-git(1)
+git(7)
======
-v0.1, May 2005
NAME
----
SYNOPSIS
--------
-'git-<command>' <args>
+'git' [--version] [--exec-path[=GIT_EXEC_PATH]] [--help] COMMAND [ARGS]
DESCRIPTION
-----------
+'git' is both a program and a directory content tracker system.
+The program 'git' is just a wrapper to reach the core git programs
+(or a potty if you like, as it's not exactly porcelain but still
+brings your stuff to the plumbing).
-This is reference information for the core git commands.
+OPTIONS
+-------
+--version::
+ prints the git suite version that the 'git' program came from.
-The link:README[] contains much useful definition and clarification
-info - read that first. And of the commands, I suggest reading
-'git-update-cache' and 'git-read-tree' first - I wish I had!
+--help::
+ prints the synopsis and a list of available commands.
+ If a git command is named this option will bring up the
+ man-page for that command.
-David Greaves <david@dgreaves.com>
-08/05/05
+--exec-path::
+ path to wherever your core git programs are installed.
+ This can also be controlled by setting the GIT_EXEC_PATH
+ environment variable. If no path is given 'git' will print
+ the current setting and then exit.
+
+
+NOT LEARNING CORE GIT COMMANDS
+------------------------------
+
+This manual is intended to give complete background information
+and internal workings of git, which may be too much for most
+people. The <<Discussion>> section below contains much useful
+definition and clarification - read that first.
+
+If you are interested in using git to manage (version control)
+projects, use link:tutorial.html[The Tutorial] to get you started,
+and then link:everyday.html[Everyday GIT] as a guide to the
+minimum set of commands you need to know for day-to-day work.
+Most likely, that will get you started, and you can go a long
+way without knowing the low level details too much.
+
+The link:core-tutorial.html[Core tutorial] document covers how things
+internally work.
+
+If you are migrating from CVS, link:cvs-migration.html[cvs
+migration] document may be helpful after you finish the
+tutorial.
+
+After you get the general feel from the tutorial and this
+overview page, you may want to take a look at the
+link:howto-index.html[howto] documents.
+
+
+CORE GIT COMMANDS
+-----------------
+
+If you are writing your own Porcelain, you need to be familiar
+with most of the low level commands --- I suggest starting from
+gitlink:git-update-index[1] and gitlink:git-read-tree[1].
-Updated by Junio C Hamano <junkio@cox.net> on 2005-05-05 to
-reflect recent changes.
Commands Overview
-----------------
The git commands can helpfully be split into those that manipulate
-the repository, the cache and the working fileset and those that
-interrogate and compare them.
+the repository, the index and the files in the working tree, those that
+interrogate and compare them, and those that moves objects and
+references between repositories.
+
+In addition, git itself comes with a spartan set of porcelain
+commands. They are usable but are not meant to compete with real
+Porcelains.
+
+There are also some ancillary programs that can be viewed as useful
+aids for using the core commands but which are unlikely to be used by
+SCMs layered over git.
Manipulation commands
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-link:git-apply-patch-script.html[git-apply-patch-script]::
- Sample script to apply the diffs from git-diff-*
+gitlink:git-apply[1]::
+ Reads a "diff -up1" or git generated patch file and
+ applies it to the working tree.
-link:git-checkout-cache.html[git-checkout-cache]::
- Copy files from the cache to the working directory
+gitlink:git-checkout-index[1]::
+ Copy files from the index to the working tree.
-link:git-commit-tree.html[git-commit-tree]::
- Creates a new commit object
+gitlink:git-commit-tree[1]::
+ Creates a new commit object.
-link:git-convert-cache.html[git-convert-cache]::
- Converts old-style GIT repository
+gitlink:git-hash-object[1]::
+ Computes the object ID from a file.
-link:git-http-pull.html[git-http-pull]::
- Downloads a remote GIT repository via HTTP
+gitlink:git-index-pack[1]::
+ Build pack idx file for an existing packed archive.
-link:git-init-db.html[git-init-db]::
- Creates an empty git object database
+gitlink:git-init-db[1]::
+ Creates an empty git object database, or reinitialize an
+ existing one.
-link:git-local-pull.html[git-local-pull]::
- Duplicates another GIT repository on a local system
+gitlink:git-merge-index[1]::
+ Runs a merge for files needing merging.
-link:git-merge-base.html[git-merge-base]::
- Finds as good a common ancestor as possible for a merge
+gitlink:git-mktag[1]::
+ Creates a tag object.
-link:git-merge-one-file-script.html[git-merge-one-file-script]::
- The standard helper program to use with "git-merge-cache"
+gitlink:git-pack-objects[1]::
+ Creates a packed archive of objects.
-link:git-mktag.html[git-mktag]::
- Creates a tag object
+gitlink:git-prune-packed[1]::
+ Remove extra objects that are already in pack files.
-link:git-prune-script.html[git-prune-script]::
- Prunes all unreachable objects from the object database
+gitlink:git-read-tree[1]::
+ Reads tree information into the index.
-link:git-pull-script.html[git-pull-script]::
- Script used by Linus to pull and merge a remote repository
+gitlink:git-repo-config[1]::
+ Get and set options in .git/config.
-link:git-read-tree.html[git-read-tree]::
- Reads tree information into the directory cache
+gitlink:git-unpack-objects[1]::
+ Unpacks objects out of a packed archive.
-link:git-resolve-script.html[git-resolve-script]::
- Script used to merge two trees
+gitlink:git-update-index[1]::
+ Registers files in the working tree to the index.
-link:git-rpull.html[git-rpull]::
- Pulls from a remote repository over ssh connection
+gitlink:git-write-tree[1]::
+ Creates a tree from the index.
-link:git-tag-script.html[git-tag-script]::
- An example script to create a tag object signed with GPG
-link:git-update-cache.html[git-update-cache]::
- Modifies the index or directory cache
+Interrogation commands
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-link:git-write-blob.html[git-write-blob]::
- Creates a blob from a file
+gitlink:git-cat-file[1]::
+ Provide content or type/size information for repository objects.
-link:git-write-tree.html[git-write-tree]::
- Creates a tree from the current cache
+gitlink:git-describe[1]::
+ Show the most recent tag that is reachable from a commit.
-Interrogation commands
-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-link:git-cat-file.html[git-cat-file]::
- Provide content or type information for repository objects
+gitlink:git-diff-index[1]::
+ Compares content and mode of blobs between the index and repository.
-link:git-check-files.html[git-check-files]::
- Verify a list of files are up-to-date
+gitlink:git-diff-files[1]::
+ Compares files in the working tree and the index.
-link:git-diff-cache.html[git-diff-cache]::
- Compares content and mode of blobs between the cache and repository
+gitlink:git-diff-stages[1]::
+ Compares two "merge stages" in the index.
-link:git-diff-files.html[git-diff-files]::
- Compares files in the working tree and the cache
+gitlink:git-diff-tree[1]::
+ Compares the content and mode of blobs found via two tree objects.
-link:git-diff-tree.html[git-diff-tree]::
- Compares the content and mode of blobs found via two tree objects
+gitlink:git-fsck-objects[1]::
+ Verifies the connectivity and validity of the objects in the database.
-link:git-diff-tree-helper.html[git-diff-tree-helper]::
- Generates patch format output for git-diff-*
+gitlink:git-ls-files[1]::
+ Information about files in the index and the working tree.
-link:git-export.html[git-export]::
- Exports each commit and a diff against each of its parents
+gitlink:git-ls-tree[1]::
+ Displays a tree object in human readable form.
-link:git-fsck-cache.html[git-fsck-cache]::
- Verifies the connectivity and validity of the objects in the database
+gitlink:git-merge-base[1]::
+ Finds as good common ancestors as possible for a merge.
-link:git-ls-files.html[git-ls-files]::
- Information about files in the cache/working directory
+gitlink:git-name-rev[1]::
+ Find symbolic names for given revs.
-link:git-ls-tree.html[git-ls-tree]::
- Displays a tree object in human readable form
+gitlink:git-pack-redundant[1]::
+ Find redundant pack files.
-link:git-merge-cache.html[git-merge-cache]::
- Runs a merge for files needing merging
+gitlink:git-rev-list[1]::
+ Lists commit objects in reverse chronological order.
-link:git-rev-list.html[git-rev-list]::
- Lists commit objects in reverse chronological order
+gitlink:git-show-index[1]::
+ Displays contents of a pack idx file.
-link:git-rev-tree.html[git-rev-tree]::
- Provides the revision tree for one or more commits
+gitlink:git-tar-tree[1]::
+ Creates a tar archive of the files in the named tree object.
-link:git-rpush.html[git-rpush]::
- Helper "server-side" program used by git-rpull
+gitlink:git-unpack-file[1]::
+ Creates a temporary file with a blob's contents.
-link:git-tar-tree.html[git-tar-tree]::
- Creates a tar archive of the files in the named tree
+gitlink:git-var[1]::
+ Displays a git logical variable.
-link:git-unpack-file.html[git-unpack-file]::
- Creates a temporary file with a blob's contents
+gitlink:git-verify-pack[1]::
+ Validates packed git archive files.
-The interrogate commands may create files - and you can force them to
-touch the working file set - but in general they don't
+In general, the interrogate commands do not touch the files in
+the working tree.
-Terminology
------------
-see README for description
+Synching repositories
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+gitlink:git-clone-pack[1]::
+ Clones a repository into the current repository (engine
+ for ssh and local transport).
+
+gitlink:git-fetch-pack[1]::
+ Updates from a remote repository (engine for ssh and
+ local transport).
+
+gitlink:git-http-fetch[1]::
+ Downloads a remote git repository via HTTP by walking
+ commit chain.
+
+gitlink:git-local-fetch[1]::
+ Duplicates another git repository on a local system by
+ walking commit chain.
+
+gitlink:git-peek-remote[1]::
+ Lists references on a remote repository using
+ upload-pack protocol (engine for ssh and local
+ transport).
+
+gitlink:git-receive-pack[1]::
+ Invoked by 'git-send-pack' to receive what is pushed to it.
+
+gitlink:git-send-pack[1]::
+ Pushes to a remote repository, intelligently.
+
+gitlink:git-http-push[1]::
+ Push missing objects using HTTP/DAV.
+
+gitlink:git-shell[1]::
+ Restricted shell for GIT-only SSH access.
+
+gitlink:git-ssh-fetch[1]::
+ Pulls from a remote repository over ssh connection by
+ walking commit chain.
+
+gitlink:git-ssh-upload[1]::
+ Helper "server-side" program used by git-ssh-fetch.
+
+gitlink:git-update-server-info[1]::
+ Updates auxiliary information on a dumb server to help
+ clients discover references and packs on it.
+
+gitlink:git-upload-pack[1]::
+ Invoked by 'git-clone-pack' and 'git-fetch-pack' to push
+ what are asked for.
+
+
+Porcelain-ish Commands
+----------------------
+
+gitlink:git-add[1]::
+ Add paths to the index.
+
+gitlink:git-am[1]::
+ Apply patches from a mailbox, but cooler.
+
+gitlink:git-applymbox[1]::
+ Apply patches from a mailbox, original version by Linus.
+
+gitlink:git-bisect[1]::
+ Find the change that introduced a bug by binary search.
+
+gitlink:git-branch[1]::
+ Create and Show branches.
+
+gitlink:git-checkout[1]::
+ Checkout and switch to a branch.
+
+gitlink:git-cherry-pick[1]::
+ Cherry-pick the effect of an existing commit.
+
+gitlink:git-clone[1]::
+ Clones a repository into a new directory.
+
+gitlink:git-commit[1]::
+ Record changes to the repository.
+
+gitlink:git-diff[1]::
+ Show changes between commits, commit and working tree, etc.
+
+gitlink:git-fetch[1]::
+ Download from a remote repository via various protocols.
+
+gitlink:git-format-patch[1]::
+ Prepare patches for e-mail submission.
+
+gitlink:git-grep[1]::
+ Print lines matching a pattern.
+
+gitlink:git-log[1]::
+ Shows commit logs.
+
+gitlink:git-ls-remote[1]::
+ Shows references in a remote or local repository.
+
+gitlink:git-merge[1]::
+ Grand unified merge driver.
+
+gitlink:git-mv[1]::
+ Move or rename a file, a directory, or a symlink.
+
+gitlink:git-pull[1]::
+ Fetch from and merge with a remote repository.
+
+gitlink:git-push[1]::
+ Update remote refs along with associated objects.
+
+gitlink:git-rebase[1]::
+ Rebase local commits to the updated upstream head.
+
+gitlink:git-repack[1]::
+ Pack unpacked objects in a repository.
+
+gitlink:git-reset[1]::
+ Reset current HEAD to the specified state.
+
+gitlink:git-resolve[1]::
+ Merge two commits.
+
+gitlink:git-revert[1]::
+ Revert an existing commit.
+
+gitlink:git-shortlog[1]::
+ Summarizes 'git log' output.
-Identifier terminology
+gitlink:git-show-branch[1]::
+ Show branches and their commits.
+
+gitlink:git-status[1]::
+ Shows the working tree status.
+
+gitlink:git-verify-tag[1]::
+ Check the GPG signature of tag.
+
+gitlink:git-whatchanged[1]::
+ Shows commit logs and differences they introduce.
+
+
+Ancillary Commands
+------------------
+Manipulators:
+
+gitlink:git-applypatch[1]::
+ Apply one patch extracted from an e-mail.
+
+gitlink:git-archimport[1]::
+ Import an arch repository into git.
+
+gitlink:git-convert-objects[1]::
+ Converts old-style git repository.
+
+gitlink:git-cvsimport[1]::
+ Salvage your data out of another SCM people love to hate.
+
+gitlink:git-cvsexportcommit[1]::
+ Export a single commit to a CVS checkout.
+
+gitlink:git-lost-found[1]::
+ Recover lost refs that luckily have not yet been pruned.
+
+gitlink:git-merge-one-file[1]::
+ The standard helper program to use with `git-merge-index`.
+
+gitlink:git-prune[1]::
+ Prunes all unreachable objects from the object database.
+
+gitlink:git-relink[1]::
+ Hardlink common objects in local repositories.
+
+gitlink:git-svnimport[1]::
+ Import a SVN repository into git.
+
+gitlink:git-sh-setup[1]::
+ Common git shell script setup code.
+
+gitlink:git-symbolic-ref[1]::
+ Read and modify symbolic refs.
+
+gitlink:git-tag[1]::
+ An example script to create a tag object signed with GPG.
+
+gitlink:git-update-ref[1]::
+ Update the object name stored in a ref safely.
+
+
+Interrogators:
+
+gitlink:git-check-ref-format[1]::
+ Make sure ref name is well formed.
+
+gitlink:git-cherry[1]::
+ Find commits not merged upstream.
+
+gitlink:git-count-objects[1]::
+ Count unpacked number of objects and their disk consumption.
+
+gitlink:git-daemon[1]::
+ A really simple server for git repositories.
+
+gitlink:git-get-tar-commit-id[1]::
+ Extract commit ID from an archive created using git-tar-tree.
+
+gitlink:git-mailinfo[1]::
+ Extracts patch and authorship information from a single
+ e-mail message, optionally transliterating the commit
+ message into utf-8.
+
+gitlink:git-mailsplit[1]::
+ A stupid program to split UNIX mbox format mailbox into
+ individual pieces of e-mail.
+
+gitlink:git-patch-id[1]::
+ Compute unique ID for a patch.
+
+gitlink:git-parse-remote[1]::
+ Routines to help parsing `$GIT_DIR/remotes/` files.
+
+gitlink:git-request-pull[1]::
+ git-request-pull.
+
+gitlink:git-rev-parse[1]::
+ Pick out and massage parameters.
+
+gitlink:git-send-email[1]::
+ Send patch e-mails out of "format-patch --mbox" output.
+
+gitlink:git-symbolic-ref[1]::
+ Read and modify symbolic refs.
+
+gitlink:git-stripspace[1]::
+ Filter out empty lines.
+
+
+Commands not yet documented
+---------------------------
+
+gitlink:gitk[1]::
+ The gitk repository browser.
+
+
+Configuration Mechanism
+-----------------------
+
+Starting from 0.99.9 (actually mid 0.99.8.GIT), `.git/config` file
+is used to hold per-repository configuration options. It is a
+simple text file modelled after `.ini` format familiar to some
+people. Here is an example:
+
+------------
+#
+# A '#' or ';' character indicates a comment.
+#
+
+; core variables
+[core]
+ ; Don't trust file modes
+ filemode = false
+
+; user identity
+[user]
+ name = "Junio C Hamano"
+ email = "junkio@twinsun.com"
+
+------------
+
+Various commands read from the configuration file and adjust
+their operation accordingly.
+
+
+Identifier Terminology
----------------------
<object>::
- Indicates any object sha1 identifier
+ Indicates the object name for any type of object.
<blob>::
- Indicates a blob object sha1 identifier
+ Indicates a blob object name.
<tree>::
- Indicates a tree object sha1 identifier
+ Indicates a tree object name.
<commit>::
- Indicates a commit object sha1 identifier
+ Indicates a commit object name.
<tree-ish>::
- Indicates a tree, commit or tag object sha1 identifier.
- A command that takes a <tree-ish> argument ultimately
- wants to operate on a <tree> object but automatically
- dereferences <commit> and <tag> that points at a
- <tree>.
+ Indicates a tree, commit or tag object name. A
+ command that takes a <tree-ish> argument ultimately wants to
+ operate on a <tree> object but automatically dereferences
+ <commit> and <tag> objects that point at a <tree>.
<type>::
Indicates that an object type is required.
- Currently one of: blob/tree/commit/tag
+ Currently one of: `blob`, `tree`, `commit`, or `tag`.
<file>::
- Indicates a filename - always relative to the root of
- the tree structure GIT_INDEX_FILE describes.
+ Indicates a filename - almost always relative to the
+ root of the tree structure `GIT_INDEX_FILE` describes.
+
+Symbolic Identifiers
+--------------------
+Any git command accepting any <object> can also use the following
+symbolic notation:
+
+HEAD::
+ indicates the head of the current branch (i.e. the
+ contents of `$GIT_DIR/HEAD`).
+
+<tag>::
+ a valid tag 'name'
+ (i.e. the contents of `$GIT_DIR/refs/tags/<tag>`).
+
+<head>::
+ a valid head 'name'
+ (i.e. the contents of `$GIT_DIR/refs/heads/<head>`).
+
+<snap>::
+ a valid snapshot 'name'
+ (i.e. the contents of `$GIT_DIR/refs/snap/<snap>`).
+
+
+File/Directory Structure
+------------------------
+
+Please see link:repository-layout.html[repository layout] document.
+
+Higher level SCMs may provide and manage additional information in the
+`$GIT_DIR`.
+
Terminology
-----------
-Each line contains terms used interchangeably
-
- object database, .git directory
- directory cache, index
- id, sha1, sha1-id, sha1 hash
- type, tag
- blob, blob object
- tree, tree object
- commit, commit object
- parent
- root object
- changeset
+Please see link:glossary.html[glossary] document.
Environment Variables
---------------------
Various git commands use the following environment variables:
-- 'GIT_AUTHOR_NAME'
-- 'GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL'
-- 'GIT_AUTHOR_DATE'
-- 'GIT_COMMITTER_NAME'
-- 'GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL'
-- 'GIT_DIFF_OPTS'
-- 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF'
-- 'GIT_INDEX_FILE'
-- 'GIT_OBJECT_DIRECTORY'
-- 'GIT_ALTERNATE_OBJECT_DIRECTORIES'
-
-
-Author
-------
-Written by Linus Torvalds <torvalds@osdl.org>
+The git Repository
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+These environment variables apply to 'all' core git commands. Nb: it
+is worth noting that they may be used/overridden by SCMS sitting above
+git so take care if using Cogito etc.
+
+'GIT_INDEX_FILE'::
+ This environment allows the specification of an alternate
+ index file. If not specified, the default of `$GIT_DIR/index`
+ is used.
+
+'GIT_OBJECT_DIRECTORY'::
+ If the object storage directory is specified via this
+ environment variable then the sha1 directories are created
+ underneath - otherwise the default `$GIT_DIR/objects`
+ directory is used.
+
+'GIT_ALTERNATE_OBJECT_DIRECTORIES'::
+ Due to the immutable nature of git objects, old objects can be
+ archived into shared, read-only directories. This variable
+ specifies a ":" separated list of git object directories which
+ can be used to search for git objects. New objects will not be
+ written to these directories.
+
+'GIT_DIR'::
+ If the 'GIT_DIR' environment variable is set then it
+ specifies a path to use instead of the default `.git`
+ for the base of the repository.
+
+git Commits
+~~~~~~~~~~~
+'GIT_AUTHOR_NAME'::
+'GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL'::
+'GIT_AUTHOR_DATE'::
+'GIT_COMMITTER_NAME'::
+'GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL'::
+ see gitlink:git-commit-tree[1]
+
+git Diffs
+~~~~~~~~~
+'GIT_DIFF_OPTS'::
+'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF'::
+ see the "generating patches" section in :
+ gitlink:git-diff-index[1];
+ gitlink:git-diff-files[1];
+ gitlink:git-diff-tree[1]
+
+Discussion[[Discussion]]
+------------------------
+include::README[]
+
+Authors
+-------
+* git's founding father is Linus Torvalds <torvalds@osdl.org>.
+* The current git nurse is Junio C Hamano <junkio@cox.net>.
+* The git potty was written by Andres Ericsson <ae@op5.se>.
+* General upbringing is handled by the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>.
Documentation
--------------
-Documentation by David Greaves, Junio C Hamano and the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>.
+The documentation for git suite was started by David Greaves
+<david@dgreaves.com>, and later enhanced greatly by the
+contributors on the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>.
GIT
---
-Part of the link:git.html[git] suite
+Part of the gitlink:git[7] suite