and the porcelains. The variables are divided into sections, wherein
the fully qualified variable name of the variable itself is the last
dot-separated segment and the section name is everything before the last
-dot. The variable names are case-insensitive and only alphanumeric
-characters are allowed. Some variables may appear multiple times.
+dot. The variable names are case-insensitive, allow only alphanumeric
+characters and `-`, and must start with an alphabetic character. Some
+variables may appear multiple times.
Syntax
~~~~~~
You can have `[section]` if you have `[section "subsection"]`, but you
don't need to.
-There is also a case insensitive alternative `[section.subsection]` syntax.
-In this syntax, subsection names follow the same restrictions as for section
-names.
+There is also a deprecated `[section.subsection]` syntax. With this
+syntax, the subsection name is converted to lower-case and is also
+compared case sensitively. These subsection names follow the same
+restrictions as section names.
All the other lines (and the remainder of the line after the section
header) are recognized as setting variables, in the form
'name = value'. If there is no equal sign on the line, the entire line
is taken as 'name' and the variable is recognized as boolean "true".
-The variable names are case-insensitive and only alphanumeric
-characters and `-` are allowed. There can be more than one value
-for a given variable; we say then that variable is multivalued.
+The variable names are case-insensitive, allow only alphanumeric characters
+and `-`, and must start with an alphabetic character. There can be more
+than one value for a given variable; we say then that the variable is
+multivalued.
Leading and trailing whitespace in a variable value is discarded.
Internal whitespace within a variable value is retained verbatim.
Some variables may require a special value format.
+Includes
+~~~~~~~~
+
+You can include one config file from another by setting the special
+`include.path` variable to the name of the file to be included. The
+included file is expanded immediately, as if its contents had been
+found at the location of the include directive. If the value of the
+`include.path` variable is a relative path, the path is considered to be
+relative to the configuration file in which the include directive was
+found. The value of `include.path` is subject to tilde expansion: `~/`
+is expanded to the value of `$HOME`, and `~user/` to the specified
+user's home directory. See below for examples.
+
Example
~~~~~~~
gitProxy="ssh" for "kernel.org"
gitProxy=default-proxy ; for the rest
+ [include]
+ path = /path/to/foo.inc ; include by absolute path
+ path = foo ; expand "foo" relative to the current file
+ path = ~/foo ; expand "foo" in your $HOME directory
+
Variables
~~~~~~~~~
porcelain configuration variables in the respective porcelain documentation.
advice.*::
- When set to 'true', display the given optional help message.
- When set to 'false', do not display. The configuration variables
- are:
+ These variables control various optional help messages designed to
+ aid new users. All 'advice.*' variables default to 'true', and you
+ can tell Git that you do not need help by setting these to 'false':
+
--
pushNonFastForward::
- Advice shown when linkgit:git-push[1] refuses
- non-fast-forward refs. Default: true.
+ Set this variable to 'false' if you want to disable
+ 'pushNonFFCurrent', 'pushNonFFDefault', and
+ 'pushNonFFMatching' simultaneously.
+ pushNonFFCurrent::
+ Advice shown when linkgit:git-push[1] fails due to a
+ non-fast-forward update to the current branch.
+ pushNonFFDefault::
+ Advice to set 'push.default' to 'upstream' or 'current'
+ when you ran linkgit:git-push[1] and pushed 'matching
+ refs' by default (i.e. you did not provide an explicit
+ refspec, and no 'push.default' configuration was set)
+ and it resulted in a non-fast-forward error.
+ pushNonFFMatching::
+ Advice shown when you ran linkgit:git-push[1] and pushed
+ 'matching refs' explicitly (i.e. you used ':', or
+ specified a refspec that isn't your current branch) and
+ it resulted in a non-fast-forward error.
statusHints::
Directions on how to stage/unstage/add shown in the
output of linkgit:git-status[1] and the template shown
- when writing commit messages. Default: true.
+ when writing commit messages.
commitBeforeMerge::
Advice shown when linkgit:git-merge[1] refuses to
merge to avoid overwriting local changes.
- Default: true.
resolveConflict::
Advices shown by various commands when conflicts
prevent the operation from being performed.
- Default: true.
implicitIdentity::
Advice on how to set your identity configuration when
your information is guessed from the system username and
- domain name. Default: true.
-
+ domain name.
detachedHead::
- Advice shown when you used linkgit::git-checkout[1] to
+ Advice shown when you used linkgit:git-checkout[1] to
move to the detach HEAD state, to instruct how to create
- a local branch after the fact. Default: true.
+ a local branch after the fact.
--
core.fileMode::
core.excludesfile::
In addition to '.gitignore' (per-directory) and
'.git/info/exclude', git looks into this file for patterns
- of files which are not meant to be tracked. "{tilde}/" is expanded
- to the value of `$HOME` and "{tilde}user/" to the specified user's
+ of files which are not meant to be tracked. "`~/`" is expanded
+ to the value of `$HOME` and "`~user/`" to the specified user's
home directory. See linkgit:gitignore[5].
core.askpass::
variable when it is set, and the environment variable
`GIT_EDITOR` is not set. See linkgit:git-var[1].
+sequence.editor::
+ Text editor used by `git rebase -i` for editing the rebase insn file.
+ The value is meant to be interpreted by the shell when it is used.
+ It can be overridden by the `GIT_SEQUENCE_EDITOR` environment variable.
+ When not configured the default commit message editor is used instead.
+
core.pager::
The command that git will use to paginate output. Can
be overridden with the `GIT_PAGER` environment
branch.<name>.rebase::
When true, rebase the branch <name> on top of the fetched branch,
instead of merging the default branch from the default remote when
- "git pull" is run.
- *NOTE*: this is a possibly dangerous operation; do *not* use
- it unless you understand the implications (see linkgit:git-rebase[1]
- for details).
+ "git pull" is run. See "pull.rebase" for doing this in a non
+ branch-specific manner.
++
+*NOTE*: this is a possibly dangerous operation; do *not* use
+it unless you understand the implications (see linkgit:git-rebase[1]
+for details).
browser.<tool>.cmd::
Specify the command to invoke the specified browser. The
`never` if you prefer git commands not to use color unless enabled
explicitly with some other configuration or the `--color` option.
+column.ui::
+ Specify whether supported commands should output in columns.
+ This variable consists of a list of tokens separated by spaces
+ or commas:
++
+--
+`always`;;
+ always show in columns
+`never`;;
+ never show in columns
+`auto`;;
+ show in columns if the output is to the terminal
+`column`;;
+ fill columns before rows (default)
+`row`;;
+ fill rows before columns
+`plain`;;
+ show in one column
+`dense`;;
+ make unequal size columns to utilize more space
+`nodense`;;
+ make equal size columns
+--
++
+ This option defaults to 'never'.
+
+column.branch::
+ Specify whether to output branch listing in `git branch` in columns.
+ See `column.ui` for details.
+
+column.status::
+ Specify whether to output untracked files in `git status` in columns.
+ See `column.ui` for details.
+
+column.tag::
+ Specify whether to output tag listing in `git tag` in columns.
+ See `column.ui` for details.
+
commit.status::
A boolean to enable/disable inclusion of status information in the
commit message template when using an editor to prepare the commit
commit.template::
Specify a file to use as the template for new commit messages.
- "{tilde}/" is expanded to the value of `$HOME` and "{tilde}user/" to the
+ "`~/`" is expanded to the value of `$HOME` and "`~user/`" to the
specified user's home directory.
+credential.helper::
+ Specify an external helper to be called when a username or
+ password credential is needed; the helper may consult external
+ storage to avoid prompting the user for the credentials. See
+ linkgit:gitcredentials[7] for details.
+
+credential.useHttpPath::
+ When acquiring credentials, consider the "path" component of an http
+ or https URL to be important. Defaults to false. See
+ linkgit:gitcredentials[7] for more information.
+
+credential.username::
+ If no username is set for a network authentication, use this username
+ by default. See credential.<context>.* below, and
+ linkgit:gitcredentials[7].
+
+credential.<url>.*::
+ Any of the credential.* options above can be applied selectively to
+ some credentials. For example "credential.https://example.com.username"
+ would set the default username only for https connections to
+ example.com. See linkgit:gitcredentials[7] for details on how URLs are
+ matched.
+
include::diff-config.txt[]
difftool.<tool>.path::
when its superproject retrieves a commit that updates the submodule's
reference.
+fetch.fsckObjects::
+ If it is set to true, git-fetch-pack will check all fetched
+ objects. It will abort in the case of a malformed object or a
+ broken link. The result of an abort are only dangling objects.
+ Defaults to false. If not set, the value of `transfer.fsckObjects`
+ is used instead.
+
fetch.unpackLimit::
If the number of objects fetched over the git native
transfer is below this
a boolean value, or `shallow` or `deep`. `shallow` threading
makes every mail a reply to the head of the series,
where the head is chosen from the cover letter, the
- `\--in-reply-to`, and the first patch mail, in this order.
+ `--in-reply-to`, and the first patch mail, in this order.
`deep` threading makes every mail a reply to the previous one.
A true boolean value is the same as `shallow`, and a false
value disables threading.
is one of "ext" and "pserver") to make them apply only for the given
access method.
+gitweb.category::
+gitweb.description::
+gitweb.owner::
+gitweb.url::
+ See linkgit:gitweb[1] for description.
+
+gitweb.avatar::
+gitweb.blame::
+gitweb.grep::
+gitweb.highlight::
+gitweb.patches::
+gitweb.pickaxe::
+gitweb.remote_heads::
+gitweb.showsizes::
+gitweb.snapshot::
+ See linkgit:gitweb.conf[5] for description.
+
grep.lineNumber::
If set to true, enable '-n' option by default.
grep.extendedRegexp::
If set to true, enable '--extended-regexp' option by default.
+gpg.program::
+ Use this custom program instead of "gpg" found on $PATH when
+ making or verifying a PGP signature. The program must support the
+ same command line interface as GPG, namely, to verify a detached
+ signature, "gpg --verify $file - <$signature" is run, and the
+ program is expected to signal a good signature by exiting with
+ code 0, and to generate an ascii-armored detached signature, the
+ standard input of "gpg -bsau $key" is fed with the contents to be
+ signed, and the program is expected to send the result to its
+ standard output.
+
gui.commitmsgwidth::
Defines how wide the commit message window is in the
linkgit:git-gui[1]. "75" is the default.
This is the default.
http.proxy::
- Override the HTTP proxy, normally configured using the 'http_proxy'
- environment variable (see linkgit:curl[1]). This can be overridden
- on a per-remote basis; see remote.<name>.proxy
+ Override the HTTP proxy, normally configured using the 'http_proxy',
+ 'https_proxy', and 'all_proxy' environment variables (see
+ `curl(1)`). This can be overridden on a per-remote basis; see
+ remote.<name>.proxy
http.cookiefile::
File containing previously stored cookie lines which should be used
interactive.singlekey::
In interactive commands, allow the user to provide one-letter
input with a single key (i.e., without hitting enter).
- Currently this is used by the `\--patch` mode of
+ Currently this is used by the `--patch` mode of
linkgit:git-add[1], linkgit:git-checkout[1], linkgit:git-commit[1],
linkgit:git-reset[1], and linkgit:git-stash[1]. Note that this
setting is silently ignored if portable keystroke input
log.abbrevCommit::
If true, makes linkgit:git-log[1], linkgit:git-show[1], and
- linkgit:git-whatchanged[1] assume `\--abbrev-commit`. You may
- override this option with `\--no-abbrev-commit`.
+ linkgit:git-whatchanged[1] assume `--abbrev-commit`. You may
+ override this option with `--no-abbrev-commit`.
log.date::
Set the default date-time mode for the 'log' command.
Setting a value for log.date is similar to using 'git log''s
- `\--date` option. Possible values are `relative`, `local`,
+ `--date` option. Possible values are `relative`, `local`,
`default`, `iso`, `rfc`, and `short`; see linkgit:git-log[1]
for details.
and this config option ignored whenever the corresponding pack is
larger than 2 GB.
+
-If you have an old git that does not understand the version 2 `{asterisk}.idx` file,
+If you have an old git that does not understand the version 2 `*.idx` file,
cloning or fetching over a non native protocol (e.g. "http" and "rsync")
-that will copy both `{asterisk}.pack` file and corresponding `{asterisk}.idx` file from the
+that will copy both `*.pack` file and corresponding `*.idx` file from the
other side may give you a repository that cannot be accessed with your
-older version of git. If the `{asterisk}.pack` file is smaller than 2 GB, however,
+older version of git. If the `*.pack` file is smaller than 2 GB, however,
you can use linkgit:git-index-pack[1] on the *.pack file to regenerate
-the `{asterisk}.idx` file.
+the `*.idx` file.
pack.packSizeLimit::
The maximum size of a pack. This setting only affects
packing to a file when repacking, i.e. the git:// protocol
- is unaffected. It can be overridden by the `\--max-pack-size`
+ is unaffected. It can be overridden by the `--max-pack-size`
option of linkgit:git-repack[1]. The minimum size allowed is
limited to 1 MiB. The default is unlimited.
Common unit suffixes of 'k', 'm', or 'g' are
If the value is boolean, turns on or off pagination of the
output of a particular git subcommand when writing to a tty.
Otherwise, turns on pagination for the subcommand using the
- pager specified by the value of `pager.<cmd>`. If `\--paginate`
- or `\--no-pager` is specified on the command line, it takes
+ pager specified by the value of `pager.<cmd>`. If `--paginate`
+ or `--no-pager` is specified on the command line, it takes
precedence over this option. To disable pagination for all
commands, set `core.pager` or `GIT_PAGER` to `cat`.
Alias for a --pretty= format string, as specified in
linkgit:git-log[1]. Any aliases defined here can be used just
as the built-in pretty formats could. For example,
- running `git config pretty.changelog "format:{asterisk} %H %s"`
+ running `git config pretty.changelog "format:* %H %s"`
would cause the invocation `git log --pretty=changelog`
- to be equivalent to running `git log "--pretty=format:{asterisk} %H %s"`.
+ to be equivalent to running `git log "--pretty=format:* %H %s"`.
Note that an alias with the same name as a built-in format
will be silently ignored.
+pull.rebase::
+ When true, rebase branches on top of the fetched branch, instead
+ of merging the default branch from the default remote when "git
+ pull" is run. See "branch.<name>.rebase" for setting this on a
+ per-branch basis.
++
+*NOTE*: this is a possibly dangerous operation; do *not* use
+it unless you understand the implications (see linkgit:git-rebase[1]
+for details).
+
pull.octopus::
The default merge strategy to use when pulling multiple branches
at once.
line. Possible values are:
+
* `nothing` - do not push anything.
-* `matching` - push all matching branches.
- All branches having the same name in both ends are considered to be
- matching. This is the default.
+* `matching` - push all branches having the same name in both ends.
+ This is for those who prepare all the branches into a publishable
+ shape and then push them out with a single command. It is not
+ appropriate for pushing into a repository shared by multiple users,
+ since locally stalled branches will attempt a non-fast forward push
+ if other users updated the branch.
+ +
+ This is currently the default, but Git 2.0 will change the default
+ to `simple`.
* `upstream` - push the current branch to its upstream branch.
-* `tracking` - deprecated synonym for `upstream`.
+ With this, `git push` will update the same remote ref as the one which
+ is merged by `git pull`, making `push` and `pull` symmetrical.
+ See "branch.<name>.merge" for how to configure the upstream branch.
+* `simple` - like `upstream`, but refuses to push if the upstream
+ branch's name is different from the local one. This is the safest
+ option and is well-suited for beginners. It will become the default
+ in Git 2.0.
* `current` - push the current branch to a branch of the same name.
+ +
+ The `simple`, `current` and `upstream` modes are for those who want to
+ push out a single branch after finishing work, even when the other
+ branches are not yet ready to be pushed out. If you are working with
+ other people to push into the same shared repository, you would want
+ to use one of these.
rebase.stat::
Whether to show a diffstat of what changed upstream since the last
If it is set to true, git-receive-pack will check all received
objects. It will abort in the case of a malformed object or a
broken link. The result of an abort are only dangling objects.
- Defaults to false.
+ Defaults to false. If not set, the value of `transfer.fsckObjects`
+ is used instead.
receive.unpackLimit::
If the number of objects received in a push is below this
remote.<name>.mirror::
If true, pushing to this remote will automatically behave
- as if the `\--mirror` option was given on the command line.
+ as if the `--mirror` option was given on the command line.
remote.<name>.skipDefaultUpdate::
If true, this remote will be skipped by default when updating
archiving user's umask will be used instead. See umask(2) and
linkgit:git-archive[1].
+transfer.fsckObjects::
+ When `fetch.fsckObjects` or `receive.fsckObjects` are
+ not set, the value of this variable is used instead.
+ Defaults to false.
+
transfer.unpackLimit::
When `fetch.unpackLimit` or `receive.unpackLimit` are
not set, the value of this variable is used instead.