5. by using the --interactive or --patch switches with the 'commit' command
to decide one by one which files or hunks should be part of the commit,
- before finalizing the operation. See the ``Interactive Mode`` section of
+ before finalizing the operation. See the ``Interactive Mode'' section of
linkgit:git-add[1] to learn how to operate these modes.
The `--dry-run` option can be used to obtain a
-t <file>::
--template=<file>::
- Use the contents of the given file as the initial version
- of the commit message. The editor is invoked and you can
- make subsequent changes. If a message is specified using
- the `-m` or `-F` options, this option has no effect. This
- overrides the `commit.template` configuration variable.
+ When editing the commit message, start the editor with the
+ contents in the given file. The `commit.template` configuration
+ variable is often used to give this option implicitly to the
+ command. This mechanism can be used by projects that want to
+ guide participants with some hints on what to write in the message
+ in what order. If the user exits the editor without editing the
+ message, the commit is aborted. This has no effect when a message
+ is given by other means, e.g. with the `-m` or `-F` options.
-s::
--signoff::
your working tree are temporarily stored to a staging area
called the "index" with 'git add'. A file can be
reverted back, only in the index but not in the working tree,
-to that of the last commit with `git reset HEAD \-- <file>`,
+to that of the last commit with `git reset HEAD -- <file>`,
which effectively reverts 'git add' and prevents the changes to
this file from participating in the next commit. After building
the state to be committed incrementally with these commands,