[verse]
'git-show-ref' [-q|--quiet] [--verify] [-h|--head] [-d|--dereference]
[-s|--hash] [--abbrev] [--tags] [--heads] [--] <pattern>...
+'git-show-ref' --exclude-existing[=pattern]
DESCRIPTION
-----------
dereferenced into object IDs. Additionally, it can be used to test whether a
particular ref exists.
+The --exclude-existing form is a filter that does the inverse, it shows the
+refs from stdin that don't exist in the local repository.
+
Use of this utility is encouraged in favor of directly accessing files under
in the `.git` directory.
Do not print any results to stdout. When combined with '--verify' this
can be used to silently check if a reference exists.
+--exclude-existing, --exclude-existing=pattern::
+
+ Make git-show-ref act as a filter that reads refs from stdin of the
+ form "^(?:<anything>\s)?<refname>(?:\^\{\})?$" and performs the
+ following actions on each:
+ (1) strip "^{}" at the end of line if any;
+ (2) ignore if pattern is provided and does not head-match refname;
+ (3) warn if refname is not a well-formed refname and skip;
+ (4) ignore if refname is a ref that exists in the local repository;
+ (5) otherwise output the line.
+
+
<pattern>::
Show references matching one or more patterns.