Documentation / git-push.txton commit doc: generate a list of valid merge tools (f35ec54)
   1git-push(1)
   2===========
   3
   4NAME
   5----
   6git-push - Update remote refs along with associated objects
   7
   8
   9SYNOPSIS
  10--------
  11[verse]
  12'git push' [--all | --mirror | --tags] [-n | --dry-run] [--receive-pack=<git-receive-pack>]
  13           [--repo=<repository>] [-f | --force] [--prune] [-v | --verbose] [-u | --set-upstream]
  14           [<repository> [<refspec>...]]
  15
  16DESCRIPTION
  17-----------
  18
  19Updates remote refs using local refs, while sending objects
  20necessary to complete the given refs.
  21
  22You can make interesting things happen to a repository
  23every time you push into it, by setting up 'hooks' there.  See
  24documentation for linkgit:git-receive-pack[1].
  25
  26
  27OPTIONS[[OPTIONS]]
  28------------------
  29<repository>::
  30        The "remote" repository that is destination of a push
  31        operation.  This parameter can be either a URL
  32        (see the section <<URLS,GIT URLS>> below) or the name
  33        of a remote (see the section <<REMOTES,REMOTES>> below).
  34
  35<refspec>...::
  36        The format of a <refspec> parameter is an optional plus
  37        `+`, followed by the source ref <src>, followed
  38        by a colon `:`, followed by the destination ref <dst>.
  39        It is used to specify with what <src> object the <dst> ref
  40        in the remote repository is to be updated.  If not specified,
  41        the behavior of the command is controlled by the `push.default`
  42        configuration variable.
  43+
  44The <src> is often the name of the branch you would want to push, but
  45it can be any arbitrary "SHA-1 expression", such as `master~4` or
  46`HEAD` (see linkgit:gitrevisions[7]).
  47+
  48The <dst> tells which ref on the remote side is updated with this
  49push. Arbitrary expressions cannot be used here, an actual ref must
  50be named. If `:`<dst> is omitted, the same ref as <src> will be
  51updated.
  52+
  53The object referenced by <src> is used to update the <dst> reference
  54on the remote side, but by default this is only allowed if the
  55update can fast-forward <dst>.  By having the optional leading `+`,
  56you can tell git to update the <dst> ref even when the update is not a
  57fast-forward.  This does *not* attempt to merge <src> into <dst>.  See
  58EXAMPLES below for details.
  59+
  60`tag <tag>` means the same as `refs/tags/<tag>:refs/tags/<tag>`.
  61+
  62Pushing an empty <src> allows you to delete the <dst> ref from
  63the remote repository.
  64+
  65The special refspec `:` (or `+:` to allow non-fast-forward updates)
  66directs git to push "matching" branches: for every branch that exists on
  67the local side, the remote side is updated if a branch of the same name
  68already exists on the remote side.  This is the default operation mode
  69if no explicit refspec is found (that is neither on the command line
  70nor in any Push line of the corresponding remotes file---see below) and
  71no `push.default` configuration variable is set.
  72
  73--all::
  74        Instead of naming each ref to push, specifies that all
  75        refs under `refs/heads/` be pushed.
  76
  77--prune::
  78        Remove remote branches that don't have a local counterpart. For example
  79        a remote branch `tmp` will be removed if a local branch with the same
  80        name doesn't exist any more. This also respects refspecs, e.g.
  81        `git push --prune remote refs/heads/*:refs/tmp/*` would
  82        make sure that remote `refs/tmp/foo` will be removed if `refs/heads/foo`
  83        doesn't exist.
  84
  85--mirror::
  86        Instead of naming each ref to push, specifies that all
  87        refs under `refs/` (which includes but is not
  88        limited to `refs/heads/`, `refs/remotes/`, and `refs/tags/`)
  89        be mirrored to the remote repository.  Newly created local
  90        refs will be pushed to the remote end, locally updated refs
  91        will be force updated on the remote end, and deleted refs
  92        will be removed from the remote end.  This is the default
  93        if the configuration option `remote.<remote>.mirror` is
  94        set.
  95
  96-n::
  97--dry-run::
  98        Do everything except actually send the updates.
  99
 100--porcelain::
 101        Produce machine-readable output.  The output status line for each ref
 102        will be tab-separated and sent to stdout instead of stderr.  The full
 103        symbolic names of the refs will be given.
 104
 105--delete::
 106        All listed refs are deleted from the remote repository. This is
 107        the same as prefixing all refs with a colon.
 108
 109--tags::
 110        All refs under `refs/tags` are pushed, in
 111        addition to refspecs explicitly listed on the command
 112        line.
 113
 114--receive-pack=<git-receive-pack>::
 115--exec=<git-receive-pack>::
 116        Path to the 'git-receive-pack' program on the remote
 117        end.  Sometimes useful when pushing to a remote
 118        repository over ssh, and you do not have the program in
 119        a directory on the default $PATH.
 120
 121-f::
 122--force::
 123        Usually, the command refuses to update a remote ref that is
 124        not an ancestor of the local ref used to overwrite it.
 125        This flag disables the check.  This can cause the
 126        remote repository to lose commits; use it with care.
 127
 128--repo=<repository>::
 129        This option is only relevant if no <repository> argument is
 130        passed in the invocation. In this case, 'git push' derives the
 131        remote name from the current branch: If it tracks a remote
 132        branch, then that remote repository is pushed to. Otherwise,
 133        the name "origin" is used. For this latter case, this option
 134        can be used to override the name "origin". In other words,
 135        the difference between these two commands
 136+
 137--------------------------
 138git push public         #1
 139git push --repo=public  #2
 140--------------------------
 141+
 142is that #1 always pushes to "public" whereas #2 pushes to "public"
 143only if the current branch does not track a remote branch. This is
 144useful if you write an alias or script around 'git push'.
 145
 146-u::
 147--set-upstream::
 148        For every branch that is up to date or successfully pushed, add
 149        upstream (tracking) reference, used by argument-less
 150        linkgit:git-pull[1] and other commands. For more information,
 151        see 'branch.<name>.merge' in linkgit:git-config[1].
 152
 153--thin::
 154--no-thin::
 155        These options are passed to linkgit:git-send-pack[1]. A thin transfer
 156        significantly reduces the amount of sent data when the sender and
 157        receiver share many of the same objects in common. The default is
 158        \--thin.
 159
 160-q::
 161--quiet::
 162        Suppress all output, including the listing of updated refs,
 163        unless an error occurs. Progress is not reported to the standard
 164        error stream.
 165
 166-v::
 167--verbose::
 168        Run verbosely.
 169
 170--progress::
 171        Progress status is reported on the standard error stream
 172        by default when it is attached to a terminal, unless -q
 173        is specified. This flag forces progress status even if the
 174        standard error stream is not directed to a terminal.
 175
 176--recurse-submodules=check|on-demand::
 177        Make sure all submodule commits used by the revisions to be
 178        pushed are available on a remote tracking branch. If 'check' is
 179        used git will verify that all submodule commits that changed in
 180        the revisions to be pushed are available on at least one remote
 181        of the submodule. If any commits are missing the push will be
 182        aborted and exit with non-zero status. If 'on-demand' is used
 183        all submodules that changed in the revisions to be pushed will
 184        be pushed. If on-demand was not able to push all necessary
 185        revisions it will also be aborted and exit with non-zero status.
 186
 187
 188include::urls-remotes.txt[]
 189
 190OUTPUT
 191------
 192
 193The output of "git push" depends on the transport method used; this
 194section describes the output when pushing over the git protocol (either
 195locally or via ssh).
 196
 197The status of the push is output in tabular form, with each line
 198representing the status of a single ref. Each line is of the form:
 199
 200-------------------------------
 201 <flag> <summary> <from> -> <to> (<reason>)
 202-------------------------------
 203
 204If --porcelain is used, then each line of the output is of the form:
 205
 206-------------------------------
 207 <flag> \t <from>:<to> \t <summary> (<reason>)
 208-------------------------------
 209
 210The status of up-to-date refs is shown only if --porcelain or --verbose
 211option is used.
 212
 213flag::
 214        A single character indicating the status of the ref:
 215(space);; for a successfully pushed fast-forward;
 216`+`;; for a successful forced update;
 217`-`;; for a successfully deleted ref;
 218`*`;; for a successfully pushed new ref;
 219`!`;; for a ref that was rejected or failed to push; and
 220`=`;; for a ref that was up to date and did not need pushing.
 221
 222summary::
 223        For a successfully pushed ref, the summary shows the old and new
 224        values of the ref in a form suitable for using as an argument to
 225        `git log` (this is `<old>..<new>` in most cases, and
 226        `<old>...<new>` for forced non-fast-forward updates).
 227+
 228For a failed update, more details are given:
 229+
 230--
 231rejected::
 232        Git did not try to send the ref at all, typically because it
 233        is not a fast-forward and you did not force the update.
 234
 235remote rejected::
 236        The remote end refused the update.  Usually caused by a hook
 237        on the remote side, or because the remote repository has one
 238        of the following safety options in effect:
 239        `receive.denyCurrentBranch` (for pushes to the checked out
 240        branch), `receive.denyNonFastForwards` (for forced
 241        non-fast-forward updates), `receive.denyDeletes` or
 242        `receive.denyDeleteCurrent`.  See linkgit:git-config[1].
 243
 244remote failure::
 245        The remote end did not report the successful update of the ref,
 246        perhaps because of a temporary error on the remote side, a
 247        break in the network connection, or other transient error.
 248--
 249
 250from::
 251        The name of the local ref being pushed, minus its
 252        `refs/<type>/` prefix. In the case of deletion, the
 253        name of the local ref is omitted.
 254
 255to::
 256        The name of the remote ref being updated, minus its
 257        `refs/<type>/` prefix.
 258
 259reason::
 260        A human-readable explanation. In the case of successfully pushed
 261        refs, no explanation is needed. For a failed ref, the reason for
 262        failure is described.
 263
 264Note about fast-forwards
 265------------------------
 266
 267When an update changes a branch (or more in general, a ref) that used to
 268point at commit A to point at another commit B, it is called a
 269fast-forward update if and only if B is a descendant of A.
 270
 271In a fast-forward update from A to B, the set of commits that the original
 272commit A built on top of is a subset of the commits the new commit B
 273builds on top of.  Hence, it does not lose any history.
 274
 275In contrast, a non-fast-forward update will lose history.  For example,
 276suppose you and somebody else started at the same commit X, and you built
 277a history leading to commit B while the other person built a history
 278leading to commit A.  The history looks like this:
 279
 280----------------
 281
 282      B
 283     /
 284 ---X---A
 285
 286----------------
 287
 288Further suppose that the other person already pushed changes leading to A
 289back to the original repository you two obtained the original commit X.
 290
 291The push done by the other person updated the branch that used to point at
 292commit X to point at commit A.  It is a fast-forward.
 293
 294But if you try to push, you will attempt to update the branch (that
 295now points at A) with commit B.  This does _not_ fast-forward.  If you did
 296so, the changes introduced by commit A will be lost, because everybody
 297will now start building on top of B.
 298
 299The command by default does not allow an update that is not a fast-forward
 300to prevent such loss of history.
 301
 302If you do not want to lose your work (history from X to B) nor the work by
 303the other person (history from X to A), you would need to first fetch the
 304history from the repository, create a history that contains changes done
 305by both parties, and push the result back.
 306
 307You can perform "git pull", resolve potential conflicts, and "git push"
 308the result.  A "git pull" will create a merge commit C between commits A
 309and B.
 310
 311----------------
 312
 313      B---C
 314     /   /
 315 ---X---A
 316
 317----------------
 318
 319Updating A with the resulting merge commit will fast-forward and your
 320push will be accepted.
 321
 322Alternatively, you can rebase your change between X and B on top of A,
 323with "git pull --rebase", and push the result back.  The rebase will
 324create a new commit D that builds the change between X and B on top of
 325A.
 326
 327----------------
 328
 329      B   D
 330     /   /
 331 ---X---A
 332
 333----------------
 334
 335Again, updating A with this commit will fast-forward and your push will be
 336accepted.
 337
 338There is another common situation where you may encounter non-fast-forward
 339rejection when you try to push, and it is possible even when you are
 340pushing into a repository nobody else pushes into. After you push commit
 341A yourself (in the first picture in this section), replace it with "git
 342commit --amend" to produce commit B, and you try to push it out, because
 343forgot that you have pushed A out already. In such a case, and only if
 344you are certain that nobody in the meantime fetched your earlier commit A
 345(and started building on top of it), you can run "git push --force" to
 346overwrite it. In other words, "git push --force" is a method reserved for
 347a case where you do mean to lose history.
 348
 349
 350Examples
 351--------
 352
 353`git push`::
 354        Works like `git push <remote>`, where <remote> is the
 355        current branch's remote (or `origin`, if no remote is
 356        configured for the current branch).
 357
 358`git push origin`::
 359        Without additional configuration, works like
 360        `git push origin :`.
 361+
 362The default behavior of this command when no <refspec> is given can be
 363configured by setting the `push` option of the remote, or the `push.default`
 364configuration variable.
 365+
 366For example, to default to pushing only the current branch to `origin`
 367use `git config remote.origin.push HEAD`.  Any valid <refspec> (like
 368the ones in the examples below) can be configured as the default for
 369`git push origin`.
 370
 371`git push origin :`::
 372        Push "matching" branches to `origin`. See
 373        <refspec> in the <<OPTIONS,OPTIONS>> section above for a
 374        description of "matching" branches.
 375
 376`git push origin master`::
 377        Find a ref that matches `master` in the source repository
 378        (most likely, it would find `refs/heads/master`), and update
 379        the same ref (e.g. `refs/heads/master`) in `origin` repository
 380        with it.  If `master` did not exist remotely, it would be
 381        created.
 382
 383`git push origin HEAD`::
 384        A handy way to push the current branch to the same name on the
 385        remote.
 386
 387`git push origin master:satellite/master dev:satellite/dev`::
 388        Use the source ref that matches `master` (e.g. `refs/heads/master`)
 389        to update the ref that matches `satellite/master` (most probably
 390        `refs/remotes/satellite/master`) in the `origin` repository, then
 391        do the same for `dev` and `satellite/dev`.
 392
 393`git push origin HEAD:master`::
 394        Push the current branch to the remote ref matching `master` in the
 395        `origin` repository. This form is convenient to push the current
 396        branch without thinking about its local name.
 397
 398`git push origin master:refs/heads/experimental`::
 399        Create the branch `experimental` in the `origin` repository
 400        by copying the current `master` branch.  This form is only
 401        needed to create a new branch or tag in the remote repository when
 402        the local name and the remote name are different; otherwise,
 403        the ref name on its own will work.
 404
 405`git push origin :experimental`::
 406        Find a ref that matches `experimental` in the `origin` repository
 407        (e.g. `refs/heads/experimental`), and delete it.
 408
 409`git push origin +dev:master`::
 410        Update the origin repository's master branch with the dev branch,
 411        allowing non-fast-forward updates.  *This can leave unreferenced
 412        commits dangling in the origin repository.*  Consider the
 413        following situation, where a fast-forward is not possible:
 414+
 415----
 416            o---o---o---A---B  origin/master
 417                     \
 418                      X---Y---Z  dev
 419----
 420+
 421The above command would change the origin repository to
 422+
 423----
 424                      A---B  (unnamed branch)
 425                     /
 426            o---o---o---X---Y---Z  master
 427----
 428+
 429Commits A and B would no longer belong to a branch with a symbolic name,
 430and so would be unreachable.  As such, these commits would be removed by
 431a `git gc` command on the origin repository.
 432
 433GIT
 434---
 435Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite