.12.4]
  89
  90* release notes for
  91  link:RelNotes/1.7.12.4.txt[1.7.12.4],
  92  link:RelNotes/1.7.12.3.txt[1.7.12.3],
  93  link:RelNotes/1.7.12.2.txt[1.7.12.2],
  94  link:RelNotes/1.7.12.1.txt[1.7.12.1],
  95  link:RelNotes/1.7.12.txt[1.7.12].
  96
  97* link:v1.7.11.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.11.7]
  98
  99* release notes for
 100  link:RelNotes/1.7.11.7.txt[1.7.11.7],
 101  link:RelNotes/1.7.11.6.txt[1.7.11.6],
 102  link:RelNotes/1.7.11.5.txt[1.7.11.5],
 103  link:RelNotes/1.7.11.4.txt[1.7.11.4],
 104  link:RelNotes/1.7.11.3.txt[1.7.11.3],
 105  link:RelNotes/1.7.11.2.txt[1.7.11.2],
 106  link:RelNotes/1.7.11.1.txt[1.7.11.1],
 107  link:RelNotes/1.7.11.txt[1.7.11].
 108
 109* link:v1.7.10.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.10.5]
 110
 111* release notes for
 112  link:RelNotes/1.7.10.5.txt[1.7.10.5],
 113  link:RelNotes/1.7.10.4.txt[1.7.10.4],
 114  link:RelNotes/1.7.10.3.txt[1.7.10.3],
 115  link:RelNotes/1.7.10.2.txt[1.7.10.2],
 116  link:RelNotes/1.7.10.1.txt[1.7.10.1],
 117  link:RelNotes/1.7.10.txt[1.7.10].
 118
 119* link:v1.7.9.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.9.7]
 120
 121* release notes for
 122  link:RelNotes/1.7.9.7.txt[1.7.9.7],
 123  link:RelNotes/1.7.9.6.txt[1.7.9.6],
 124  link:RelNotes/1.7.9.5.txt[1.7.9.5],
 125  link:RelNotes/1.7.9.4.txt[1.7.9.4],
 126  link:RelNotes/1.7.9.3.txt[1.7.9.3],
 127  link:RelNotes/1.7.9.2.txt[1.7.9.2],
 128  link:RelNotes/1.7.9.1.txt[1.7.9.1],
 129  link:RelNotes/1.7.9.txt[1.7.9].
 130
 131* link:v1.7.8.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.8.6]
 132
 133* release notes for
 134  link:RelNotes/1.7.8.6.txt[1.7.8.6],
 135  link:RelNotes/1.7.8.5.txt[1.7.8.5],
 136  link:RelNotes/1.7.8.4.txt[1.7.8.4],
 137  link:RelNotes/1.7.8.3.txt[1.7.8.3],
 138  link:RelNotes/1.7.8.2.txt[1.7.8.2],
 139  link:RelNotes/1.7.8.1.txt[1.7.8.1],
 140  link:RelNotes/1.7.8.txt[1.7.8].
 141
 142* link:v1.7.7.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.7.7]
 143
 144* release notes for
 145  link:RelNotes/1.7.7.7.txt[1.7.7.7],
 146  link:RelNotes/1.7.7.6.txt[1.7.7.6],
 147  link:RelNotes/1.7.7.5.txt[1.7.7.5],
 148  link:RelNotes/1.7.7.4.txt[1.7.7.4],
 149  link:RelNotes/1.7.7.3.txt[1.7.7.3],
 150  link:RelNotes/1.7.7.2.txt[1.7.7.2],
 151  link:RelNotes/1.7.7.1.txt[1.7.7.1],
 152  link:RelNotes/1.7.7.txt[1.7.7].
 153
 154* link:v1.7.6.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.6.6]
 155
 156* release notes for
 157  link:RelNotes/1.7.6.6.txt[1.7.6.6],
 158  link:RelNotes/1.7.6.5.txt[1.7.6.5],
 159  link:RelNotes/1.7.6.4.txt[1.7.6.4],
 160  link:RelNotes/1.7.6.3.txt[1.7.6.3],
 161  link:RelNotes/1.7.6.2.txt[1.7.6.2],
 162  link:RelNotes/1.7.6.1.txt[1.7.6.1],
 163  link:RelNotes/1.7.6.txt[1.7.6].
 164
 165* link:v1.7.5.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.5.4]
 166
 167* release notes for
 168  link:RelNotes/1.7.5.4.txt[1.7.5.4],
 169  link:RelNotes/1.7.5.3.txt[1.7.5.3],
 170  link:RelNotes/1.7.5.2.txt[1.7.5.2],
 171  link:RelNotes/1.7.5.1.txt[1.7.5.1],
 172  link:RelNotes/1.7.5.txt[1.7.5].
 173
 174* link:v1.7.4.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.4.5]
 175
 176* release notes for
 177  link:RelNotes/1.7.4.5.txt[1.7.4.5],
 178  link:RelNotes/1.7.4.4.txt[1.7.4.4],
 179  link:RelNotes/1.7.4.3.txt[1.7.4.3],
 180  link:RelNotes/1.7.4.2.txt[1.7.4.2],
 181  link:RelNotes/1.7.4.1.txt[1.7.4.1],
 182  link:RelNotes/1.7.4.txt[1.7.4].
 183
 184* link:v1.7.3.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.3.5]
 185
 186* release notes for
 187  link:RelNotes/1.7.3.5.txt[1.7.3.5],
 188  link:RelNotes/1.7.3.4.txt[1.7.3.4],
 189  link:RelNotes/1.7.3.3.txt[1.7.3.3],
 190  link:RelNotes/1.7.3.2.txt[1.7.3.2],
 191  link:RelNotes/1.7.3.1.txt[1.7.3.1],
 192  link:RelNotes/1.7.3.txt[1.7.3].
 193
 194* link:v1.7.2.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.2.5]
 195
 196* release notes for
 197  link:RelNotes/1.7.2.5.txt[1.7.2.5],
 198  link:RelNotes/1.7.2.4.txt[1.7.2.4],
 199  link:RelNotes/1.7.2.3.txt[1.7.2.3],
 200  link:RelNotes/1.7.2.2.txt[1.7.2.2],
 201  link:RelNotes/1.7.2.1.txt[1.7.2.1],
 202  link:RelNotes/1.7.2.txt[1.7.2].
 203
 204* link:v1.7.1.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.1.4]
 205
 206* release notes for
 207  link:RelNotes/1.7.1.4.txt[1.7.1.4],
 208  link:RelNotes/1.7.1.3.txt[1.7.1.3],
 209  link:RelNotes/1.7.1.2.txt[1.7.1.2],
 210  link:RelNotes/1.7.1.1.txt[1.7.1.1],
 211  link:RelNotes/1.7.1.txt[1.7.1].
 212
 213* link:v1.7.0.9/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.0.9]
 214
 215* release notes for
 216  link:RelNotes/1.7.0.9.txt[1.7.0.9],
 217  link:RelNotes/1.7.0.8.txt[1.7.0.8],
 218  link:RelNotes/1.7.0.7.txt[1.7.0.7],
 219  link:RelNotes/1.7.0.6.txt[1.7.0.6],
 220  link:RelNotes/1.7.0.5.txt[1.7.0.5],
 221  link:RelNotes/1.7.0.4.txt[1.7.0.4],
 222  link:RelNotes/1.7.0.3.txt[1.7.0.3],
 223  link:RelNotes/1.7.0.2.txt[1.7.0.2],
 224  link:RelNotes/1.7.0.1.txt[1.7.0.1],
 225  link:RelNotes/1.7.0.txt[1.7.0].
 226
 227* link:v1.6.6.3/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.6.3]
 228
 229* release notes for
 230  link:RelNotes/1.6.6.3.txt[1.6.6.3],
 231  link:RelNotes/1.6.6.2.txt[1.6.6.2],
 232  link:RelNotes/1.6.6.1.txt[1.6.6.1],
 233  link:RelNotes/1.6.6.txt[1.6.6].
 234
 235* link:v1.6.5.9/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.5.9]
 236
 237* release notes for
 238  link:RelNotes/1.6.5.9.txt[1.6.5.9],
 239  link:RelNotes/1.6.5.8.txt[1.6.5.8],
 240  link:RelNotes/1.6.5.7.txt[1.6.5.7],
 241  link:RelNotes/1.6.5.6.txt[1.6.5.6],
 242  link:RelNotes/1.6.5.5.txt[1.6.5.5],
 243  link:RelNotes/1.6.5.4.txt[1.6.5.4],
 244  link:RelNotes/1.6.5.3.txt[1.6.5.3],
 245  link:RelNotes/1.6.5.2.txt[1.6.5.2],
 246  link:RelNotes/1.6.5.1.txt[1.6.5.1],
 247  link:RelNotes/1.6.5.txt[1.6.5].
 248
 249* link:v1.6.4.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.4.5]
 250
 251* release notes for
 252  link:RelNotes/1.6.4.5.txt[1.6.4.5],
 253  link:RelNotes/1.6.4.4.txt[1.6.4.4],
 254  link:RelNotes/1.6.4.3.txt[1.6.4.3],
 255  link:RelNotes/1.6.4.2.txt[1.6.4.2],
 256  link:RelNotes/1.6.4.1.txt[1.6.4.1],
 257  link:RelNotes/1.6.4.txt[1.6.4].
 258
 259* link:v1.6.3.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.3.4]
 260
 261* release notes for
 262  link:RelNotes/1.6.3.4.txt[1.6.3.4],
 263  link:RelNotes/1.6.3.3.txt[1.6.3.3],
 264  link:RelNotes/1.6.3.2.txt[1.6.3.2],
 265  link:RelNotes/1.6.3.1.txt[1.6.3.1],
 266  link:RelNotes/1.6.3.txt[1.6.3].
 267
 268* release notes for
 269  link:RelNotes/1.6.2.5.txt[1.6.2.5],
 270  link:RelNotes/1.6.2.4.txt[1.6.2.4],
 271  link:RelNotes/1.6.2.3.txt[1.6.2.3],
 272  link:RelNotes/1.6.2.2.txt[1.6.2.2],
 273  link:RelNotes/1.6.2.1.txt[1.6.2.1],
 274  link:RelNotes/1.6.2.txt[1.6.2].
 275
 276* link:v1.6.1.3/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.1.3]
 277
 278* release notes for
 279  link:RelNotes/1.6.1.3.txt[1.6.1.3],
 280  link:RelNotes/1.6.1.2.txt[1.6.1.2],
 281  link:RelNotes/1.6.1.1.txt[1.6.1.1],
 282  link:RelNotes/1.6.1.txt[1.6.1].
 283
 284* link:v1.6.0.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.0.6]
 285
 286* release notes for
 287  link:RelNotes/1.6.0.6.txt[1.6.0.6],
 288  link:RelNotes/1.6.0.5.txt[1.6.0.5],
 289  link:RelNotes/1.6.0.4.txt[1.6.0.4],
 290  link:RelNotes/1.6.0.3.txt[1.6.0.3],
 291  link:RelNotes/1.6.0.2.txt[1.6.0.2],
 292  link:RelNotes/1.6.0.1.txt[1.6.0.1],
 293  link:RelNotes/1.6.0.txt[1.6.0].
 294
 295* link:v1.5.6.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.6.6]
 296
 297* release notes for
 298  link:RelNotes/1.5.6.6.txt[1.5.6.6],
 299  link:RelNotes/1.5.6.5.txt[1.5.6.5],
 300  link:RelNotes/1.5.6.4.txt[1.5.6.4],
 301  link:RelNotes/1.5.6.3.txt[1.5.6.3],
 302  link:RelNotes/1.5.6.2.txt[1.5.6.2],
 303  link:RelNotes/1.5.6.1.txt[1.5.6.1],
 304  link:RelNotes/1.5.6.txt[1.5.6].
 305
 306* link:v1.5.5.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.5.6]
 307
 308* release notes for
 309  link:RelNotes/1.5.5.6.txt[1.5.5.6],
 310  link:RelNotes/1.5.5.5.txt[1.5.5.5],
 311  link:RelNotes/1.5.5.4.txt[1.5.5.4],
 312  link:RelNotes/1.5.5.3.txt[1.5.5.3],
 313  link:RelNotes/1.5.5.2.txt[1.5.5.2],
 314  link:RelNotes/1.5.5.1.txt[1.5.5.1],
 315  link:RelNotes/1.5.5.txt[1.5.5].
 316
 317* link:v1.5.4.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.4.7]
 318
 319* release notes for
 320  link:RelNotes/1.5.4.7.txt[1.5.4.7],
 321  link:RelNotes/1.5.4.6.txt[1.5.4.6],
 322  link:RelNotes/1.5.4.5.txt[1.5.4.5],
 323  link:RelNotes/1.5.4.4.txt[1.5.4.4],
 324  link:RelNotes/1.5.4.3.txt[1.5.4.3],
 325  link:RelNotes/1.5.4.2.txt[1.5.4.2],
 326  link:RelNotes/1.5.4.1.txt[1.5.4.1],
 327  link:RelNotes/1.5.4.txt[1.5.4].
 328
 329* link:v1.5.3.8/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.3.8]
 330
 331* release notes for
 332  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.8.txt[1.5.3.8],
 333  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.7.txt[1.5.3.7],
 334  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.6.txt[1.5.3.6],
 335  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.5.txt[1.5.3.5],
 336  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.4.txt[1.5.3.4],
 337  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.3.txt[1.5.3.3],
 338  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.2.txt[1.5.3.2],
 339  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.1.txt[1.5.3.1],
 340  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.txt[1.5.3].
 341
 342* link:v1.5.2.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.2.5]
 343
 344* release notes for
 345  link:RelNotes/1.5.2.5.txt[1.5.2.5],
 346  link:RelNotes/1.5.2.4.txt[1.5.2.4],
 347  link:RelNotes/1.5.2.3.txt[1.5.2.3],
 348  link:RelNotes/1.5.2.2.txt[1.5.2.2],
 349  link:RelNotes/1.5.2.1.txt[1.5.2.1],
 350  link:RelNotes/1.5.2.txt[1.5.2].
 351
 352* link:v1.5.1.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.1.6]
 353
 354* release notes for
 355  link:RelNotes/1.5.1.6.txt[1.5.1.6],
 356  link:RelNotes/1.5.1.5.txt[1.5.1.5],
 357  link:RelNotes/1.5.1.4.txt[1.5.1.4],
 358  link:RelNotes/1.5.1.3.txt[1.5.1.3],
 359  link:RelNotes/1.5.1.2.txt[1.5.1.2],
 360  link:RelNotes/1.5.1.1.txt[1.5.1.1],
 361  link:RelNotes/1.5.1.txt[1.5.1].
 362
 363* link:v1.5.0.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.0.7]
 364
 365* release notes for
 366  link:RelNotes/1.5.0.7.txt[1.5.0.7],
 367  link:RelNotes/1.5.0.6.txt[1.5.0.6],
 368  link:RelNotes/1.5.0.5.txt[1.5.0.5],
 369  link:RelNotes/1.5.0.3.txt[1.5.0.3],
 370  link:RelNotes/1.5.0.2.txt[1.5.0.2],
 371  link:RelNotes/1.5.0.1.txt[1.5.0.1],
 372  link:RelNotes/1.5.0.txt[1.5.0].
 373
 374* documentation for release link:v1.4.4.4/git.html[1.4.4.4],
 375  link:v1.3.3/git.html[1.3.3],
 376  link:v1.2.6/git.html[1.2.6],
 377  link:v1.0.13/git.html[1.0.13].
 378
 379============
 380
 381endif::stalenotes[]
 382
 383OPTIONS
 384-------
 385--version::
 386        Prints the Git suite version that the 'git' program came from.
 387
 388--help::
 389        Prints the synopsis and a list of the most commonly used
 390        commands. If the option '--all' or '-a' is given then all
 391        available commands are printed. If a Git command is named this
 392        option will bring up the manual page for that command.
 393+
 394Other options are available to control how the manual page is
 395displayed. See linkgit:git-help[1] for more information,
 396because `git --help ...` is converted internally into `git
 397help ...`.
 398
 399-c <name>=<value>::
 400        Pass a configuration parameter to the command. The value
 401        given will override values from configuration files.
 402        The <name> is expected in the same format as listed by
 403        'git config' (subkeys separated by dots).
 404
 405--exec-path[=<path>]::
 406        Path to wherever your core Git programs are installed.
 407        This can also be controlled by setting the GIT_EXEC_PATH
 408        environment variable. If no path is given, 'git' will print
 409        the current setting and then exit.
 410
 411--html-path::
 412        Print the path, without trailing slash, where Git's HTML
 413        documentation is installed and exit.
 414
 415--man-path::
 416        Print the manpath (see `man(1)`) for the man pages for
 417        this version of Git and exit.
 418
 419--info-path::
 420        Print the path where the Info files documenting this
 421        version of Git are installed and exit.
 422
 423-p::
 424--paginate::
 425        Pipe all output into 'less' (or if set, $PAGER) if standard
 426        output is a terminal.  This overrides the `pager.<cmd>`
 427        configuration options (see the "Configuration Mechanism" section
 428        below).
 429
 430--no-pager::
 431        Do not pipe Git output into a pager.
 432
 433--git-dir=<path>::
 434        Set the path to the repository. This can also be controlled by
 435        setting the GIT_DIR environment variable. It can be an absolute
 436        path or relative path to current working directory.
 437
 438--work-tree=<path>::
 439        Set the path to the working tree. It can be an absolute path
 440        or a path relative to the current working directory.
 441        This can also be controlled by setting the GIT_WORK_TREE
 442        environment variable and the core.worktree configuration
 443        variable (see core.worktree in linkgit:git-config[1] for a
 444        more detailed discussion).
 445
 446--namespace=<path>::
 447        Set the Git namespace.  See linkgit:gitnamespaces[7] for more
 448        details.  Equivalent to setting the `GIT_NAMESPACE` environment
 449        variable.
 450
 451--bare::
 452        Treat the repository as a bare repository.  If GIT_DIR
 453        environment is not set, it is set to the current working
 454        directory.
 455
 456--no-replace-objects::
 457        Do not use replacement refs to replace Git objects. See
 458        linkgit:git-replace[1] for more information.
 459
 460--literal-pathspecs::
 461        Treat pathspecs literally, rather than as glob patterns. This is
 462        equivalent to setting the `GIT_LITERAL_PATHSPECS` environment
 463        variable to `1`.
 464
 465
 466GIT COMMANDS
 467------------
 468
 469We divide Git into high level ("porcelain") commands and low level
 470("plumbing") commands.
 471
 472High-level commands (porcelain)
 473-------------------------------
 474
 475We separate the porcelain commands into the main commands and some
 476ancillary user utilities.
 477
 478Main porcelain commands
 479~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 480
 481include::cmds-mainporcelain.txt[]
 482
 483Ancillary Commands
 484~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 485Manipulators:
 486
 487include::cmds-ancillarymanipulators.txt[]
 488
 489Interrogators:
 490
 491include::cmds-ancillaryinterrogators.txt[]
 492
 493
 494Interacting with Others
 495~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 496
 497These commands are to interact with foreign SCM and with other
 498people via patch over e-mail.
 499
 500include::cmds-foreignscminterface.txt[]
 501
 502
 503Low-level commands (plumbing)
 504-----------------------------
 505
 506Although Git includes its
 507own porcelain layer, its low-level commands are sufficient to support
 508development of alternative porcelains.  Developers of such porcelains
 509might start by reading about linkgit:git-update-index[1] and
 510linkgit:git-read-tree[1].
 511
 512The interface (input, output, set of options and the semantics)
 513to these low-level commands are meant to be a lot more stable
 514than Porcelain level commands, because these commands are
 515primarily for scripted use.  The interface to Porcelain commands
 516on the other hand are subject to change in order to improve the
 517end user experience.
 518
 519The following description divides
 520the low-level commands into commands that manipulate objects (in
 521the repository, index, and working tree), commands that interrogate and
 522compare objects, and commands that move objects and references between
 523repositories.
 524
 525
 526Manipulation commands
 527~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 528
 529include::cmds-plumbingmanipulators.txt[]
 530
 531
 532Interrogation commands
 533~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 534
 535include::cmds-plumbinginterrogators.txt[]
 536
 537In general, the interrogate commands do not touch the files in
 538the working tree.
 539
 540
 541Synching repositories
 542~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 543
 544include::cmds-synchingrepositories.txt[]
 545
 546The following are helper commands used by the above; end users
 547typically do not use them directly.
 548
 549include::cmds-synchelpers.txt[]
 550
 551
 552Internal helper commands
 553~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 554
 555These are internal helper commands used by other commands; end
 556users typically do not use them directly.
 557
 558include::cmds-purehelpers.txt[]
 559
 560
 561Configuration Mechanism
 562-----------------------
 563
 564Git uses a simple text format to store customizations that are per
 565repository and are per user.  Such a configuration file may look
 566like this:
 567
 568------------
 569#
 570# A '#' or ';' character indicates a comment.
 571#
 572
 573; core variables
 574[core]
 575        ; Don't trust file modes
 576        filemode = false
 577
 578; user identity
 579[user]
 580        name = "Junio C Hamano"
 581        email = "gitster@pobox.com"
 582
 583------------
 584
 585Various commands read from the configuration file and adjust
 586their operation accordingly.  See linkgit:git-config[1] for a
 587list and more details about the configuration mechanism.
 588
 589
 590Identifier Terminology
 591----------------------
 592<object>::
 593        Indicates the object name for any type of object.
 594
 595<blob>::
 596        Indicates a blob object name.
 597
 598<tree>::
 599        Indicates a tree object name.
 600
 601<commit>::
 602        Indicates a commit object name.
 603
 604<tree-ish>::
 605        Indicates a tree, commit or tag object name.  A
 606        command that takes a <tree-ish> argument ultimately wants to
 607        operate on a <tree> object but automatically dereferences
 608        <commit> and <tag> objects that point at a <tree>.
 609
 610<commit-ish>::
 611        Indicates a commit or tag object name.  A
 612        command that takes a <commit-ish> argument ultimately wants to
 613        operate on a <commit> object but automatically dereferences
 614        <tag> objects that point at a <commit>.
 615
 616<type>::
 617        Indicates that an object type is required.
 618        Currently one of: `blob`, `tree`, `commit`, or `tag`.
 619
 620<file>::
 621        Indicates a filename - almost always relative to the
 622        root of the tree structure `GIT_INDEX_FILE` describes.
 623
 624Symbolic Identifiers
 625--------------------
 626Any Git command accepting any <object> can also use the following
 627symbolic notation:
 628
 629HEAD::
 630        indicates the head of the current branch.
 631
 632<tag>::
 633        a valid tag 'name'
 634        (i.e. a `refs/tags/<tag>` reference).
 635
 636<head>::
 637        a valid head 'name'
 638        (i.e. a `refs/heads/<head>` reference).
 639
 640For a more complete list of ways to spell object names, see
 641"SPECIFYING REVISIONS" section in linkgit:gitrevisions[7].
 642
 643
 644File/Directory Structure
 645------------------------
 646
 647Please see the linkgit:gitrepository-layout[5] document.
 648
 649Read linkgit:githooks[5] for more details about each hook.
 650
 651Higher level SCMs may provide and manage additional information in the
 652`$GIT_DIR`.
 653
 654
 655Terminology
 656-----------
 657Please see linkgit:gitglossary[7].
 658
 659
 660Environment Variables
 661---------------------
 662Various Git commands use the following environment variables:
 663
 664The Git Repository
 665~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 666These environment variables apply to 'all' core Git commands. Nb: it
 667is worth noting that they may be used/overridden by SCMS sitting above
 668Git so take care if using Cogito etc.
 669
 670'GIT_INDEX_FILE'::
 671        This environment allows the specification of an alternate
 672        index file. If not specified, the default of `$GIT_DIR/index`
 673        is used.
 674
 675'GIT_OBJECT_DIRECTORY'::
 676        If the object storage directory is specified via this
 677        environment variable then the sha1 directories are created
 678        underneath - otherwise the default `$GIT_DIR/objects`
 679        directory is used.
 680
 681'GIT_ALTERNATE_OBJECT_DIRECTORIES'::
 682        Due to the immutable nature of Git objects, old objects can be
 683        archived into shared, read-only directories. This variable
 684        specifies a ":" separated (on Windows ";" separated) list
 685        of Git object directories which can be used to search for Git
 686        objects. New objects will not be written to these directories.
 687
 688'GIT_DIR'::
 689        If the 'GIT_DIR' environment variable is set then it
 690        specifies a path to use instead of the default `.git`
 691        for the base of the repository.
 692        The '--git-dir' command-line option also sets this value.
 693
 694'GIT_WORK_TREE'::
 695        Set the path to the root of the working tree.
 696        This can also be controlled by the '--work-tree' command line
 697        option and the core.worktree configuration variable.
 698
 699'GIT_NAMESPACE'::
 700        Set the Git namespace; see linkgit:gitnamespaces[7] for details.
 701        The '--namespace' command-line option also sets this value.
 702
 703'GIT_CEILING_DIRECTORIES'::
 704        This should be a colon-separated list of absolute paths.  If
 705        set, it is a list of directories that Git should not chdir up
 706        into while looking for a repository directory (useful for
 707        excluding slow-loading network directories).  It will not
 708        exclude the current working directory or a GIT_DIR set on the
 709        command line or in the environment.  Normally, Git has to read
 710        the entries in this list and resolve any symlink that
 711        might be present in order to compare them with the current
 712        directory.  However, if even this access is slow, you
 713        can add an empty entry to the list to tell Git that the
 714        subsequent entries are not symlinks and needn't be resolved;
 715        e.g.,
 716        'GIT_CEILING_DIRECTORIES=/maybe/symlink::/very/slow/non/symlink'.
 717
 718'GIT_DISCOVERY_ACROSS_FILESYSTEM'::
 719        When run in a directory that does not have ".git" repository
 720        directory, Git tries to find such a directory in the parent
 721        directories to find the top of the working tree, but by default it
 722        does not cross filesystem boundaries.  This environment variable
 723        can be set to true to tell Git not to stop at filesystem
 724        boundaries.  Like 'GIT_CEILING_DIRECTORIES', this will not affect
 725        an explicit repository directory set via 'GIT_DIR' or on the
 726        command line.
 727
 728Git Commits
 729~~~~~~~~~~~
 730'GIT_AUTHOR_NAME'::
 731'GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL'::
 732'GIT_AUTHOR_DATE'::
 733'GIT_COMMITTER_NAME'::
 734'GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL'::
 735'GIT_COMMITTER_DATE'::
 736'EMAIL'::
 737        see linkgit:git-commit-tree[1]
 738
 739Git Diffs
 740~~~~~~~~~
 741'GIT_DIFF_OPTS'::
 742        Only valid setting is "--unified=??" or "-u??" to set the
 743        number of context lines shown when a unified diff is created.
 744        This takes precedence over any "-U" or "--unified" option
 745        value passed on the Git diff command line.
 746
 747'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF'::
 748        When the environment variable 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is set, the
 749        program named by it is called, instead of the diff invocation
 750        described above.  For a path that is added, removed, or modified,
 751        'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called with 7 parameters:
 752
 753        path old-file old-hex old-mode new-file new-hex new-mode
 754+
 755where:
 756
 757        <old|new>-file:: are files GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF can use to read the
 758                         contents of <old|new>,
 759        <old|new>-hex:: are the 40-hexdigit SHA-1 hashes,
 760        <old|new>-mode:: are the octal representation of the file modes.
 761+
 762The file parameters can point at the user's working file
 763(e.g. `new-file` in "git-diff-files"), `/dev/null` (e.g. `old-file`
 764when a new file is added), or a temporary file (e.g. `old-file` in the
 765index).  'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' should not worry about unlinking the
 766temporary file --- it is removed when 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' exits.
 767+
 768For a path that is unmerged, 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called with 1
 769parameter, <path>.
 770
 771other
 772~~~~~
 773'GIT_MERGE_VERBOSITY'::
 774        A number controlling the amount of output shown by
 775        the recursive merge strategy.  Overrides merge.verbosity.
 776        See linkgit:git-merge[1]
 777
 778'GIT_PAGER'::
 779        This environment variable overrides `$PAGER`. If it is set
 780        to an empty string or to the value "cat", Git will not launch
 781        a pager.  See also the `core.pager` option in
 782        linkgit:git-config[1].
 783
 784'GIT_EDITOR'::
 785        This environment variable overrides `$EDITOR` and `$VISUAL`.
 786        It is used by several Git commands when, on interactive mode,
 787        an editor is to be launched. See also linkgit:git-var[1]
 788        and the `core.editor` option in linkgit:git-config[1].
 789
 790'GIT_SSH'::
 791        If this environment variable is set then 'git fetch'
 792        and 'git push' will use this command instead
 793        of 'ssh' when they need to connect to a remote system.
 794        The '$GIT_SSH' command will be given exactly two or
 795        four arguments: the 'username@host' (or just 'host')
 796        from the URL and the shell command to execute on that
 797        remote system, optionally preceded by '-p' (literally) and
 798        the 'port' from the URL when it specifies something other
 799        than the default SSH port.
 800+
 801To pass options to the program that you want to list in GIT_SSH
 802you will need to wrap the program and options into a shell script,
 803then set GIT_SSH to refer to the shell script.
 804+
 805Usually it is easier to configure any desired options through your
 806personal `.ssh/config` file.  Please consult your ssh documentation
 807for further details.
 808
 809'GIT_ASKPASS'::
 810        If this environment variable is set, then Git commands which need to
 811        acquire passwords or passphrases (e.g. for HTTP or IMAP authentication)
 812        will call this program with a suitable prompt as command line argument
 813        and read the password from its STDOUT. See also the 'core.askpass'
 814        option in linkgit:git-config[1].
 815
 816'GIT_CONFIG_NOSYSTEM'::
 817        Whether to skip reading settings from the system-wide
 818        `$(prefix)/etc/gitconfig` file.  This environment variable can
 819        be used along with `$HOME` and `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME` to create a
 820        predictable environment for a picky script, or you can set it
 821        temporarily to avoid using a buggy `/etc/gitconfig` file while
 822        waiting for someone with sufficient permissions to fix it.
 823
 824'GIT_FLUSH'::
 825        If this environment variable is set to "1", then commands such
 826        as 'git blame' (in incremental mode), 'git rev-list', 'git log',
 827        'git check-attr', 'git check-ignore', and 'git whatchanged' will
 828        force a flush of the output stream after each record have been
 829        flushed. If this
 830        variable is set to "0", the output of these commands will be done
 831        using completely buffered I/O.   If this environment variable is
 832        not set, Git will choose buffered or record-oriented flushing
 833        based on whether stdout appears to be redirected to a file or not.
 834
 835'GIT_TRACE'::
 836        If this variable is set to "1", "2" or "true" (comparison
 837        is case insensitive), Git will print `trace:` messages on
 838        stderr telling about alias expansion, built-in command
 839        execution and external command execution.
 840        If this variable is set to an integer value greater than 1
 841        and lower than 10 (strictly) then Git will interpret this
 842        value as an open file descriptor and will try to write the
 843        trace messages into this file descriptor.
 844        Alternatively, if this variable is set to an absolute path
 845        (starting with a '/' character), Git will interpret this
 846        as a file path and will try to write the trace messages
 847        into it.
 848
 849'GIT_TRACE_PACK_ACCESS'::
 850        If this variable is set to a path, a file will be created at
 851        the given path logging all accesses to any packs. For each
 852        access, the pack file name and an offset in the pack is
 853        recorded. This may be helpful for troubleshooting some
 854        pack-related performance problems.
 855
 856'GIT_TRACE_PACKET'::
 857        If this variable is set, it shows a trace of all packets
 858        coming in or out of a given program. This can help with
 859        debugging object negotiation or other protocol issues. Tracing
 860        is turned off at a packet starting with "PACK".
 861
 862GIT_LITERAL_PATHSPECS::
 863        Setting this variable to `1` will cause Git to treat all
 864        pathspecs literally, rather than as glob patterns. For example,
 865        running `GIT_LITERAL_PATHSPECS=1 git log -- '*.c'` will search
 866        for commits that touch the path `*.c`, not any paths that the
 867        glob `*.c` matches. You might want this if you are feeding
 868        literal paths to Git (e.g., paths previously given to you by
 869        `git ls-tree`, `--raw` diff output, etc).
 870
 871
 872Discussion[[Discussion]]
 873------------------------
 874
 875More detail on the following is available from the
 876link:user-manual.html#git-concepts[Git concepts chapter of the
 877user-manual] and linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7].
 878
 879A Git project normally consists of a working directory with a ".git"
 880subdirectory at the top level.  The .git directory contains, among other
 881things, a compressed object database representing the complete history
 882of the project, an "index" file which links that history to the current
 883contents of the working tree, and named pointers into that history such
 884as tags and branch heads.
 885
 886The object database contains objects of three main types: blobs, which
 887hold file data; trees, which point to blobs and other trees to build up
 888directory hierarchies; and commits, which each reference a single tree
 889and some number of parent commits.
 890
 891The commit, equivalent to what other systems call a "changeset" or
 892"version", represents a step in the project's history, and each parent
 893represents an immediately preceding step.  Commits with more than one
 894parent represent merges of independent lines of development.
 895
 896All objects are named by the SHA-1 hash of their contents, normally
 897written as a string of 40 hex digits.  Such names are globally unique.
 898The entire history leading up to a commit can be vouched for by signing
 899just that commit.  A fourth object type, the tag, is provided for this
 900purpose.
 901
 902When first created, objects are stored in individual files, but for
 903efficiency may later be compressed together into "pack files".
 904
 905Named pointers called refs mark interesting points in history.  A ref
 906may contain the SHA-1 name of an object or the name of another ref.  Refs
 907with names beginning `ref/head/` contain the SHA-1 name of the most
 908recent commit (or "head") of a branch under development.  SHA-1 names of
 909tags of interest are stored under `ref/tags/`.  A special ref named
 910`HEAD` contains the name of the currently checked-out branch.
 911
 912The index file is initialized with a list of all paths and, for each
 913path, a blob object and a set of attributes.  The blob object represents
 914the contents of the file as of the head of the current branch.  The
 915attributes (last modified time, size, etc.) are taken from the
 916corresponding file in the working tree.  Subsequent changes to the
 917working tree can be found by comparing these attributes.  The index may
 918be updated with new content, and new commits may be created from the
 919content stored in the index.
 920
 921The index is also capable of storing multiple entries (called "stages")
 922for a given pathname.  These stages are used to hold the various
 923unmerged version of a file when a merge is in progress.
 924
 925FURTHER DOCUMENTATION
 926---------------------
 927
 928See the references in the "description" section to get started
 929using Git.  The following is probably more detail than necessary
 930for a first-time user.
 931
 932The link:user-manual.html#git-concepts[Git concepts chapter of the
 933user-manual] and linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7] both provide
 934introductions to the underlying Git architecture.
 935
 936See linkgit:gitworkflows[7] for an overview of recommended workflows.
 937
 938See also the link:howto-index.html[howto] documents for some useful
 939examples.
 940
 941The internals are documented in the
 942link:technical/api-index.html[Git API documentation].
 943
 944Users migrating from CVS may also want to
 945read linkgit:gitcvs-migration[7].
 946
 947
 948Authors
 949-------
 950Git was started by Linus Torvalds, and is currently maintained by Junio
 951C Hamano. Numerous contributions have come from the Git mailing list
 952<git@vger.kernel.org>.  http://www.ohloh.net/p/git/contributors/summary
 953gives you a more complete list of contributors.
 954
 955If you have a clone of git.git itself, the
 956output of linkgit:git-shortlog[1] and linkgit:git-blame[1] can show you
 957the authors for specific parts of the project.
 958
 959Reporting Bugs
 960--------------
 961
 962Report bugs to the Git mailing list <git@vger.kernel.org> where the
 963development and maintenance is primarily done.  You do not have to be
 964subscribed to the list to send a message there.
 965
 966SEE ALSO
 967--------
 968linkgit:gittutorial[7], linkgit:gittutorial-2[7],
 969link:everyday.html[Everyday Git], linkgit:gitcvs-migration[7],
 970linkgit:gitglossary[7], linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7],
 971linkgit:gitcli[7], link:user-manual.html[The Git User's Manual],
 972linkgit:gitworkflows[7]
 973
 974GIT
 975---
 976Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite