-Discussion
-----------
-
-`git commit` without _any_ parameter commits the tree structure
-recorded by the current index file. This is a whole-tree commit
-even the command is invoked from a subdirectory.
-
-`git commit --include paths...` is equivalent to
-
- git update-index --remove paths...
- git commit
-
-That is, update the specified paths to the index and then commit
-the whole tree.
-
-`git commit paths...` largely bypasses the index file and
-commits only the changes made to the specified paths. It has
-however several safety valves to prevent confusion.
-
-. It refuses to run during a merge (i.e. when
- `$GIT_DIR/MERGE_HEAD` exists), and reminds trained git users
- that the traditional semantics now needs -i flag.
-
-. It refuses to run if named `paths...` are different in HEAD
- and the index (ditto about reminding). Added paths are OK.
- This is because an earlier `git diff` (not `git diff HEAD`)
- would have shown the differences since the last `git
- update-index paths...` to the user, and an inexperienced user
- may mistakenly think that the changes between the index and
- the HEAD (i.e. earlier changes made before the last `git
- update-index paths...` was done) are not being committed.
-
-. It reads HEAD commit into a temporary index file, updates the
- specified `paths...` and makes a commit. At the same time,
- the real index file is also updated with the same `paths...`.
+EXAMPLES
+--------
+When recording your own work, the contents of modified files in
+your working tree are temporarily stored to a staging area
+called the "index" with gitlink:git-add[1]. Removal
+of a file is staged with gitlink:git-rm[1]. After building the
+state to be committed incrementally with these commands, `git
+commit` (without any pathname parameter) is used to record what
+has been staged so far. This is the most basic form of the
+command. An example:
+
+------------
+$ edit hello.c
+$ git rm goodbye.c
+$ git add hello.c
+$ git commit
+------------
+
+////////////
+We should fix 'git rm' to remove goodbye.c from both index and
+working tree for the above example.
+////////////
+
+Instead of staging files after each individual change, you can
+tell `git commit` to notice the changes to the files whose
+contents are tracked in
+your working tree and do corresponding `git add` and `git rm`
+for you. That is, this example does the same as the earlier
+example if there is no other change in your working tree:
+
+------------
+$ edit hello.c
+$ rm goodbye.c
+$ git commit -a
+------------
+
+The command `git commit -a` first looks at your working tree,
+notices that you have modified hello.c and removed goodbye.c,
+and performs necessary `git add` and `git rm` for you.
+
+After staging changes to many files, you can alter the order the
+changes are recorded in, by giving pathnames to `git commit`.
+When pathnames are given, the command makes a commit that
+only records the changes made to the named paths:
+
+------------
+$ edit hello.c hello.h
+$ git add hello.c hello.h
+$ edit Makefile
+$ git commit Makefile
+------------
+
+This makes a commit that records the modification to `Makefile`.
+The changes staged for `hello.c` and `hello.h` are not included
+in the resulting commit. However, their changes are not lost --
+they are still staged and merely held back. After the above
+sequence, if you do:
+
+------------
+$ git commit
+------------
+
+this second commit would record the changes to `hello.c` and
+`hello.h` as expected.
+
+After a merge (initiated by either gitlink:git-merge[1] or
+gitlink:git-pull[1]) stops because of conflicts, cleanly merged
+paths are already staged to be committed for you, and paths that
+conflicted are left in unmerged state. You would have to first
+check which paths are conflicting with gitlink:git-status[1]
+and after fixing them manually in your working tree, you would
+stage the result as usual with gitlink:git-add[1]:
+
+------------
+$ git status | grep unmerged
+unmerged: hello.c
+$ edit hello.c
+$ git add hello.c
+------------
+
+After resolving conflicts and staging the result, `git ls-files -u`
+would stop mentioning the conflicted path. When you are done,
+run `git commit` to finally record the merge:
+
+------------
+$ git commit
+------------
+
+As with the case to record your own changes, you can use `-a`
+option to save typing. One difference is that during a merge
+resolution, you cannot use `git commit` with pathnames to
+alter the order the changes are committed, because the merge
+should be recorded as a single commit. In fact, the command
+refuses to run when given pathnames (but see `-i` option).
+
+
+ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
+---------------------
+The command specified by either the VISUAL or EDITOR environment
+variables is used to edit the commit log message.
+
+HOOKS
+-----
+This command can run `commit-msg`, `pre-commit`, and
+`post-commit` hooks. See link:hooks.html[hooks] for more
+information.