-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 a fast, scalable, distributed revision control system with an
+unusually rich command set that provides both high-level operations
+and full access to internals.
+
+See this link:tutorial.html[tutorial] to get started, then see
+link:everyday.html[Everyday Git] for a useful minimum set of commands, and
+"man git-commandname" for documentation of each command. CVS users may
+also want to read link:cvs-migration.html[CVS migration].
+
+OPTIONS
+-------
+--version::
+ Prints the git suite version that the 'git' program came from.
+
+--help::
+ Prints the synopsis and a list of the most commonly used
+ commands. If a git command is named this option will bring up
+ the man-page for that command. If the option '--all' or '-a' is
+ given then all available commands are printed.
+
+--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.
+
+
+FURTHER DOCUMENTATION
+---------------------
+
+See the references above to get started using git. The following is
+probably more detail than necessary for a first-time user.
-This is reference information for the core git commands.
+The <<Discussion,Discussion>> section below and the
+link:core-tutorial.html[Core tutorial] both provide introductions to the
+underlying git architecture.
-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!
+See also the link:howto-index.html[howto] documents for some useful
+examples.
-David Greaves <david@dgreaves.com>
-08/05/05
+GIT COMMANDS
+------------
-Updated by Junio C Hamano <junkio@cox.net> on 2005-05-05 to
-reflect recent changes.
+We divide git into high level ("porcelain") commands and low level
+("plumbing") commands.
-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.
+Low-level commands (plumbing)
+-----------------------------
-There are also some ancilliary 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.
+Although git includes its
+own porcelain layer, its low-level commands are sufficient to support
+development of alternative porcelains. Developers of such porcelains
+might start by reading about gitlink:git-update-index[1] and
+gitlink:git-read-tree[1].
+
+We divide the low-level commands into commands that manipulate objects (in
+the repository, index, and working tree), commands that interrogate and
+compare objects, and commands that move objects and references between
+repositories.
Manipulation commands
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-link:git-checkout-cache.html[git-checkout-cache]::
- Copy files from the cache to the working directory
+gitlink:git-apply[1]::
+ Reads a "diff -up1" or git generated patch file and
+ applies it to the working tree.
+
+gitlink:git-checkout-index[1]::
+ Copy files from the index to the working tree.
+
+gitlink:git-commit-tree[1]::
+ Creates a new commit object.
+
+gitlink:git-hash-object[1]::
+ Computes the object ID from a file.
+
+gitlink:git-index-pack[1]::
+ Build pack idx file for an existing packed archive.
-link:git-commit-tree.html[git-commit-tree]::
- Creates a new commit object
+gitlink:git-init-db[1]::
+ Creates an empty git object database, or reinitialize an
+ existing one.
-link:git-init-db.html[git-init-db]::
- Creates an empty git object database
+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-mktag.html[git-mktag]::
- Creates a tag object
+gitlink:git-mktree[1]::
+ Build a tree-object from ls-tree formatted text.
-link:git-read-tree.html[git-read-tree]::
- Reads tree information into the directory cache
+gitlink:git-pack-objects[1]::
+ Creates a packed archive of objects.
-link:git-update-cache.html[git-update-cache]::
- Modifies the index or directory cache
+gitlink:git-prune-packed[1]::
+ Remove extra objects that are already in pack files.
-link:git-write-blob.html[git-write-blob]::
- Creates a blob from a file
+gitlink:git-read-tree[1]::
+ Reads tree information into the index.
+
+gitlink:git-repo-config[1]::
+ Get and set options in .git/config.
+
+gitlink:git-unpack-objects[1]::
+ Unpacks objects out of a packed archive.
+
+gitlink:git-update-index[1]::
+ Registers files in the working tree to the index.
+
+gitlink:git-write-tree[1]::
+ Creates a tree from the index.
-link:git-write-tree.html[git-write-tree]::
- Creates a tree from the current cache
Interrogation commands
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-link:git-cat-file.html[git-cat-file]::
- Provide content or type information for repository objects
-link:git-check-files.html[git-check-files]::
- Verify a list of files are up-to-date
+gitlink:git-cat-file[1]::
+ Provide content or type/size information for repository objects.
+
+gitlink:git-describe[1]::
+ Show the most recent tag that is reachable from a commit.
+
+gitlink:git-diff-index[1]::
+ Compares content and mode of blobs between the index and repository.
+
+gitlink:git-diff-files[1]::
+ Compares files in the working tree and the index.
+
+gitlink:git-diff-stages[1]::
+ Compares two "merge stages" in the index.
+
+gitlink:git-diff-tree[1]::
+ 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.
+
+gitlink:git-ls-files[1]::
+ Information about files in the index and the working tree.
+
+gitlink:git-ls-tree[1]::
+ Displays a tree object in human readable form.
+
+gitlink:git-merge-base[1]::
+ Finds as good common ancestors as possible for a merge.
+
+gitlink:git-name-rev[1]::
+ Find symbolic names for given revs.
+
+gitlink:git-pack-redundant[1]::
+ Find redundant pack files.
+
+gitlink:git-rev-list[1]::
+ Lists commit objects in reverse chronological order.
+
+gitlink:git-show-index[1]::
+ Displays contents of a pack idx file.
+
+gitlink:git-tar-tree[1]::
+ Creates a tar archive of the files in the named tree object.
+
+gitlink:git-unpack-file[1]::
+ Creates a temporary file with a blob's contents.
+
+gitlink:git-var[1]::
+ Displays a git logical variable.
+
+gitlink:git-verify-pack[1]::
+ Validates packed git archive files.
+
+In general, the interrogate commands do not touch the files in
+the working tree.
+
+
+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.
+
+
+High-level commands (porcelain)
+-------------------------------
+
+We separate the porcelain commands into the main commands and some
+ancillary user utilities.
+
+Main porcelain 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.
-link:git-diff-cache.html[git-diff-cache]::
- Compares content and mode of blobs between the cache and repository
+gitlink:git-clean[1]::
+ Remove untracked files from the working tree.
-link:git-diff-files.html[git-diff-files]::
- Compares files in the working tree and the cache
+gitlink:git-clone[1]::
+ Clones a repository into a new directory.
-link:git-diff-tree.html[git-diff-tree]::
- Compares the content and mode of blobs found via two tree objects
+gitlink:git-commit[1]::
+ Record changes to the repository.
-link:git-export.html[git-export]::
- Exports each commit and a diff against each of its parents
+gitlink:git-diff[1]::
+ Show changes between commits, commit and working tree, etc.
-link:git-fsck-cache.html[git-fsck-cache]::
- Verifies the connectivity and validity of the objects in the database
+gitlink:git-fetch[1]::
+ Download from a remote repository via various protocols.
-link:git-ls-files.html[git-ls-files]::
- Information about files in the cache/working directory
+gitlink:git-format-patch[1]::
+ Prepare patches for e-mail submission.
-link:git-ls-tree.html[git-ls-tree]::
- Displays a tree object in human readable form
+gitlink:git-grep[1]::
+ Print lines matching a pattern.
-link:git-merge-cache.html[git-merge-cache]::
- Runs a merge for files needing merging
+gitlink:git-log[1]::
+ Shows commit logs.
-link:git-rev-list.html[git-rev-list]::
- Lists commit objects in reverse chronological order
+gitlink:git-ls-remote[1]::
+ Shows references in a remote or local repository.
-link:git-rev-tree.html[git-rev-tree]::
- Provides the revision tree for one or more commits
+gitlink:git-merge[1]::
+ Grand unified merge driver.
-link:git-tar-tree.html[git-tar-tree]::
- Creates a tar archive of the files in the named tree
+gitlink:git-mv[1]::
+ Move or rename a file, a directory, or a symlink.
-link:git-unpack-file.html[git-unpack-file]::
- Creates a temporary file with a blob's contents
+gitlink:git-pull[1]::
+ Fetch from and merge with a remote repository.
-The interrogate commands may create files - and you can force them to
-touch the working file set - but in general they don't
+gitlink:git-push[1]::
+ Update remote refs along with associated objects.
+gitlink:git-rebase[1]::
+ Rebase local commits to the updated upstream head.
-Ancilliary Commands
--------------------
+gitlink:git-repack[1]::
+ Pack unpacked objects in a repository.
+
+gitlink:git-rerere[1]::
+ Reuse recorded resolution of conflicted merges.
+
+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-rm[1]::
+ Remove files from the working tree and from the index.
+
+gitlink:git-shortlog[1]::
+ Summarizes 'git log' output.
+
+gitlink:git-show[1]::
+ Show one commit log and its diff.
+
+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:
-link:git-apply-patch-script.html[git-apply-patch-script]::
- Sample script to apply the diffs from git-diff-*
+gitlink:git-applypatch[1]::
+ Apply one patch extracted from an e-mail.
-link:git-convert-cache.html[git-convert-cache]::
- Converts old-style GIT repository
+gitlink:git-archimport[1]::
+ Import an arch repository into git.
-link:git-http-pull.html[git-http-pull]::
- Downloads a remote GIT repository via HTTP
+gitlink:git-convert-objects[1]::
+ Converts old-style git repository.
-link:git-local-pull.html[git-local-pull]::
- Duplicates another GIT repository on a local system
+gitlink:git-cvsimport[1]::
+ Salvage your data out of another SCM people love to hate.
-link:git-merge-one-file-script.html[git-merge-one-file-script]::
- The standard helper program to use with "git-merge-cache"
+gitlink:git-cvsexportcommit[1]::
+ Export a single commit to a CVS checkout.
-link:git-pull-script.html[git-pull-script]::
- Script used by Linus to pull and merge a remote repository
+gitlink:git-cvsserver[1]::
+ A CVS server emulator for git.
-link:git-prune-script.html[git-prune-script]::
- Prunes all unreachable objects from the object database
+gitlink:git-lost-found[1]::
+ Recover lost refs that luckily have not yet been pruned.
-link:git-resolve-script.html[git-resolve-script]::
- Script used to merge two trees
+gitlink:git-merge-one-file[1]::
+ The standard helper program to use with `git-merge-index`.
-link:git-tag-script.html[git-tag-script]::
- An example script to create a tag object signed with GPG
+gitlink:git-prune[1]::
+ Prunes all unreachable objects from the object database.
-link:git-rpull.html[git-rpull]::
- Pulls from a remote repository over ssh connection
+gitlink:git-relink[1]::
+ Hardlink common objects in local repositories.
-Interogators:
+gitlink:git-svnimport[1]::
+ Import a SVN repository into git.
-link:git-diff-helper.html[git-diff-helper]::
- Generates patch format output for git-diff-*
+gitlink:git-sh-setup[1]::
+ Common git shell script setup code.
-link:git-rpush.html[git-rpush]::
- Helper "server-side" program used by git-rpull
+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.
-Terminology
------------
-see README for description
-Identifier terminology
+Interrogators:
+
+gitlink:git-annotate[1]::
+ Annotate file lines with commit info.
+
+gitlink:git-blame[1]::
+ Blame file lines on commits.
+
+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-fmt-merge-msg[1]::
+ Produce a merge commit message.
+
+gitlink:git-get-tar-commit-id[1]::
+ Extract commit ID from an archive created using git-tar-tree.
+
+gitlink:git-imap-send[1]::
+ Dump a mailbox from stdin into an imap folder.
+
+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-merge-tree[1]::
+ Show three-way merge without touching index.
+
+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 comand accepting any <object> can also use the following symbolic notation:
+Any git command accepting any <object> can also use the following
+symbolic notation:
HEAD::
- indicates the head of the repository (ie the contents of `$GIT_DIR/HEAD`)
+ indicates the head of the current branch (i.e. the
+ contents of `$GIT_DIR/HEAD`).
+
<tag>::
- a valid tag 'name'+
- (ie the contents of `$GIT_DIR/refs/tags/<tag>`)
+ a valid tag 'name'
+ (i.e. the contents of `$GIT_DIR/refs/tags/<tag>`).
+
<head>::
- a valid head 'name'+
- (ie the contents of `$GIT_DIR/refs/heads/<head>`)
-<snap>::
- a valid snapshot 'name'+
- (ie the contents of `$GIT_DIR/refs/snap/<snap>`)
+ a valid head 'name'
+ (i.e. the contents of `$GIT_DIR/refs/heads/<head>`).
File/Directory Structure
------------------------
-The git-core manipulates the following areas in the directory:
-
- .git/ The base (overridden with $GIT_DIR)
- objects/ The object base (overridden with $GIT_OBJECT_DIRECTORY)
- ??/ 'First 2 chars of object' directories
-It can interrogate (but never updates) the following areas:
+Please see link:repository-layout.html[repository layout] document.
- refs/ Directories containing symbolic names for objects
- (each file contains the hex SHA1 + newline)
- heads/ Commits which are heads of various sorts
- tags/ Tags, by the tag name (or some local renaming of it)
- snap/ ????
- ... Everything else isn't shared
- HEAD Symlink to refs/heads/<something>
+Read link:hooks.html[hooks] for more details about each hook.
Higher level SCMs may provide and manage additional information in the
-GIT_DIR.
+`$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
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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 so take care if using Cogito etc.
'GIT_INDEX_FILE'::
This environment allows the specification of an alternate
- cache/index file. If not specified, the default of
- `$GIT_DIR/index` is used.
+ index file. If not specified, the default of `$GIT_DIR/index`
+ is used.
'GIT_OBJECT_DIRECTORY'::
If the object storage directory is specified via this
'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 ":" seperated list of git object directories which
+ 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 `./.git` for the base of the
- repository.
+ 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_DATE'::
'GIT_COMMITTER_NAME'::
'GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL'::
- see link:git-commit-tree.html[git-commit-tree]
+ see gitlink:git-commit-tree[1]
git Diffs
~~~~~~~~~
'GIT_DIFF_OPTS'::
'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF'::
see the "generating patches" section in :
- link:git-diff-cache.html[git-diff-cache];
- link:git-diff-files.html[git-diff-files];
- link:git-diff-tree.html[git-diff-tree]
+ gitlink:git-diff-index[1];
+ gitlink:git-diff-files[1];
+ gitlink:git-diff-tree[1]
+
+Discussion[[Discussion]]
+------------------------
+include::README[]
-Author
-------
-Written by Linus Torvalds <torvalds@osdl.org>
+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