SYNOPSIS
--------
[verse]
-'git-tag' [-a | -s | -u <key-id>] [-f | -v] [-m <msg> | -F <file>] <name> [<head>]
-'git-tag' -d <name>...
-'git-tag' -l [<pattern>]
+'git tag' [-a | -s | -u <key-id>] [-f] [-m <msg> | -F <file>]
+ <name> [<commit> | <object>]
+'git tag' -d <name>...
+'git tag' [-n[<num>]] -l [<pattern>]
+'git tag' -v <name>...
DESCRIPTION
-----------
If one of `-a`, `-s`, or `-u <key-id>` is passed, the command
creates a 'tag' object, and requires the tag message. Unless
-`-m <msg>` is given, an editor is started for the user to type
+`-m <msg>` or `-F <file>` is given, an editor is started for the user to type
in the tag message.
+If `-m <msg>` or `-F <file>` is given and `-a`, `-s`, and `-u <key-id>`
+are absent, `-a` is implied.
+
Otherwise just the SHA1 object name of the commit object is
written (i.e. a lightweight tag).
committer identity for the current user is used to find the
GnuPG key for signing.
-`-d <tag>` deletes the tag.
-
-`-v <tag>` verifies the gpg signature of the tag.
-
-`-l <pattern>` lists tags that match the given pattern (or all
-if no pattern is given).
-
OPTIONS
-------
-a::
Delete existing tags with the given names.
-v::
- Verify the gpg signature of given the tag
+ Verify the gpg signature of the given tag names.
+
+-n<num>::
+ <num> specifies how many lines from the annotation, if any,
+ are printed when using -l.
+ The default is not to print any annotation lines.
+ If no number is given to `-n`, only the first line is printed.
-l <pattern>::
- List tags that match the given pattern (or all if no pattern is given).
+ List tags with names that match the given pattern (or all if no pattern is given).
+ Typing "git tag" without arguments, also lists all tags.
-m <msg>::
- Use the given tag message (instead of prompting)
+ Use the given tag message (instead of prompting).
+ If multiple `-m` options are given, their values are
+ concatenated as separate paragraphs.
+ Implies `-a` if none of `-a`, `-s`, or `-u <key-id>`
+ is given.
-F <file>::
Take the tag message from the given file. Use '-' to
read the message from the standard input.
+ Implies `-a` if none of `-a`, `-s`, or `-u <key-id>`
+ is given.
CONFIGURATION
-------------
-By default, git-tag in sign-with-default mode (-s) will use your
+By default, 'git-tag' in sign-with-default mode (-s) will use your
committer identity (of the form "Your Name <your@email.address>") to
find a key. If you want to use a different default key, you can specify
it in the repository configuration as follows:
+-------------------------------------
[user]
signingkey = <gpg-key-id>
+-------------------------------------
+
+
+DISCUSSION
+----------
+
+On Re-tagging
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+What should you do when you tag a wrong commit and you would
+want to re-tag?
+
+If you never pushed anything out, just re-tag it. Use "-f" to
+replace the old one. And you're done.
+
+But if you have pushed things out (or others could just read
+your repository directly), then others will have already seen
+the old tag. In that case you can do one of two things:
+
+. The sane thing.
+Just admit you screwed up, and use a different name. Others have
+already seen one tag-name, and if you keep the same name, you
+may be in the situation that two people both have "version X",
+but they actually have 'different' "X"'s. So just call it "X.1"
+and be done with it.
+
+. The insane thing.
+You really want to call the new version "X" too, 'even though'
+others have already seen the old one. So just use 'git-tag -f'
+again, as if you hadn't already published the old one.
+
+However, Git does *not* (and it should not) change tags behind
+users back. So if somebody already got the old tag, doing a
+'git-pull' on your tree shouldn't just make them overwrite the old
+one.
+
+If somebody got a release tag from you, you cannot just change
+the tag for them by updating your own one. This is a big
+security issue, in that people MUST be able to trust their
+tag-names. If you really want to do the insane thing, you need
+to just fess up to it, and tell people that you messed up. You
+can do that by making a very public announcement saying:
+
+------------
+Ok, I messed up, and I pushed out an earlier version tagged as X. I
+then fixed something, and retagged the *fixed* tree as X again.
+
+If you got the wrong tag, and want the new one, please delete
+the old one and fetch the new one by doing:
+
+ git tag -d X
+ git fetch origin tag X
+
+to get my updated tag.
+
+You can test which tag you have by doing
+
+ git rev-parse X
+
+which should return 0123456789abcdef.. if you have the new version.
+
+Sorry for inconvenience.
+------------
+
+Does this seem a bit complicated? It *should* be. There is no
+way that it would be correct to just "fix" it behind peoples
+backs. People need to know that their tags might have been
+changed.
+
+
+On Automatic following
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+If you are following somebody else's tree, you are most likely
+using tracking branches (`refs/heads/origin` in traditional
+layout, or `refs/remotes/origin/master` in the separate-remote
+layout). You usually want the tags from the other end.
+
+On the other hand, if you are fetching because you would want a
+one-shot merge from somebody else, you typically do not want to
+get tags from there. This happens more often for people near
+the toplevel but not limited to them. Mere mortals when pulling
+from each other do not necessarily want to automatically get
+private anchor point tags from the other person.
+
+You would notice "please pull" messages on the mailing list says
+repo URL and branch name alone. This is designed to be easily
+cut&pasted to a 'git-fetch' command line:
+
+------------
+Linus, please pull from
+
+ git://git..../proj.git master
+
+to get the following updates...
+------------
+
+becomes:
+
+------------
+$ git pull git://git..../proj.git master
+------------
+
+In such a case, you do not want to automatically follow other's
+tags.
+
+One important aspect of git is it is distributed, and being
+distributed largely means there is no inherent "upstream" or
+"downstream" in the system. On the face of it, the above
+example might seem to indicate that the tag namespace is owned
+by upper echelon of people and tags only flow downwards, but
+that is not the case. It only shows that the usage pattern
+determines who are interested in whose tags.
+
+A one-shot pull is a sign that a commit history is now crossing
+the boundary between one circle of people (e.g. "people who are
+primarily interested in the networking part of the kernel") who may
+have their own set of tags (e.g. "this is the third release
+candidate from the networking group to be proposed for general
+consumption with 2.6.21 release") to another circle of people
+(e.g. "people who integrate various subsystem improvements").
+The latter are usually not interested in the detailed tags used
+internally in the former group (that is what "internal" means).
+That is why it is desirable not to follow tags automatically in
+this case.
+
+It may well be that among networking people, they may want to
+exchange the tags internal to their group, but in that workflow
+they are most likely tracking with each other's progress by
+having tracking branches. Again, the heuristic to automatically
+follow such tags is a good thing.
+
+
+On Backdating Tags
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+If you have imported some changes from another VCS and would like
+to add tags for major releases of your work, it is useful to be able
+to specify the date to embed inside of the tag object. The data in
+the tag object affects, for example, the ordering of tags in the
+gitweb interface.
+
+To set the date used in future tag objects, set the environment
+variable GIT_COMMITTER_DATE to one or more of the date and time. The
+date and time can be specified in a number of ways; the most common
+is "YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM".
+
+An example follows.
+
+------------
+$ GIT_COMMITTER_DATE="2006-10-02 10:31" git tag -s v1.0.1
+------------
+
Author
------
Written by Linus Torvalds <torvalds@osdl.org>,
-Junio C Hamano <junkio@cox.net> and Chris Wright <chrisw@osdl.org>.
+Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com> and Chris Wright <chrisw@osdl.org>.
Documentation
--------------
GIT
---
-Part of the gitlink:git[7] suite
+Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite