92c0ab63b28b99b9acf6df6fb1118e8c0a427837
1 git-format-patch(1)
2 ===================
4 NAME
5 ----
6 git-format-patch - Prepare patches for e-mail submission
9 SYNOPSIS
10 --------
11 [verse]
12 'git-format-patch' [-n | -N | -k] [-o <dir> | --stdout] [--thread]
13 [--attach[=<boundary>] | --inline[=<boundary>]]
14 [-s | --signoff] [<common diff options>]
15 [--start-number <n>] [--numbered-files]
16 [--in-reply-to=Message-Id] [--suffix=.<sfx>]
17 [--ignore-if-in-upstream]
18 [--subject-prefix=Subject-Prefix]
19 [ <since> | <revision range> ]
21 DESCRIPTION
22 -----------
24 Prepare each commit with its patch in
25 one file per commit, formatted to resemble UNIX mailbox format.
26 The output of this command is convenient for e-mail submission or
27 for use with gitlink:git-am[1].
29 There are two ways to specify which commits to operate on.
31 1. A single commit, <since>, specifies that the commits leading
32 to the tip of the current branch that are not in the history
33 that leads to the <since> to be output.
35 2. Generic <revision range> expression (see "SPECIFYING
36 REVISIONS" section in gitlink:git-rev-parse[1]) means the
37 commits in the specified range.
39 A single commit, when interpreted as a <revision range>
40 expression, means "everything that leads to that commit", but
41 if you write 'git format-patch <commit>', the previous rule
42 applies to that command line and you do not get "everything
43 since the beginning of the time". If you want to format
44 everything since project inception to one commit, say "git
45 format-patch \--root <commit>" to make it clear that it is the
46 latter case.
48 By default, each output file is numbered sequentially from 1, and uses the
49 first line of the commit message (massaged for pathname safety) as
50 the filename. With the --numbered-files option, the output file names
51 will only be numbers, without the first line of the commit appended.
52 The names of the output files are printed to standard
53 output, unless the --stdout option is specified.
55 If -o is specified, output files are created in <dir>. Otherwise
56 they are created in the current working directory.
58 If -n is specified, instead of "[PATCH] Subject", the first line
59 is formatted as "[PATCH n/m] Subject".
61 If given --thread, git-format-patch will generate In-Reply-To and
62 References headers to make the second and subsequent patch mails appear
63 as replies to the first mail; this also generates a Message-Id header to
64 reference.
66 OPTIONS
67 -------
68 include::diff-options.txt[]
70 -<n>::
71 Limits the number of patches to prepare.
73 -o|--output-directory <dir>::
74 Use <dir> to store the resulting files, instead of the
75 current working directory.
77 -n|--numbered::
78 Name output in '[PATCH n/m]' format.
80 -N|--no-numbered::
81 Name output in '[PATCH]' format.
83 --start-number <n>::
84 Start numbering the patches at <n> instead of 1.
86 --numbered-files::
87 Output file names will be a simple number sequence
88 without the default first line of the commit appended.
89 Mutually exclusive with the --stdout option.
91 -k|--keep-subject::
92 Do not strip/add '[PATCH]' from the first line of the
93 commit log message.
95 -s|--signoff::
96 Add `Signed-off-by:` line to the commit message, using
97 the committer identity of yourself.
99 --stdout::
100 Print all commits to the standard output in mbox format,
101 instead of creating a file for each one.
103 --attach[=<boundary>]::
104 Create multipart/mixed attachment, the first part of
105 which is the commit message and the patch itself in the
106 second part, with "Content-Disposition: attachment".
108 --inline[=<boundary>]::
109 Create multipart/mixed attachment, the first part of
110 which is the commit message and the patch itself in the
111 second part, with "Content-Disposition: inline".
113 --thread::
114 Add In-Reply-To and References headers to make the second and
115 subsequent mails appear as replies to the first. Also generates
116 the Message-Id header to reference.
118 --in-reply-to=Message-Id::
119 Make the first mail (or all the mails with --no-thread) appear as a
120 reply to the given Message-Id, which avoids breaking threads to
121 provide a new patch series.
123 --ignore-if-in-upstream::
124 Do not include a patch that matches a commit in
125 <until>..<since>. This will examine all patches reachable
126 from <since> but not from <until> and compare them with the
127 patches being generated, and any patch that matches is
128 ignored.
130 --subject-prefix=<Subject-Prefix>::
131 Instead of the standard '[PATCH]' prefix in the subject
132 line, instead use '[<Subject-Prefix>]'. This
133 allows for useful naming of a patch series, and can be
134 combined with the --numbered option.
136 --suffix=.<sfx>::
137 Instead of using `.patch` as the suffix for generated
138 filenames, use specified suffix. A common alternative is
139 `--suffix=.txt`.
140 +
141 Note that you would need to include the leading dot `.` if you
142 want a filename like `0001-description-of-my-change.patch`, and
143 the first letter does not have to be a dot. Leaving it empty would
144 not add any suffix.
146 CONFIGURATION
147 -------------
148 You can specify extra mail header lines to be added to each message
149 in the repository configuration, new defaults for the subject prefix
150 and file suffix, and number patches when outputting more than one.
152 ------------
153 [format]
154 headers = "Organization: git-foo\n"
155 subjectprefix = CHANGE
156 suffix = .txt
157 numbered = auto
158 ------------
161 EXAMPLES
162 --------
164 git-format-patch -k --stdout R1..R2 | git-am -3 -k::
165 Extract commits between revisions R1 and R2, and apply
166 them on top of the current branch using `git-am` to
167 cherry-pick them.
169 git-format-patch origin::
170 Extract all commits which are in the current branch but
171 not in the origin branch. For each commit a separate file
172 is created in the current directory.
174 git-format-patch \--root origin::
175 Extract all commits that lead to 'origin' since the
176 inception of the project.
178 git-format-patch -M -B origin::
179 The same as the previous one. Additionally, it detects
180 and handles renames and complete rewrites intelligently to
181 produce a renaming patch. A renaming patch reduces the
182 amount of text output, and generally makes it easier to
183 review it. Note that the "patch" program does not
184 understand renaming patches, so use it only when you know
185 the recipient uses git to apply your patch.
187 git-format-patch -3::
188 Extract three topmost commits from the current branch
189 and format them as e-mailable patches.
191 See Also
192 --------
193 gitlink:git-am[1], gitlink:git-send-email[1]
196 Author
197 ------
198 Written by Junio C Hamano <junkio@cox.net>
200 Documentation
201 --------------
202 Documentation by Junio C Hamano and the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>.
204 GIT
205 ---
206 Part of the gitlink:git[7] suite