NAME
----
-git-commit-tree - Creates a new commit object
+git-commit-tree - Create a new commit object
SYNOPSIS
--------
-'git-commit-tree' <tree> [-p <parent commit>]\* < changelog
+[verse]
+'git commit-tree' <tree> [(-p <parent>)...] < changelog
+'git commit-tree' [(-p <parent>)...] [(-m <message>)...] [(-F <file>)...] <tree>
DESCRIPTION
-----------
+This is usually not what an end user wants to run directly. See
+linkgit:git-commit[1] instead.
+
Creates a new commit object based on the provided tree object and
-emits the new commit object id on stdout. If no parent is given then
-it is considered to be an initial tree.
+emits the new commit object id on stdout. The log message is read
+from the standard input, unless `-m` or `-F` options are given.
-A commit object usually has 1 parent (a commit after a change) or up
-to 16 parents. More than one parent represents a merge of branches
-that led to them.
+A commit object may have any number of parents. With exactly one
+parent, it is an ordinary commit. Having more than one parent makes
+the commit a merge between several lines of history. Initial (root)
+commits have no parents.
While a tree represents a particular directory state of a working
directory, a commit represents that state in "time", and explains how
<tree>::
An existing tree object
--p <parent commit>::
+-p <parent>::
Each '-p' indicates the id of a parent commit object.
-
+
+-m <message>::
+ A paragraph in the commit log message. This can be given more than
+ once and each <message> becomes its own paragraph.
+
+-F <file>::
+ Read the commit log message from the given file. Use `-` to read
+ from the standard input.
+
Commit Information
------------------
- author name, email and date
- committer name and email and the commit time.
-If not provided, "git-commit-tree" uses your name, hostname and domain to
-provide author and committer info. This can be overridden by
-either `.git/config` file, or using the following environment variables.
+While parent object ids are provided on the command line, author and
+committer information is taken from the following environment variables,
+if set:
GIT_AUTHOR_NAME
GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL
GIT_AUTHOR_DATE
GIT_COMMITTER_NAME
GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL
+ GIT_COMMITTER_DATE
+ EMAIL
(nb "<", ">" and "\n"s are stripped)
-In `.git/config` file, the following items are used:
-
- [user]
- name = "Your Name"
- email = "your@email.address.xz"
+In case (some of) these environment variables are not set, the information
+is taken from the configuration items user.name and user.email, or, if not
+present, system user name and the hostname used for outgoing mail (taken
+from `/etc/mailname` and falling back to the fully qualified hostname when
+that file does not exist).
-A commit comment is read from stdin (max 999 chars). If a changelog
-entry is not provided via "<" redirection, "git-commit-tree" will just wait
+A commit comment is read from stdin. If a changelog
+entry is not provided via "<" redirection, 'git commit-tree' will just wait
for one to be entered and terminated with ^D.
+include::date-formats.txt[]
-Diagnostics
------------
-You don't exist. Go away!::
- The passwd(5) gecos field couldn't be read
-Your parents must have hated you!::
- The password(5) gecos field is longer than a giant static buffer.
-Your sysadmin must hate you!::
- The password(5) name field is longer than a giant static buffer.
-
-See Also
---------
-gitlink:git-write-tree[1]
+Discussion
+----------
+include::i18n.txt[]
-Author
-------
-Written by Linus Torvalds <torvalds@osdl.org>
+FILES
+-----
+/etc/mailname
-Documentation
---------------
-Documentation by David Greaves, Junio C Hamano and the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>.
+SEE ALSO
+--------
+linkgit:git-write-tree[1]
GIT
---
-Part of the gitlink:git[7] suite
-
+Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite