git-remote-helpers(1)
=====================

NAME
----
git-remote-helpers - Helper programs for interoperation with remote git

SYNOPSIS
--------
'git remote-<transport>' <remote>

DESCRIPTION
-----------

These programs are normally not used directly by end users, but are
invoked by various git programs that interact with remote repositories
when the repository they would operate on will be accessed using
transport code not linked into the main git binary. Various particular
helper programs will behave as documented here.

COMMANDS
--------

Commands are given by the caller on the helper's standard input, one per line.

'capabilities'::
	Lists the capabilities of the helper, one per line, ending
	with a blank line.

'list'::
	Lists the refs, one per line, in the format "<value> <name>
	[<attr> ...]". The value may be a hex sha1 hash, "@<dest>" for
	a symref, or "?" to indicate that the helper could not get the
	value of the ref. A space-separated list of attributes follows
	the name; unrecognized attributes are ignored. After the
	complete list, outputs a blank line.

'fetch' <sha1> <name>::
	Fetches the given object, writing the necessary objects to the
	database. Outputs a blank line when the fetch is
	complete. Only objects which were reported in the ref list
	with a sha1 may be fetched this way.
+
Supported if the helper has the "fetch" capability.

'import' <name>::
	Produces a fast-import stream which imports the current value
	of the named ref. It may additionally import other refs as
	needed to construct the history efficiently. The script writes
	to a helper-specific private namespace. The value of the named
	ref should be written to a location in this namespace derived
	by applying the refspecs from the "refspec" capability to the
	name of the ref.
+
Supported if the helper has the "import" capability.

If a fatal error occurs, the program writes the error message to
stderr and exits. The caller should expect that a suitable error
message has been printed if the child closes the connection without
completing a valid response for the current command.

Additional commands may be supported, as may be determined from
capabilities reported by the helper.

CAPABILITIES
------------

'fetch'::
	This helper supports the 'fetch' command.

'import'::
	This helper supports the 'import' command.

'refspec' 'spec'::
	When using the import command, expect the source ref to have
	been written to the destination ref. The earliest applicable
	refspec takes precedence. For example
	"refs/heads/*:refs/svn/origin/branches/*" means that, after an
	"import refs/heads/name", the script has written to
	refs/svn/origin/branches/name. If this capability is used at
	all, it must cover all refs reported by the list command; if
	it is not used, it is effectively "*:*"

REF LIST ATTRIBUTES
-------------------

None are defined yet, but the caller must accept any which are supplied.

Documentation
-------------
Documentation by Daniel Barkalow.

GIT
---
Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite