68ce6e01b118ed77493e31b25ce3799c07e7f4fd
1 git(1)
2 ======
4 NAME
5 ----
6 git - the stupid content tracker
9 SYNOPSIS
10 --------
11 [verse]
12 'git' [--version] [--exec-path[=GIT_EXEC_PATH]] [--html-path]
13 [-p|--paginate|--no-pager]
14 [--bare] [--git-dir=GIT_DIR] [--work-tree=GIT_WORK_TREE]
15 [--help] COMMAND [ARGS]
17 DESCRIPTION
18 -----------
19 Git is a fast, scalable, distributed revision control system with an
20 unusually rich command set that provides both high-level operations
21 and full access to internals.
23 See linkgit:gittutorial[7] to get started, then see
24 link:everyday.html[Everyday Git] for a useful minimum set of commands, and
25 "man git-commandname" for documentation of each command. CVS users may
26 also want to read linkgit:gitcvs-migration[7]. See
27 the link:user-manual.html[Git User's Manual] for a more in-depth
28 introduction.
30 The COMMAND is either a name of a Git command (see below) or an alias
31 as defined in the configuration file (see linkgit:git-config[1]).
33 Formatted and hyperlinked version of the latest git
34 documentation can be viewed at
35 `http://www.kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/`.
37 ifdef::stalenotes[]
38 [NOTE]
39 ============
41 You are reading the documentation for the latest (possibly
42 unreleased) version of git, that is available from 'master'
43 branch of the `git.git` repository.
44 Documentation for older releases are available here:
46 * link:v1.6.3.2/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.3.2]
48 * release notes for
49 link:RelNotes-1.6.3.2.txt[1.6.3.2],
50 link:RelNotes-1.6.3.1.txt[1.6.3.1],
51 link:RelNotes-1.6.3.txt[1.6.3].
53 * release notes for
54 link:RelNotes-1.6.2.5.txt[1.6.2.5],
55 link:RelNotes-1.6.2.4.txt[1.6.2.4],
56 link:RelNotes-1.6.2.3.txt[1.6.2.3],
57 link:RelNotes-1.6.2.2.txt[1.6.2.2],
58 link:RelNotes-1.6.2.1.txt[1.6.2.1],
59 link:RelNotes-1.6.2.txt[1.6.2].
61 * link:v1.6.1.3/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.1.3]
63 * release notes for
64 link:RelNotes-1.6.1.3.txt[1.6.1.3],
65 link:RelNotes-1.6.1.2.txt[1.6.1.2],
66 link:RelNotes-1.6.1.1.txt[1.6.1.1],
67 link:RelNotes-1.6.1.txt[1.6.1].
69 * link:v1.6.0.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.0.6]
71 * release notes for
72 link:RelNotes-1.6.0.6.txt[1.6.0.6],
73 link:RelNotes-1.6.0.5.txt[1.6.0.5],
74 link:RelNotes-1.6.0.4.txt[1.6.0.4],
75 link:RelNotes-1.6.0.3.txt[1.6.0.3],
76 link:RelNotes-1.6.0.2.txt[1.6.0.2],
77 link:RelNotes-1.6.0.1.txt[1.6.0.1],
78 link:RelNotes-1.6.0.txt[1.6.0].
80 * link:v1.5.6.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.6.6]
82 * release notes for
83 link:RelNotes-1.5.6.6.txt[1.5.6.6],
84 link:RelNotes-1.5.6.5.txt[1.5.6.5],
85 link:RelNotes-1.5.6.4.txt[1.5.6.4],
86 link:RelNotes-1.5.6.3.txt[1.5.6.3],
87 link:RelNotes-1.5.6.2.txt[1.5.6.2],
88 link:RelNotes-1.5.6.1.txt[1.5.6.1],
89 link:RelNotes-1.5.6.txt[1.5.6].
91 * link:v1.5.5.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.5.6]
93 * release notes for
94 link:RelNotes-1.5.5.6.txt[1.5.5.6],
95 link:RelNotes-1.5.5.5.txt[1.5.5.5],
96 link:RelNotes-1.5.5.4.txt[1.5.5.4],
97 link:RelNotes-1.5.5.3.txt[1.5.5.3],
98 link:RelNotes-1.5.5.2.txt[1.5.5.2],
99 link:RelNotes-1.5.5.1.txt[1.5.5.1],
100 link:RelNotes-1.5.5.txt[1.5.5].
102 * link:v1.5.4.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.4.7]
104 * release notes for
105 link:RelNotes-1.5.4.7.txt[1.5.4.7],
106 link:RelNotes-1.5.4.6.txt[1.5.4.6],
107 link:RelNotes-1.5.4.5.txt[1.5.4.5],
108 link:RelNotes-1.5.4.4.txt[1.5.4.4],
109 link:RelNotes-1.5.4.3.txt[1.5.4.3],
110 link:RelNotes-1.5.4.2.txt[1.5.4.2],
111 link:RelNotes-1.5.4.1.txt[1.5.4.1],
112 link:RelNotes-1.5.4.txt[1.5.4].
114 * link:v1.5.3.8/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.3.8]
116 * release notes for
117 link:RelNotes-1.5.3.8.txt[1.5.3.8],
118 link:RelNotes-1.5.3.7.txt[1.5.3.7],
119 link:RelNotes-1.5.3.6.txt[1.5.3.6],
120 link:RelNotes-1.5.3.5.txt[1.5.3.5],
121 link:RelNotes-1.5.3.4.txt[1.5.3.4],
122 link:RelNotes-1.5.3.3.txt[1.5.3.3],
123 link:RelNotes-1.5.3.2.txt[1.5.3.2],
124 link:RelNotes-1.5.3.1.txt[1.5.3.1],
125 link:RelNotes-1.5.3.txt[1.5.3].
127 * link:v1.5.2.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.2.5]
129 * release notes for
130 link:RelNotes-1.5.2.5.txt[1.5.2.5],
131 link:RelNotes-1.5.2.4.txt[1.5.2.4],
132 link:RelNotes-1.5.2.3.txt[1.5.2.3],
133 link:RelNotes-1.5.2.2.txt[1.5.2.2],
134 link:RelNotes-1.5.2.1.txt[1.5.2.1],
135 link:RelNotes-1.5.2.txt[1.5.2].
137 * link:v1.5.1.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.1.6]
139 * release notes for
140 link:RelNotes-1.5.1.6.txt[1.5.1.6],
141 link:RelNotes-1.5.1.5.txt[1.5.1.5],
142 link:RelNotes-1.5.1.4.txt[1.5.1.4],
143 link:RelNotes-1.5.1.3.txt[1.5.1.3],
144 link:RelNotes-1.5.1.2.txt[1.5.1.2],
145 link:RelNotes-1.5.1.1.txt[1.5.1.1],
146 link:RelNotes-1.5.1.txt[1.5.1].
148 * link:v1.5.0.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.0.7]
150 * release notes for
151 link:RelNotes-1.5.0.7.txt[1.5.0.7],
152 link:RelNotes-1.5.0.6.txt[1.5.0.6],
153 link:RelNotes-1.5.0.5.txt[1.5.0.5],
154 link:RelNotes-1.5.0.3.txt[1.5.0.3],
155 link:RelNotes-1.5.0.2.txt[1.5.0.2],
156 link:RelNotes-1.5.0.1.txt[1.5.0.1],
157 link:RelNotes-1.5.0.txt[1.5.0].
159 * documentation for release link:v1.4.4.4/git.html[1.4.4.4],
160 link:v1.3.3/git.html[1.3.3],
161 link:v1.2.6/git.html[1.2.6],
162 link:v1.0.13/git.html[1.0.13].
164 ============
166 endif::stalenotes[]
168 OPTIONS
169 -------
170 --version::
171 Prints the git suite version that the 'git' program came from.
173 --help::
174 Prints the synopsis and a list of the most commonly used
175 commands. If the option '--all' or '-a' is given then all
176 available commands are printed. If a git command is named this
177 option will bring up the manual page for that command.
178 +
179 Other options are available to control how the manual page is
180 displayed. See linkgit:git-help[1] for more information,
181 because `git --help ...` is converted internally into `git
182 help ...`.
184 --exec-path::
185 Path to wherever your core git programs are installed.
186 This can also be controlled by setting the GIT_EXEC_PATH
187 environment variable. If no path is given, 'git' will print
188 the current setting and then exit.
190 --html-path::
191 Print the path to wherever your git HTML documentation is installed
192 and exit.
194 -p::
195 --paginate::
196 Pipe all output into 'less' (or if set, $PAGER).
198 --no-pager::
199 Do not pipe git output into a pager.
201 --git-dir=<path>::
202 Set the path to the repository. This can also be controlled by
203 setting the GIT_DIR environment variable. It can be an absolute
204 path or relative path to current working directory.
206 --work-tree=<path>::
207 Set the path to the working tree. The value will not be
208 used in combination with repositories found automatically in
209 a .git directory (i.e. $GIT_DIR is not set).
210 This can also be controlled by setting the GIT_WORK_TREE
211 environment variable and the core.worktree configuration
212 variable. It can be an absolute path or relative path to
213 the directory specified by --git-dir or GIT_DIR.
214 Note: If --git-dir or GIT_DIR are specified but none of
215 --work-tree, GIT_WORK_TREE and core.worktree is specified,
216 the current working directory is regarded as the top directory
217 of your working tree.
219 --bare::
220 Treat the repository as a bare repository. If GIT_DIR
221 environment is not set, it is set to the current working
222 directory.
225 FURTHER DOCUMENTATION
226 ---------------------
228 See the references above to get started using git. The following is
229 probably more detail than necessary for a first-time user.
231 The link:user-manual.html#git-concepts[git concepts chapter of the
232 user-manual] and linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7] both provide
233 introductions to the underlying git architecture.
235 See also the link:howto-index.html[howto] documents for some useful
236 examples.
238 The internals are documented in the
239 link:technical/api-index.html[GIT API documentation].
241 GIT COMMANDS
242 ------------
244 We divide git into high level ("porcelain") commands and low level
245 ("plumbing") commands.
247 High-level commands (porcelain)
248 -------------------------------
250 We separate the porcelain commands into the main commands and some
251 ancillary user utilities.
253 Main porcelain commands
254 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
256 include::cmds-mainporcelain.txt[]
258 Ancillary Commands
259 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
260 Manipulators:
262 include::cmds-ancillarymanipulators.txt[]
264 Interrogators:
266 include::cmds-ancillaryinterrogators.txt[]
269 Interacting with Others
270 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
272 These commands are to interact with foreign SCM and with other
273 people via patch over e-mail.
275 include::cmds-foreignscminterface.txt[]
278 Low-level commands (plumbing)
279 -----------------------------
281 Although git includes its
282 own porcelain layer, its low-level commands are sufficient to support
283 development of alternative porcelains. Developers of such porcelains
284 might start by reading about linkgit:git-update-index[1] and
285 linkgit:git-read-tree[1].
287 The interface (input, output, set of options and the semantics)
288 to these low-level commands are meant to be a lot more stable
289 than Porcelain level commands, because these commands are
290 primarily for scripted use. The interface to Porcelain commands
291 on the other hand are subject to change in order to improve the
292 end user experience.
294 The following description divides
295 the low-level commands into commands that manipulate objects (in
296 the repository, index, and working tree), commands that interrogate and
297 compare objects, and commands that move objects and references between
298 repositories.
301 Manipulation commands
302 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
304 include::cmds-plumbingmanipulators.txt[]
307 Interrogation commands
308 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
310 include::cmds-plumbinginterrogators.txt[]
312 In general, the interrogate commands do not touch the files in
313 the working tree.
316 Synching repositories
317 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
319 include::cmds-synchingrepositories.txt[]
321 The following are helper programs used by the above; end users
322 typically do not use them directly.
324 include::cmds-synchelpers.txt[]
327 Internal helper commands
328 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
330 These are internal helper commands used by other commands; end
331 users typically do not use them directly.
333 include::cmds-purehelpers.txt[]
336 Configuration Mechanism
337 -----------------------
339 Starting from 0.99.9 (actually mid 0.99.8.GIT), `.git/config` file
340 is used to hold per-repository configuration options. It is a
341 simple text file modeled after `.ini` format familiar to some
342 people. Here is an example:
344 ------------
345 #
346 # A '#' or ';' character indicates a comment.
347 #
349 ; core variables
350 [core]
351 ; Don't trust file modes
352 filemode = false
354 ; user identity
355 [user]
356 name = "Junio C Hamano"
357 email = "junkio@twinsun.com"
359 ------------
361 Various commands read from the configuration file and adjust
362 their operation accordingly.
365 Identifier Terminology
366 ----------------------
367 <object>::
368 Indicates the object name for any type of object.
370 <blob>::
371 Indicates a blob object name.
373 <tree>::
374 Indicates a tree object name.
376 <commit>::
377 Indicates a commit object name.
379 <tree-ish>::
380 Indicates a tree, commit or tag object name. A
381 command that takes a <tree-ish> argument ultimately wants to
382 operate on a <tree> object but automatically dereferences
383 <commit> and <tag> objects that point at a <tree>.
385 <commit-ish>::
386 Indicates a commit or tag object name. A
387 command that takes a <commit-ish> argument ultimately wants to
388 operate on a <commit> object but automatically dereferences
389 <tag> objects that point at a <commit>.
391 <type>::
392 Indicates that an object type is required.
393 Currently one of: `blob`, `tree`, `commit`, or `tag`.
395 <file>::
396 Indicates a filename - almost always relative to the
397 root of the tree structure `GIT_INDEX_FILE` describes.
399 Symbolic Identifiers
400 --------------------
401 Any git command accepting any <object> can also use the following
402 symbolic notation:
404 HEAD::
405 indicates the head of the current branch (i.e. the
406 contents of `$GIT_DIR/HEAD`).
408 <tag>::
409 a valid tag 'name'
410 (i.e. the contents of `$GIT_DIR/refs/tags/<tag>`).
412 <head>::
413 a valid head 'name'
414 (i.e. the contents of `$GIT_DIR/refs/heads/<head>`).
416 For a more complete list of ways to spell object names, see
417 "SPECIFYING REVISIONS" section in linkgit:git-rev-parse[1].
420 File/Directory Structure
421 ------------------------
423 Please see the linkgit:gitrepository-layout[5] document.
425 Read linkgit:githooks[5] for more details about each hook.
427 Higher level SCMs may provide and manage additional information in the
428 `$GIT_DIR`.
431 Terminology
432 -----------
433 Please see linkgit:gitglossary[7].
436 Environment Variables
437 ---------------------
438 Various git commands use the following environment variables:
440 The git Repository
441 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
442 These environment variables apply to 'all' core git commands. Nb: it
443 is worth noting that they may be used/overridden by SCMS sitting above
444 git so take care if using Cogito etc.
446 'GIT_INDEX_FILE'::
447 This environment allows the specification of an alternate
448 index file. If not specified, the default of `$GIT_DIR/index`
449 is used.
451 'GIT_OBJECT_DIRECTORY'::
452 If the object storage directory is specified via this
453 environment variable then the sha1 directories are created
454 underneath - otherwise the default `$GIT_DIR/objects`
455 directory is used.
457 'GIT_ALTERNATE_OBJECT_DIRECTORIES'::
458 Due to the immutable nature of git objects, old objects can be
459 archived into shared, read-only directories. This variable
460 specifies a ":" separated (on Windows ";" separated) list
461 of git object directories which can be used to search for git
462 objects. New objects will not be written to these directories.
464 'GIT_DIR'::
465 If the 'GIT_DIR' environment variable is set then it
466 specifies a path to use instead of the default `.git`
467 for the base of the repository.
469 'GIT_WORK_TREE'::
470 Set the path to the working tree. The value will not be
471 used in combination with repositories found automatically in
472 a .git directory (i.e. $GIT_DIR is not set).
473 This can also be controlled by the '--work-tree' command line
474 option and the core.worktree configuration variable.
476 'GIT_CEILING_DIRECTORIES'::
477 This should be a colon-separated list of absolute paths.
478 If set, it is a list of directories that git should not chdir
479 up into while looking for a repository directory.
480 It will not exclude the current working directory or
481 a GIT_DIR set on the command line or in the environment.
482 (Useful for excluding slow-loading network directories.)
484 git Commits
485 ~~~~~~~~~~~
486 'GIT_AUTHOR_NAME'::
487 'GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL'::
488 'GIT_AUTHOR_DATE'::
489 'GIT_COMMITTER_NAME'::
490 'GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL'::
491 'GIT_COMMITTER_DATE'::
492 'EMAIL'::
493 see linkgit:git-commit-tree[1]
495 git Diffs
496 ~~~~~~~~~
497 'GIT_DIFF_OPTS'::
498 Only valid setting is "--unified=??" or "-u??" to set the
499 number of context lines shown when a unified diff is created.
500 This takes precedence over any "-U" or "--unified" option
501 value passed on the git diff command line.
503 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF'::
504 When the environment variable 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is set, the
505 program named by it is called, instead of the diff invocation
506 described above. For a path that is added, removed, or modified,
507 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called with 7 parameters:
509 path old-file old-hex old-mode new-file new-hex new-mode
510 +
511 where:
513 <old|new>-file:: are files GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF can use to read the
514 contents of <old|new>,
515 <old|new>-hex:: are the 40-hexdigit SHA1 hashes,
516 <old|new>-mode:: are the octal representation of the file modes.
518 +
519 The file parameters can point at the user's working file
520 (e.g. `new-file` in "git-diff-files"), `/dev/null` (e.g. `old-file`
521 when a new file is added), or a temporary file (e.g. `old-file` in the
522 index). 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' should not worry about unlinking the
523 temporary file --- it is removed when 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' exits.
524 +
525 For a path that is unmerged, 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called with 1
526 parameter, <path>.
528 other
529 ~~~~~
530 'GIT_MERGE_VERBOSITY'::
531 A number controlling the amount of output shown by
532 the recursive merge strategy. Overrides merge.verbosity.
533 See linkgit:git-merge[1]
535 'GIT_PAGER'::
536 This environment variable overrides `$PAGER`. If it is set
537 to an empty string or to the value "cat", git will not launch
538 a pager. See also the `core.pager` option in
539 linkgit:git-config[1].
541 'GIT_SSH'::
542 If this environment variable is set then 'git-fetch'
543 and 'git-push' will use this command instead
544 of 'ssh' when they need to connect to a remote system.
545 The '$GIT_SSH' command will be given exactly two arguments:
546 the 'username@host' (or just 'host') from the URL and the
547 shell command to execute on that remote system.
548 +
549 To pass options to the program that you want to list in GIT_SSH
550 you will need to wrap the program and options into a shell script,
551 then set GIT_SSH to refer to the shell script.
552 +
553 Usually it is easier to configure any desired options through your
554 personal `.ssh/config` file. Please consult your ssh documentation
555 for further details.
557 'GIT_FLUSH'::
558 If this environment variable is set to "1", then commands such
559 as 'git-blame' (in incremental mode), 'git-rev-list', 'git-log',
560 and 'git-whatchanged' will force a flush of the output stream
561 after each commit-oriented record have been flushed. If this
562 variable is set to "0", the output of these commands will be done
563 using completely buffered I/O. If this environment variable is
564 not set, git will choose buffered or record-oriented flushing
565 based on whether stdout appears to be redirected to a file or not.
567 'GIT_TRACE'::
568 If this variable is set to "1", "2" or "true" (comparison
569 is case insensitive), git will print `trace:` messages on
570 stderr telling about alias expansion, built-in command
571 execution and external command execution.
572 If this variable is set to an integer value greater than 1
573 and lower than 10 (strictly) then git will interpret this
574 value as an open file descriptor and will try to write the
575 trace messages into this file descriptor.
576 Alternatively, if this variable is set to an absolute path
577 (starting with a '/' character), git will interpret this
578 as a file path and will try to write the trace messages
579 into it.
581 Discussion[[Discussion]]
582 ------------------------
584 More detail on the following is available from the
585 link:user-manual.html#git-concepts[git concepts chapter of the
586 user-manual] and linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7].
588 A git project normally consists of a working directory with a ".git"
589 subdirectory at the top level. The .git directory contains, among other
590 things, a compressed object database representing the complete history
591 of the project, an "index" file which links that history to the current
592 contents of the working tree, and named pointers into that history such
593 as tags and branch heads.
595 The object database contains objects of three main types: blobs, which
596 hold file data; trees, which point to blobs and other trees to build up
597 directory hierarchies; and commits, which each reference a single tree
598 and some number of parent commits.
600 The commit, equivalent to what other systems call a "changeset" or
601 "version", represents a step in the project's history, and each parent
602 represents an immediately preceding step. Commits with more than one
603 parent represent merges of independent lines of development.
605 All objects are named by the SHA1 hash of their contents, normally
606 written as a string of 40 hex digits. Such names are globally unique.
607 The entire history leading up to a commit can be vouched for by signing
608 just that commit. A fourth object type, the tag, is provided for this
609 purpose.
611 When first created, objects are stored in individual files, but for
612 efficiency may later be compressed together into "pack files".
614 Named pointers called refs mark interesting points in history. A ref
615 may contain the SHA1 name of an object or the name of another ref. Refs
616 with names beginning `ref/head/` contain the SHA1 name of the most
617 recent commit (or "head") of a branch under development. SHA1 names of
618 tags of interest are stored under `ref/tags/`. A special ref named
619 `HEAD` contains the name of the currently checked-out branch.
621 The index file is initialized with a list of all paths and, for each
622 path, a blob object and a set of attributes. The blob object represents
623 the contents of the file as of the head of the current branch. The
624 attributes (last modified time, size, etc.) are taken from the
625 corresponding file in the working tree. Subsequent changes to the
626 working tree can be found by comparing these attributes. The index may
627 be updated with new content, and new commits may be created from the
628 content stored in the index.
630 The index is also capable of storing multiple entries (called "stages")
631 for a given pathname. These stages are used to hold the various
632 unmerged version of a file when a merge is in progress.
634 Authors
635 -------
636 * git's founding father is Linus Torvalds <torvalds@osdl.org>.
637 * The current git nurse is Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>.
638 * The git potty was written by Andreas Ericsson <ae@op5.se>.
639 * General upbringing is handled by the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>.
641 Documentation
642 --------------
643 The documentation for git suite was started by David Greaves
644 <david@dgreaves.com>, and later enhanced greatly by the
645 contributors on the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>.
647 SEE ALSO
648 --------
649 linkgit:gittutorial[7], linkgit:gittutorial-2[7],
650 link:everyday.html[Everyday Git], linkgit:gitcvs-migration[7],
651 linkgit:gitglossary[7], linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7],
652 linkgit:gitcli[7], link:user-manual.html[The Git User's Manual]
654 GIT
655 ---
656 Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite