d58fad71bd861ef6f3c342f20619ce72b99b16bd
   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 commands, and
  26"man git-commandname" for documentation of each command.  CVS users may
  27also want to read linkgit:gitcvs-migration[7].  See
  28the link:user-manual.html[Git User's Manual] for a more in-depth
  29introduction.
  30
  31The '<command>' is either a name of a Git command (see below) or an alias
  32as defined in the configuration file (see linkgit:git-config[1]).
  33
  34Formatted and hyperlinked version of the latest git
  35documentation can be viewed at
  36`http://www.kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/`.
  37
  38ifdef::stalenotes[]
  39[NOTE]
  40============
  41
  42You are reading the documentation for the latest (possibly
  43unreleased) version of git, that is available from 'master'
  44branch of the `git.git` repository.
  45Documentation for older releases are available here:
  46
  47* link:v1.7.11.1/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.11.1]
  48
  49* release notes for
  50  link:RelNotes/1.7.11.1.txt[1.7.11.1],
  51  link:RelNotes/1.7.11.txt[1.7.11].
  52
  53* link:v1.7.10.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.10.5]
  54
  55* release notes for
  56  link:RelNotes/1.7.10.5.txt[1.7.10.5],
  57  link:RelNotes/1.7.10.4.txt[1.7.10.4],
  58  link:RelNotes/1.7.10.3.txt[1.7.10.3],
  59  link:RelNotes/1.7.10.2.txt[1.7.10.2],
  60  link:RelNotes/1.7.10.1.txt[1.7.10.1],
  61  link:RelNotes/1.7.10.txt[1.7.10].
  62
  63* link:v1.7.9.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.9.7]
  64
  65* release notes for
  66  link:RelNotes/1.7.9.7.txt[1.7.9.7],
  67  link:RelNotes/1.7.9.6.txt[1.7.9.6],
  68  link:RelNotes/1.7.9.5.txt[1.7.9.5],
  69  link:RelNotes/1.7.9.4.txt[1.7.9.4],
  70  link:RelNotes/1.7.9.3.txt[1.7.9.3],
  71  link:RelNotes/1.7.9.2.txt[1.7.9.2],
  72  link:RelNotes/1.7.9.1.txt[1.7.9.1],
  73  link:RelNotes/1.7.9.txt[1.7.9].
  74
  75* link:v1.7.8.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.8.6]
  76
  77* release notes for
  78  link:RelNotes/1.7.8.6.txt[1.7.8.6],
  79  link:RelNotes/1.7.8.5.txt[1.7.8.5],
  80  link:RelNotes/1.7.8.4.txt[1.7.8.4],
  81  link:RelNotes/1.7.8.3.txt[1.7.8.3],
  82  link:RelNotes/1.7.8.2.txt[1.7.8.2],
  83  link:RelNotes/1.7.8.1.txt[1.7.8.1],
  84  link:RelNotes/1.7.8.txt[1.7.8].
  85
  86* link:v1.7.7.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.7.7]
  87
  88* release notes for
  89  link:RelNotes/1.7.7.7.txt[1.7.7.7],
  90  link:RelNotes/1.7.7.6.txt[1.7.7.6],
  91  link:RelNotes/1.7.7.5.txt[1.7.7.5],
  92  link:RelNotes/1.7.7.4.txt[1.7.7.4],
  93  link:RelNotes/1.7.7.3.txt[1.7.7.3],
  94  link:RelNotes/1.7.7.2.txt[1.7.7.2],
  95  link:RelNotes/1.7.7.1.txt[1.7.7.1],
  96  link:RelNotes/1.7.7.txt[1.7.7].
  97
  98* link:v1.7.6.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.6.6]
  99
 100* release notes for
 101  link:RelNotes/1.7.6.6.txt[1.7.6.6],
 102  link:RelNotes/1.7.6.5.txt[1.7.6.5],
 103  link:RelNotes/1.7.6.4.txt[1.7.6.4],
 104  link:RelNotes/1.7.6.3.txt[1.7.6.3],
 105  link:RelNotes/1.7.6.2.txt[1.7.6.2],
 106  link:RelNotes/1.7.6.1.txt[1.7.6.1],
 107  link:RelNotes/1.7.6.txt[1.7.6].
 108
 109* link:v1.7.5.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.5.4]
 110
 111* release notes for
 112  link:RelNotes/1.7.5.4.txt[1.7.5.4],
 113  link:RelNotes/1.7.5.3.txt[1.7.5.3],
 114  link:RelNotes/1.7.5.2.txt[1.7.5.2],
 115  link:RelNotes/1.7.5.1.txt[1.7.5.1],
 116  link:RelNotes/1.7.5.txt[1.7.5].
 117
 118* link:v1.7.4.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.4.5]
 119
 120* release notes for
 121  link:RelNotes/1.7.4.5.txt[1.7.4.5],
 122  link:RelNotes/1.7.4.4.txt[1.7.4.4],
 123  link:RelNotes/1.7.4.3.txt[1.7.4.3],
 124  link:RelNotes/1.7.4.2.txt[1.7.4.2],
 125  link:RelNotes/1.7.4.1.txt[1.7.4.1],
 126  link:RelNotes/1.7.4.txt[1.7.4].
 127
 128* link:v1.7.3.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.3.5]
 129
 130* release notes for
 131  link:RelNotes/1.7.3.5.txt[1.7.3.5],
 132  link:RelNotes/1.7.3.4.txt[1.7.3.4],
 133  link:RelNotes/1.7.3.3.txt[1.7.3.3],
 134  link:RelNotes/1.7.3.2.txt[1.7.3.2],
 135  link:RelNotes/1.7.3.1.txt[1.7.3.1],
 136  link:RelNotes/1.7.3.txt[1.7.3].
 137
 138* link:v1.7.2.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.2.5]
 139
 140* release notes for
 141  link:RelNotes/1.7.2.5.txt[1.7.2.5],
 142  link:RelNotes/1.7.2.4.txt[1.7.2.4],
 143  link:RelNotes/1.7.2.3.txt[1.7.2.3],
 144  link:RelNotes/1.7.2.2.txt[1.7.2.2],
 145  link:RelNotes/1.7.2.1.txt[1.7.2.1],
 146  link:RelNotes/1.7.2.txt[1.7.2].
 147
 148* link:v1.7.1.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.1.4]
 149
 150* release notes for
 151  link:RelNotes/1.7.1.4.txt[1.7.1.4],
 152  link:RelNotes/1.7.1.3.txt[1.7.1.3],
 153  link:RelNotes/1.7.1.2.txt[1.7.1.2],
 154  link:RelNotes/1.7.1.1.txt[1.7.1.1],
 155  link:RelNotes/1.7.1.txt[1.7.1].
 156
 157* link:v1.7.0.9/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.0.9]
 158
 159* release notes for
 160  link:RelNotes/1.7.0.9.txt[1.7.0.9],
 161  link:RelNotes/1.7.0.8.txt[1.7.0.8],
 162  link:RelNotes/1.7.0.7.txt[1.7.0.7],
 163  link:RelNotes/1.7.0.6.txt[1.7.0.6],
 164  link:RelNotes/1.7.0.5.txt[1.7.0.5],
 165  link:RelNotes/1.7.0.4.txt[1.7.0.4],
 166  link:RelNotes/1.7.0.3.txt[1.7.0.3],
 167  link:RelNotes/1.7.0.2.txt[1.7.0.2],
 168  link:RelNotes/1.7.0.1.txt[1.7.0.1],
 169  link:RelNotes/1.7.0.txt[1.7.0].
 170
 171* link:v1.6.6.3/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.6.3]
 172
 173* release notes for
 174  link:RelNotes/1.6.6.3.txt[1.6.6.3],
 175  link:RelNotes/1.6.6.2.txt[1.6.6.2],
 176  link:RelNotes/1.6.6.1.txt[1.6.6.1],
 177  link:RelNotes/1.6.6.txt[1.6.6].
 178
 179* link:v1.6.5.9/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.5.9]
 180
 181* release notes for
 182  link:RelNotes/1.6.5.9.txt[1.6.5.9],
 183  link:RelNotes/1.6.5.8.txt[1.6.5.8],
 184  link:RelNotes/1.6.5.7.txt[1.6.5.7],
 185  link:RelNotes/1.6.5.6.txt[1.6.5.6],
 186  link:RelNotes/1.6.5.5.txt[1.6.5.5],
 187  link:RelNotes/1.6.5.4.txt[1.6.5.4],
 188  link:RelNotes/1.6.5.3.txt[1.6.5.3],
 189  link:RelNotes/1.6.5.2.txt[1.6.5.2],
 190  link:RelNotes/1.6.5.1.txt[1.6.5.1],
 191  link:RelNotes/1.6.5.txt[1.6.5].
 192
 193* link:v1.6.4.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.4.5]
 194
 195* release notes for
 196  link:RelNotes/1.6.4.5.txt[1.6.4.5],
 197  link:RelNotes/1.6.4.4.txt[1.6.4.4],
 198  link:RelNotes/1.6.4.3.txt[1.6.4.3],
 199  link:RelNotes/1.6.4.2.txt[1.6.4.2],
 200  link:RelNotes/1.6.4.1.txt[1.6.4.1],
 201  link:RelNotes/1.6.4.txt[1.6.4].
 202
 203* link:v1.6.3.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.3.4]
 204
 205* release notes for
 206  link:RelNotes/1.6.3.4.txt[1.6.3.4],
 207  link:RelNotes/1.6.3.3.txt[1.6.3.3],
 208  link:RelNotes/1.6.3.2.txt[1.6.3.2],
 209  link:RelNotes/1.6.3.1.txt[1.6.3.1],
 210  link:RelNotes/1.6.3.txt[1.6.3].
 211
 212* release notes for
 213  link:RelNotes/1.6.2.5.txt[1.6.2.5],
 214  link:RelNotes/1.6.2.4.txt[1.6.2.4],
 215  link:RelNotes/1.6.2.3.txt[1.6.2.3],
 216  link:RelNotes/1.6.2.2.txt[1.6.2.2],
 217  link:RelNotes/1.6.2.1.txt[1.6.2.1],
 218  link:RelNotes/1.6.2.txt[1.6.2].
 219
 220* link:v1.6.1.3/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.1.3]
 221
 222* release notes for
 223  link:RelNotes/1.6.1.3.txt[1.6.1.3],
 224  link:RelNotes/1.6.1.2.txt[1.6.1.2],
 225  link:RelNotes/1.6.1.1.txt[1.6.1.1],
 226  link:RelNotes/1.6.1.txt[1.6.1].
 227
 228* link:v1.6.0.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.0.6]
 229
 230* release notes for
 231  link:RelNotes/1.6.0.6.txt[1.6.0.6],
 232  link:RelNotes/1.6.0.5.txt[1.6.0.5],
 233  link:RelNotes/1.6.0.4.txt[1.6.0.4],
 234  link:RelNotes/1.6.0.3.txt[1.6.0.3],
 235  link:RelNotes/1.6.0.2.txt[1.6.0.2],
 236  link:RelNotes/1.6.0.1.txt[1.6.0.1],
 237  link:RelNotes/1.6.0.txt[1.6.0].
 238
 239* link:v1.5.6.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.6.6]
 240
 241* release notes for
 242  link:RelNotes/1.5.6.6.txt[1.5.6.6],
 243  link:RelNotes/1.5.6.5.txt[1.5.6.5],
 244  link:RelNotes/1.5.6.4.txt[1.5.6.4],
 245  link:RelNotes/1.5.6.3.txt[1.5.6.3],
 246  link:RelNotes/1.5.6.2.txt[1.5.6.2],
 247  link:RelNotes/1.5.6.1.txt[1.5.6.1],
 248  link:RelNotes/1.5.6.txt[1.5.6].
 249
 250* link:v1.5.5.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.5.6]
 251
 252* release notes for
 253  link:RelNotes/1.5.5.6.txt[1.5.5.6],
 254  link:RelNotes/1.5.5.5.txt[1.5.5.5],
 255  link:RelNotes/1.5.5.4.txt[1.5.5.4],
 256  link:RelNotes/1.5.5.3.txt[1.5.5.3],
 257  link:RelNotes/1.5.5.2.txt[1.5.5.2],
 258  link:RelNotes/1.5.5.1.txt[1.5.5.1],
 259  link:RelNotes/1.5.5.txt[1.5.5].
 260
 261* link:v1.5.4.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.4.7]
 262
 263* release notes for
 264  link:RelNotes/1.5.4.7.txt[1.5.4.7],
 265  link:RelNotes/1.5.4.6.txt[1.5.4.6],
 266  link:RelNotes/1.5.4.5.txt[1.5.4.5],
 267  link:RelNotes/1.5.4.4.txt[1.5.4.4],
 268  link:RelNotes/1.5.4.3.txt[1.5.4.3],
 269  link:RelNotes/1.5.4.2.txt[1.5.4.2],
 270  link:RelNotes/1.5.4.1.txt[1.5.4.1],
 271  link:RelNotes/1.5.4.txt[1.5.4].
 272
 273* link:v1.5.3.8/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.3.8]
 274
 275* release notes for
 276  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.8.txt[1.5.3.8],
 277  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.7.txt[1.5.3.7],
 278  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.6.txt[1.5.3.6],
 279  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.5.txt[1.5.3.5],
 280  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.4.txt[1.5.3.4],
 281  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.3.txt[1.5.3.3],
 282  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.2.txt[1.5.3.2],
 283  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.1.txt[1.5.3.1],
 284  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.txt[1.5.3].
 285
 286* link:v1.5.2.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.2.5]
 287
 288* release notes for
 289  link:RelNotes/1.5.2.5.txt[1.5.2.5],
 290  link:RelNotes/1.5.2.4.txt[1.5.2.4],
 291  link:RelNotes/1.5.2.3.txt[1.5.2.3],
 292  link:RelNotes/1.5.2.2.txt[1.5.2.2],
 293  link:RelNotes/1.5.2.1.txt[1.5.2.1],
 294  link:RelNotes/1.5.2.txt[1.5.2].
 295
 296* link:v1.5.1.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.1.6]
 297
 298* release notes for
 299  link:RelNotes/1.5.1.6.txt[1.5.1.6],
 300  link:RelNotes/1.5.1.5.txt[1.5.1.5],
 301  link:RelNotes/1.5.1.4.txt[1.5.1.4],
 302  link:RelNotes/1.5.1.3.txt[1.5.1.3],
 303  link:RelNotes/1.5.1.2.txt[1.5.1.2],
 304  link:RelNotes/1.5.1.1.txt[1.5.1.1],
 305  link:RelNotes/1.5.1.txt[1.5.1].
 306
 307* link:v1.5.0.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.0.7]
 308
 309* release notes for
 310  link:RelNotes/1.5.0.7.txt[1.5.0.7],
 311  link:RelNotes/1.5.0.6.txt[1.5.0.6],
 312  link:RelNotes/1.5.0.5.txt[1.5.0.5],
 313  link:RelNotes/1.5.0.3.txt[1.5.0.3],
 314  link:RelNotes/1.5.0.2.txt[1.5.0.2],
 315  link:RelNotes/1.5.0.1.txt[1.5.0.1],
 316  link:RelNotes/1.5.0.txt[1.5.0].
 317
 318* documentation for release link:v1.4.4.4/git.html[1.4.4.4],
 319  link:v1.3.3/git.html[1.3.3],
 320  link:v1.2.6/git.html[1.2.6],
 321  link:v1.0.13/git.html[1.0.13].
 322
 323============
 324
 325endif::stalenotes[]
 326
 327OPTIONS
 328-------
 329--version::
 330        Prints the git suite version that the 'git' program came from.
 331
 332--help::
 333        Prints the synopsis and a list of the most commonly used
 334        commands. If the option '--all' or '-a' is given then all
 335        available commands are printed. If a git command is named this
 336        option will bring up the manual page for that command.
 337+
 338Other options are available to control how the manual page is
 339displayed. See linkgit:git-help[1] for more information,
 340because `git --help ...` is converted internally into `git
 341help ...`.
 342
 343-c <name>=<value>::
 344        Pass a configuration parameter to the command. The value
 345        given will override values from configuration files.
 346        The <name> is expected in the same format as listed by
 347        'git config' (subkeys separated by dots).
 348
 349--exec-path[=<path>]::
 350        Path to wherever your core git programs are installed.
 351        This can also be controlled by setting the GIT_EXEC_PATH
 352        environment variable. If no path is given, 'git' will print
 353        the current setting and then exit.
 354
 355--html-path::
 356        Print the path, without trailing slash, where git's HTML
 357        documentation is installed and exit.
 358
 359--man-path::
 360        Print the manpath (see `man(1)`) for the man pages for
 361        this version of git and exit.
 362
 363--info-path::
 364        Print the path where the Info files documenting this
 365        version of git are installed and exit.
 366
 367-p::
 368--paginate::
 369        Pipe all output into 'less' (or if set, $PAGER) if standard
 370        output is a terminal.  This overrides the `pager.<cmd>`
 371        configuration options (see the "Configuration Mechanism" section
 372        below).
 373
 374--no-pager::
 375        Do not pipe git output into a pager.
 376
 377--git-dir=<path>::
 378        Set the path to the repository. This can also be controlled by
 379        setting the GIT_DIR environment variable. It can be an absolute
 380        path or relative path to current working directory.
 381
 382--work-tree=<path>::
 383        Set the path to the working tree. It can be an absolute path
 384        or a path relative to the current working directory.
 385        This can also be controlled by setting the GIT_WORK_TREE
 386        environment variable and the core.worktree configuration
 387        variable (see core.worktree in linkgit:git-config[1] for a
 388        more detailed discussion).
 389
 390--namespace=<path>::
 391        Set the git namespace.  See linkgit:gitnamespaces[7] for more
 392        details.  Equivalent to setting the `GIT_NAMESPACE` environment
 393        variable.
 394
 395--bare::
 396        Treat the repository as a bare repository.  If GIT_DIR
 397        environment is not set, it is set to the current working
 398        directory.
 399
 400--no-replace-objects::
 401        Do not use replacement refs to replace git objects. See
 402        linkgit:git-replace[1] for more information.
 403
 404
 405FURTHER DOCUMENTATION
 406---------------------
 407
 408See the references above to get started using git.  The following is
 409probably more detail than necessary for a first-time user.
 410
 411The link:user-manual.html#git-concepts[git concepts chapter of the
 412user-manual] and linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7] both provide
 413introductions to the underlying git architecture.
 414
 415See linkgit:gitworkflows[7] for an overview of recommended workflows.
 416
 417See also the link:howto-index.html[howto] documents for some useful
 418examples.
 419
 420The internals are documented in the
 421link:technical/api-index.html[GIT API documentation].
 422
 423GIT COMMANDS
 424------------
 425
 426We divide git into high level ("porcelain") commands and low level
 427("plumbing") commands.
 428
 429High-level commands (porcelain)
 430-------------------------------
 431
 432We separate the porcelain commands into the main commands and some
 433ancillary user utilities.
 434
 435Main porcelain commands
 436~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 437
 438include::cmds-mainporcelain.txt[]
 439
 440Ancillary Commands
 441~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 442Manipulators:
 443
 444include::cmds-ancillarymanipulators.txt[]
 445
 446Interrogators:
 447
 448include::cmds-ancillaryinterrogators.txt[]
 449
 450
 451Interacting with Others
 452~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 453
 454These commands are to interact with foreign SCM and with other
 455people via patch over e-mail.
 456
 457include::cmds-foreignscminterface.txt[]
 458
 459
 460Low-level commands (plumbing)
 461-----------------------------
 462
 463Although git includes its
 464own porcelain layer, its low-level commands are sufficient to support
 465development of alternative porcelains.  Developers of such porcelains
 466might start by reading about linkgit:git-update-index[1] and
 467linkgit:git-read-tree[1].
 468
 469The interface (input, output, set of options and the semantics)
 470to these low-level commands are meant to be a lot more stable
 471than Porcelain level commands, because these commands are
 472primarily for scripted use.  The interface to Porcelain commands
 473on the other hand are subject to change in order to improve the
 474end user experience.
 475
 476The following description divides
 477the low-level commands into commands that manipulate objects (in
 478the repository, index, and working tree), commands that interrogate and
 479compare objects, and commands that move objects and references between
 480repositories.
 481
 482
 483Manipulation commands
 484~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 485
 486include::cmds-plumbingmanipulators.txt[]
 487
 488
 489Interrogation commands
 490~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 491
 492include::cmds-plumbinginterrogators.txt[]
 493
 494In general, the interrogate commands do not touch the files in
 495the working tree.
 496
 497
 498Synching repositories
 499~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 500
 501include::cmds-synchingrepositories.txt[]
 502
 503The following are helper commands used by the above; end users
 504typically do not use them directly.
 505
 506include::cmds-synchelpers.txt[]
 507
 508
 509Internal helper commands
 510~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 511
 512These are internal helper commands used by other commands; end
 513users typically do not use them directly.
 514
 515include::cmds-purehelpers.txt[]
 516
 517
 518Configuration Mechanism
 519-----------------------
 520
 521Starting from 0.99.9 (actually mid 0.99.8.GIT), `.git/config` file
 522is used to hold per-repository configuration options.  It is a
 523simple text file modeled after `.ini` format familiar to some
 524people.  Here is an example:
 525
 526------------
 527#
 528# A '#' or ';' character indicates a comment.
 529#
 530
 531; core variables
 532[core]
 533        ; Don't trust file modes
 534        filemode = false
 535
 536; user identity
 537[user]
 538        name = "Junio C Hamano"
 539        email = "junkio@twinsun.com"
 540
 541------------
 542
 543Various commands read from the configuration file and adjust
 544their operation accordingly.  See linkgit:git-config[1] for a
 545list.
 546
 547
 548Identifier Terminology
 549----------------------
 550<object>::
 551        Indicates the object name for any type of object.
 552
 553<blob>::
 554        Indicates a blob object name.
 555
 556<tree>::
 557        Indicates a tree object name.
 558
 559<commit>::
 560        Indicates a commit object name.
 561
 562<tree-ish>::
 563        Indicates a tree, commit or tag object name.  A
 564        command that takes a <tree-ish> argument ultimately wants to
 565        operate on a <tree> object but automatically dereferences
 566        <commit> and <tag> objects that point at a <tree>.
 567
 568<commit-ish>::
 569        Indicates a commit or tag object name.  A
 570        command that takes a <commit-ish> argument ultimately wants to
 571        operate on a <commit> object but automatically dereferences
 572        <tag> objects that point at a <commit>.
 573
 574<type>::
 575        Indicates that an object type is required.
 576        Currently one of: `blob`, `tree`, `commit`, or `tag`.
 577
 578<file>::
 579        Indicates a filename - almost always relative to the
 580        root of the tree structure `GIT_INDEX_FILE` describes.
 581
 582Symbolic Identifiers
 583--------------------
 584Any git command accepting any <object> can also use the following
 585symbolic notation:
 586
 587HEAD::
 588        indicates the head of the current branch.
 589
 590<tag>::
 591        a valid tag 'name'
 592        (i.e. a `refs/tags/<tag>` reference).
 593
 594<head>::
 595        a valid head 'name'
 596        (i.e. a `refs/heads/<head>` reference).
 597
 598For a more complete list of ways to spell object names, see
 599"SPECIFYING REVISIONS" section in linkgit:gitrevisions[7].
 600
 601
 602File/Directory Structure
 603------------------------
 604
 605Please see the linkgit:gitrepository-layout[5] document.
 606
 607Read linkgit:githooks[5] for more details about each hook.
 608
 609Higher level SCMs may provide and manage additional information in the
 610`$GIT_DIR`.
 611
 612
 613Terminology
 614-----------
 615Please see linkgit:gitglossary[7].
 616
 617
 618Environment Variables
 619---------------------
 620Various git commands use the following environment variables:
 621
 622The git Repository
 623~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 624These environment variables apply to 'all' core git commands. Nb: it
 625is worth noting that they may be used/overridden by SCMS sitting above
 626git so take care if using Cogito etc.
 627
 628'GIT_INDEX_FILE'::
 629        This environment allows the specification of an alternate
 630        index file. If not specified, the default of `$GIT_DIR/index`
 631        is used.
 632
 633'GIT_OBJECT_DIRECTORY'::
 634        If the object storage directory is specified via this
 635        environment variable then the sha1 directories are created
 636        underneath - otherwise the default `$GIT_DIR/objects`
 637        directory is used.
 638
 639'GIT_ALTERNATE_OBJECT_DIRECTORIES'::
 640        Due to the immutable nature of git objects, old objects can be
 641        archived into shared, read-only directories. This variable
 642        specifies a ":" separated (on Windows ";" separated) list
 643        of git object directories which can be used to search for git
 644        objects. New objects will not be written to these directories.
 645
 646'GIT_DIR'::
 647        If the 'GIT_DIR' environment variable is set then it
 648        specifies a path to use instead of the default `.git`
 649        for the base of the repository.
 650
 651'GIT_WORK_TREE'::
 652        Set the path to the working tree.  The value will not be
 653        used in combination with repositories found automatically in
 654        a .git directory (i.e. $GIT_DIR is not set).
 655        This can also be controlled by the '--work-tree' command line
 656        option and the core.worktree configuration variable.
 657
 658'GIT_NAMESPACE'::
 659        Set the git namespace; see linkgit:gitnamespaces[7] for details.
 660        The '--namespace' command-line option also sets this value.
 661
 662'GIT_CEILING_DIRECTORIES'::
 663        This should be a colon-separated list of absolute paths.
 664        If set, it is a list of directories that git should not chdir
 665        up into while looking for a repository directory.
 666        It will not exclude the current working directory or
 667        a GIT_DIR set on the command line or in the environment.
 668        (Useful for excluding slow-loading network directories.)
 669
 670'GIT_DISCOVERY_ACROSS_FILESYSTEM'::
 671        When run in a directory that does not have ".git" repository
 672        directory, git tries to find such a directory in the parent
 673        directories to find the top of the working tree, but by default it
 674        does not cross filesystem boundaries.  This environment variable
 675        can be set to true to tell git not to stop at filesystem
 676        boundaries.  Like 'GIT_CEILING_DIRECTORIES', this will not affect
 677        an explicit repository directory set via 'GIT_DIR' or on the
 678        command line.
 679
 680git Commits
 681~~~~~~~~~~~
 682'GIT_AUTHOR_NAME'::
 683'GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL'::
 684'GIT_AUTHOR_DATE'::
 685'GIT_COMMITTER_NAME'::
 686'GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL'::
 687'GIT_COMMITTER_DATE'::
 688'EMAIL'::
 689        see linkgit:git-commit-tree[1]
 690
 691git Diffs
 692~~~~~~~~~
 693'GIT_DIFF_OPTS'::
 694        Only valid setting is "--unified=??" or "-u??" to set the
 695        number of context lines shown when a unified diff is created.
 696        This takes precedence over any "-U" or "--unified" option
 697        value passed on the git diff command line.
 698
 699'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF'::
 700        When the environment variable 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is set, the
 701        program named by it is called, instead of the diff invocation
 702        described above.  For a path that is added, removed, or modified,
 703        'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called with 7 parameters:
 704
 705        path old-file old-hex old-mode new-file new-hex new-mode
 706+
 707where:
 708
 709        <old|new>-file:: are files GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF can use to read the
 710                         contents of <old|new>,
 711        <old|new>-hex:: are the 40-hexdigit SHA1 hashes,
 712        <old|new>-mode:: are the octal representation of the file modes.
 713+
 714The file parameters can point at the user's working file
 715(e.g. `new-file` in "git-diff-files"), `/dev/null` (e.g. `old-file`
 716when a new file is added), or a temporary file (e.g. `old-file` in the
 717index).  'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' should not worry about unlinking the
 718temporary file --- it is removed when 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' exits.
 719+
 720For a path that is unmerged, 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called with 1
 721parameter, <path>.
 722
 723other
 724~~~~~
 725'GIT_MERGE_VERBOSITY'::
 726        A number controlling the amount of output shown by
 727        the recursive merge strategy.  Overrides merge.verbosity.
 728        See linkgit:git-merge[1]
 729
 730'GIT_PAGER'::
 731        This environment variable overrides `$PAGER`. If it is set
 732        to an empty string or to the value "cat", git will not launch
 733        a pager.  See also the `core.pager` option in
 734        linkgit:git-config[1].
 735
 736'GIT_EDITOR'::
 737        This environment variable overrides `$EDITOR` and `$VISUAL`.
 738        It is used by several git commands when, on interactive mode,
 739        an editor is to be launched. See also linkgit:git-var[1]
 740        and the `core.editor` option in linkgit:git-config[1].
 741
 742'GIT_SSH'::
 743        If this environment variable is set then 'git fetch'
 744        and 'git push' will use this command instead
 745        of 'ssh' when they need to connect to a remote system.
 746        The '$GIT_SSH' command will be given exactly two arguments:
 747        the 'username@host' (or just 'host') from the URL and the
 748        shell command to execute on that remote system.
 749+
 750To pass options to the program that you want to list in GIT_SSH
 751you will need to wrap the program and options into a shell script,
 752then set GIT_SSH to refer to the shell script.
 753+
 754Usually it is easier to configure any desired options through your
 755personal `.ssh/config` file.  Please consult your ssh documentation
 756for further details.
 757
 758'GIT_ASKPASS'::
 759        If this environment variable is set, then git commands which need to
 760        acquire passwords or passphrases (e.g. for HTTP or IMAP authentication)
 761        will call this program with a suitable prompt as command line argument
 762        and read the password from its STDOUT. See also the 'core.askpass'
 763        option in linkgit:git-config[1].
 764
 765'GIT_FLUSH'::
 766        If this environment variable is set to "1", then commands such
 767        as 'git blame' (in incremental mode), 'git rev-list', 'git log',
 768        and 'git whatchanged' will force a flush of the output stream
 769        after each commit-oriented record have been flushed.   If this
 770        variable is set to "0", the output of these commands will be done
 771        using completely buffered I/O.   If this environment variable is
 772        not set, git will choose buffered or record-oriented flushing
 773        based on whether stdout appears to be redirected to a file or not.
 774
 775'GIT_TRACE'::
 776        If this variable is set to "1", "2" or "true" (comparison
 777        is case insensitive), git will print `trace:` messages on
 778        stderr telling about alias expansion, built-in command
 779        execution and external command execution.
 780        If this variable is set to an integer value greater than 1
 781        and lower than 10 (strictly) then git will interpret this
 782        value as an open file descriptor and will try to write the
 783        trace messages into this file descriptor.
 784        Alternatively, if this variable is set to an absolute path
 785        (starting with a '/' character), git will interpret this
 786        as a file path and will try to write the trace messages
 787        into it.
 788
 789Discussion[[Discussion]]
 790------------------------
 791
 792More detail on the following is available from the
 793link:user-manual.html#git-concepts[git concepts chapter of the
 794user-manual] and linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7].
 795
 796A git project normally consists of a working directory with a ".git"
 797subdirectory at the top level.  The .git directory contains, among other
 798things, a compressed object database representing the complete history
 799of the project, an "index" file which links that history to the current
 800contents of the working tree, and named pointers into that history such
 801as tags and branch heads.
 802
 803The object database contains objects of three main types: blobs, which
 804hold file data; trees, which point to blobs and other trees to build up
 805directory hierarchies; and commits, which each reference a single tree
 806and some number of parent commits.
 807
 808The commit, equivalent to what other systems call a "changeset" or
 809"version", represents a step in the project's history, and each parent
 810represents an immediately preceding step.  Commits with more than one
 811parent represent merges of independent lines of development.
 812
 813All objects are named by the SHA1 hash of their contents, normally
 814written as a string of 40 hex digits.  Such names are globally unique.
 815The entire history leading up to a commit can be vouched for by signing
 816just that commit.  A fourth object type, the tag, is provided for this
 817purpose.
 818
 819When first created, objects are stored in individual files, but for
 820efficiency may later be compressed together into "pack files".
 821
 822Named pointers called refs mark interesting points in history.  A ref
 823may contain the SHA1 name of an object or the name of another ref.  Refs
 824with names beginning `ref/head/` contain the SHA1 name of the most
 825recent commit (or "head") of a branch under development.  SHA1 names of
 826tags of interest are stored under `ref/tags/`.  A special ref named
 827`HEAD` contains the name of the currently checked-out branch.
 828
 829The index file is initialized with a list of all paths and, for each
 830path, a blob object and a set of attributes.  The blob object represents
 831the contents of the file as of the head of the current branch.  The
 832attributes (last modified time, size, etc.) are taken from the
 833corresponding file in the working tree.  Subsequent changes to the
 834working tree can be found by comparing these attributes.  The index may
 835be updated with new content, and new commits may be created from the
 836content stored in the index.
 837
 838The index is also capable of storing multiple entries (called "stages")
 839for a given pathname.  These stages are used to hold the various
 840unmerged version of a file when a merge is in progress.
 841
 842Authors
 843-------
 844Git was started by Linus Torvalds, and is currently maintained by Junio
 845C Hamano. Numerous contributions have come from the git mailing list
 846<git@vger.kernel.org>. For a more complete list of contributors, see
 847http://git-scm.com/about. If you have a clone of git.git itself, the
 848output of linkgit:git-shortlog[1] and linkgit:git-blame[1] can show you
 849the authors for specific parts of the project.
 850
 851Reporting Bugs
 852--------------
 853
 854Report bugs to the Git mailing list <git@vger.kernel.org> where the
 855development and maintenance is primarily done.  You do not have to be
 856subscribed to the list to send a message there.
 857
 858SEE ALSO
 859--------
 860linkgit:gittutorial[7], linkgit:gittutorial-2[7],
 861link:everyday.html[Everyday Git], linkgit:gitcvs-migration[7],
 862linkgit:gitglossary[7], linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7],
 863linkgit:gitcli[7], link:user-manual.html[The Git User's Manual],
 864linkgit:gitworkflows[7]
 865
 866GIT
 867---
 868Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite