Documentation / git.txton commit Merge branch 'da/difftool' (f895dd7)
   1git(1)
   2======
   3
   4NAME
   5----
   6git - the stupid content tracker
   7
   8
   9SYNOPSIS
  10--------
  11[verse]
  12'git' [--version] [--help] [-C <path>] [-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
  25linkgit:giteveryday[7] for a useful minimum set of
  26commands.  The link:user-manual.html[Git User's Manual] has a more
  27in-depth introduction.
  28
  29After you mastered the basic concepts, you can come back to this
  30page to learn what commands Git offers.  You can learn more about
  31individual Git commands with "git help command".  linkgit:gitcli[7]
  32manual page gives you an overview of the command-line command syntax.
  33
  34Formatted and hyperlinked version of the latest Git documentation
  35can be viewed at `http://git-htmldocs.googlecode.com/git/git.html`.
  36
  37ifdef::stalenotes[]
  38[NOTE]
  39============
  40
  41You are reading the documentation for the latest (possibly
  42unreleased) version of Git, that is available from the 'master'
  43branch of the `git.git` repository.
  44Documentation for older releases are available here:
  45
  46* link:v2.8.3/git.html[documentation for release 2.8.3]
  47
  48* release notes for
  49  link:RelNotes/2.8.3.txt[2.8.3],
  50  link:RelNotes/2.8.2.txt[2.8.2],
  51  link:RelNotes/2.8.1.txt[2.8.1],
  52  link:RelNotes/2.8.0.txt[2.8].
  53
  54* link:v2.7.3/git.html[documentation for release 2.7.3]
  55
  56* release notes for
  57  link:RelNotes/2.7.3.txt[2.7.3],
  58  link:RelNotes/2.7.2.txt[2.7.2],
  59  link:RelNotes/2.7.1.txt[2.7.1],
  60  link:RelNotes/2.7.0.txt[2.7].
  61
  62* link:v2.6.6/git.html[documentation for release 2.6.6]
  63
  64* release notes for
  65  link:RelNotes/2.6.6.txt[2.6.6],
  66  link:RelNotes/2.6.5.txt[2.6.5],
  67  link:RelNotes/2.6.4.txt[2.6.4],
  68  link:RelNotes/2.6.3.txt[2.6.3],
  69  link:RelNotes/2.6.2.txt[2.6.2],
  70  link:RelNotes/2.6.1.txt[2.6.1],
  71  link:RelNotes/2.6.0.txt[2.6].
  72
  73* link:v2.5.5/git.html[documentation for release 2.5.5]
  74
  75* release notes for
  76  link:RelNotes/2.5.5.txt[2.5.5],
  77  link:RelNotes/2.5.4.txt[2.5.4],
  78  link:RelNotes/2.5.3.txt[2.5.3],
  79  link:RelNotes/2.5.2.txt[2.5.2],
  80  link:RelNotes/2.5.1.txt[2.5.1],
  81  link:RelNotes/2.5.0.txt[2.5].
  82
  83* link:v2.4.11/git.html[documentation for release 2.4.11]
  84
  85* release notes for
  86  link:RelNotes/2.4.11.txt[2.4.11],
  87  link:RelNotes/2.4.10.txt[2.4.10],
  88  link:RelNotes/2.4.9.txt[2.4.9],
  89  link:RelNotes/2.4.8.txt[2.4.8],
  90  link:RelNotes/2.4.7.txt[2.4.7],
  91  link:RelNotes/2.4.6.txt[2.4.6],
  92  link:RelNotes/2.4.5.txt[2.4.5],
  93  link:RelNotes/2.4.4.txt[2.4.4],
  94  link:RelNotes/2.4.3.txt[2.4.3],
  95  link:RelNotes/2.4.2.txt[2.4.2],
  96  link:RelNotes/2.4.1.txt[2.4.1],
  97  link:RelNotes/2.4.0.txt[2.4].
  98
  99* link:v2.3.10/git.html[documentation for release 2.3.10]
 100
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 102  link:RelNotes/2.3.10.txt[2.3.10],
 103  link:RelNotes/2.3.9.txt[2.3.9],
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 111  link:RelNotes/2.3.1.txt[2.3.1],
 112  link:RelNotes/2.3.0.txt[2.3].
 113
 114* link:v2.2.3/git.html[documentation for release 2.2.3]
 115
 116* release notes for
 117  link:RelNotes/2.2.3.txt[2.2.3],
 118  link:RelNotes/2.2.2.txt[2.2.2],
 119  link:RelNotes/2.2.1.txt[2.2.1],
 120  link:RelNotes/2.2.0.txt[2.2].
 121
 122* link:v2.1.4/git.html[documentation for release 2.1.4]
 123
 124* release notes for
 125  link:RelNotes/2.1.4.txt[2.1.4],
 126  link:RelNotes/2.1.3.txt[2.1.3],
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 129  link:RelNotes/2.1.0.txt[2.1].
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 131* link:v2.0.5/git.html[documentation for release 2.0.5]
 132
 133* release notes for
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 137  link:RelNotes/2.0.2.txt[2.0.2],
 138  link:RelNotes/2.0.1.txt[2.0.1],
 139  link:RelNotes/2.0.0.txt[2.0.0].
 140
 141* link:v1.9.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.9.5]
 142
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 144  link:RelNotes/1.9.5.txt[1.9.5],
 145  link:RelNotes/1.9.4.txt[1.9.4],
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 149  link:RelNotes/1.9.0.txt[1.9.0].
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 151* link:v1.8.5.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.8.5.6]
 152
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 251* link:v1.7.8.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.8.6]
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 304* link:v1.7.3.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.3.5]
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 314* link:v1.7.2.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.2.5]
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 429  link:RelNotes/1.5.5.6.txt[1.5.5.6],
 430  link:RelNotes/1.5.5.5.txt[1.5.5.5],
 431  link:RelNotes/1.5.5.4.txt[1.5.5.4],
 432  link:RelNotes/1.5.5.3.txt[1.5.5.3],
 433  link:RelNotes/1.5.5.2.txt[1.5.5.2],
 434  link:RelNotes/1.5.5.1.txt[1.5.5.1],
 435  link:RelNotes/1.5.5.txt[1.5.5].
 436
 437* link:v1.5.4.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.4.7]
 438
 439* release notes for
 440  link:RelNotes/1.5.4.7.txt[1.5.4.7],
 441  link:RelNotes/1.5.4.6.txt[1.5.4.6],
 442  link:RelNotes/1.5.4.5.txt[1.5.4.5],
 443  link:RelNotes/1.5.4.4.txt[1.5.4.4],
 444  link:RelNotes/1.5.4.3.txt[1.5.4.3],
 445  link:RelNotes/1.5.4.2.txt[1.5.4.2],
 446  link:RelNotes/1.5.4.1.txt[1.5.4.1],
 447  link:RelNotes/1.5.4.txt[1.5.4].
 448
 449* link:v1.5.3.8/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.3.8]
 450
 451* release notes for
 452  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.8.txt[1.5.3.8],
 453  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.7.txt[1.5.3.7],
 454  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.6.txt[1.5.3.6],
 455  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.5.txt[1.5.3.5],
 456  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.4.txt[1.5.3.4],
 457  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.3.txt[1.5.3.3],
 458  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.2.txt[1.5.3.2],
 459  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.1.txt[1.5.3.1],
 460  link:RelNotes/1.5.3.txt[1.5.3].
 461
 462* link:v1.5.2.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.2.5]
 463
 464* release notes for
 465  link:RelNotes/1.5.2.5.txt[1.5.2.5],
 466  link:RelNotes/1.5.2.4.txt[1.5.2.4],
 467  link:RelNotes/1.5.2.3.txt[1.5.2.3],
 468  link:RelNotes/1.5.2.2.txt[1.5.2.2],
 469  link:RelNotes/1.5.2.1.txt[1.5.2.1],
 470  link:RelNotes/1.5.2.txt[1.5.2].
 471
 472* link:v1.5.1.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.1.6]
 473
 474* release notes for
 475  link:RelNotes/1.5.1.6.txt[1.5.1.6],
 476  link:RelNotes/1.5.1.5.txt[1.5.1.5],
 477  link:RelNotes/1.5.1.4.txt[1.5.1.4],
 478  link:RelNotes/1.5.1.3.txt[1.5.1.3],
 479  link:RelNotes/1.5.1.2.txt[1.5.1.2],
 480  link:RelNotes/1.5.1.1.txt[1.5.1.1],
 481  link:RelNotes/1.5.1.txt[1.5.1].
 482
 483* link:v1.5.0.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.0.7]
 484
 485* release notes for
 486  link:RelNotes/1.5.0.7.txt[1.5.0.7],
 487  link:RelNotes/1.5.0.6.txt[1.5.0.6],
 488  link:RelNotes/1.5.0.5.txt[1.5.0.5],
 489  link:RelNotes/1.5.0.3.txt[1.5.0.3],
 490  link:RelNotes/1.5.0.2.txt[1.5.0.2],
 491  link:RelNotes/1.5.0.1.txt[1.5.0.1],
 492  link:RelNotes/1.5.0.txt[1.5.0].
 493
 494* documentation for release link:v1.4.4.4/git.html[1.4.4.4],
 495  link:v1.3.3/git.html[1.3.3],
 496  link:v1.2.6/git.html[1.2.6],
 497  link:v1.0.13/git.html[1.0.13].
 498
 499============
 500
 501endif::stalenotes[]
 502
 503OPTIONS
 504-------
 505--version::
 506        Prints the Git suite version that the 'git' program came from.
 507
 508--help::
 509        Prints the synopsis and a list of the most commonly used
 510        commands. If the option '--all' or '-a' is given then all
 511        available commands are printed. If a Git command is named this
 512        option will bring up the manual page for that command.
 513+
 514Other options are available to control how the manual page is
 515displayed. See linkgit:git-help[1] for more information,
 516because `git --help ...` is converted internally into `git
 517help ...`.
 518
 519-C <path>::
 520        Run as if git was started in '<path>' instead of the current working
 521        directory.  When multiple `-C` options are given, each subsequent
 522        non-absolute `-C <path>` is interpreted relative to the preceding `-C
 523        <path>`.
 524+
 525This option affects options that expect path name like `--git-dir` and
 526`--work-tree` in that their interpretations of the path names would be
 527made relative to the working directory caused by the `-C` option. For
 528example the following invocations are equivalent:
 529
 530    git --git-dir=a.git --work-tree=b -C c status
 531    git --git-dir=c/a.git --work-tree=c/b status
 532
 533-c <name>=<value>::
 534        Pass a configuration parameter to the command. The value
 535        given will override values from configuration files.
 536        The <name> is expected in the same format as listed by
 537        'git config' (subkeys separated by dots).
 538+
 539Note that omitting the `=` in `git -c foo.bar ...` is allowed and sets
 540`foo.bar` to the boolean true value (just like `[foo]bar` would in a
 541config file). Including the equals but with an empty value (like `git -c
 542foo.bar= ...`) sets `foo.bar` to the empty string.
 543
 544--exec-path[=<path>]::
 545        Path to wherever your core Git programs are installed.
 546        This can also be controlled by setting the GIT_EXEC_PATH
 547        environment variable. If no path is given, 'git' will print
 548        the current setting and then exit.
 549
 550--html-path::
 551        Print the path, without trailing slash, where Git's HTML
 552        documentation is installed and exit.
 553
 554--man-path::
 555        Print the manpath (see `man(1)`) for the man pages for
 556        this version of Git and exit.
 557
 558--info-path::
 559        Print the path where the Info files documenting this
 560        version of Git are installed and exit.
 561
 562-p::
 563--paginate::
 564        Pipe all output into 'less' (or if set, $PAGER) if standard
 565        output is a terminal.  This overrides the `pager.<cmd>`
 566        configuration options (see the "Configuration Mechanism" section
 567        below).
 568
 569--no-pager::
 570        Do not pipe Git output into a pager.
 571
 572--git-dir=<path>::
 573        Set the path to the repository. This can also be controlled by
 574        setting the GIT_DIR environment variable. It can be an absolute
 575        path or relative path to current working directory.
 576
 577--work-tree=<path>::
 578        Set the path to the working tree. It can be an absolute path
 579        or a path relative to the current working directory.
 580        This can also be controlled by setting the GIT_WORK_TREE
 581        environment variable and the core.worktree configuration
 582        variable (see core.worktree in linkgit:git-config[1] for a
 583        more detailed discussion).
 584
 585--namespace=<path>::
 586        Set the Git namespace.  See linkgit:gitnamespaces[7] for more
 587        details.  Equivalent to setting the `GIT_NAMESPACE` environment
 588        variable.
 589
 590--bare::
 591        Treat the repository as a bare repository.  If GIT_DIR
 592        environment is not set, it is set to the current working
 593        directory.
 594
 595--no-replace-objects::
 596        Do not use replacement refs to replace Git objects. See
 597        linkgit:git-replace[1] for more information.
 598
 599--literal-pathspecs::
 600        Treat pathspecs literally (i.e. no globbing, no pathspec magic).
 601        This is equivalent to setting the `GIT_LITERAL_PATHSPECS` environment
 602        variable to `1`.
 603
 604--glob-pathspecs::
 605        Add "glob" magic to all pathspec. This is equivalent to setting
 606        the `GIT_GLOB_PATHSPECS` environment variable to `1`. Disabling
 607        globbing on individual pathspecs can be done using pathspec
 608        magic ":(literal)"
 609
 610--noglob-pathspecs::
 611        Add "literal" magic to all pathspec. This is equivalent to setting
 612        the `GIT_NOGLOB_PATHSPECS` environment variable to `1`. Enabling
 613        globbing on individual pathspecs can be done using pathspec
 614        magic ":(glob)"
 615
 616--icase-pathspecs::
 617        Add "icase" magic to all pathspec. This is equivalent to setting
 618        the `GIT_ICASE_PATHSPECS` environment variable to `1`.
 619
 620GIT COMMANDS
 621------------
 622
 623We divide Git into high level ("porcelain") commands and low level
 624("plumbing") commands.
 625
 626High-level commands (porcelain)
 627-------------------------------
 628
 629We separate the porcelain commands into the main commands and some
 630ancillary user utilities.
 631
 632Main porcelain commands
 633~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 634
 635include::cmds-mainporcelain.txt[]
 636
 637Ancillary Commands
 638~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 639Manipulators:
 640
 641include::cmds-ancillarymanipulators.txt[]
 642
 643Interrogators:
 644
 645include::cmds-ancillaryinterrogators.txt[]
 646
 647
 648Interacting with Others
 649~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 650
 651These commands are to interact with foreign SCM and with other
 652people via patch over e-mail.
 653
 654include::cmds-foreignscminterface.txt[]
 655
 656
 657Low-level commands (plumbing)
 658-----------------------------
 659
 660Although Git includes its
 661own porcelain layer, its low-level commands are sufficient to support
 662development of alternative porcelains.  Developers of such porcelains
 663might start by reading about linkgit:git-update-index[1] and
 664linkgit:git-read-tree[1].
 665
 666The interface (input, output, set of options and the semantics)
 667to these low-level commands are meant to be a lot more stable
 668than Porcelain level commands, because these commands are
 669primarily for scripted use.  The interface to Porcelain commands
 670on the other hand are subject to change in order to improve the
 671end user experience.
 672
 673The following description divides
 674the low-level commands into commands that manipulate objects (in
 675the repository, index, and working tree), commands that interrogate and
 676compare objects, and commands that move objects and references between
 677repositories.
 678
 679
 680Manipulation commands
 681~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 682
 683include::cmds-plumbingmanipulators.txt[]
 684
 685
 686Interrogation commands
 687~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 688
 689include::cmds-plumbinginterrogators.txt[]
 690
 691In general, the interrogate commands do not touch the files in
 692the working tree.
 693
 694
 695Synching repositories
 696~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 697
 698include::cmds-synchingrepositories.txt[]
 699
 700The following are helper commands used by the above; end users
 701typically do not use them directly.
 702
 703include::cmds-synchelpers.txt[]
 704
 705
 706Internal helper commands
 707~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 708
 709These are internal helper commands used by other commands; end
 710users typically do not use them directly.
 711
 712include::cmds-purehelpers.txt[]
 713
 714
 715Configuration Mechanism
 716-----------------------
 717
 718Git uses a simple text format to store customizations that are per
 719repository and are per user.  Such a configuration file may look
 720like this:
 721
 722------------
 723#
 724# A '#' or ';' character indicates a comment.
 725#
 726
 727; core variables
 728[core]
 729        ; Don't trust file modes
 730        filemode = false
 731
 732; user identity
 733[user]
 734        name = "Junio C Hamano"
 735        email = "gitster@pobox.com"
 736
 737------------
 738
 739Various commands read from the configuration file and adjust
 740their operation accordingly.  See linkgit:git-config[1] for a
 741list and more details about the configuration mechanism.
 742
 743
 744Identifier Terminology
 745----------------------
 746<object>::
 747        Indicates the object name for any type of object.
 748
 749<blob>::
 750        Indicates a blob object name.
 751
 752<tree>::
 753        Indicates a tree object name.
 754
 755<commit>::
 756        Indicates a commit object name.
 757
 758<tree-ish>::
 759        Indicates a tree, commit or tag object name.  A
 760        command that takes a <tree-ish> argument ultimately wants to
 761        operate on a <tree> object but automatically dereferences
 762        <commit> and <tag> objects that point at a <tree>.
 763
 764<commit-ish>::
 765        Indicates a commit or tag object name.  A
 766        command that takes a <commit-ish> argument ultimately wants to
 767        operate on a <commit> object but automatically dereferences
 768        <tag> objects that point at a <commit>.
 769
 770<type>::
 771        Indicates that an object type is required.
 772        Currently one of: `blob`, `tree`, `commit`, or `tag`.
 773
 774<file>::
 775        Indicates a filename - almost always relative to the
 776        root of the tree structure `GIT_INDEX_FILE` describes.
 777
 778Symbolic Identifiers
 779--------------------
 780Any Git command accepting any <object> can also use the following
 781symbolic notation:
 782
 783HEAD::
 784        indicates the head of the current branch.
 785
 786<tag>::
 787        a valid tag 'name'
 788        (i.e. a `refs/tags/<tag>` reference).
 789
 790<head>::
 791        a valid head 'name'
 792        (i.e. a `refs/heads/<head>` reference).
 793
 794For a more complete list of ways to spell object names, see
 795"SPECIFYING REVISIONS" section in linkgit:gitrevisions[7].
 796
 797
 798File/Directory Structure
 799------------------------
 800
 801Please see the linkgit:gitrepository-layout[5] document.
 802
 803Read linkgit:githooks[5] for more details about each hook.
 804
 805Higher level SCMs may provide and manage additional information in the
 806`$GIT_DIR`.
 807
 808
 809Terminology
 810-----------
 811Please see linkgit:gitglossary[7].
 812
 813
 814Environment Variables
 815---------------------
 816Various Git commands use the following environment variables:
 817
 818The Git Repository
 819~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 820These environment variables apply to 'all' core Git commands. Nb: it
 821is worth noting that they may be used/overridden by SCMS sitting above
 822Git so take care if using a foreign front-end.
 823
 824'GIT_INDEX_FILE'::
 825        This environment allows the specification of an alternate
 826        index file. If not specified, the default of `$GIT_DIR/index`
 827        is used.
 828
 829'GIT_INDEX_VERSION'::
 830        This environment variable allows the specification of an index
 831        version for new repositories.  It won't affect existing index
 832        files.  By default index file version 2 or 3 is used. See
 833        linkgit:git-update-index[1] for more information.
 834
 835'GIT_OBJECT_DIRECTORY'::
 836        If the object storage directory is specified via this
 837        environment variable then the sha1 directories are created
 838        underneath - otherwise the default `$GIT_DIR/objects`
 839        directory is used.
 840
 841'GIT_ALTERNATE_OBJECT_DIRECTORIES'::
 842        Due to the immutable nature of Git objects, old objects can be
 843        archived into shared, read-only directories. This variable
 844        specifies a ":" separated (on Windows ";" separated) list
 845        of Git object directories which can be used to search for Git
 846        objects. New objects will not be written to these directories.
 847
 848'GIT_DIR'::
 849        If the 'GIT_DIR' environment variable is set then it
 850        specifies a path to use instead of the default `.git`
 851        for the base of the repository.
 852        The '--git-dir' command-line option also sets this value.
 853
 854'GIT_WORK_TREE'::
 855        Set the path to the root of the working tree.
 856        This can also be controlled by the '--work-tree' command-line
 857        option and the core.worktree configuration variable.
 858
 859'GIT_NAMESPACE'::
 860        Set the Git namespace; see linkgit:gitnamespaces[7] for details.
 861        The '--namespace' command-line option also sets this value.
 862
 863'GIT_CEILING_DIRECTORIES'::
 864        This should be a colon-separated list of absolute paths.  If
 865        set, it is a list of directories that Git should not chdir up
 866        into while looking for a repository directory (useful for
 867        excluding slow-loading network directories).  It will not
 868        exclude the current working directory or a GIT_DIR set on the
 869        command line or in the environment.  Normally, Git has to read
 870        the entries in this list and resolve any symlink that
 871        might be present in order to compare them with the current
 872        directory.  However, if even this access is slow, you
 873        can add an empty entry to the list to tell Git that the
 874        subsequent entries are not symlinks and needn't be resolved;
 875        e.g.,
 876        'GIT_CEILING_DIRECTORIES=/maybe/symlink::/very/slow/non/symlink'.
 877
 878'GIT_DISCOVERY_ACROSS_FILESYSTEM'::
 879        When run in a directory that does not have ".git" repository
 880        directory, Git tries to find such a directory in the parent
 881        directories to find the top of the working tree, but by default it
 882        does not cross filesystem boundaries.  This environment variable
 883        can be set to true to tell Git not to stop at filesystem
 884        boundaries.  Like 'GIT_CEILING_DIRECTORIES', this will not affect
 885        an explicit repository directory set via 'GIT_DIR' or on the
 886        command line.
 887
 888'GIT_COMMON_DIR'::
 889        If this variable is set to a path, non-worktree files that are
 890        normally in $GIT_DIR will be taken from this path
 891        instead. Worktree-specific files such as HEAD or index are
 892        taken from $GIT_DIR. See linkgit:gitrepository-layout[5] and
 893        linkgit:git-worktree[1] for
 894        details. This variable has lower precedence than other path
 895        variables such as GIT_INDEX_FILE, GIT_OBJECT_DIRECTORY...
 896
 897Git Commits
 898~~~~~~~~~~~
 899'GIT_AUTHOR_NAME'::
 900'GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL'::
 901'GIT_AUTHOR_DATE'::
 902'GIT_COMMITTER_NAME'::
 903'GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL'::
 904'GIT_COMMITTER_DATE'::
 905'EMAIL'::
 906        see linkgit:git-commit-tree[1]
 907
 908Git Diffs
 909~~~~~~~~~
 910'GIT_DIFF_OPTS'::
 911        Only valid setting is "--unified=??" or "-u??" to set the
 912        number of context lines shown when a unified diff is created.
 913        This takes precedence over any "-U" or "--unified" option
 914        value passed on the Git diff command line.
 915
 916'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF'::
 917        When the environment variable 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is set, the
 918        program named by it is called, instead of the diff invocation
 919        described above.  For a path that is added, removed, or modified,
 920        'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called with 7 parameters:
 921
 922        path old-file old-hex old-mode new-file new-hex new-mode
 923+
 924where:
 925
 926        <old|new>-file:: are files GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF can use to read the
 927                         contents of <old|new>,
 928        <old|new>-hex:: are the 40-hexdigit SHA-1 hashes,
 929        <old|new>-mode:: are the octal representation of the file modes.
 930+
 931The file parameters can point at the user's working file
 932(e.g. `new-file` in "git-diff-files"), `/dev/null` (e.g. `old-file`
 933when a new file is added), or a temporary file (e.g. `old-file` in the
 934index).  'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' should not worry about unlinking the
 935temporary file --- it is removed when 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' exits.
 936+
 937For a path that is unmerged, 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called with 1
 938parameter, <path>.
 939+
 940For each path 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called, two environment variables,
 941'GIT_DIFF_PATH_COUNTER' and 'GIT_DIFF_PATH_TOTAL' are set.
 942
 943'GIT_DIFF_PATH_COUNTER'::
 944        A 1-based counter incremented by one for every path.
 945
 946'GIT_DIFF_PATH_TOTAL'::
 947        The total number of paths.
 948
 949other
 950~~~~~
 951'GIT_MERGE_VERBOSITY'::
 952        A number controlling the amount of output shown by
 953        the recursive merge strategy.  Overrides merge.verbosity.
 954        See linkgit:git-merge[1]
 955
 956'GIT_PAGER'::
 957        This environment variable overrides `$PAGER`. If it is set
 958        to an empty string or to the value "cat", Git will not launch
 959        a pager.  See also the `core.pager` option in
 960        linkgit:git-config[1].
 961
 962'GIT_EDITOR'::
 963        This environment variable overrides `$EDITOR` and `$VISUAL`.
 964        It is used by several Git commands when, on interactive mode,
 965        an editor is to be launched. See also linkgit:git-var[1]
 966        and the `core.editor` option in linkgit:git-config[1].
 967
 968'GIT_SSH'::
 969'GIT_SSH_COMMAND'::
 970        If either of these environment variables is set then 'git fetch'
 971        and 'git push' will use the specified command instead of 'ssh'
 972        when they need to connect to a remote system.
 973        The command will be given exactly two or four arguments: the
 974        'username@host' (or just 'host') from the URL and the shell
 975        command to execute on that remote system, optionally preceded by
 976        '-p' (literally) and the 'port' from the URL when it specifies
 977        something other than the default SSH port.
 978+
 979`$GIT_SSH_COMMAND` takes precedence over `$GIT_SSH`, and is interpreted
 980by the shell, which allows additional arguments to be included.
 981`$GIT_SSH` on the other hand must be just the path to a program
 982(which can be a wrapper shell script, if additional arguments are
 983needed).
 984+
 985Usually it is easier to configure any desired options through your
 986personal `.ssh/config` file.  Please consult your ssh documentation
 987for further details.
 988
 989'GIT_ASKPASS'::
 990        If this environment variable is set, then Git commands which need to
 991        acquire passwords or passphrases (e.g. for HTTP or IMAP authentication)
 992        will call this program with a suitable prompt as command-line argument
 993        and read the password from its STDOUT. See also the 'core.askPass'
 994        option in linkgit:git-config[1].
 995
 996'GIT_TERMINAL_PROMPT'::
 997        If this environment variable is set to `0`, git will not prompt
 998        on the terminal (e.g., when asking for HTTP authentication).
 999
1000'GIT_CONFIG_NOSYSTEM'::
1001        Whether to skip reading settings from the system-wide
1002        `$(prefix)/etc/gitconfig` file.  This environment variable can
1003        be used along with `$HOME` and `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME` to create a
1004        predictable environment for a picky script, or you can set it
1005        temporarily to avoid using a buggy `/etc/gitconfig` file while
1006        waiting for someone with sufficient permissions to fix it.
1007
1008'GIT_FLUSH'::
1009        If this environment variable is set to "1", then commands such
1010        as 'git blame' (in incremental mode), 'git rev-list', 'git log',
1011        'git check-attr' and 'git check-ignore' will
1012        force a flush of the output stream after each record have been
1013        flushed. If this
1014        variable is set to "0", the output of these commands will be done
1015        using completely buffered I/O.   If this environment variable is
1016        not set, Git will choose buffered or record-oriented flushing
1017        based on whether stdout appears to be redirected to a file or not.
1018
1019'GIT_TRACE'::
1020        Enables general trace messages, e.g. alias expansion, built-in
1021        command execution and external command execution.
1022+
1023If this variable is set to "1", "2" or "true" (comparison
1024is case insensitive), trace messages will be printed to
1025stderr.
1026+
1027If the variable is set to an integer value greater than 2
1028and lower than 10 (strictly) then Git will interpret this
1029value as an open file descriptor and will try to write the
1030trace messages into this file descriptor.
1031+
1032Alternatively, if the variable is set to an absolute path
1033(starting with a '/' character), Git will interpret this
1034as a file path and will try to write the trace messages
1035into it.
1036+
1037Unsetting the variable, or setting it to empty, "0" or
1038"false" (case insensitive) disables trace messages.
1039
1040'GIT_TRACE_PACK_ACCESS'::
1041        Enables trace messages for all accesses to any packs. For each
1042        access, the pack file name and an offset in the pack is
1043        recorded. This may be helpful for troubleshooting some
1044        pack-related performance problems.
1045        See 'GIT_TRACE' for available trace output options.
1046
1047'GIT_TRACE_PACKET'::
1048        Enables trace messages for all packets coming in or out of a
1049        given program. This can help with debugging object negotiation
1050        or other protocol issues. Tracing is turned off at a packet
1051        starting with "PACK" (but see 'GIT_TRACE_PACKFILE' below).
1052        See 'GIT_TRACE' for available trace output options.
1053
1054'GIT_TRACE_PACKFILE'::
1055        Enables tracing of packfiles sent or received by a
1056        given program. Unlike other trace output, this trace is
1057        verbatim: no headers, and no quoting of binary data. You almost
1058        certainly want to direct into a file (e.g.,
1059        `GIT_TRACE_PACKFILE=/tmp/my.pack`) rather than displaying it on
1060        the terminal or mixing it with other trace output.
1061+
1062Note that this is currently only implemented for the client side
1063of clones and fetches.
1064
1065'GIT_TRACE_PERFORMANCE'::
1066        Enables performance related trace messages, e.g. total execution
1067        time of each Git command.
1068        See 'GIT_TRACE' for available trace output options.
1069
1070'GIT_TRACE_SETUP'::
1071        Enables trace messages printing the .git, working tree and current
1072        working directory after Git has completed its setup phase.
1073        See 'GIT_TRACE' for available trace output options.
1074
1075'GIT_TRACE_SHALLOW'::
1076        Enables trace messages that can help debugging fetching /
1077        cloning of shallow repositories.
1078        See 'GIT_TRACE' for available trace output options.
1079
1080'GIT_LITERAL_PATHSPECS'::
1081        Setting this variable to `1` will cause Git to treat all
1082        pathspecs literally, rather than as glob patterns. For example,
1083        running `GIT_LITERAL_PATHSPECS=1 git log -- '*.c'` will search
1084        for commits that touch the path `*.c`, not any paths that the
1085        glob `*.c` matches. You might want this if you are feeding
1086        literal paths to Git (e.g., paths previously given to you by
1087        `git ls-tree`, `--raw` diff output, etc).
1088
1089'GIT_GLOB_PATHSPECS'::
1090        Setting this variable to `1` will cause Git to treat all
1091        pathspecs as glob patterns (aka "glob" magic).
1092
1093'GIT_NOGLOB_PATHSPECS'::
1094        Setting this variable to `1` will cause Git to treat all
1095        pathspecs as literal (aka "literal" magic).
1096
1097'GIT_ICASE_PATHSPECS'::
1098        Setting this variable to `1` will cause Git to treat all
1099        pathspecs as case-insensitive.
1100
1101'GIT_REFLOG_ACTION'::
1102        When a ref is updated, reflog entries are created to keep
1103        track of the reason why the ref was updated (which is
1104        typically the name of the high-level command that updated
1105        the ref), in addition to the old and new values of the ref.
1106        A scripted Porcelain command can use set_reflog_action
1107        helper function in `git-sh-setup` to set its name to this
1108        variable when it is invoked as the top level command by the
1109        end user, to be recorded in the body of the reflog.
1110
1111'GIT_REF_PARANOIA'::
1112        If set to `1`, include broken or badly named refs when iterating
1113        over lists of refs. In a normal, non-corrupted repository, this
1114        does nothing. However, enabling it may help git to detect and
1115        abort some operations in the presence of broken refs. Git sets
1116        this variable automatically when performing destructive
1117        operations like linkgit:git-prune[1]. You should not need to set
1118        it yourself unless you want to be paranoid about making sure
1119        an operation has touched every ref (e.g., because you are
1120        cloning a repository to make a backup).
1121
1122'GIT_ALLOW_PROTOCOL'::
1123        If set, provide a colon-separated list of protocols which are
1124        allowed to be used with fetch/push/clone. This is useful to
1125        restrict recursive submodule initialization from an untrusted
1126        repository. Any protocol not mentioned will be disallowed (i.e.,
1127        this is a whitelist, not a blacklist). If the variable is not
1128        set at all, all protocols are enabled.  The protocol names
1129        currently used by git are:
1130
1131          - `file`: any local file-based path (including `file://` URLs,
1132            or local paths)
1133
1134          - `git`: the anonymous git protocol over a direct TCP
1135            connection (or proxy, if configured)
1136
1137          - `ssh`: git over ssh (including `host:path` syntax,
1138            `ssh://`, etc).
1139
1140          - `http`: git over http, both "smart http" and "dumb http".
1141            Note that this does _not_ include `https`; if you want both,
1142            you should specify both as `http:https`.
1143
1144          - any external helpers are named by their protocol (e.g., use
1145            `hg` to allow the `git-remote-hg` helper)
1146
1147
1148Discussion[[Discussion]]
1149------------------------
1150
1151More detail on the following is available from the
1152link:user-manual.html#git-concepts[Git concepts chapter of the
1153user-manual] and linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7].
1154
1155A Git project normally consists of a working directory with a ".git"
1156subdirectory at the top level.  The .git directory contains, among other
1157things, a compressed object database representing the complete history
1158of the project, an "index" file which links that history to the current
1159contents of the working tree, and named pointers into that history such
1160as tags and branch heads.
1161
1162The object database contains objects of three main types: blobs, which
1163hold file data; trees, which point to blobs and other trees to build up
1164directory hierarchies; and commits, which each reference a single tree
1165and some number of parent commits.
1166
1167The commit, equivalent to what other systems call a "changeset" or
1168"version", represents a step in the project's history, and each parent
1169represents an immediately preceding step.  Commits with more than one
1170parent represent merges of independent lines of development.
1171
1172All objects are named by the SHA-1 hash of their contents, normally
1173written as a string of 40 hex digits.  Such names are globally unique.
1174The entire history leading up to a commit can be vouched for by signing
1175just that commit.  A fourth object type, the tag, is provided for this
1176purpose.
1177
1178When first created, objects are stored in individual files, but for
1179efficiency may later be compressed together into "pack files".
1180
1181Named pointers called refs mark interesting points in history.  A ref
1182may contain the SHA-1 name of an object or the name of another ref.  Refs
1183with names beginning `ref/head/` contain the SHA-1 name of the most
1184recent commit (or "head") of a branch under development.  SHA-1 names of
1185tags of interest are stored under `ref/tags/`.  A special ref named
1186`HEAD` contains the name of the currently checked-out branch.
1187
1188The index file is initialized with a list of all paths and, for each
1189path, a blob object and a set of attributes.  The blob object represents
1190the contents of the file as of the head of the current branch.  The
1191attributes (last modified time, size, etc.) are taken from the
1192corresponding file in the working tree.  Subsequent changes to the
1193working tree can be found by comparing these attributes.  The index may
1194be updated with new content, and new commits may be created from the
1195content stored in the index.
1196
1197The index is also capable of storing multiple entries (called "stages")
1198for a given pathname.  These stages are used to hold the various
1199unmerged version of a file when a merge is in progress.
1200
1201FURTHER DOCUMENTATION
1202---------------------
1203
1204See the references in the "description" section to get started
1205using Git.  The following is probably more detail than necessary
1206for a first-time user.
1207
1208The link:user-manual.html#git-concepts[Git concepts chapter of the
1209user-manual] and linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7] both provide
1210introductions to the underlying Git architecture.
1211
1212See linkgit:gitworkflows[7] for an overview of recommended workflows.
1213
1214See also the link:howto-index.html[howto] documents for some useful
1215examples.
1216
1217The internals are documented in the
1218link:technical/api-index.html[Git API documentation].
1219
1220Users migrating from CVS may also want to
1221read linkgit:gitcvs-migration[7].
1222
1223
1224Authors
1225-------
1226Git was started by Linus Torvalds, and is currently maintained by Junio
1227C Hamano. Numerous contributions have come from the Git mailing list
1228<git@vger.kernel.org>.  http://www.openhub.net/p/git/contributors/summary
1229gives you a more complete list of contributors.
1230
1231If you have a clone of git.git itself, the
1232output of linkgit:git-shortlog[1] and linkgit:git-blame[1] can show you
1233the authors for specific parts of the project.
1234
1235Reporting Bugs
1236--------------
1237
1238Report bugs to the Git mailing list <git@vger.kernel.org> where the
1239development and maintenance is primarily done.  You do not have to be
1240subscribed to the list to send a message there.
1241
1242SEE ALSO
1243--------
1244linkgit:gittutorial[7], linkgit:gittutorial-2[7],
1245linkgit:giteveryday[7], linkgit:gitcvs-migration[7],
1246linkgit:gitglossary[7], linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7],
1247linkgit:gitcli[7], link:user-manual.html[The Git User's Manual],
1248linkgit:gitworkflows[7]
1249
1250GIT
1251---
1252Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite