Documentation / git-push.txton commit Merge branch 'jk/pull-rebase-using-fork-point' (d8cf714)
   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           [--force-with-lease[=<refname>[:<expect>]]]
  15           [--no-verify] [<repository> [<refspec>...]]
  16
  17DESCRIPTION
  18-----------
  19
  20Updates remote refs using local refs, while sending objects
  21necessary to complete the given refs.
  22
  23You can make interesting things happen to a repository
  24every time you push into it, by setting up 'hooks' there.  See
  25documentation for linkgit:git-receive-pack[1].
  26
  27When the command line does not specify where to push with the
  28`<repository>` argument, `branch.*.remote` configuration for the
  29current branch is consulted to determine where to push.  If the
  30configuration is missing, it defaults to 'origin'.
  31
  32When the command line does not specify what to push with `<refspec>...`
  33arguments or `--all`, `--mirror`, `--tags` options, the command finds
  34the default `<refspec>` by consulting `remote.*.push` configuration,
  35and if it is not found, honors `push.default` configuration to decide
  36what to push (See gitlink:git-config[1] for the meaning of `push.default`).
  37
  38
  39OPTIONS[[OPTIONS]]
  40------------------
  41<repository>::
  42        The "remote" repository that is destination of a push
  43        operation.  This parameter can be either a URL
  44        (see the section <<URLS,GIT URLS>> below) or the name
  45        of a remote (see the section <<REMOTES,REMOTES>> below).
  46
  47<refspec>...::
  48        Specify what destination ref to update with what source object.
  49        The format of a <refspec> parameter is an optional plus
  50        `+`, followed by the source object <src>, followed
  51        by a colon `:`, followed by the destination ref <dst>.
  52+
  53The <src> is often the name of the branch you would want to push, but
  54it can be any arbitrary "SHA-1 expression", such as `master~4` or
  55`HEAD` (see linkgit:gitrevisions[7]).
  56+
  57The <dst> tells which ref on the remote side is updated with this
  58push. Arbitrary expressions cannot be used here, an actual ref must
  59be named.
  60If `git push [<repository>]` without any `<refspec>` argument is set to
  61update some ref at the destination with `<src>` with
  62`remote.<repository>.push` configuration variable, `:<dst>` part can
  63be omitted---such a push will update a ref that `<src>` normally updates
  64without any `<refspec>` on the command line.  Otherwise, missing
  65`:<dst>` means to update the same ref as the `<src>`.
  66+
  67The object referenced by <src> is used to update the <dst> reference
  68on the remote side.  By default this is only allowed if <dst> is not
  69a tag (annotated or lightweight), and then only if it can fast-forward
  70<dst>.  By having the optional leading `+`, you can tell Git to update
  71the <dst> ref even if it is not allowed by default (e.g., it is not a
  72fast-forward.)  This does *not* attempt to merge <src> into <dst>.  See
  73EXAMPLES below for details.
  74+
  75`tag <tag>` means the same as `refs/tags/<tag>:refs/tags/<tag>`.
  76+
  77Pushing an empty <src> allows you to delete the <dst> ref from
  78the remote repository.
  79+
  80The special refspec `:` (or `+:` to allow non-fast-forward updates)
  81directs Git to push "matching" branches: for every branch that exists on
  82the local side, the remote side is updated if a branch of the same name
  83already exists on the remote side.
  84
  85--all::
  86        Instead of naming each ref to push, specifies that all
  87        refs under `refs/heads/` be pushed.
  88
  89--prune::
  90        Remove remote branches that don't have a local counterpart. For example
  91        a remote branch `tmp` will be removed if a local branch with the same
  92        name doesn't exist any more. This also respects refspecs, e.g.
  93        `git push --prune remote refs/heads/*:refs/tmp/*` would
  94        make sure that remote `refs/tmp/foo` will be removed if `refs/heads/foo`
  95        doesn't exist.
  96
  97--mirror::
  98        Instead of naming each ref to push, specifies that all
  99        refs under `refs/` (which includes but is not
 100        limited to `refs/heads/`, `refs/remotes/`, and `refs/tags/`)
 101        be mirrored to the remote repository.  Newly created local
 102        refs will be pushed to the remote end, locally updated refs
 103        will be force updated on the remote end, and deleted refs
 104        will be removed from the remote end.  This is the default
 105        if the configuration option `remote.<remote>.mirror` is
 106        set.
 107
 108-n::
 109--dry-run::
 110        Do everything except actually send the updates.
 111
 112--porcelain::
 113        Produce machine-readable output.  The output status line for each ref
 114        will be tab-separated and sent to stdout instead of stderr.  The full
 115        symbolic names of the refs will be given.
 116
 117--delete::
 118        All listed refs are deleted from the remote repository. This is
 119        the same as prefixing all refs with a colon.
 120
 121--tags::
 122        All refs under `refs/tags` are pushed, in
 123        addition to refspecs explicitly listed on the command
 124        line.
 125
 126--follow-tags::
 127        Push all the refs that would be pushed without this option,
 128        and also push annotated tags in `refs/tags` that are missing
 129        from the remote but are pointing at commit-ish that are
 130        reachable from the refs being pushed.
 131
 132--receive-pack=<git-receive-pack>::
 133--exec=<git-receive-pack>::
 134        Path to the 'git-receive-pack' program on the remote
 135        end.  Sometimes useful when pushing to a remote
 136        repository over ssh, and you do not have the program in
 137        a directory on the default $PATH.
 138
 139--[no-]force-with-lease::
 140--force-with-lease=<refname>::
 141--force-with-lease=<refname>:<expect>::
 142        Usually, "git push" refuses to update a remote ref that is
 143        not an ancestor of the local ref used to overwrite it.
 144+
 145This option bypasses the check, but instead requires that the
 146current value of the ref to be the expected value.  "git push"
 147fails otherwise.
 148+
 149Imagine that you have to rebase what you have already published.
 150You will have to bypass the "must fast-forward" rule in order to
 151replace the history you originally published with the rebased history.
 152If somebody else built on top of your original history while you are
 153rebasing, the tip of the branch at the remote may advance with her
 154commit, and blindly pushing with `--force` will lose her work.
 155+
 156This option allows you to say that you expect the history you are
 157updating is what you rebased and want to replace. If the remote ref
 158still points at the commit you specified, you can be sure that no
 159other people did anything to the ref (it is like taking a "lease" on
 160the ref without explicitly locking it, and you update the ref while
 161making sure that your earlier "lease" is still valid).
 162+
 163`--force-with-lease` alone, without specifying the details, will protect
 164all remote refs that are going to be updated by requiring their
 165current value to be the same as the remote-tracking branch we have
 166for them, unless specified with a `--force-with-lease=<refname>:<expect>`
 167option that explicitly states what the expected value is.
 168+
 169`--force-with-lease=<refname>`, without specifying the expected value, will
 170protect the named ref (alone), if it is going to be updated, by
 171requiring its current value to be the same as the remote-tracking
 172branch we have for it.
 173+
 174`--force-with-lease=<refname>:<expect>` will protect the named ref (alone),
 175if it is going to be updated, by requiring its current value to be
 176the same as the specified value <expect> (which is allowed to be
 177different from the remote-tracking branch we have for the refname,
 178or we do not even have to have such a remote-tracking branch when
 179this form is used).
 180+
 181Note that all forms other than `--force-with-lease=<refname>:<expect>`
 182that specifies the expected current value of the ref explicitly are
 183still experimental and their semantics may change as we gain experience
 184with this feature.
 185+
 186"--no-force-with-lease" will cancel all the previous --force-with-lease on the
 187command line.
 188
 189-f::
 190--force::
 191        Usually, the command refuses to update a remote ref that is
 192        not an ancestor of the local ref used to overwrite it.
 193        Also, when `--force-with-lease` option is used, the command refuses
 194        to update a remote ref whose current value does not match
 195        what is expected.
 196+
 197This flag disables these checks, and can cause the remote repository
 198to lose commits; use it with care.
 199+
 200Note that `--force` applies to all the refs that are pushed, hence
 201using it with `push.default` set to `matching` or with multiple push
 202destinations configured with `remote.*.push` may overwrite refs
 203other than the current branch (including local refs that are
 204strictly behind their remote counterpart).  To force a push to only
 205one branch, use a `+` in front of the refspec to push (e.g `git push
 206origin +master` to force a push to the `master` branch). See the
 207`<refspec>...` section above for details.
 208
 209--repo=<repository>::
 210        This option is only relevant if no <repository> argument is
 211        passed in the invocation. In this case, 'git push' derives the
 212        remote name from the current branch: If it tracks a remote
 213        branch, then that remote repository is pushed to. Otherwise,
 214        the name "origin" is used. For this latter case, this option
 215        can be used to override the name "origin". In other words,
 216        the difference between these two commands
 217+
 218--------------------------
 219git push public         #1
 220git push --repo=public  #2
 221--------------------------
 222+
 223is that #1 always pushes to "public" whereas #2 pushes to "public"
 224only if the current branch does not track a remote branch. This is
 225useful if you write an alias or script around 'git push'.
 226
 227-u::
 228--set-upstream::
 229        For every branch that is up to date or successfully pushed, add
 230        upstream (tracking) reference, used by argument-less
 231        linkgit:git-pull[1] and other commands. For more information,
 232        see 'branch.<name>.merge' in linkgit:git-config[1].
 233
 234--[no-]thin::
 235        These options are passed to linkgit:git-send-pack[1]. A thin transfer
 236        significantly reduces the amount of sent data when the sender and
 237        receiver share many of the same objects in common. The default is
 238        \--thin.
 239
 240-q::
 241--quiet::
 242        Suppress all output, including the listing of updated refs,
 243        unless an error occurs. Progress is not reported to the standard
 244        error stream.
 245
 246-v::
 247--verbose::
 248        Run verbosely.
 249
 250--progress::
 251        Progress status is reported on the standard error stream
 252        by default when it is attached to a terminal, unless -q
 253        is specified. This flag forces progress status even if the
 254        standard error stream is not directed to a terminal.
 255
 256--recurse-submodules=check|on-demand::
 257        Make sure all submodule commits used by the revisions to be
 258        pushed are available on a remote-tracking branch. If 'check' is
 259        used Git will verify that all submodule commits that changed in
 260        the revisions to be pushed are available on at least one remote
 261        of the submodule. If any commits are missing the push will be
 262        aborted and exit with non-zero status. If 'on-demand' is used
 263        all submodules that changed in the revisions to be pushed will
 264        be pushed. If on-demand was not able to push all necessary
 265        revisions it will also be aborted and exit with non-zero status.
 266
 267--[no-]verify::
 268        Toggle the pre-push hook (see linkgit:githooks[5]).  The
 269        default is \--verify, giving the hook a chance to prevent the
 270        push.  With \--no-verify, the hook is bypassed completely.
 271
 272
 273include::urls-remotes.txt[]
 274
 275OUTPUT
 276------
 277
 278The output of "git push" depends on the transport method used; this
 279section describes the output when pushing over the Git protocol (either
 280locally or via ssh).
 281
 282The status of the push is output in tabular form, with each line
 283representing the status of a single ref. Each line is of the form:
 284
 285-------------------------------
 286 <flag> <summary> <from> -> <to> (<reason>)
 287-------------------------------
 288
 289If --porcelain is used, then each line of the output is of the form:
 290
 291-------------------------------
 292 <flag> \t <from>:<to> \t <summary> (<reason>)
 293-------------------------------
 294
 295The status of up-to-date refs is shown only if --porcelain or --verbose
 296option is used.
 297
 298flag::
 299        A single character indicating the status of the ref:
 300(space);; for a successfully pushed fast-forward;
 301`+`;; for a successful forced update;
 302`-`;; for a successfully deleted ref;
 303`*`;; for a successfully pushed new ref;
 304`!`;; for a ref that was rejected or failed to push; and
 305`=`;; for a ref that was up to date and did not need pushing.
 306
 307summary::
 308        For a successfully pushed ref, the summary shows the old and new
 309        values of the ref in a form suitable for using as an argument to
 310        `git log` (this is `<old>..<new>` in most cases, and
 311        `<old>...<new>` for forced non-fast-forward updates).
 312+
 313For a failed update, more details are given:
 314+
 315--
 316rejected::
 317        Git did not try to send the ref at all, typically because it
 318        is not a fast-forward and you did not force the update.
 319
 320remote rejected::
 321        The remote end refused the update.  Usually caused by a hook
 322        on the remote side, or because the remote repository has one
 323        of the following safety options in effect:
 324        `receive.denyCurrentBranch` (for pushes to the checked out
 325        branch), `receive.denyNonFastForwards` (for forced
 326        non-fast-forward updates), `receive.denyDeletes` or
 327        `receive.denyDeleteCurrent`.  See linkgit:git-config[1].
 328
 329remote failure::
 330        The remote end did not report the successful update of the ref,
 331        perhaps because of a temporary error on the remote side, a
 332        break in the network connection, or other transient error.
 333--
 334
 335from::
 336        The name of the local ref being pushed, minus its
 337        `refs/<type>/` prefix. In the case of deletion, the
 338        name of the local ref is omitted.
 339
 340to::
 341        The name of the remote ref being updated, minus its
 342        `refs/<type>/` prefix.
 343
 344reason::
 345        A human-readable explanation. In the case of successfully pushed
 346        refs, no explanation is needed. For a failed ref, the reason for
 347        failure is described.
 348
 349Note about fast-forwards
 350------------------------
 351
 352When an update changes a branch (or more in general, a ref) that used to
 353point at commit A to point at another commit B, it is called a
 354fast-forward update if and only if B is a descendant of A.
 355
 356In a fast-forward update from A to B, the set of commits that the original
 357commit A built on top of is a subset of the commits the new commit B
 358builds on top of.  Hence, it does not lose any history.
 359
 360In contrast, a non-fast-forward update will lose history.  For example,
 361suppose you and somebody else started at the same commit X, and you built
 362a history leading to commit B while the other person built a history
 363leading to commit A.  The history looks like this:
 364
 365----------------
 366
 367      B
 368     /
 369 ---X---A
 370
 371----------------
 372
 373Further suppose that the other person already pushed changes leading to A
 374back to the original repository from which you two obtained the original
 375commit X.
 376
 377The push done by the other person updated the branch that used to point at
 378commit X to point at commit A.  It is a fast-forward.
 379
 380But if you try to push, you will attempt to update the branch (that
 381now points at A) with commit B.  This does _not_ fast-forward.  If you did
 382so, the changes introduced by commit A will be lost, because everybody
 383will now start building on top of B.
 384
 385The command by default does not allow an update that is not a fast-forward
 386to prevent such loss of history.
 387
 388If you do not want to lose your work (history from X to B) nor the work by
 389the other person (history from X to A), you would need to first fetch the
 390history from the repository, create a history that contains changes done
 391by both parties, and push the result back.
 392
 393You can perform "git pull", resolve potential conflicts, and "git push"
 394the result.  A "git pull" will create a merge commit C between commits A
 395and B.
 396
 397----------------
 398
 399      B---C
 400     /   /
 401 ---X---A
 402
 403----------------
 404
 405Updating A with the resulting merge commit will fast-forward and your
 406push will be accepted.
 407
 408Alternatively, you can rebase your change between X and B on top of A,
 409with "git pull --rebase", and push the result back.  The rebase will
 410create a new commit D that builds the change between X and B on top of
 411A.
 412
 413----------------
 414
 415      B   D
 416     /   /
 417 ---X---A
 418
 419----------------
 420
 421Again, updating A with this commit will fast-forward and your push will be
 422accepted.
 423
 424There is another common situation where you may encounter non-fast-forward
 425rejection when you try to push, and it is possible even when you are
 426pushing into a repository nobody else pushes into. After you push commit
 427A yourself (in the first picture in this section), replace it with "git
 428commit --amend" to produce commit B, and you try to push it out, because
 429forgot that you have pushed A out already. In such a case, and only if
 430you are certain that nobody in the meantime fetched your earlier commit A
 431(and started building on top of it), you can run "git push --force" to
 432overwrite it. In other words, "git push --force" is a method reserved for
 433a case where you do mean to lose history.
 434
 435
 436Examples
 437--------
 438
 439`git push`::
 440        Works like `git push <remote>`, where <remote> is the
 441        current branch's remote (or `origin`, if no remote is
 442        configured for the current branch).
 443
 444`git push origin`::
 445        Without additional configuration, works like
 446        `git push origin :`.
 447+
 448The default behavior of this command when no <refspec> is given can be
 449configured by setting the `push` option of the remote, or the `push.default`
 450configuration variable.
 451+
 452For example, to default to pushing only the current branch to `origin`
 453use `git config remote.origin.push HEAD`.  Any valid <refspec> (like
 454the ones in the examples below) can be configured as the default for
 455`git push origin`.
 456
 457`git push origin :`::
 458        Push "matching" branches to `origin`. See
 459        <refspec> in the <<OPTIONS,OPTIONS>> section above for a
 460        description of "matching" branches.
 461
 462`git push origin master`::
 463        Find a ref that matches `master` in the source repository
 464        (most likely, it would find `refs/heads/master`), and update
 465        the same ref (e.g. `refs/heads/master`) in `origin` repository
 466        with it.  If `master` did not exist remotely, it would be
 467        created.
 468
 469`git push origin HEAD`::
 470        A handy way to push the current branch to the same name on the
 471        remote.
 472
 473`git push mothership master:satellite/master dev:satellite/dev`::
 474        Use the source ref that matches `master` (e.g. `refs/heads/master`)
 475        to update the ref that matches `satellite/master` (most probably
 476        `refs/remotes/satellite/master`) in the `mothership` repository;
 477        do the same for `dev` and `satellite/dev`.
 478+
 479This is to emulate `git fetch` run on the `mothership` using `git
 480push` that is run in the opposite direction in order to integrate
 481the work done on `satellite`, and is often necessary when you can
 482only make connection in one way (i.e. satellite can ssh into
 483mothership but mothership cannot initiate connection to satellite
 484because the latter is behind a firewall or does not run sshd).
 485+
 486After running this `git push` on the `satellite` machine, you would
 487ssh into the `mothership` and run `git merge` there to complete the
 488emulation of `git pull` that were run on `mothership` to pull changes
 489made on `satellite`.
 490
 491`git push origin HEAD:master`::
 492        Push the current branch to the remote ref matching `master` in the
 493        `origin` repository. This form is convenient to push the current
 494        branch without thinking about its local name.
 495
 496`git push origin master:refs/heads/experimental`::
 497        Create the branch `experimental` in the `origin` repository
 498        by copying the current `master` branch.  This form is only
 499        needed to create a new branch or tag in the remote repository when
 500        the local name and the remote name are different; otherwise,
 501        the ref name on its own will work.
 502
 503`git push origin :experimental`::
 504        Find a ref that matches `experimental` in the `origin` repository
 505        (e.g. `refs/heads/experimental`), and delete it.
 506
 507`git push origin +dev:master`::
 508        Update the origin repository's master branch with the dev branch,
 509        allowing non-fast-forward updates.  *This can leave unreferenced
 510        commits dangling in the origin repository.*  Consider the
 511        following situation, where a fast-forward is not possible:
 512+
 513----
 514            o---o---o---A---B  origin/master
 515                     \
 516                      X---Y---Z  dev
 517----
 518+
 519The above command would change the origin repository to
 520+
 521----
 522                      A---B  (unnamed branch)
 523                     /
 524            o---o---o---X---Y---Z  master
 525----
 526+
 527Commits A and B would no longer belong to a branch with a symbolic name,
 528and so would be unreachable.  As such, these commits would be removed by
 529a `git gc` command on the origin repository.
 530
 531GIT
 532---
 533Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite