cfceac56d294fd27e2e04020cfac54eba33b03cc
   1git-branch(1)
   2=============
   3
   4NAME
   5----
   6git-branch - List, create, or delete branches
   7
   8SYNOPSIS
   9--------
  10[verse]
  11'git branch' [--color[=<when>] | --no-color] [-r | -a]
  12        [--list] [-v [--abbrev=<length> | --no-abbrev]]
  13        [(--merged | --no-merged | --contains) [<commit>]] [<pattern>...]
  14'git branch' [--set-upstream | --track | --no-track] [-l] [-f] <branchname> [<start-point>]
  15'git branch' (-m | -M) [<oldbranch>] <newbranch>
  16'git branch' (-d | -D) [-r] <branchname>...
  17'git branch' --edit-description [<branchname>]
  18
  19DESCRIPTION
  20-----------
  21
  22With no arguments, existing branches are listed and the current branch will
  23be highlighted with an asterisk.  Option `-r` causes the remote-tracking
  24branches to be listed, and option `-a` shows both. This list mode is also
  25activated by the `--list` option (see below).
  26<pattern> restricts the output to matching branches, the pattern is a shell
  27wildcard (i.e., matched using fnmatch(3)).
  28Multiple patterns may be given; if any of them matches, the branch is shown.
  29
  30With `--contains`, shows only the branches that contain the named commit
  31(in other words, the branches whose tip commits are descendants of the
  32named commit).  With `--merged`, only branches merged into the named
  33commit (i.e. the branches whose tip commits are reachable from the named
  34commit) will be listed.  With `--no-merged` only branches not merged into
  35the named commit will be listed.  If the <commit> argument is missing it
  36defaults to 'HEAD' (i.e. the tip of the current branch).
  37
  38The command's second form creates a new branch head named <branchname>
  39which points to the current 'HEAD', or <start-point> if given.
  40
  41Note that this will create the new branch, but it will not switch the
  42working tree to it; use "git checkout <newbranch>" to switch to the
  43new branch.
  44
  45When a local branch is started off a remote-tracking branch, git sets up the
  46branch so that 'git pull' will appropriately merge from
  47the remote-tracking branch. This behavior may be changed via the global
  48`branch.autosetupmerge` configuration flag. That setting can be
  49overridden by using the `--track` and `--no-track` options, and
  50changed later using `git branch --set-upstream`.
  51
  52With a `-m` or `-M` option, <oldbranch> will be renamed to <newbranch>.
  53If <oldbranch> had a corresponding reflog, it is renamed to match
  54<newbranch>, and a reflog entry is created to remember the branch
  55renaming. If <newbranch> exists, -M must be used to force the rename
  56to happen.
  57
  58With a `-d` or `-D` option, `<branchname>` will be deleted.  You may
  59specify more than one branch for deletion.  If the branch currently
  60has a reflog then the reflog will also be deleted.
  61
  62Use `-r` together with `-d` to delete remote-tracking branches. Note, that it
  63only makes sense to delete remote-tracking branches if they no longer exist
  64in the remote repository or if 'git fetch' was configured not to fetch
  65them again. See also the 'prune' subcommand of linkgit:git-remote[1] for a
  66way to clean up all obsolete remote-tracking branches.
  67
  68
  69OPTIONS
  70-------
  71-d::
  72--delete::
  73        Delete a branch. The branch must be fully merged in its
  74        upstream branch, or in `HEAD` if no upstream was set with
  75        `--track` or `--set-upstream`.
  76
  77-D::
  78        Delete a branch irrespective of its merged status.
  79
  80-l::
  81--create-reflog::
  82        Create the branch's reflog.  This activates recording of
  83        all changes made to the branch ref, enabling use of date
  84        based sha1 expressions such as "<branchname>@\{yesterday}".
  85        Note that in non-bare repositories, reflogs are usually
  86        enabled by default by the `core.logallrefupdates` config option.
  87
  88-f::
  89--force::
  90        Reset <branchname> to <startpoint> if <branchname> exists
  91        already. Without `-f` 'git branch' refuses to change an existing branch.
  92
  93-m::
  94--move::
  95        Move/rename a branch and the corresponding reflog.
  96
  97-M::
  98        Move/rename a branch even if the new branch name already exists.
  99
 100--color[=<when>]::
 101        Color branches to highlight current, local, and
 102        remote-tracking branches.
 103        The value must be always (the default), never, or auto.
 104
 105--no-color::
 106        Turn off branch colors, even when the configuration file gives the
 107        default to color output.
 108        Same as `--color=never`.
 109
 110-r::
 111--remotes::
 112        List or delete (if used with -d) the remote-tracking branches.
 113
 114-a::
 115--all::
 116        List both remote-tracking branches and local branches.
 117
 118--list::
 119        Activate the list mode. `git branch <pattern>` would try to create a branch,
 120        use `git branch --list <pattern>` to list matching branches.
 121
 122-v::
 123--verbose::
 124        When in list mode,
 125        show sha1 and commit subject line for each head, along with
 126        relationship to upstream branch (if any). If given twice, print
 127        the name of the upstream branch, as well.
 128
 129--abbrev=<length>::
 130        Alter the sha1's minimum display length in the output listing.
 131        The default value is 7 and can be overridden by the `core.abbrev`
 132        config option.
 133
 134--no-abbrev::
 135        Display the full sha1s in the output listing rather than abbreviating them.
 136
 137-t::
 138--track::
 139        When creating a new branch, set up configuration to mark the
 140        start-point branch as "upstream" from the new branch. This
 141        configuration will tell git to show the relationship between the
 142        two branches in `git status` and `git branch -v`. Furthermore,
 143        it directs `git pull` without arguments to pull from the
 144        upstream when the new branch is checked out.
 145+
 146This behavior is the default when the start point is a remote-tracking branch.
 147Set the branch.autosetupmerge configuration variable to `false` if you
 148want `git checkout` and `git branch` to always behave as if '--no-track'
 149were given. Set it to `always` if you want this behavior when the
 150start-point is either a local or remote-tracking branch.
 151
 152--no-track::
 153        Do not set up "upstream" configuration, even if the
 154        branch.autosetupmerge configuration variable is true.
 155
 156--set-upstream::
 157        If specified branch does not exist yet or if `--force` has been
 158        given, acts exactly like `--track`. Otherwise sets up configuration
 159        like `--track` would when creating the branch, except that where
 160        branch points to is not changed.
 161
 162--edit-description::
 163        Open an editor and edit the text to explain what the branch is
 164        for, to be used by various other commands (e.g. `request-pull`).
 165
 166--contains <commit>::
 167        Only list branches which contain the specified commit.
 168
 169--merged [<commit>]::
 170        Only list branches whose tips are reachable from the
 171        specified commit (HEAD if not specified).
 172
 173--no-merged [<commit>]::
 174        Only list branches whose tips are not reachable from the
 175        specified commit (HEAD if not specified).
 176
 177<branchname>::
 178        The name of the branch to create or delete.
 179        The new branch name must pass all checks defined by
 180        linkgit:git-check-ref-format[1].  Some of these checks
 181        may restrict the characters allowed in a branch name.
 182
 183<start-point>::
 184        The new branch head will point to this commit.  It may be
 185        given as a branch name, a commit-id, or a tag.  If this
 186        option is omitted, the current HEAD will be used instead.
 187
 188<oldbranch>::
 189        The name of an existing branch to rename.
 190
 191<newbranch>::
 192        The new name for an existing branch. The same restrictions as for
 193        <branchname> apply.
 194
 195
 196Examples
 197--------
 198
 199Start development from a known tag::
 200+
 201------------
 202$ git clone git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/.../linux-2.6 my2.6
 203$ cd my2.6
 204$ git branch my2.6.14 v2.6.14   <1>
 205$ git checkout my2.6.14
 206------------
 207+
 208<1> This step and the next one could be combined into a single step with
 209"checkout -b my2.6.14 v2.6.14".
 210
 211Delete an unneeded branch::
 212+
 213------------
 214$ git clone git://git.kernel.org/.../git.git my.git
 215$ cd my.git
 216$ git branch -d -r origin/todo origin/html origin/man   <1>
 217$ git branch -D test                                    <2>
 218------------
 219+
 220<1> Delete the remote-tracking branches "todo", "html" and "man". The next
 221'fetch' or 'pull' will create them again unless you configure them not to.
 222See linkgit:git-fetch[1].
 223<2> Delete the "test" branch even if the "master" branch (or whichever branch
 224is currently checked out) does not have all commits from the test branch.
 225
 226
 227Notes
 228-----
 229
 230If you are creating a branch that you want to checkout immediately, it is
 231easier to use the git checkout command with its `-b` option to create
 232a branch and check it out with a single command.
 233
 234The options `--contains`, `--merged` and `--no-merged` serve three related
 235but different purposes:
 236
 237- `--contains <commit>` is used to find all branches which will need
 238  special attention if <commit> were to be rebased or amended, since those
 239  branches contain the specified <commit>.
 240
 241- `--merged` is used to find all branches which can be safely deleted,
 242  since those branches are fully contained by HEAD.
 243
 244- `--no-merged` is used to find branches which are candidates for merging
 245  into HEAD, since those branches are not fully contained by HEAD.
 246
 247SEE ALSO
 248--------
 249linkgit:git-check-ref-format[1],
 250linkgit:git-fetch[1],
 251linkgit:git-remote[1],
 252link:user-manual.html#what-is-a-branch[``Understanding history: What is
 253a branch?''] in the Git User's Manual.
 254
 255GIT
 256---
 257Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite