Documentation / git-push.txton commit Git 1.8.4.3 (d7d2c87)
   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] [--follow-tags] [-n | --dry-run] [--receive-pack=<git-receive-pack>]
  13           [--repo=<repository>] [-f | --force] [--prune] [-v | --verbose] [-u | --set-upstream]
  14           [--no-verify] [<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
  26When the command line does not specify where to push with the
  27`<repository>` argument, `branch.*.remote` configuration for the
  28current branch is consulted to determine where to push.  If the
  29configuration is missing, it defaults to 'origin'.
  30
  31When the command line does not specify what to push with `<refspec>...`
  32arguments or `--all`, `--mirror`, `--tags` options, the command finds
  33the default `<refspec>` by consulting `remote.*.push` configuration,
  34and if it is not found, honors `push.default` configuration to decide
  35what to push (See gitlink:git-config[1] for the meaning of `push.default`).
  36
  37
  38OPTIONS[[OPTIONS]]
  39------------------
  40<repository>::
  41        The "remote" repository that is destination of a push
  42        operation.  This parameter can be either a URL
  43        (see the section <<URLS,GIT URLS>> below) or the name
  44        of a remote (see the section <<REMOTES,REMOTES>> below).
  45
  46<refspec>...::
  47        Specify what destination ref to update with what source object.
  48        The format of a <refspec> parameter is an optional plus
  49        `+`, followed by the source object <src>, followed
  50        by a colon `:`, followed by the destination ref <dst>.
  51+
  52The <src> is often the name of the branch you would want to push, but
  53it can be any arbitrary "SHA-1 expression", such as `master~4` or
  54`HEAD` (see linkgit:gitrevisions[7]).
  55+
  56The <dst> tells which ref on the remote side is updated with this
  57push. Arbitrary expressions cannot be used here, an actual ref must
  58be named. If `:`<dst> is omitted, the same ref as <src> will be
  59updated.
  60+
  61The object referenced by <src> is used to update the <dst> reference
  62on the remote side.  By default this is only allowed if <dst> is not
  63a tag (annotated or lightweight), and then only if it can fast-forward
  64<dst>.  By having the optional leading `+`, you can tell Git to update
  65the <dst> ref even if it is not allowed by default (e.g., it is not a
  66fast-forward.)  This does *not* attempt to merge <src> into <dst>.  See
  67EXAMPLES below for details.
  68+
  69`tag <tag>` means the same as `refs/tags/<tag>:refs/tags/<tag>`.
  70+
  71Pushing an empty <src> allows you to delete the <dst> ref from
  72the remote repository.
  73+
  74The special refspec `:` (or `+:` to allow non-fast-forward updates)
  75directs Git to push "matching" branches: for every branch that exists on
  76the local side, the remote side is updated if a branch of the same name
  77already exists on the remote side.
  78
  79--all::
  80        Instead of naming each ref to push, specifies that all
  81        refs under `refs/heads/` be pushed.
  82
  83--prune::
  84        Remove remote branches that don't have a local counterpart. For example
  85        a remote branch `tmp` will be removed if a local branch with the same
  86        name doesn't exist any more. This also respects refspecs, e.g.
  87        `git push --prune remote refs/heads/*:refs/tmp/*` would
  88        make sure that remote `refs/tmp/foo` will be removed if `refs/heads/foo`
  89        doesn't exist.
  90
  91--mirror::
  92        Instead of naming each ref to push, specifies that all
  93        refs under `refs/` (which includes but is not
  94        limited to `refs/heads/`, `refs/remotes/`, and `refs/tags/`)
  95        be mirrored to the remote repository.  Newly created local
  96        refs will be pushed to the remote end, locally updated refs
  97        will be force updated on the remote end, and deleted refs
  98        will be removed from the remote end.  This is the default
  99        if the configuration option `remote.<remote>.mirror` is
 100        set.
 101
 102-n::
 103--dry-run::
 104        Do everything except actually send the updates.
 105
 106--porcelain::
 107        Produce machine-readable output.  The output status line for each ref
 108        will be tab-separated and sent to stdout instead of stderr.  The full
 109        symbolic names of the refs will be given.
 110
 111--delete::
 112        All listed refs are deleted from the remote repository. This is
 113        the same as prefixing all refs with a colon.
 114
 115--tags::
 116        All refs under `refs/tags` are pushed, in
 117        addition to refspecs explicitly listed on the command
 118        line.
 119
 120--follow-tags::
 121        Push all the refs that would be pushed without this option,
 122        and also push annotated tags in `refs/tags` that are missing
 123        from the remote but are pointing at committish that are
 124        reachable from the refs being pushed.
 125
 126--receive-pack=<git-receive-pack>::
 127--exec=<git-receive-pack>::
 128        Path to the 'git-receive-pack' program on the remote
 129        end.  Sometimes useful when pushing to a remote
 130        repository over ssh, and you do not have the program in
 131        a directory on the default $PATH.
 132
 133-f::
 134--force::
 135        Usually, the command refuses to update a remote ref that is
 136        not an ancestor of the local ref used to overwrite it.
 137        This flag disables the check.  This can cause the
 138        remote repository to lose commits; use it with care.
 139        Note that `--force` applies to all the refs that are pushed,
 140        hence using it with `push.default` set to `matching` or with
 141        multiple push destinations configured with `remote.*.push`
 142        may overwrite refs other than the current branch (including
 143        local refs that are strictly behind their remote counterpart).
 144        To force a push to only one branch, use a `+` in front of the
 145        refspec to push (e.g `git push origin +master` to force a push
 146        to the `master` branch). See the `<refspec>...` section above
 147        for details.
 148
 149--repo=<repository>::
 150        This option is only relevant if no <repository> argument is
 151        passed in the invocation. In this case, 'git push' derives the
 152        remote name from the current branch: If it tracks a remote
 153        branch, then that remote repository is pushed to. Otherwise,
 154        the name "origin" is used. For this latter case, this option
 155        can be used to override the name "origin". In other words,
 156        the difference between these two commands
 157+
 158--------------------------
 159git push public         #1
 160git push --repo=public  #2
 161--------------------------
 162+
 163is that #1 always pushes to "public" whereas #2 pushes to "public"
 164only if the current branch does not track a remote branch. This is
 165useful if you write an alias or script around 'git push'.
 166
 167-u::
 168--set-upstream::
 169        For every branch that is up to date or successfully pushed, add
 170        upstream (tracking) reference, used by argument-less
 171        linkgit:git-pull[1] and other commands. For more information,
 172        see 'branch.<name>.merge' in linkgit:git-config[1].
 173
 174--[no-]thin::
 175        These options are passed to linkgit:git-send-pack[1]. A thin transfer
 176        significantly reduces the amount of sent data when the sender and
 177        receiver share many of the same objects in common. The default is
 178        \--thin.
 179
 180-q::
 181--quiet::
 182        Suppress all output, including the listing of updated refs,
 183        unless an error occurs. Progress is not reported to the standard
 184        error stream.
 185
 186-v::
 187--verbose::
 188        Run verbosely.
 189
 190--progress::
 191        Progress status is reported on the standard error stream
 192        by default when it is attached to a terminal, unless -q
 193        is specified. This flag forces progress status even if the
 194        standard error stream is not directed to a terminal.
 195
 196--recurse-submodules=check|on-demand::
 197        Make sure all submodule commits used by the revisions to be
 198        pushed are available on a remote-tracking branch. If 'check' is
 199        used Git will verify that all submodule commits that changed in
 200        the revisions to be pushed are available on at least one remote
 201        of the submodule. If any commits are missing the push will be
 202        aborted and exit with non-zero status. If 'on-demand' is used
 203        all submodules that changed in the revisions to be pushed will
 204        be pushed. If on-demand was not able to push all necessary
 205        revisions it will also be aborted and exit with non-zero status.
 206
 207--[no-]verify::
 208        Toggle the pre-push hook (see linkgit:githooks[5]).  The
 209        default is \--verify, giving the hook a chance to prevent the
 210        push.  With \--no-verify, the hook is bypassed completely.
 211
 212
 213include::urls-remotes.txt[]
 214
 215OUTPUT
 216------
 217
 218The output of "git push" depends on the transport method used; this
 219section describes the output when pushing over the Git protocol (either
 220locally or via ssh).
 221
 222The status of the push is output in tabular form, with each line
 223representing the status of a single ref. Each line is of the form:
 224
 225-------------------------------
 226 <flag> <summary> <from> -> <to> (<reason>)
 227-------------------------------
 228
 229If --porcelain is used, then each line of the output is of the form:
 230
 231-------------------------------
 232 <flag> \t <from>:<to> \t <summary> (<reason>)
 233-------------------------------
 234
 235The status of up-to-date refs is shown only if --porcelain or --verbose
 236option is used.
 237
 238flag::
 239        A single character indicating the status of the ref:
 240(space);; for a successfully pushed fast-forward;
 241`+`;; for a successful forced update;
 242`-`;; for a successfully deleted ref;
 243`*`;; for a successfully pushed new ref;
 244`!`;; for a ref that was rejected or failed to push; and
 245`=`;; for a ref that was up to date and did not need pushing.
 246
 247summary::
 248        For a successfully pushed ref, the summary shows the old and new
 249        values of the ref in a form suitable for using as an argument to
 250        `git log` (this is `<old>..<new>` in most cases, and
 251        `<old>...<new>` for forced non-fast-forward updates).
 252+
 253For a failed update, more details are given:
 254+
 255--
 256rejected::
 257        Git did not try to send the ref at all, typically because it
 258        is not a fast-forward and you did not force the update.
 259
 260remote rejected::
 261        The remote end refused the update.  Usually caused by a hook
 262        on the remote side, or because the remote repository has one
 263        of the following safety options in effect:
 264        `receive.denyCurrentBranch` (for pushes to the checked out
 265        branch), `receive.denyNonFastForwards` (for forced
 266        non-fast-forward updates), `receive.denyDeletes` or
 267        `receive.denyDeleteCurrent`.  See linkgit:git-config[1].
 268
 269remote failure::
 270        The remote end did not report the successful update of the ref,
 271        perhaps because of a temporary error on the remote side, a
 272        break in the network connection, or other transient error.
 273--
 274
 275from::
 276        The name of the local ref being pushed, minus its
 277        `refs/<type>/` prefix. In the case of deletion, the
 278        name of the local ref is omitted.
 279
 280to::
 281        The name of the remote ref being updated, minus its
 282        `refs/<type>/` prefix.
 283
 284reason::
 285        A human-readable explanation. In the case of successfully pushed
 286        refs, no explanation is needed. For a failed ref, the reason for
 287        failure is described.
 288
 289Note about fast-forwards
 290------------------------
 291
 292When an update changes a branch (or more in general, a ref) that used to
 293point at commit A to point at another commit B, it is called a
 294fast-forward update if and only if B is a descendant of A.
 295
 296In a fast-forward update from A to B, the set of commits that the original
 297commit A built on top of is a subset of the commits the new commit B
 298builds on top of.  Hence, it does not lose any history.
 299
 300In contrast, a non-fast-forward update will lose history.  For example,
 301suppose you and somebody else started at the same commit X, and you built
 302a history leading to commit B while the other person built a history
 303leading to commit A.  The history looks like this:
 304
 305----------------
 306
 307      B
 308     /
 309 ---X---A
 310
 311----------------
 312
 313Further suppose that the other person already pushed changes leading to A
 314back to the original repository from which you two obtained the original
 315commit X.
 316
 317The push done by the other person updated the branch that used to point at
 318commit X to point at commit A.  It is a fast-forward.
 319
 320But if you try to push, you will attempt to update the branch (that
 321now points at A) with commit B.  This does _not_ fast-forward.  If you did
 322so, the changes introduced by commit A will be lost, because everybody
 323will now start building on top of B.
 324
 325The command by default does not allow an update that is not a fast-forward
 326to prevent such loss of history.
 327
 328If you do not want to lose your work (history from X to B) nor the work by
 329the other person (history from X to A), you would need to first fetch the
 330history from the repository, create a history that contains changes done
 331by both parties, and push the result back.
 332
 333You can perform "git pull", resolve potential conflicts, and "git push"
 334the result.  A "git pull" will create a merge commit C between commits A
 335and B.
 336
 337----------------
 338
 339      B---C
 340     /   /
 341 ---X---A
 342
 343----------------
 344
 345Updating A with the resulting merge commit will fast-forward and your
 346push will be accepted.
 347
 348Alternatively, you can rebase your change between X and B on top of A,
 349with "git pull --rebase", and push the result back.  The rebase will
 350create a new commit D that builds the change between X and B on top of
 351A.
 352
 353----------------
 354
 355      B   D
 356     /   /
 357 ---X---A
 358
 359----------------
 360
 361Again, updating A with this commit will fast-forward and your push will be
 362accepted.
 363
 364There is another common situation where you may encounter non-fast-forward
 365rejection when you try to push, and it is possible even when you are
 366pushing into a repository nobody else pushes into. After you push commit
 367A yourself (in the first picture in this section), replace it with "git
 368commit --amend" to produce commit B, and you try to push it out, because
 369forgot that you have pushed A out already. In such a case, and only if
 370you are certain that nobody in the meantime fetched your earlier commit A
 371(and started building on top of it), you can run "git push --force" to
 372overwrite it. In other words, "git push --force" is a method reserved for
 373a case where you do mean to lose history.
 374
 375
 376Examples
 377--------
 378
 379`git push`::
 380        Works like `git push <remote>`, where <remote> is the
 381        current branch's remote (or `origin`, if no remote is
 382        configured for the current branch).
 383
 384`git push origin`::
 385        Without additional configuration, works like
 386        `git push origin :`.
 387+
 388The default behavior of this command when no <refspec> is given can be
 389configured by setting the `push` option of the remote, or the `push.default`
 390configuration variable.
 391+
 392For example, to default to pushing only the current branch to `origin`
 393use `git config remote.origin.push HEAD`.  Any valid <refspec> (like
 394the ones in the examples below) can be configured as the default for
 395`git push origin`.
 396
 397`git push origin :`::
 398        Push "matching" branches to `origin`. See
 399        <refspec> in the <<OPTIONS,OPTIONS>> section above for a
 400        description of "matching" branches.
 401
 402`git push origin master`::
 403        Find a ref that matches `master` in the source repository
 404        (most likely, it would find `refs/heads/master`), and update
 405        the same ref (e.g. `refs/heads/master`) in `origin` repository
 406        with it.  If `master` did not exist remotely, it would be
 407        created.
 408
 409`git push origin HEAD`::
 410        A handy way to push the current branch to the same name on the
 411        remote.
 412
 413`git push mothership master:satellite/master dev:satellite/dev`::
 414        Use the source ref that matches `master` (e.g. `refs/heads/master`)
 415        to update the ref that matches `satellite/master` (most probably
 416        `refs/remotes/satellite/master`) in the `mothership` repository;
 417        do the same for `dev` and `satellite/dev`.
 418+
 419This is to emulate `git fetch` run on the `mothership` using `git
 420push` that is run in the opposite direction in order to integrate
 421the work done on `satellite`, and is often necessary when you can
 422only make connection in one way (i.e. satellite can ssh into
 423mothership but mothership cannot initiate connection to satellite
 424because the latter is behind a firewall or does not run sshd).
 425+
 426After running this `git push` on the `satellite` machine, you would
 427ssh into the `mothership` and run `git merge` there to complete the
 428emulation of `git pull` that were run on `mothership` to pull changes
 429made on `satellite`.
 430
 431`git push origin HEAD:master`::
 432        Push the current branch to the remote ref matching `master` in the
 433        `origin` repository. This form is convenient to push the current
 434        branch without thinking about its local name.
 435
 436`git push origin master:refs/heads/experimental`::
 437        Create the branch `experimental` in the `origin` repository
 438        by copying the current `master` branch.  This form is only
 439        needed to create a new branch or tag in the remote repository when
 440        the local name and the remote name are different; otherwise,
 441        the ref name on its own will work.
 442
 443`git push origin :experimental`::
 444        Find a ref that matches `experimental` in the `origin` repository
 445        (e.g. `refs/heads/experimental`), and delete it.
 446
 447`git push origin +dev:master`::
 448        Update the origin repository's master branch with the dev branch,
 449        allowing non-fast-forward updates.  *This can leave unreferenced
 450        commits dangling in the origin repository.*  Consider the
 451        following situation, where a fast-forward is not possible:
 452+
 453----
 454            o---o---o---A---B  origin/master
 455                     \
 456                      X---Y---Z  dev
 457----
 458+
 459The above command would change the origin repository to
 460+
 461----
 462                      A---B  (unnamed branch)
 463                     /
 464            o---o---o---X---Y---Z  master
 465----
 466+
 467Commits A and B would no longer belong to a branch with a symbolic name,
 468and so would be unreachable.  As such, these commits would be removed by
 469a `git gc` command on the origin repository.
 470
 471GIT
 472---
 473Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite