SYNOPSIS
--------
[verse]
-'git-format-patch' [-k] [-o <dir> | --stdout] [--thread]
+'git format-patch' [-k] [-o <dir> | --stdout] [--thread]
[--attach[=<boundary>] | --inline[=<boundary>]]
[-s | --signoff] [<common diff options>]
[-n | --numbered | -N | --no-numbered]
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 linkgit:git-am[1].
+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.
+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
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
+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.
-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::
to any configured headers, and may be used multiple times.
--cover-letter::
- Generate a cover letter template. You still have to fill in
- a description, but the shortlog and the diffstat will be
- generated for you.
+ In addition to the patches, generate a cover letter file
+ containing the shortlog and the overall diffstat. You can
+ fill in a description in the file before sending it out.
--suffix=.<sfx>::
Instead of using `.patch` as the suffix for generated
applied. By default the contents of changes in those files are
encoded in the patch.
+--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
------------
[format]
- headers = "Organization: git-foo\n"
- subjectprefix = CHANGE
- suffix = .txt
- numbered = auto
+ headers = "Organization: git-foo\n"
+ subjectprefix = CHANGE
+ suffix = .txt
+ numbered = auto
cc = <email>
------------
--------
* 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
+$ git format-patch -k --stdout R1..R2 | git am -3 -k
------------
* Extract all commits which are in the current branch but not in the
project:
+
------------
-$ git format-patch \--root origin
+$ git format-patch --root origin
------------
* The same as the previous one: