Documentation / git-push.txton commit fast-import doc: cat-blob and ls responses need to be consumed quickly (d57e490)
   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] [-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
  26
  27OPTIONS[[OPTIONS]]
  28------------------
  29<repository>::
  30        The "remote" repository that is destination of a push
  31        operation.  This parameter can be either a URL
  32        (see the section <<URLS,GIT URLS>> below) or the name
  33        of a remote (see the section <<REMOTES,REMOTES>> below).
  34
  35<refspec>...::
  36        The format of a <refspec> parameter is an optional plus
  37        `{plus}`, followed by the source ref <src>, followed
  38        by a colon `:`, followed by the destination ref <dst>.
  39        It is used to specify with what <src> object the <dst> ref
  40        in the remote repository is to be updated.
  41+
  42The <src> is often the name of the branch you would want to push, but
  43it can be any arbitrary "SHA-1 expression", such as `master~4` or
  44`HEAD` (see linkgit:gitrevisions[7]).
  45+
  46The <dst> tells which ref on the remote side is updated with this
  47push. Arbitrary expressions cannot be used here, an actual ref must
  48be named. If `:`<dst> is omitted, the same ref as <src> will be
  49updated.
  50+
  51The object referenced by <src> is used to update the <dst> reference
  52on the remote side, but by default this is only allowed if the
  53update can fast-forward <dst>.  By having the optional leading `{plus}`,
  54you can tell git to update the <dst> ref even when the update is not a
  55fast-forward.  This does *not* attempt to merge <src> into <dst>.  See
  56EXAMPLES below for details.
  57+
  58`tag <tag>` means the same as `refs/tags/<tag>:refs/tags/<tag>`.
  59+
  60Pushing an empty <src> allows you to delete the <dst> ref from
  61the remote repository.
  62+
  63The special refspec `:` (or `{plus}:` to allow non-fast-forward updates)
  64directs git to push "matching" branches: for every branch that exists on
  65the local side, the remote side is updated if a branch of the same name
  66already exists on the remote side.  This is the default operation mode
  67if no explicit refspec is found (that is neither on the command line
  68nor in any Push line of the corresponding remotes file---see below).
  69
  70--all::
  71        Instead of naming each ref to push, specifies that all
  72        refs under `refs/heads/` be pushed.
  73
  74--prune::
  75        Remove remote branches that don't have a local counterpart. For example
  76        a remote branch `tmp` will be removed if a local branch with the same
  77        name doesn't exist any more. This also respects refspecs, e.g.
  78        `git push --prune remote refs/heads/{asterisk}:refs/tmp/{asterisk}` would
  79        make sure that remote `refs/tmp/foo` will be removed if `refs/heads/foo`
  80        doesn't exist.
  81
  82--mirror::
  83        Instead of naming each ref to push, specifies that all
  84        refs under `refs/` (which includes but is not
  85        limited to `refs/heads/`, `refs/remotes/`, and `refs/tags/`)
  86        be mirrored to the remote repository.  Newly created local
  87        refs will be pushed to the remote end, locally updated refs
  88        will be force updated on the remote end, and deleted refs
  89        will be removed from the remote end.  This is the default
  90        if the configuration option `remote.<remote>.mirror` is
  91        set.
  92
  93-n::
  94--dry-run::
  95        Do everything except actually send the updates.
  96
  97--porcelain::
  98        Produce machine-readable output.  The output status line for each ref
  99        will be tab-separated and sent to stdout instead of stderr.  The full
 100        symbolic names of the refs will be given.
 101
 102--delete::
 103        All listed refs are deleted from the remote repository. This is
 104        the same as prefixing all refs with a colon.
 105
 106--tags::
 107        All refs under `refs/tags` are pushed, in
 108        addition to refspecs explicitly listed on the command
 109        line.
 110
 111--receive-pack=<git-receive-pack>::
 112--exec=<git-receive-pack>::
 113        Path to the 'git-receive-pack' program on the remote
 114        end.  Sometimes useful when pushing to a remote
 115        repository over ssh, and you do not have the program in
 116        a directory on the default $PATH.
 117
 118-f::
 119--force::
 120        Usually, the command refuses to update a remote ref that is
 121        not an ancestor of the local ref used to overwrite it.
 122        This flag disables the check.  This can cause the
 123        remote repository to lose commits; use it with care.
 124
 125--repo=<repository>::
 126        This option is only relevant if no <repository> argument is
 127        passed in the invocation. In this case, 'git push' derives the
 128        remote name from the current branch: If it tracks a remote
 129        branch, then that remote repository is pushed to. Otherwise,
 130        the name "origin" is used. For this latter case, this option
 131        can be used to override the name "origin". In other words,
 132        the difference between these two commands
 133+
 134--------------------------
 135git push public         #1
 136git push --repo=public  #2
 137--------------------------
 138+
 139is that #1 always pushes to "public" whereas #2 pushes to "public"
 140only if the current branch does not track a remote branch. This is
 141useful if you write an alias or script around 'git push'.
 142
 143-u::
 144--set-upstream::
 145        For every branch that is up to date or successfully pushed, add
 146        upstream (tracking) reference, used by argument-less
 147        linkgit:git-pull[1] and other commands. For more information,
 148        see 'branch.<name>.merge' in linkgit:git-config[1].
 149
 150--thin::
 151--no-thin::
 152        These options are passed to linkgit:git-send-pack[1]. A thin transfer
 153        significantly reduces the amount of sent data when the sender and
 154        receiver share many of the same objects in common. The default is
 155        \--thin.
 156
 157-q::
 158--quiet::
 159        Suppress all output, including the listing of updated refs,
 160        unless an error occurs. Progress is not reported to the standard
 161        error stream.
 162
 163-v::
 164--verbose::
 165        Run verbosely.
 166
 167--progress::
 168        Progress status is reported on the standard error stream
 169        by default when it is attached to a terminal, unless -q
 170        is specified. This flag forces progress status even if the
 171        standard error stream is not directed to a terminal.
 172
 173--recurse-submodules=check::
 174        Check whether all submodule commits used by the revisions to be
 175        pushed are available on a remote tracking branch. Otherwise the
 176        push will be aborted and the command will exit with non-zero status.
 177
 178
 179include::urls-remotes.txt[]
 180
 181OUTPUT
 182------
 183
 184The output of "git push" depends on the transport method used; this
 185section describes the output when pushing over the git protocol (either
 186locally or via ssh).
 187
 188The status of the push is output in tabular form, with each line
 189representing the status of a single ref. Each line is of the form:
 190
 191-------------------------------
 192 <flag> <summary> <from> -> <to> (<reason>)
 193-------------------------------
 194
 195If --porcelain is used, then each line of the output is of the form:
 196
 197-------------------------------
 198 <flag> \t <from>:<to> \t <summary> (<reason>)
 199-------------------------------
 200
 201The status of up-to-date refs is shown only if --porcelain or --verbose
 202option is used.
 203
 204flag::
 205        A single character indicating the status of the ref:
 206(space);; for a successfully pushed fast-forward;
 207`{plus}`;; for a successful forced update;
 208`-`;; for a successfully deleted ref;
 209`*`;; for a successfully pushed new ref;
 210`!`;; for a ref that was rejected or failed to push; and
 211`=`;; for a ref that was up to date and did not need pushing.
 212
 213summary::
 214        For a successfully pushed ref, the summary shows the old and new
 215        values of the ref in a form suitable for using as an argument to
 216        `git log` (this is `<old>..<new>` in most cases, and
 217        `<old>\...<new>` for forced non-fast-forward updates).
 218+
 219For a failed update, more details are given:
 220+
 221--
 222rejected::
 223        Git did not try to send the ref at all, typically because it
 224        is not a fast-forward and you did not force the update.
 225
 226remote rejected::
 227        The remote end refused the update.  Usually caused by a hook
 228        on the remote side, or because the remote repository has one
 229        of the following safety options in effect:
 230        `receive.denyCurrentBranch` (for pushes to the checked out
 231        branch), `receive.denyNonFastForwards` (for forced
 232        non-fast-forward updates), `receive.denyDeletes` or
 233        `receive.denyDeleteCurrent`.  See linkgit:git-config[1].
 234
 235remote failure::
 236        The remote end did not report the successful update of the ref,
 237        perhaps because of a temporary error on the remote side, a
 238        break in the network connection, or other transient error.
 239--
 240
 241from::
 242        The name of the local ref being pushed, minus its
 243        `refs/<type>/` prefix. In the case of deletion, the
 244        name of the local ref is omitted.
 245
 246to::
 247        The name of the remote ref being updated, minus its
 248        `refs/<type>/` prefix.
 249
 250reason::
 251        A human-readable explanation. In the case of successfully pushed
 252        refs, no explanation is needed. For a failed ref, the reason for
 253        failure is described.
 254
 255Note about fast-forwards
 256------------------------
 257
 258When an update changes a branch (or more in general, a ref) that used to
 259point at commit A to point at another commit B, it is called a
 260fast-forward update if and only if B is a descendant of A.
 261
 262In a fast-forward update from A to B, the set of commits that the original
 263commit A built on top of is a subset of the commits the new commit B
 264builds on top of.  Hence, it does not lose any history.
 265
 266In contrast, a non-fast-forward update will lose history.  For example,
 267suppose you and somebody else started at the same commit X, and you built
 268a history leading to commit B while the other person built a history
 269leading to commit A.  The history looks like this:
 270
 271----------------
 272
 273      B
 274     /
 275 ---X---A
 276
 277----------------
 278
 279Further suppose that the other person already pushed changes leading to A
 280back to the original repository you two obtained the original commit X.
 281
 282The push done by the other person updated the branch that used to point at
 283commit X to point at commit A.  It is a fast-forward.
 284
 285But if you try to push, you will attempt to update the branch (that
 286now points at A) with commit B.  This does _not_ fast-forward.  If you did
 287so, the changes introduced by commit A will be lost, because everybody
 288will now start building on top of B.
 289
 290The command by default does not allow an update that is not a fast-forward
 291to prevent such loss of history.
 292
 293If you do not want to lose your work (history from X to B) nor the work by
 294the other person (history from X to A), you would need to first fetch the
 295history from the repository, create a history that contains changes done
 296by both parties, and push the result back.
 297
 298You can perform "git pull", resolve potential conflicts, and "git push"
 299the result.  A "git pull" will create a merge commit C between commits A
 300and B.
 301
 302----------------
 303
 304      B---C
 305     /   /
 306 ---X---A
 307
 308----------------
 309
 310Updating A with the resulting merge commit will fast-forward and your
 311push will be accepted.
 312
 313Alternatively, you can rebase your change between X and B on top of A,
 314with "git pull --rebase", and push the result back.  The rebase will
 315create a new commit D that builds the change between X and B on top of
 316A.
 317
 318----------------
 319
 320      B   D
 321     /   /
 322 ---X---A
 323
 324----------------
 325
 326Again, updating A with this commit will fast-forward and your push will be
 327accepted.
 328
 329There is another common situation where you may encounter non-fast-forward
 330rejection when you try to push, and it is possible even when you are
 331pushing into a repository nobody else pushes into. After you push commit
 332A yourself (in the first picture in this section), replace it with "git
 333commit --amend" to produce commit B, and you try to push it out, because
 334forgot that you have pushed A out already. In such a case, and only if
 335you are certain that nobody in the meantime fetched your earlier commit A
 336(and started building on top of it), you can run "git push --force" to
 337overwrite it. In other words, "git push --force" is a method reserved for
 338a case where you do mean to lose history.
 339
 340
 341Examples
 342--------
 343
 344`git push`::
 345        Works like `git push <remote>`, where <remote> is the
 346        current branch's remote (or `origin`, if no remote is
 347        configured for the current branch).
 348
 349`git push origin`::
 350        Without additional configuration, works like
 351        `git push origin :`.
 352+
 353The default behavior of this command when no <refspec> is given can be
 354configured by setting the `push` option of the remote.
 355+
 356For example, to default to pushing only the current branch to `origin`
 357use `git config remote.origin.push HEAD`.  Any valid <refspec> (like
 358the ones in the examples below) can be configured as the default for
 359`git push origin`.
 360
 361`git push origin :`::
 362        Push "matching" branches to `origin`. See
 363        <refspec> in the <<OPTIONS,OPTIONS>> section above for a
 364        description of "matching" branches.
 365
 366`git push origin master`::
 367        Find a ref that matches `master` in the source repository
 368        (most likely, it would find `refs/heads/master`), and update
 369        the same ref (e.g. `refs/heads/master`) in `origin` repository
 370        with it.  If `master` did not exist remotely, it would be
 371        created.
 372
 373`git push origin HEAD`::
 374        A handy way to push the current branch to the same name on the
 375        remote.
 376
 377`git push origin master:satellite/master dev:satellite/dev`::
 378        Use the source ref that matches `master` (e.g. `refs/heads/master`)
 379        to update the ref that matches `satellite/master` (most probably
 380        `refs/remotes/satellite/master`) in the `origin` repository, then
 381        do the same for `dev` and `satellite/dev`.
 382
 383`git push origin HEAD:master`::
 384        Push the current branch to the remote ref matching `master` in the
 385        `origin` repository. This form is convenient to push the current
 386        branch without thinking about its local name.
 387
 388`git push origin master:refs/heads/experimental`::
 389        Create the branch `experimental` in the `origin` repository
 390        by copying the current `master` branch.  This form is only
 391        needed to create a new branch or tag in the remote repository when
 392        the local name and the remote name are different; otherwise,
 393        the ref name on its own will work.
 394
 395`git push origin :experimental`::
 396        Find a ref that matches `experimental` in the `origin` repository
 397        (e.g. `refs/heads/experimental`), and delete it.
 398
 399`git push origin {plus}dev:master`::
 400        Update the origin repository's master branch with the dev branch,
 401        allowing non-fast-forward updates.  *This can leave unreferenced
 402        commits dangling in the origin repository.*  Consider the
 403        following situation, where a fast-forward is not possible:
 404+
 405----
 406            o---o---o---A---B  origin/master
 407                     \
 408                      X---Y---Z  dev
 409----
 410+
 411The above command would change the origin repository to
 412+
 413----
 414                      A---B  (unnamed branch)
 415                     /
 416            o---o---o---X---Y---Z  master
 417----
 418+
 419Commits A and B would no longer belong to a branch with a symbolic name,
 420and so would be unreachable.  As such, these commits would be removed by
 421a `git gc` command on the origin repository.
 422
 423GIT
 424---
 425Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite