NAME
----
-git-checkout - Checkout and switch to a branch
+git-checkout - Checkout a branch or paths to the working tree
SYNOPSIS
--------
[verse]
-'git-checkout' [-q] [-f] [[--track | --no-track] -b <new_branch> [-l]] [-m] [<branch>]
-'git
-checkout' [<tree-ish>] <paths>...
+'git checkout' [-q] [-f] [--track | --no-track] [-b <new_branch> [-l]] [-m] [<branch>]
+'git
checkout' [<tree-ish>] [--] <paths>...
DESCRIPTION
-----------
be created; in this case you can use the --track or --no-track
options, which will be passed to `git branch`.
+As a convenience, --track will default to create a branch whose
+name is constructed from the specified branch name by stripping
+the first namespace level.
+
When <paths> are given, this command does *not* switch
branches. It updates the named paths in the working tree from
-the index file (i.e. it runs `git-checkout-index -f -u`), or
+the index file (i.e. it runs `git checkout-index -f -u`), or
from a named commit. In
this case, the `-f` and `-b` options are meaningless and giving
either of them results in an error. <tree-ish> argument can be
by linkgit:git-check-ref-format[1]. Some of these checks
may restrict the characters allowed in a branch name.
+-t::
--track::
- When -b is given and a branch is created off a remote branch,
- set up configuration so that git-pull will automatically
- retrieve data from the remote branch. Use this if you always
- pull from the same remote branch into the new branch, or if you
- don't want to use "git pull <repository> <refspec>" explicitly.
- This behavior is the default. Set the
- branch.autosetupmerge configuration variable to false if you
- want git-checkout and git-branch to always behave as if
- '--no-track' were given.
+ When creating a new branch, set up configuration so that 'git-pull'
+ will automatically retrieve data from the start point, which must be
+ a branch. Use this if you always pull from the same upstream branch
+ into the new branch, and if you don't want to use "git pull
+ <repository> <refspec>" explicitly. This behavior is the default
+ when the start point is a remote branch. Set the
+ branch.autosetupmerge configuration variable to `false` if you want
+ 'git-checkout' and 'git-branch' to always behave as if '--no-track' were
+ given. Set it to `always` if you want this behavior when the
+ start-point is either a local or remote branch.
++
+If no '-b' option was given, the name of the new branch will be
+derived from the remote branch, by attempting to guess the name
+of the branch on remote system. If "remotes/" or "refs/remotes/"
+are prefixed, it is stripped away, and then the part up to the
+next slash (which would be the nickname of the remote) is removed.
+This would tell us to use "hack" as the local branch when branching
+off of "origin/hack" (or "remotes/origin/hack", or even
+"refs/remotes/origin/hack"). If the given name has no slash, or the above
+guessing results in an empty name, the guessing is aborted. You can
+exlicitly give a name with '-b' in such a case.
--no-track::
- When -b is given and a branch is created off a remote branch,
- set up configuration so that git-pull will not retrieve data
- from the remote branch, ignoring the branch.autosetupmerge
- configuration variable.
+ Ignore the branch.autosetupmerge configuration variable.
-l::
Create the new branch's reflog. This activates recording of
(`v2.6.18` in the above example).
You can use usual git commands while in this state. You can use
-`git-reset --hard $othercommit` to further move around, for
+`git reset --hard $othercommit` to further move around, for
example. You can make changes and create a new commit on top of
a detached HEAD. You can even create a merge by using `git
merge $othercommit`.
GIT
---
-Part of the linkgit:git[7] suite
+Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite