Documentation / git-push.txton commit Documentation/gc: warn against --prune=<now> (fae1a90)
   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]
  14           [-u | --set-upstream] [--signed]
  15           [--force-with-lease[=<refname>[:<expect>]]]
  16           [--no-verify] [<repository> [<refspec>...]]
  17
  18DESCRIPTION
  19-----------
  20
  21Updates remote refs using local refs, while sending objects
  22necessary to complete the given refs.
  23
  24You can make interesting things happen to a repository
  25every time you push into it, by setting up 'hooks' there.  See
  26documentation for linkgit:git-receive-pack[1].
  27
  28When the command line does not specify where to push with the
  29`<repository>` argument, `branch.*.remote` configuration for the
  30current branch is consulted to determine where to push.  If the
  31configuration is missing, it defaults to 'origin'.
  32
  33When the command line does not specify what to push with `<refspec>...`
  34arguments or `--all`, `--mirror`, `--tags` options, the command finds
  35the default `<refspec>` by consulting `remote.*.push` configuration,
  36and if it is not found, honors `push.default` configuration to decide
  37what to push (See linkgit:git-config[1] for the meaning of `push.default`).
  38
  39
  40OPTIONS[[OPTIONS]]
  41------------------
  42<repository>::
  43        The "remote" repository that is destination of a push
  44        operation.  This parameter can be either a URL
  45        (see the section <<URLS,GIT URLS>> below) or the name
  46        of a remote (see the section <<REMOTES,REMOTES>> below).
  47
  48<refspec>...::
  49        Specify what destination ref to update with what source object.
  50        The format of a <refspec> parameter is an optional plus
  51        `+`, followed by the source object <src>, followed
  52        by a colon `:`, followed by the destination ref <dst>.
  53+
  54The <src> is often the name of the branch you would want to push, but
  55it can be any arbitrary "SHA-1 expression", such as `master~4` or
  56`HEAD` (see linkgit:gitrevisions[7]).
  57+
  58The <dst> tells which ref on the remote side is updated with this
  59push. Arbitrary expressions cannot be used here, an actual ref must
  60be named.
  61If `git push [<repository>]` without any `<refspec>` argument is set to
  62update some ref at the destination with `<src>` with
  63`remote.<repository>.push` configuration variable, `:<dst>` part can
  64be omitted---such a push will update a ref that `<src>` normally updates
  65without any `<refspec>` on the command line.  Otherwise, missing
  66`:<dst>` means to update the same ref as the `<src>`.
  67+
  68The object referenced by <src> is used to update the <dst> reference
  69on the remote side.  By default this is only allowed if <dst> is not
  70a tag (annotated or lightweight), and then only if it can fast-forward
  71<dst>.  By having the optional leading `+`, you can tell Git to update
  72the <dst> ref even if it is not allowed by default (e.g., it is not a
  73fast-forward.)  This does *not* attempt to merge <src> into <dst>.  See
  74EXAMPLES below for details.
  75+
  76`tag <tag>` means the same as `refs/tags/<tag>:refs/tags/<tag>`.
  77+
  78Pushing an empty <src> allows you to delete the <dst> ref from
  79the remote repository.
  80+
  81The special refspec `:` (or `+:` to allow non-fast-forward updates)
  82directs Git to push "matching" branches: for every branch that exists on
  83the local side, the remote side is updated if a branch of the same name
  84already exists on the remote side.
  85
  86--all::
  87        Push all branches (i.e. refs under `refs/heads/`); cannot be
  88        used with other <refspec>.
  89
  90--prune::
  91        Remove remote branches that don't have a local counterpart. For example
  92        a remote branch `tmp` will be removed if a local branch with the same
  93        name doesn't exist any more. This also respects refspecs, e.g.
  94        `git push --prune remote refs/heads/*:refs/tmp/*` would
  95        make sure that remote `refs/tmp/foo` will be removed if `refs/heads/foo`
  96        doesn't exist.
  97
  98--mirror::
  99        Instead of naming each ref to push, specifies that all
 100        refs under `refs/` (which includes but is not
 101        limited to `refs/heads/`, `refs/remotes/`, and `refs/tags/`)
 102        be mirrored to the remote repository.  Newly created local
 103        refs will be pushed to the remote end, locally updated refs
 104        will be force updated on the remote end, and deleted refs
 105        will be removed from the remote end.  This is the default
 106        if the configuration option `remote.<remote>.mirror` is
 107        set.
 108
 109-n::
 110--dry-run::
 111        Do everything except actually send the updates.
 112
 113--porcelain::
 114        Produce machine-readable output.  The output status line for each ref
 115        will be tab-separated and sent to stdout instead of stderr.  The full
 116        symbolic names of the refs will be given.
 117
 118--delete::
 119        All listed refs are deleted from the remote repository. This is
 120        the same as prefixing all refs with a colon.
 121
 122--tags::
 123        All refs under `refs/tags` are pushed, in
 124        addition to refspecs explicitly listed on the command
 125        line.
 126
 127--follow-tags::
 128        Push all the refs that would be pushed without this option,
 129        and also push annotated tags in `refs/tags` that are missing
 130        from the remote but are pointing at commit-ish that are
 131        reachable from the refs being pushed.
 132
 133--signed::
 134        GPG-sign the push request to update refs on the receiving
 135        side, to allow it to be checked by the hooks and/or be
 136        logged.  See linkgit:git-receive-pack[1] for the details
 137        on the receiving end.
 138
 139--receive-pack=<git-receive-pack>::
 140--exec=<git-receive-pack>::
 141        Path to the 'git-receive-pack' program on the remote
 142        end.  Sometimes useful when pushing to a remote
 143        repository over ssh, and you do not have the program in
 144        a directory on the default $PATH.
 145
 146--[no-]force-with-lease::
 147--force-with-lease=<refname>::
 148--force-with-lease=<refname>:<expect>::
 149        Usually, "git push" refuses to update a remote ref that is
 150        not an ancestor of the local ref used to overwrite it.
 151+
 152This option bypasses the check, but instead requires that the
 153current value of the ref to be the expected value.  "git push"
 154fails otherwise.
 155+
 156Imagine that you have to rebase what you have already published.
 157You will have to bypass the "must fast-forward" rule in order to
 158replace the history you originally published with the rebased history.
 159If somebody else built on top of your original history while you are
 160rebasing, the tip of the branch at the remote may advance with her
 161commit, and blindly pushing with `--force` will lose her work.
 162+
 163This option allows you to say that you expect the history you are
 164updating is what you rebased and want to replace. If the remote ref
 165still points at the commit you specified, you can be sure that no
 166other people did anything to the ref (it is like taking a "lease" on
 167the ref without explicitly locking it, and you update the ref while
 168making sure that your earlier "lease" is still valid).
 169+
 170`--force-with-lease` alone, without specifying the details, will protect
 171all remote refs that are going to be updated by requiring their
 172current value to be the same as the remote-tracking branch we have
 173for them, unless specified with a `--force-with-lease=<refname>:<expect>`
 174option that explicitly states what the expected value is.
 175+
 176`--force-with-lease=<refname>`, without specifying the expected value, will
 177protect the named ref (alone), if it is going to be updated, by
 178requiring its current value to be the same as the remote-tracking
 179branch we have for it.
 180+
 181`--force-with-lease=<refname>:<expect>` will protect the named ref (alone),
 182if it is going to be updated, by requiring its current value to be
 183the same as the specified value <expect> (which is allowed to be
 184different from the remote-tracking branch we have for the refname,
 185or we do not even have to have such a remote-tracking branch when
 186this form is used).
 187+
 188Note that all forms other than `--force-with-lease=<refname>:<expect>`
 189that specifies the expected current value of the ref explicitly are
 190still experimental and their semantics may change as we gain experience
 191with this feature.
 192+
 193"--no-force-with-lease" will cancel all the previous --force-with-lease on the
 194command line.
 195
 196-f::
 197--force::
 198        Usually, the command refuses to update a remote ref that is
 199        not an ancestor of the local ref used to overwrite it.
 200        Also, when `--force-with-lease` option is used, the command refuses
 201        to update a remote ref whose current value does not match
 202        what is expected.
 203+
 204This flag disables these checks, and can cause the remote repository
 205to lose commits; use it with care.
 206+
 207Note that `--force` applies to all the refs that are pushed, hence
 208using it with `push.default` set to `matching` or with multiple push
 209destinations configured with `remote.*.push` may overwrite refs
 210other than the current branch (including local refs that are
 211strictly behind their remote counterpart).  To force a push to only
 212one branch, use a `+` in front of the refspec to push (e.g `git push
 213origin +master` to force a push to the `master` branch). See the
 214`<refspec>...` section above for details.
 215
 216--repo=<repository>::
 217        This option is only relevant if no <repository> argument is
 218        passed in the invocation. In this case, 'git push' derives the
 219        remote name from the current branch: If it tracks a remote
 220        branch, then that remote repository is pushed to. Otherwise,
 221        the name "origin" is used. For this latter case, this option
 222        can be used to override the name "origin". In other words,
 223        the difference between these two commands
 224+
 225--------------------------
 226git push public         #1
 227git push --repo=public  #2
 228--------------------------
 229+
 230is that #1 always pushes to "public" whereas #2 pushes to "public"
 231only if the current branch does not track a remote branch. This is
 232useful if you write an alias or script around 'git push'.
 233
 234-u::
 235--set-upstream::
 236        For every branch that is up to date or successfully pushed, add
 237        upstream (tracking) reference, used by argument-less
 238        linkgit:git-pull[1] and other commands. For more information,
 239        see 'branch.<name>.merge' in linkgit:git-config[1].
 240
 241--[no-]thin::
 242        These options are passed to linkgit:git-send-pack[1]. A thin transfer
 243        significantly reduces the amount of sent data when the sender and
 244        receiver share many of the same objects in common. The default is
 245        \--thin.
 246
 247-q::
 248--quiet::
 249        Suppress all output, including the listing of updated refs,
 250        unless an error occurs. Progress is not reported to the standard
 251        error stream.
 252
 253-v::
 254--verbose::
 255        Run verbosely.
 256
 257--progress::
 258        Progress status is reported on the standard error stream
 259        by default when it is attached to a terminal, unless -q
 260        is specified. This flag forces progress status even if the
 261        standard error stream is not directed to a terminal.
 262
 263--recurse-submodules=check|on-demand::
 264        Make sure all submodule commits used by the revisions to be
 265        pushed are available on a remote-tracking branch. If 'check' is
 266        used Git will verify that all submodule commits that changed in
 267        the revisions to be pushed are available on at least one remote
 268        of the submodule. If any commits are missing the push will be
 269        aborted and exit with non-zero status. If 'on-demand' is used
 270        all submodules that changed in the revisions to be pushed will
 271        be pushed. If on-demand was not able to push all necessary
 272        revisions it will also be aborted and exit with non-zero status.
 273
 274--[no-]verify::
 275        Toggle the pre-push hook (see linkgit:githooks[5]).  The
 276        default is \--verify, giving the hook a chance to prevent the
 277        push.  With \--no-verify, the hook is bypassed completely.
 278
 279
 280include::urls-remotes.txt[]
 281
 282OUTPUT
 283------
 284
 285The output of "git push" depends on the transport method used; this
 286section describes the output when pushing over the Git protocol (either
 287locally or via ssh).
 288
 289The status of the push is output in tabular form, with each line
 290representing the status of a single ref. Each line is of the form:
 291
 292-------------------------------
 293 <flag> <summary> <from> -> <to> (<reason>)
 294-------------------------------
 295
 296If --porcelain is used, then each line of the output is of the form:
 297
 298-------------------------------
 299 <flag> \t <from>:<to> \t <summary> (<reason>)
 300-------------------------------
 301
 302The status of up-to-date refs is shown only if --porcelain or --verbose
 303option is used.
 304
 305flag::
 306        A single character indicating the status of the ref:
 307(space);; for a successfully pushed fast-forward;
 308`+`;; for a successful forced update;
 309`-`;; for a successfully deleted ref;
 310`*`;; for a successfully pushed new ref;
 311`!`;; for a ref that was rejected or failed to push; and
 312`=`;; for a ref that was up to date and did not need pushing.
 313
 314summary::
 315        For a successfully pushed ref, the summary shows the old and new
 316        values of the ref in a form suitable for using as an argument to
 317        `git log` (this is `<old>..<new>` in most cases, and
 318        `<old>...<new>` for forced non-fast-forward updates).
 319+
 320For a failed update, more details are given:
 321+
 322--
 323rejected::
 324        Git did not try to send the ref at all, typically because it
 325        is not a fast-forward and you did not force the update.
 326
 327remote rejected::
 328        The remote end refused the update.  Usually caused by a hook
 329        on the remote side, or because the remote repository has one
 330        of the following safety options in effect:
 331        `receive.denyCurrentBranch` (for pushes to the checked out
 332        branch), `receive.denyNonFastForwards` (for forced
 333        non-fast-forward updates), `receive.denyDeletes` or
 334        `receive.denyDeleteCurrent`.  See linkgit:git-config[1].
 335
 336remote failure::
 337        The remote end did not report the successful update of the ref,
 338        perhaps because of a temporary error on the remote side, a
 339        break in the network connection, or other transient error.
 340--
 341
 342from::
 343        The name of the local ref being pushed, minus its
 344        `refs/<type>/` prefix. In the case of deletion, the
 345        name of the local ref is omitted.
 346
 347to::
 348        The name of the remote ref being updated, minus its
 349        `refs/<type>/` prefix.
 350
 351reason::
 352        A human-readable explanation. In the case of successfully pushed
 353        refs, no explanation is needed. For a failed ref, the reason for
 354        failure is described.
 355
 356Note about fast-forwards
 357------------------------
 358
 359When an update changes a branch (or more in general, a ref) that used to
 360point at commit A to point at another commit B, it is called a
 361fast-forward update if and only if B is a descendant of A.
 362
 363In a fast-forward update from A to B, the set of commits that the original
 364commit A built on top of is a subset of the commits the new commit B
 365builds on top of.  Hence, it does not lose any history.
 366
 367In contrast, a non-fast-forward update will lose history.  For example,
 368suppose you and somebody else started at the same commit X, and you built
 369a history leading to commit B while the other person built a history
 370leading to commit A.  The history looks like this:
 371
 372----------------
 373
 374      B
 375     /
 376 ---X---A
 377
 378----------------
 379
 380Further suppose that the other person already pushed changes leading to A
 381back to the original repository from which you two obtained the original
 382commit X.
 383
 384The push done by the other person updated the branch that used to point at
 385commit X to point at commit A.  It is a fast-forward.
 386
 387But if you try to push, you will attempt to update the branch (that
 388now points at A) with commit B.  This does _not_ fast-forward.  If you did
 389so, the changes introduced by commit A will be lost, because everybody
 390will now start building on top of B.
 391
 392The command by default does not allow an update that is not a fast-forward
 393to prevent such loss of history.
 394
 395If you do not want to lose your work (history from X to B) or the work by
 396the other person (history from X to A), you would need to first fetch the
 397history from the repository, create a history that contains changes done
 398by both parties, and push the result back.
 399
 400You can perform "git pull", resolve potential conflicts, and "git push"
 401the result.  A "git pull" will create a merge commit C between commits A
 402and B.
 403
 404----------------
 405
 406      B---C
 407     /   /
 408 ---X---A
 409
 410----------------
 411
 412Updating A with the resulting merge commit will fast-forward and your
 413push will be accepted.
 414
 415Alternatively, you can rebase your change between X and B on top of A,
 416with "git pull --rebase", and push the result back.  The rebase will
 417create a new commit D that builds the change between X and B on top of
 418A.
 419
 420----------------
 421
 422      B   D
 423     /   /
 424 ---X---A
 425
 426----------------
 427
 428Again, updating A with this commit will fast-forward and your push will be
 429accepted.
 430
 431There is another common situation where you may encounter non-fast-forward
 432rejection when you try to push, and it is possible even when you are
 433pushing into a repository nobody else pushes into. After you push commit
 434A yourself (in the first picture in this section), replace it with "git
 435commit --amend" to produce commit B, and you try to push it out, because
 436forgot that you have pushed A out already. In such a case, and only if
 437you are certain that nobody in the meantime fetched your earlier commit A
 438(and started building on top of it), you can run "git push --force" to
 439overwrite it. In other words, "git push --force" is a method reserved for
 440a case where you do mean to lose history.
 441
 442
 443Examples
 444--------
 445
 446`git push`::
 447        Works like `git push <remote>`, where <remote> is the
 448        current branch's remote (or `origin`, if no remote is
 449        configured for the current branch).
 450
 451`git push origin`::
 452        Without additional configuration, pushes the current branch to
 453        the configured upstream (`remote.origin.merge` configuration
 454        variable) if it has the same name as the current branch, and
 455        errors out without pushing otherwise.
 456+
 457The default behavior of this command when no <refspec> is given can be
 458configured by setting the `push` option of the remote, or the `push.default`
 459configuration variable.
 460+
 461For example, to default to pushing only the current branch to `origin`
 462use `git config remote.origin.push HEAD`.  Any valid <refspec> (like
 463the ones in the examples below) can be configured as the default for
 464`git push origin`.
 465
 466`git push origin :`::
 467        Push "matching" branches to `origin`. See
 468        <refspec> in the <<OPTIONS,OPTIONS>> section above for a
 469        description of "matching" branches.
 470
 471`git push origin master`::
 472        Find a ref that matches `master` in the source repository
 473        (most likely, it would find `refs/heads/master`), and update
 474        the same ref (e.g. `refs/heads/master`) in `origin` repository
 475        with it.  If `master` did not exist remotely, it would be
 476        created.
 477
 478`git push origin HEAD`::
 479        A handy way to push the current branch to the same name on the
 480        remote.
 481
 482`git push mothership master:satellite/master dev:satellite/dev`::
 483        Use the source ref that matches `master` (e.g. `refs/heads/master`)
 484        to update the ref that matches `satellite/master` (most probably
 485        `refs/remotes/satellite/master`) in the `mothership` repository;
 486        do the same for `dev` and `satellite/dev`.
 487+
 488This is to emulate `git fetch` run on the `mothership` using `git
 489push` that is run in the opposite direction in order to integrate
 490the work done on `satellite`, and is often necessary when you can
 491only make connection in one way (i.e. satellite can ssh into
 492mothership but mothership cannot initiate connection to satellite
 493because the latter is behind a firewall or does not run sshd).
 494+
 495After running this `git push` on the `satellite` machine, you would
 496ssh into the `mothership` and run `git merge` there to complete the
 497emulation of `git pull` that were run on `mothership` to pull changes
 498made on `satellite`.
 499
 500`git push origin HEAD:master`::
 501        Push the current branch to the remote ref matching `master` in the
 502        `origin` repository. This form is convenient to push the current
 503        branch without thinking about its local name.
 504
 505`git push origin master:refs/heads/experimental`::
 506        Create the branch `experimental` in the `origin` repository
 507        by copying the current `master` branch.  This form is only
 508        needed to create a new branch or tag in the remote repository when
 509        the local name and the remote name are different; otherwise,
 510        the ref name on its own will work.
 511
 512`git push origin :experimental`::
 513        Find a ref that matches `experimental` in the `origin` repository
 514        (e.g. `refs/heads/experimental`), and delete it.
 515
 516`git push origin +dev:master`::
 517        Update the origin repository's master branch with the dev branch,
 518        allowing non-fast-forward updates.  *This can leave unreferenced
 519        commits dangling in the origin repository.*  Consider the
 520        following situation, where a fast-forward is not possible:
 521+
 522----
 523            o---o---o---A---B  origin/master
 524                     \
 525                      X---Y---Z  dev
 526----
 527+
 528The above command would change the origin repository to
 529+
 530----
 531                      A---B  (unnamed branch)
 532                     /
 533            o---o---o---X---Y---Z  master
 534----
 535+
 536Commits A and B would no longer belong to a branch with a symbolic name,
 537and so would be unreachable.  As such, these commits would be removed by
 538a `git gc` command on the origin repository.
 539
 540GIT
 541---
 542Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite