SYNOPSIS
--------
[verse]
-'git-format-patch' [-n | -k] [-o <dir> | --stdout] [--thread]
- [--attach[=<boundary>] | --inline[=<boundary>]]
- [-s | --signoff] [<common diff options>]
- [--start-number <n>] [--numbered-files]
- [--in-reply-to=Message-Id] [--suffix=.<sfx>]
- [--ignore-if-in-upstream]
- [--subject-prefix=Subject-Prefix]
- <since>[..<until>]
+'git-format-patch' [-k] [-o <dir> | --stdout] [--thread]
+ [--attach[=<boundary>] | --inline[=<boundary>]]
+ [-s | --signoff] [<common diff options>]
+ [-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>]
+ [--cover-letter]
+ [ <since> | <revision range> ]
DESCRIPTION
-----------
-Prepare each commit between <since> and <until> with its patch in
+Prepare each commit with its patch in
one file per commit, formatted to resemble UNIX mailbox format.
-If ..<until> is not specified, the head of the current working
-tree is implied. For a more complete list of ways to spell
-<since> and <until>, see "SPECIFYING REVISIONS" section in
-gitlink:git-rev-parse[1].
-
The output of this command is convenient for e-mail submission or
-for use with gitlink:git-am[1].
+for use with linkgit:git-am[1].
+
+There are two ways to specify which commits to operate on.
+
+1. A single commit, <since>, specifies that the commits leading
+ to the tip of the current branch that are not in the history
+ that leads to the <since> to be output.
+
+2. Generic <revision range> expression (see "SPECIFYING
+ 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.
By default, each output file is numbered sequentially from 1, and uses the
first line of the commit message (massaged for pathname safety) as
OPTIONS
-------
+:git-format-patch: 1
include::diff-options.txt[]
+-<n>::
+ Limits the number of patches to prepare.
+
-o|--output-directory <dir>::
Use <dir> to store the resulting files, instead of the
current working directory.
-n|--numbered::
Name output in '[PATCH n/m]' format.
+-N|--no-numbered::
+ Name output in '[PATCH]' format.
+
--start-number <n>::
Start numbering the patches at <n> instead of 1.
allows for useful naming of a patch series, and can be
combined with the --numbered option.
+--cc=<email>::
+ Add a "Cc:" header to the email headers. This is in addition
+ 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.
+
--suffix=.<sfx>::
Instead of using `.patch` as the suffix for generated
- filenames, use specifed suffix. A common alternative is
+ filenames, use specified suffix. A common alternative is
`--suffix=.txt`.
+
Note that you would need to include the leading dot `.` if you
CONFIGURATION
-------------
-You can specify extra mail header lines to be added to each
-message in the repository configuration. Also you can specify
-the default suffix different from the built-in one:
+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.
------------
[format]
headers = "Organization: git-foo\n"
+ subjectprefix = CHANGE
suffix = .txt
+ numbered = auto
------------
not in the origin branch. For each commit a separate file
is created in the current directory.
+git-format-patch \--root origin::
+ Extract all commits that lead to 'origin' since the
+ inception of the project.
+
git-format-patch -M -B origin::
The same as the previous one. Additionally, it detects
and handles renames and complete rewrites intelligently to
See Also
--------
-gitlink:git-am[1], gitlink:git-send-email[1]
+linkgit:git-am[1], linkgit:git-send-email[1]
Author
GIT
---
-Part of the gitlink:git[7] suite
-
+Part of the linkgit:git[7] suite