NAME
----
-git-diff-index - Compares content and mode of blobs between the index and repository
+git-diff-index - Compare a tree to the working tree or index
SYNOPSIS
--------
+[verse]
'git diff-index' [-m] [--cached] [<common diff options>] <tree-ish> [<path>...]
DESCRIPTION
-----------
-Compares the content and mode of the blobs found via a tree
-object with the content of the current index and, optionally
-ignoring the stat state of the file on disk. When paths are
-specified, compares only those named paths. Otherwise all
-entries in the index are compared.
+Compares the content and mode of the blobs found in a tree object
+with the corresponding tracked files in the working tree, or with the
+corresponding paths in the index. When <path> arguments are present,
+compares only paths matching those patterns. Otherwise all tracked
+files are compared.
OPTIONS
-------
Operating Modes
---------------
You can choose whether you want to trust the index file entirely
-(using the '--cached' flag) or ask the diff logic to show any files
+(using the `--cached` flag) or ask the diff logic to show any files
that don't match the stat state as being "tentatively changed". Both
of these operations are very useful indeed.
Cached Mode
-----------
-If '--cached' is specified, it allows you to ask:
+If `--cached` is specified, it allows you to ask:
show me the differences between HEAD and the current index
contents (the ones I'd write using 'git write-tree')
have not actually done a 'git update-index' on it yet - there is no
"object" associated with the new state, and you get:
- torvalds@ppc970:~/v2.6/linux> git diff-index HEAD
- *100644->100664 blob 7476bb......->000000...... kernel/sched.c
+ torvalds@ppc970:~/v2.6/linux> git diff-index --abbrev HEAD
+ :100644 100664 7476bb... 000000... kernel/sched.c
i.e., it shows that the tree has changed, and that `kernel/sched.c` has is
not up-to-date and may contain new stuff. The all-zero sha1 means that to
show a valid sha1, and the "not in sync with the index" ones will
always have the special all-zero sha1.
-
-Author
-------
-Written by Linus Torvalds <torvalds@osdl.org>
-
-Documentation
---------------
-Documentation by David Greaves, Junio C Hamano and the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>.
-
GIT
---
Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite