NAME
----
-git-format-patch - Prepare patches for e-mail submission.
+git-format-patch - Prepare patches for e-mail submission
SYNOPSIS
--------
-'git-format-patch' [-n][-o <dir>][-k][--mbox][--diff-options] <his> [<mine>]
+[verse]
+'git format-patch' [-k] [-o <dir> | --stdout] [--thread]
+ [--attach[=<boundary>] | --inline[=<boundary>]]
+ [-s | --signoff] [<common diff options>]
+ [-n | --numbered | -N | --no-numbered]
+ [--start-number <n>] [--numbered-files]
+ [--in-reply-to=Message-Id] [--suffix=.<sfx>]
+ [--ignore-if-in-upstream]
+ [--subject-prefix=Subject-Prefix]
+ [--cc=<email>]
+ [--cover-letter]
+ [ <since> | <revision range> ]
DESCRIPTION
-----------
-Prepare each commit with its patch since <mine> head forked from
-<his> head, one file per patch, for e-mail submission. Each
-output file is numbered sequentially from 1, and uses the first
-line of the commit message (massaged for pathname safety) as the
-filename.
-When -o is specified, output files are created in that
-directory; otherwise in the current working directory.
+Prepare each commit with its patch in
+one file per commit, formatted to resemble UNIX mailbox format.
+The output of this command is convenient for e-mail submission or
+for use with 'git-am'.
-When -n is specified, instead of "[PATCH] Subject", the first
-line is formatted as "[PATCH N/M] Subject", unless you have only
-one patch.
+There are two ways to specify which commits to operate on.
-When --mbox is specified, the output is formatted to resemble
-UNIX mailbox format, and can be concatenated together for
-processing with applymbox.
+1. A single commit, <since>, specifies that the commits leading
+ to the tip of the current branch that are not in the history
+ that leads to the <since> to be output.
+2. Generic <revision range> expression (see "SPECIFYING
+ REVISIONS" section in linkgit:git-rev-parse[1]) means the
+ commits in the specified range.
+
+A single commit, when interpreted as a <revision range>
+expression, means "everything that leads to that commit", but
+if you write 'git format-patch <commit>', the previous rule
+applies to that command line and you do not get "everything
+since the beginning of the time". If you want to format
+everything since project inception to one commit, say "git
+format-patch \--root <commit>" to make it clear that it is the
+latter case.
+
+By default, each output file is numbered sequentially from 1, and uses the
+first line of the commit message (massaged for pathname safety) as
+the filename. With the --numbered-files option, the output file names
+will only be numbers, without the first line of the commit appended.
+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
-------
+:git-format-patch: 1
+include::diff-options.txt[]
+
+-<n>::
+ Limits the number of patches to prepare.
+
-o <dir>::
+--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.
+-N::
+--no-numbered::
+ Name output in '[PATCH]' format.
+
+--start-number <n>::
+ Start numbering the patches at <n> instead of 1.
+
+--numbered-files::
+ Output file names will be a simple number sequence
+ without the default first line of the commit appended.
+ Mutually exclusive with the --stdout option.
+
-k::
+--keep-subject::
Do not strip/add '[PATCH]' from the first line of the
commit log message.
---author, --date::
- Output From: and Date: headers for commits made by
- yourself as well. Usually these are output only for
- commits made by people other than yourself.
+-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[=<boundary>]::
+ Create multipart/mixed attachment, the first part of
+ which is the commit message and the patch itself in the
+ second part, with "Content-Disposition: attachment".
+
+--inline[=<boundary>]::
+ Create multipart/mixed attachment, the first part of
+ which is the commit message and the patch itself in the
+ second part, with "Content-Disposition: inline".
+
+--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.
+
+--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.
+
+--ignore-if-in-upstream::
+ Do not include a patch that matches a commit in
+ <until>..<since>. This will examine all patches reachable
+ from <since> but not from <until> and compare them with the
+ patches being generated, and any patch that matches is
+ ignored.
+
+--subject-prefix=<Subject-Prefix>::
+ Instead of the standard '[PATCH]' prefix in the subject
+ line, instead use '[<Subject-Prefix>]'. This
+ allows for useful naming of a patch series, and can be
+ combined with the --numbered option.
+
+--cc=<email>::
+ Add a "Cc:" header to the email headers. This is in addition
+ to any configured headers, and may be used multiple times.
+
+--cover-letter::
+ Generate a cover letter template. You still have to fill in
+ a description, but the shortlog and the diffstat will be
+ generated for you.
+
+--suffix=.<sfx>::
+ Instead of using `.patch` as the suffix for generated
+ filenames, use specified suffix. A common alternative is
+ `--suffix=.txt`.
++
+Note that you would need to include the leading dot `.` if you
+want a filename like `0001-description-of-my-change.patch`, and
+the first letter does not have to be a dot. Leaving it empty would
+not add any suffix.
+
+--no-binary::
+ Don't output contents of changes in binary files, just take note
+ that they differ. Note that this disable the patch to be properly
+ applied. By default the contents of changes in those files are
+ encoded in the patch.
+
+CONFIGURATION
+-------------
+You can specify extra mail header lines to be added to each message
+in the repository configuration, new defaults for the subject prefix
+and file suffix, and number patches when outputting more than one.
+
+------------
+[format]
+ headers = "Organization: git-foo\n"
+ subjectprefix = CHANGE
+ suffix = .txt
+ numbered = auto
+ cc = <email>
+------------
+
+
+EXAMPLES
+--------
---mbox::
- Format the output files for closer to mbox format by
- adding a phony Unix "From " line, so they can be
- concatenated together and fed to `git-applymbox`.
- Implies --author and --date.
+* 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 -k --stdout R1..R2 | git am -3 -k
+------------
+
+* Extract all commits which are in the current branch but not in the
+origin branch:
++
+------------
+$ git format-patch origin
+------------
++
+For each commit a separate file is created in the current directory.
+
+* Extract all commits that lead to 'origin' since the inception of the
+project:
++
+------------
+$ git format-patch --root origin
+------------
+
+* The same as the previous one:
++
+------------
+$ git format-patch -M -B origin
+------------
++
+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.
+
+* Extract three topmost commits from the current branch and format them
+as e-mailable patches:
++
+------------
+$ git format-patch -3
+------------
+
+SEE ALSO
+--------
+linkgit:git-am[1], linkgit:git-send-email[1]
Author
------
-Written by Junio C Hamano <junkio@cox.net>
+Written by Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Documentation
--------------
GIT
---
-Part of the link:git.html[git] suite
-
+Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite