SYNOPSIS
--------
[verse]
-'git format-patch' [-k] [-o <dir> | --stdout] [--thread]
- [--attach[=<boundary>] | --inline[=<boundary>]]
- [-s | --signoff] [<common diff options>]
+'git format-patch' [-k] [(-o|--output-directory) <dir> | --stdout]
+ [--no-thread | --thread[=<style>]]
+ [(--attach|--inline)[=<boundary>] | --no-attach]
+ [-s | --signoff]
[-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>]
+ [--to=<email>] [--cc=<email>]
[--cover-letter]
+ [<common diff options>]
[ <since> | <revision range> ]
DESCRIPTION
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'.
+for use with 'git am'.
There are two ways to specify which commits to operate on.
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. If you want to format a single commit, you can do
-this with "git format-patch -1 <commit>".
+The first rule takes precedence in the case of a single <commit>. To
+apply the second rule, i.e., format everything since the beginning of
+history up until <commit>, use the '\--root' option: `git format-patch
+\--root <commit>`. If you want to format only <commit> itself, you
+can do this with `git format-patch -1 <commit>`.
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
+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.
+output, unless the `--stdout` option is specified.
-If -o is specified, output files are created in <dir>. Otherwise
+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".
+By default, the subject of a single patch is "[PATCH] First Line" and
+the subject when multiple patches are output is "[PATCH n/m] First
+Line". To force 1/1 to be added for a single patch, use `-n`. To omit
+patch numbers from the subject, use `-N`.
-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
+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
-n::
--numbered::
- Name output in '[PATCH n/m]' format.
+ Name output in '[PATCH n/m]' format, even with a single patch.
-N::
--no-numbered::
--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::
--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".
+ second part, with `Content-Disposition: attachment`.
+
+--no-attach::
+ Disable the creation of an attachment, overriding the
+ configuration setting.
--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.
+ second part, with `Content-Disposition: inline`.
+
+--thread[=<style>]::
+--no-thread::
+ Controls addition of `In-Reply-To` and `References` headers to
+ make the second and subsequent mails appear as replies to the
+ first. Also controls generation of the `Message-Id` header to
+ reference.
++
+The optional <style> argument can be either `shallow` or `deep`.
+'shallow' threading makes every mail a reply to the head of the
+series, where the head is chosen from the cover letter, the
+`\--in-reply-to`, and the first patch mail, in this order. 'deep'
+threading makes every mail a reply to the previous one.
++
+The default is `--no-thread`, unless the 'format.thread' configuration
+is set. If `--thread` is specified without a style, it defaults to the
+style specified by 'format.thread' if any, or else `shallow`.
++
+Beware that the default for 'git send-email' is to thread emails
+itself. If you want `git format-patch` to take care of threading, you
+will want to ensure that threading is disabled for `git send-email`.
--in-reply-to=Message-Id::
- Make the first mail (or all the mails with --no-thread) appear as a
+ 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.
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.
+ combined with the `--numbered` option.
+
+--to=<email>::
+ Add a `To:` header to the email headers. This is in addition
+ to any configured headers, and may be used multiple times.
--cc=<email>::
- Add a "Cc:" header to the email headers. This is in addition
+ Add a `Cc:` header to the email headers. This is in addition
+ to any configured headers, and may be used multiple times.
+
+--add-header=<header>::
+ Add an arbitrary header to the email headers. This is in addition
to any configured headers, and may be used multiple times.
+ For example, `--add-header="Organization: git-foo"`
--cover-letter::
In addition to the patches, generate a cover letter file
--suffix=.<sfx>::
Instead of using `.patch` as the suffix for generated
filenames, use specified suffix. A common alternative is
- `--suffix=.txt`.
+ `--suffix=.txt`. Leaving this empty will remove the `.patch`
+ suffix.
+
-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.
+Note that the leading character does not have to be a dot; for example,
+you can use `--suffix=-patch` to get `0001-description-of-my-change-patch`.
--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.
+ Do not output contents of changes in binary files, instead
+ display a notice that those files changed. Patches generated
+ using this option cannot be applied properly, but they are
+ still useful for code review.
+
+--root::
+ Treat the revision argument as a <revision range>, even if it
+ is just a single commit (that would normally be treated as a
+ <since>). Note that root commits included in the specified
+ range are always formatted as creation patches, independently
+ of this flag.
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.
+You can specify extra mail header lines to be added to each message,
+defaults for the subject prefix and file suffix, number patches when
+outputting more than one patch, add "To" or "Cc:" headers, configure
+attachments, and sign off patches with configuration variables.
------------
[format]
subjectprefix = CHANGE
suffix = .txt
numbered = auto
+ to = <email>
cc = <email>
+ attach [ = mime-boundary-string ]
+ signoff = true
------------
--------
* Extract commits between revisions R1 and R2, and apply them on top of
-the current branch using 'git-am' to cherry-pick them:
+the current branch using 'git am' to cherry-pick them:
+
------------
$ git format-patch -k --stdout R1..R2 | git am -3 -k
+
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
+the amount of text output, and generally makes it easier to review.
+Note that non-git "patch" programs won't 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