Documentation / git-push.txton commit Merge branch 'jk/ok-to-fail-gc-auto-in-rebase' (eefc461)
   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] [--atomic] [-n | --dry-run] [--receive-pack=<git-receive-pack>]
  13           [--repo=<repository>] [-f | --force] [-d | --delete] [--prune] [-v | --verbose]
  14           [-u | --set-upstream]
  15           [--[no-]signed|--sign=(true|false|if-asked)]
  16           [--force-with-lease[=<refname>[:<expect>]]]
  17           [--no-verify] [<repository> [<refspec>...]]
  18
  19DESCRIPTION
  20-----------
  21
  22Updates remote refs using local refs, while sending objects
  23necessary to complete the given refs.
  24
  25You can make interesting things happen to a repository
  26every time you push into it, by setting up 'hooks' there.  See
  27documentation for linkgit:git-receive-pack[1].
  28
  29When the command line does not specify where to push with the
  30`<repository>` argument, `branch.*.remote` configuration for the
  31current branch is consulted to determine where to push.  If the
  32configuration is missing, it defaults to 'origin'.
  33
  34When the command line does not specify what to push with `<refspec>...`
  35arguments or `--all`, `--mirror`, `--tags` options, the command finds
  36the default `<refspec>` by consulting `remote.*.push` configuration,
  37and if it is not found, honors `push.default` configuration to decide
  38what to push (See linkgit:git-config[1] for the meaning of `push.default`).
  39
  40
  41OPTIONS[[OPTIONS]]
  42------------------
  43<repository>::
  44        The "remote" repository that is destination of a push
  45        operation.  This parameter can be either a URL
  46        (see the section <<URLS,GIT URLS>> below) or the name
  47        of a remote (see the section <<REMOTES,REMOTES>> below).
  48
  49<refspec>...::
  50        Specify what destination ref to update with what source object.
  51        The format of a <refspec> parameter is an optional plus
  52        `+`, followed by the source object <src>, followed
  53        by a colon `:`, followed by the destination ref <dst>.
  54+
  55The <src> is often the name of the branch you would want to push, but
  56it can be any arbitrary "SHA-1 expression", such as `master~4` or
  57`HEAD` (see linkgit:gitrevisions[7]).
  58+
  59The <dst> tells which ref on the remote side is updated with this
  60push. Arbitrary expressions cannot be used here, an actual ref must
  61be named.
  62If `git push [<repository>]` without any `<refspec>` argument is set to
  63update some ref at the destination with `<src>` with
  64`remote.<repository>.push` configuration variable, `:<dst>` part can
  65be omitted--such a push will update a ref that `<src>` normally updates
  66without any `<refspec>` on the command line.  Otherwise, missing
  67`:<dst>` means to update the same ref as the `<src>`.
  68+
  69The object referenced by <src> is used to update the <dst> reference
  70on the remote side.  By default this is only allowed if <dst> is not
  71a tag (annotated or lightweight), and then only if it can fast-forward
  72<dst>.  By having the optional leading `+`, you can tell Git to update
  73the <dst> ref even if it is not allowed by default (e.g., it is not a
  74fast-forward.)  This does *not* attempt to merge <src> into <dst>.  See
  75EXAMPLES below for details.
  76+
  77`tag <tag>` means the same as `refs/tags/<tag>:refs/tags/<tag>`.
  78+
  79Pushing an empty <src> allows you to delete the <dst> ref from
  80the remote repository.
  81+
  82The special refspec `:` (or `+:` to allow non-fast-forward updates)
  83directs Git to push "matching" branches: for every branch that exists on
  84the local side, the remote side is updated if a branch of the same name
  85already exists on the remote side.
  86
  87--all::
  88        Push all branches (i.e. refs under `refs/heads/`); cannot be
  89        used with other <refspec>.
  90
  91--prune::
  92        Remove remote branches that don't have a local counterpart. For example
  93        a remote branch `tmp` will be removed if a local branch with the same
  94        name doesn't exist any more. This also respects refspecs, e.g.
  95        `git push --prune remote refs/heads/*:refs/tmp/*` would
  96        make sure that remote `refs/tmp/foo` will be removed if `refs/heads/foo`
  97        doesn't exist.
  98
  99--mirror::
 100        Instead of naming each ref to push, specifies that all
 101        refs under `refs/` (which includes but is not
 102        limited to `refs/heads/`, `refs/remotes/`, and `refs/tags/`)
 103        be mirrored to the remote repository.  Newly created local
 104        refs will be pushed to the remote end, locally updated refs
 105        will be force updated on the remote end, and deleted refs
 106        will be removed from the remote end.  This is the default
 107        if the configuration option `remote.<remote>.mirror` is
 108        set.
 109
 110-n::
 111--dry-run::
 112        Do everything except actually send the updates.
 113
 114--porcelain::
 115        Produce machine-readable output.  The output status line for each ref
 116        will be tab-separated and sent to stdout instead of stderr.  The full
 117        symbolic names of the refs will be given.
 118
 119--delete::
 120        All listed refs are deleted from the remote repository. This is
 121        the same as prefixing all refs with a colon.
 122
 123--tags::
 124        All refs under `refs/tags` are pushed, in
 125        addition to refspecs explicitly listed on the command
 126        line.
 127
 128--follow-tags::
 129        Push all the refs that would be pushed without this option,
 130        and also push annotated tags in `refs/tags` that are missing
 131        from the remote but are pointing at commit-ish that are
 132        reachable from the refs being pushed.  This can also be specified
 133        with configuration variable 'push.followTags'.  For more
 134        information, see 'push.followTags' in linkgit:git-config[1].
 135
 136--[no-]signed::
 137--sign=(true|false|if-asked)::
 138        GPG-sign the push request to update refs on the receiving
 139        side, to allow it to be checked by the hooks and/or be
 140        logged.  If `false` or `--no-signed`, no signing will be
 141        attempted.  If `true` or `--signed`, the push will fail if the
 142        server does not support signed pushes.  If set to `if-asked`,
 143        sign if and only if the server supports signed pushes.  The push
 144        will also fail if the actual call to `gpg --sign` fails.  See
 145        linkgit:git-receive-pack[1] for the details on the receiving end.
 146
 147--[no-]atomic::
 148        Use an atomic transaction on the remote side if available.
 149        Either all refs are updated, or on error, no refs are updated.
 150        If the server does not support atomic pushes the push will fail.
 151
 152--receive-pack=<git-receive-pack>::
 153--exec=<git-receive-pack>::
 154        Path to the 'git-receive-pack' program on the remote
 155        end.  Sometimes useful when pushing to a remote
 156        repository over ssh, and you do not have the program in
 157        a directory on the default $PATH.
 158
 159--[no-]force-with-lease::
 160--force-with-lease=<refname>::
 161--force-with-lease=<refname>:<expect>::
 162        Usually, "git push" refuses to update a remote ref that is
 163        not an ancestor of the local ref used to overwrite it.
 164+
 165This option overrides this restriction if the current value of the
 166remote ref is the expected value.  "git push" fails otherwise.
 167+
 168Imagine that you have to rebase what you have already published.
 169You will have to bypass the "must fast-forward" rule in order to
 170replace the history you originally published with the rebased history.
 171If somebody else built on top of your original history while you are
 172rebasing, the tip of the branch at the remote may advance with her
 173commit, and blindly pushing with `--force` will lose her work.
 174+
 175This option allows you to say that you expect the history you are
 176updating is what you rebased and want to replace. If the remote ref
 177still points at the commit you specified, you can be sure that no
 178other people did anything to the ref. It is like taking a "lease" on
 179the ref without explicitly locking it, and the remote ref is updated
 180only if the "lease" is still valid.
 181+
 182`--force-with-lease` alone, without specifying the details, will protect
 183all remote refs that are going to be updated by requiring their
 184current value to be the same as the remote-tracking branch we have
 185for them.
 186+
 187`--force-with-lease=<refname>`, without specifying the expected value, will
 188protect the named ref (alone), if it is going to be updated, by
 189requiring its current value to be the same as the remote-tracking
 190branch we have for it.
 191+
 192`--force-with-lease=<refname>:<expect>` will protect the named ref (alone),
 193if it is going to be updated, by requiring its current value to be
 194the same as the specified value <expect> (which is allowed to be
 195different from the remote-tracking branch we have for the refname,
 196or we do not even have to have such a remote-tracking branch when
 197this form is used).
 198+
 199Note that all forms other than `--force-with-lease=<refname>:<expect>`
 200that specifies the expected current value of the ref explicitly are
 201still experimental and their semantics may change as we gain experience
 202with this feature.
 203+
 204"--no-force-with-lease" will cancel all the previous --force-with-lease on the
 205command line.
 206
 207-f::
 208--force::
 209        Usually, the command refuses to update a remote ref that is
 210        not an ancestor of the local ref used to overwrite it.
 211        Also, when `--force-with-lease` option is used, the command refuses
 212        to update a remote ref whose current value does not match
 213        what is expected.
 214+
 215This flag disables these checks, and can cause the remote repository
 216to lose commits; use it with care.
 217+
 218Note that `--force` applies to all the refs that are pushed, hence
 219using it with `push.default` set to `matching` or with multiple push
 220destinations configured with `remote.*.push` may overwrite refs
 221other than the current branch (including local refs that are
 222strictly behind their remote counterpart).  To force a push to only
 223one branch, use a `+` in front of the refspec to push (e.g `git push
 224origin +master` to force a push to the `master` branch). See the
 225`<refspec>...` section above for details.
 226
 227--repo=<repository>::
 228        This option is equivalent to the <repository> argument. If both
 229        are specified, the command-line argument takes precedence.
 230
 231-u::
 232--set-upstream::
 233        For every branch that is up to date or successfully pushed, add
 234        upstream (tracking) reference, used by argument-less
 235        linkgit:git-pull[1] and other commands. For more information,
 236        see 'branch.<name>.merge' in linkgit:git-config[1].
 237
 238--[no-]thin::
 239        These options are passed to linkgit:git-send-pack[1]. A thin transfer
 240        significantly reduces the amount of sent data when the sender and
 241        receiver share many of the same objects in common. The default is
 242        \--thin.
 243
 244-q::
 245--quiet::
 246        Suppress all output, including the listing of updated refs,
 247        unless an error occurs. Progress is not reported to the standard
 248        error stream.
 249
 250-v::
 251--verbose::
 252        Run verbosely.
 253
 254--progress::
 255        Progress status is reported on the standard error stream
 256        by default when it is attached to a terminal, unless -q
 257        is specified. This flag forces progress status even if the
 258        standard error stream is not directed to a terminal.
 259
 260--no-recurse-submodules::
 261--recurse-submodules=check|on-demand|no::
 262        May be used to make sure all submodule commits used by the
 263        revisions to be pushed are available on a remote-tracking branch.
 264        If 'check' is used Git will verify that all submodule commits that
 265        changed in the revisions to be pushed are available on at least one
 266        remote of the submodule. If any commits are missing the push will
 267        be aborted and exit with non-zero status. If 'on-demand' is used
 268        all submodules that changed in the revisions to be pushed will be
 269        pushed. If on-demand was not able to push all necessary revisions
 270        it will also be aborted and exit with non-zero status. A value of
 271        'no' or using '--no-recurse-submodules' can be used to override the
 272        push.recurseSubmodules configuration variable when no submodule
 273        recursion is required.
 274
 275--[no-]verify::
 276        Toggle the pre-push hook (see linkgit:githooks[5]).  The
 277        default is --verify, giving the hook a chance to prevent the
 278        push.  With --no-verify, the hook is bypassed completely.
 279
 280
 281include::urls-remotes.txt[]
 282
 283OUTPUT
 284------
 285
 286The output of "git push" depends on the transport method used; this
 287section describes the output when pushing over the Git protocol (either
 288locally or via ssh).
 289
 290The status of the push is output in tabular form, with each line
 291representing the status of a single ref. Each line is of the form:
 292
 293-------------------------------
 294 <flag> <summary> <from> -> <to> (<reason>)
 295-------------------------------
 296
 297If --porcelain is used, then each line of the output is of the form:
 298
 299-------------------------------
 300 <flag> \t <from>:<to> \t <summary> (<reason>)
 301-------------------------------
 302
 303The status of up-to-date refs is shown only if --porcelain or --verbose
 304option is used.
 305
 306flag::
 307        A single character indicating the status of the ref:
 308(space);; for a successfully pushed fast-forward;
 309`+`;; for a successful forced update;
 310`-`;; for a successfully deleted ref;
 311`*`;; for a successfully pushed new ref;
 312`!`;; for a ref that was rejected or failed to push; and
 313`=`;; for a ref that was up to date and did not need pushing.
 314
 315summary::
 316        For a successfully pushed ref, the summary shows the old and new
 317        values of the ref in a form suitable for using as an argument to
 318        `git log` (this is `<old>..<new>` in most cases, and
 319        `<old>...<new>` for forced non-fast-forward updates).
 320+
 321For a failed update, more details are given:
 322+
 323--
 324rejected::
 325        Git did not try to send the ref at all, typically because it
 326        is not a fast-forward and you did not force the update.
 327
 328remote rejected::
 329        The remote end refused the update.  Usually caused by a hook
 330        on the remote side, or because the remote repository has one
 331        of the following safety options in effect:
 332        `receive.denyCurrentBranch` (for pushes to the checked out
 333        branch), `receive.denyNonFastForwards` (for forced
 334        non-fast-forward updates), `receive.denyDeletes` or
 335        `receive.denyDeleteCurrent`.  See linkgit:git-config[1].
 336
 337remote failure::
 338        The remote end did not report the successful update of the ref,
 339        perhaps because of a temporary error on the remote side, a
 340        break in the network connection, or other transient error.
 341--
 342
 343from::
 344        The name of the local ref being pushed, minus its
 345        `refs/<type>/` prefix. In the case of deletion, the
 346        name of the local ref is omitted.
 347
 348to::
 349        The name of the remote ref being updated, minus its
 350        `refs/<type>/` prefix.
 351
 352reason::
 353        A human-readable explanation. In the case of successfully pushed
 354        refs, no explanation is needed. For a failed ref, the reason for
 355        failure is described.
 356
 357Note about fast-forwards
 358------------------------
 359
 360When an update changes a branch (or more in general, a ref) that used to
 361point at commit A to point at another commit B, it is called a
 362fast-forward update if and only if B is a descendant of A.
 363
 364In a fast-forward update from A to B, the set of commits that the original
 365commit A built on top of is a subset of the commits the new commit B
 366builds on top of.  Hence, it does not lose any history.
 367
 368In contrast, a non-fast-forward update will lose history.  For example,
 369suppose you and somebody else started at the same commit X, and you built
 370a history leading to commit B while the other person built a history
 371leading to commit A.  The history looks like this:
 372
 373----------------
 374
 375      B
 376     /
 377 ---X---A
 378
 379----------------
 380
 381Further suppose that the other person already pushed changes leading to A
 382back to the original repository from which you two obtained the original
 383commit X.
 384
 385The push done by the other person updated the branch that used to point at
 386commit X to point at commit A.  It is a fast-forward.
 387
 388But if you try to push, you will attempt to update the branch (that
 389now points at A) with commit B.  This does _not_ fast-forward.  If you did
 390so, the changes introduced by commit A will be lost, because everybody
 391will now start building on top of B.
 392
 393The command by default does not allow an update that is not a fast-forward
 394to prevent such loss of history.
 395
 396If you do not want to lose your work (history from X to B) or the work by
 397the other person (history from X to A), you would need to first fetch the
 398history from the repository, create a history that contains changes done
 399by both parties, and push the result back.
 400
 401You can perform "git pull", resolve potential conflicts, and "git push"
 402the result.  A "git pull" will create a merge commit C between commits A
 403and B.
 404
 405----------------
 406
 407      B---C
 408     /   /
 409 ---X---A
 410
 411----------------
 412
 413Updating A with the resulting merge commit will fast-forward and your
 414push will be accepted.
 415
 416Alternatively, you can rebase your change between X and B on top of A,
 417with "git pull --rebase", and push the result back.  The rebase will
 418create a new commit D that builds the change between X and B on top of
 419A.
 420
 421----------------
 422
 423      B   D
 424     /   /
 425 ---X---A
 426
 427----------------
 428
 429Again, updating A with this commit will fast-forward and your push will be
 430accepted.
 431
 432There is another common situation where you may encounter non-fast-forward
 433rejection when you try to push, and it is possible even when you are
 434pushing into a repository nobody else pushes into. After you push commit
 435A yourself (in the first picture in this section), replace it with "git
 436commit --amend" to produce commit B, and you try to push it out, because
 437forgot that you have pushed A out already. In such a case, and only if
 438you are certain that nobody in the meantime fetched your earlier commit A
 439(and started building on top of it), you can run "git push --force" to
 440overwrite it. In other words, "git push --force" is a method reserved for
 441a case where you do mean to lose history.
 442
 443
 444Examples
 445--------
 446
 447`git push`::
 448        Works like `git push <remote>`, where <remote> is the
 449        current branch's remote (or `origin`, if no remote is
 450        configured for the current branch).
 451
 452`git push origin`::
 453        Without additional configuration, pushes the current branch to
 454        the configured upstream (`remote.origin.merge` configuration
 455        variable) if it has the same name as the current branch, and
 456        errors out without pushing otherwise.
 457+
 458The default behavior of this command when no <refspec> is given can be
 459configured by setting the `push` option of the remote, or the `push.default`
 460configuration variable.
 461+
 462For example, to default to pushing only the current branch to `origin`
 463use `git config remote.origin.push HEAD`.  Any valid <refspec> (like
 464the ones in the examples below) can be configured as the default for
 465`git push origin`.
 466
 467`git push origin :`::
 468        Push "matching" branches to `origin`. See
 469        <refspec> in the <<OPTIONS,OPTIONS>> section above for a
 470        description of "matching" branches.
 471
 472`git push origin master`::
 473        Find a ref that matches `master` in the source repository
 474        (most likely, it would find `refs/heads/master`), and update
 475        the same ref (e.g. `refs/heads/master`) in `origin` repository
 476        with it.  If `master` did not exist remotely, it would be
 477        created.
 478
 479`git push origin HEAD`::
 480        A handy way to push the current branch to the same name on the
 481        remote.
 482
 483`git push mothership master:satellite/master dev:satellite/dev`::
 484        Use the source ref that matches `master` (e.g. `refs/heads/master`)
 485        to update the ref that matches `satellite/master` (most probably
 486        `refs/remotes/satellite/master`) in the `mothership` repository;
 487        do the same for `dev` and `satellite/dev`.
 488+
 489This is to emulate `git fetch` run on the `mothership` using `git
 490push` that is run in the opposite direction in order to integrate
 491the work done on `satellite`, and is often necessary when you can
 492only make connection in one way (i.e. satellite can ssh into
 493mothership but mothership cannot initiate connection to satellite
 494because the latter is behind a firewall or does not run sshd).
 495+
 496After running this `git push` on the `satellite` machine, you would
 497ssh into the `mothership` and run `git merge` there to complete the
 498emulation of `git pull` that were run on `mothership` to pull changes
 499made on `satellite`.
 500
 501`git push origin HEAD:master`::
 502        Push the current branch to the remote ref matching `master` in the
 503        `origin` repository. This form is convenient to push the current
 504        branch without thinking about its local name.
 505
 506`git push origin master:refs/heads/experimental`::
 507        Create the branch `experimental` in the `origin` repository
 508        by copying the current `master` branch.  This form is only
 509        needed to create a new branch or tag in the remote repository when
 510        the local name and the remote name are different; otherwise,
 511        the ref name on its own will work.
 512
 513`git push origin :experimental`::
 514        Find a ref that matches `experimental` in the `origin` repository
 515        (e.g. `refs/heads/experimental`), and delete it.
 516
 517`git push origin +dev:master`::
 518        Update the origin repository's master branch with the dev branch,
 519        allowing non-fast-forward updates.  *This can leave unreferenced
 520        commits dangling in the origin repository.*  Consider the
 521        following situation, where a fast-forward is not possible:
 522+
 523----
 524            o---o---o---A---B  origin/master
 525                     \
 526                      X---Y---Z  dev
 527----
 528+
 529The above command would change the origin repository to
 530+
 531----
 532                      A---B  (unnamed branch)
 533                     /
 534            o---o---o---X---Y---Z  master
 535----
 536+
 537Commits A and B would no longer belong to a branch with a symbolic name,
 538and so would be unreachable.  As such, these commits would be removed by
 539a `git gc` command on the origin repository.
 540
 541GIT
 542---
 543Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite