NAME
----
-git-format-patch - Some git command not yet documented.
+git-format-patch - Prepare patches for e-mail submission
SYNOPSIS
--------
-'git-format-patch' [ --option ] <args>...
+[verse]
+'git-format-patch' [-n | -k] [-o <dir> | --stdout] [--attach] [--thread]
+ [-s | --signoff] [--diff-options] [--start-number <n>]
+ [--in-reply-to=Message-Id]
+ <since>[..<until>]
DESCRIPTION
-----------
-Does something not yet documented.
+Prepare each commit between <since> and <until> with its patch in
+one file per commit, formatted to resemble UNIX mailbox format.
+If ..<until> is not specified, the head of the current working
+tree is implied.
+
+The output of this command is convenient for e-mail submission or
+for use with gitlink:git-am[1].
+
+Each output file is numbered sequentially from 1, and uses the
+first line of the commit message (massaged for pathname safety) as
+the filename. The names of the output files are printed to standard
+output, unless the --stdout option is specified.
+
+If -o is specified, output files are created in <dir>. Otherwise
+they are created in the current working directory.
+
+If -n is specified, instead of "[PATCH] Subject", the first line
+is formatted as "[PATCH n/m] Subject".
+
+If given --thread, git-format-patch will generate In-Reply-To and
+References headers to make the second and subsequent patch mails appear
+as replies to the first mail; this also generates a Message-Id header to
+reference.
OPTIONS
-------
---option::
- Some option not yet documented.
+-o|--output-directory <dir>::
+ Use <dir> to store the resulting files, instead of the
+ current working directory.
+
+-n|--numbered::
+ Name output in '[PATCH n/m]' format.
+
+--start-number <n>::
+ Start numbering the patches at <n> instead of 1.
+
+-k|--keep-subject::
+ Do not strip/add '[PATCH]' from the first line of the
+ commit log message.
+
+-s|--signoff::
+ Add `Signed-off-by:` line to the commit message, using
+ the committer identity of yourself.
+
+--stdout::
+ Print all commits to the standard output in mbox format,
+ instead of creating a file for each one.
+
+--attach::
+ Create attachments instead of inlining patches.
+
+--thread::
+ Add In-Reply-To and References headers to make the second and
+ subsequent mails appear as replies to the first. Also generates
+ the Message-Id header to reference.
-<args>...::
- Some argument not yet documented.
+--in-reply-to=Message-Id::
+ Make the first mail (or all the mails with --no-thread) appear as a
+ reply to the given Message-Id, which avoids breaking threads to
+ provide a new patch series.
+
+CONFIGURATION
+-------------
+You can specify extra mail header lines to be added to each
+message in the repository configuration as follows:
+
+[format]
+ headers = "Organization: git-foo\n"
+
+
+EXAMPLES
+--------
+
+git-format-patch -k --stdout R1..R2 | git-am -3 -k::
+ Extract commits between revisions R1 and R2, and apply
+ them on top of the current branch using `git-am` to
+ cherry-pick them.
+
+git-format-patch origin::
+ Extract all commits which are in the current branch but
+ not in the origin branch. For each commit a separate file
+ is created in the current directory.
+
+git-format-patch -M -B origin::
+ The same as the previous one. Additionally, it detects
+ and handles renames and complete rewrites intelligently to
+ produce a renaming patch. A renaming patch reduces the
+ amount of text output, and generally makes it easier to
+ review it. Note that the "patch" program does not
+ understand renaming patches, so use it only when you know
+ the recipient uses git to apply your patch.
+
+
+See Also
+--------
+gitlink:git-am[1], gitlink:git-send-email[1]
Author
GIT
---
-Part of the link:git.html[git] suite
+Part of the gitlink:git[7] suite