1 git(7)
2 ======
4 NAME
5 ----
6 git - the stupid content tracker
9 SYNOPSIS
10 --------
11 'git' [--version] [--exec-path[=GIT_EXEC_PATH]] [--help] COMMAND [ARGS]
13 DESCRIPTION
14 -----------
15 Git is a fast, scalable, distributed revision control system with an
16 unusually rich command set that provides both high-level operations
17 and full access to internals.
19 See this link:tutorial.html[tutorial] to get started, then see
20 link:everyday.html[Everyday Git] for a useful minimum set of commands, and
21 "man git-commandname" for documentation of each command. CVS users may
22 also want to read link:cvs-migration.html[CVS migration].
24 OPTIONS
25 -------
26 --version::
27 Prints the git suite version that the 'git' program came from.
29 --help::
30 Prints the synopsis and a list of the most commonly used
31 commands. If a git command is named this option will bring up
32 the man-page for that command. If the option '--all' or '-a' is
33 given then all available commands are printed.
35 --exec-path::
36 Path to wherever your core git programs are installed.
37 This can also be controlled by setting the GIT_EXEC_PATH
38 environment variable. If no path is given 'git' will print
39 the current setting and then exit.
42 FURTHER DOCUMENTATION
43 ---------------------
45 See the references above to get started using git. The following is
46 probably more detail than necessary for a first-time user.
48 The <<Discussion,Discussion>> section below and the
49 link:core-tutorial.html[Core tutorial] both provide introductions to the
50 underlying git architecture.
52 See also the link:howto-index.html[howto] documents for some useful
53 examples.
55 GIT COMMANDS
56 ------------
58 We divide git into high level ("porcelain") commands and low level
59 ("plumbing") commands.
61 Low-level commands (plumbing)
62 -----------------------------
64 Although git includes its
65 own porcelain layer, its low-level commands are sufficient to support
66 development of alternative porcelains. Developers of such porcelains
67 might start by reading about gitlink:git-update-index[1] and
68 gitlink:git-read-tree[1].
70 We divide the low-level commands into commands that manipulate objects (in
71 the repository, index, and working tree), commands that interrogate and
72 compare objects, and commands that move objects and references between
73 repositories.
75 Manipulation commands
76 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
77 gitlink:git-apply[1]::
78 Reads a "diff -up1" or git generated patch file and
79 applies it to the working tree.
81 gitlink:git-checkout-index[1]::
82 Copy files from the index to the working tree.
84 gitlink:git-commit-tree[1]::
85 Creates a new commit object.
87 gitlink:git-hash-object[1]::
88 Computes the object ID from a file.
90 gitlink:git-index-pack[1]::
91 Build pack idx file for an existing packed archive.
93 gitlink:git-init-db[1]::
94 Creates an empty git object database, or reinitialize an
95 existing one.
97 gitlink:git-merge-index[1]::
98 Runs a merge for files needing merging.
100 gitlink:git-mktag[1]::
101 Creates a tag object.
103 gitlink:git-mktree[1]::
104 Build a tree-object from ls-tree formatted text.
106 gitlink:git-pack-objects[1]::
107 Creates a packed archive of objects.
109 gitlink:git-prune-packed[1]::
110 Remove extra objects that are already in pack files.
112 gitlink:git-read-tree[1]::
113 Reads tree information into the index.
115 gitlink:git-repo-config[1]::
116 Get and set options in .git/config.
118 gitlink:git-unpack-objects[1]::
119 Unpacks objects out of a packed archive.
121 gitlink:git-update-index[1]::
122 Registers files in the working tree to the index.
124 gitlink:git-write-tree[1]::
125 Creates a tree from the index.
128 Interrogation commands
129 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
131 gitlink:git-cat-file[1]::
132 Provide content or type/size information for repository objects.
134 gitlink:git-describe[1]::
135 Show the most recent tag that is reachable from a commit.
137 gitlink:git-diff-index[1]::
138 Compares content and mode of blobs between the index and repository.
140 gitlink:git-diff-files[1]::
141 Compares files in the working tree and the index.
143 gitlink:git-diff-stages[1]::
144 Compares two "merge stages" in the index.
146 gitlink:git-diff-tree[1]::
147 Compares the content and mode of blobs found via two tree objects.
149 gitlink:git-fsck-objects[1]::
150 Verifies the connectivity and validity of the objects in the database.
152 gitlink:git-ls-files[1]::
153 Information about files in the index and the working tree.
155 gitlink:git-ls-tree[1]::
156 Displays a tree object in human readable form.
158 gitlink:git-merge-base[1]::
159 Finds as good common ancestors as possible for a merge.
161 gitlink:git-name-rev[1]::
162 Find symbolic names for given revs.
164 gitlink:git-pack-redundant[1]::
165 Find redundant pack files.
167 gitlink:git-rev-list[1]::
168 Lists commit objects in reverse chronological order.
170 gitlink:git-show-index[1]::
171 Displays contents of a pack idx file.
173 gitlink:git-tar-tree[1]::
174 Creates a tar archive of the files in the named tree object.
176 gitlink:git-unpack-file[1]::
177 Creates a temporary file with a blob's contents.
179 gitlink:git-var[1]::
180 Displays a git logical variable.
182 gitlink:git-verify-pack[1]::
183 Validates packed git archive files.
185 In general, the interrogate commands do not touch the files in
186 the working tree.
189 Synching repositories
190 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
192 gitlink:git-clone-pack[1]::
193 Clones a repository into the current repository (engine
194 for ssh and local transport).
196 gitlink:git-fetch-pack[1]::
197 Updates from a remote repository (engine for ssh and
198 local transport).
200 gitlink:git-http-fetch[1]::
201 Downloads a remote git repository via HTTP by walking
202 commit chain.
204 gitlink:git-local-fetch[1]::
205 Duplicates another git repository on a local system by
206 walking commit chain.
208 gitlink:git-peek-remote[1]::
209 Lists references on a remote repository using
210 upload-pack protocol (engine for ssh and local
211 transport).
213 gitlink:git-receive-pack[1]::
214 Invoked by 'git-send-pack' to receive what is pushed to it.
216 gitlink:git-send-pack[1]::
217 Pushes to a remote repository, intelligently.
219 gitlink:git-http-push[1]::
220 Push missing objects using HTTP/DAV.
222 gitlink:git-shell[1]::
223 Restricted shell for GIT-only SSH access.
225 gitlink:git-ssh-fetch[1]::
226 Pulls from a remote repository over ssh connection by
227 walking commit chain.
229 gitlink:git-ssh-upload[1]::
230 Helper "server-side" program used by git-ssh-fetch.
232 gitlink:git-update-server-info[1]::
233 Updates auxiliary information on a dumb server to help
234 clients discover references and packs on it.
236 gitlink:git-upload-pack[1]::
237 Invoked by 'git-clone-pack' and 'git-fetch-pack' to push
238 what are asked for.
240 gitlink:git-upload-tar[1]::
241 Invoked by 'git-tar-tree --remote' to return the tar
242 archive the other end asked for.
245 High-level commands (porcelain)
246 -------------------------------
248 We separate the porcelain commands into the main commands and some
249 ancillary user utilities.
251 Main porcelain commands
252 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
254 gitlink:git-add[1]::
255 Add paths to the index.
257 gitlink:git-am[1]::
258 Apply patches from a mailbox, but cooler.
260 gitlink:git-applymbox[1]::
261 Apply patches from a mailbox, original version by Linus.
263 gitlink:git-bisect[1]::
264 Find the change that introduced a bug by binary search.
266 gitlink:git-branch[1]::
267 Create and Show branches.
269 gitlink:git-checkout[1]::
270 Checkout and switch to a branch.
272 gitlink:git-cherry-pick[1]::
273 Cherry-pick the effect of an existing commit.
275 gitlink:git-clean[1]::
276 Remove untracked files from the working tree.
278 gitlink:git-clone[1]::
279 Clones a repository into a new directory.
281 gitlink:git-commit[1]::
282 Record changes to the repository.
284 gitlink:git-diff[1]::
285 Show changes between commits, commit and working tree, etc.
287 gitlink:git-fetch[1]::
288 Download from a remote repository via various protocols.
290 gitlink:git-format-patch[1]::
291 Prepare patches for e-mail submission.
293 gitlink:git-grep[1]::
294 Print lines matching a pattern.
296 gitlink:git-log[1]::
297 Shows commit logs.
299 gitlink:git-ls-remote[1]::
300 Shows references in a remote or local repository.
302 gitlink:git-merge[1]::
303 Grand unified merge driver.
305 gitlink:git-mv[1]::
306 Move or rename a file, a directory, or a symlink.
308 gitlink:git-pull[1]::
309 Fetch from and merge with a remote repository.
311 gitlink:git-push[1]::
312 Update remote refs along with associated objects.
314 gitlink:git-rebase[1]::
315 Rebase local commits to the updated upstream head.
317 gitlink:git-repack[1]::
318 Pack unpacked objects in a repository.
320 gitlink:git-rerere[1]::
321 Reuse recorded resolution of conflicted merges.
323 gitlink:git-reset[1]::
324 Reset current HEAD to the specified state.
326 gitlink:git-resolve[1]::
327 Merge two commits.
329 gitlink:git-revert[1]::
330 Revert an existing commit.
332 gitlink:git-rm[1]::
333 Remove files from the working tree and from the index.
335 gitlink:git-shortlog[1]::
336 Summarizes 'git log' output.
338 gitlink:git-show[1]::
339 Show one commit log and its diff.
341 gitlink:git-show-branch[1]::
342 Show branches and their commits.
344 gitlink:git-status[1]::
345 Shows the working tree status.
347 gitlink:git-verify-tag[1]::
348 Check the GPG signature of tag.
350 gitlink:git-whatchanged[1]::
351 Shows commit logs and differences they introduce.
354 Ancillary Commands
355 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
356 Manipulators:
358 gitlink:git-applypatch[1]::
359 Apply one patch extracted from an e-mail.
361 gitlink:git-archimport[1]::
362 Import an arch repository into git.
364 gitlink:git-convert-objects[1]::
365 Converts old-style git repository.
367 gitlink:git-cvsimport[1]::
368 Salvage your data out of another SCM people love to hate.
370 gitlink:git-cvsexportcommit[1]::
371 Export a single commit to a CVS checkout.
373 gitlink:git-cvsserver[1]::
374 A CVS server emulator for git.
376 gitlink:git-lost-found[1]::
377 Recover lost refs that luckily have not yet been pruned.
379 gitlink:git-merge-one-file[1]::
380 The standard helper program to use with `git-merge-index`.
382 gitlink:git-prune[1]::
383 Prunes all unreachable objects from the object database.
385 gitlink:git-quiltimport[1]::
386 Applies a quilt patchset onto the current branch.
388 gitlink:git-relink[1]::
389 Hardlink common objects in local repositories.
391 gitlink:git-svnimport[1]::
392 Import a SVN repository into git.
394 gitlink:git-sh-setup[1]::
395 Common git shell script setup code.
397 gitlink:git-symbolic-ref[1]::
398 Read and modify symbolic refs.
400 gitlink:git-tag[1]::
401 An example script to create a tag object signed with GPG.
403 gitlink:git-update-ref[1]::
404 Update the object name stored in a ref safely.
407 Interrogators:
409 gitlink:git-annotate[1]::
410 Annotate file lines with commit info.
412 gitlink:git-blame[1]::
413 Blame file lines on commits.
415 gitlink:git-check-ref-format[1]::
416 Make sure ref name is well formed.
418 gitlink:git-cherry[1]::
419 Find commits not merged upstream.
421 gitlink:git-count-objects[1]::
422 Count unpacked number of objects and their disk consumption.
424 gitlink:git-daemon[1]::
425 A really simple server for git repositories.
427 gitlink:git-fmt-merge-msg[1]::
428 Produce a merge commit message.
430 gitlink:git-get-tar-commit-id[1]::
431 Extract commit ID from an archive created using git-tar-tree.
433 gitlink:git-imap-send[1]::
434 Dump a mailbox from stdin into an imap folder.
436 gitlink:git-mailinfo[1]::
437 Extracts patch and authorship information from a single
438 e-mail message, optionally transliterating the commit
439 message into utf-8.
441 gitlink:git-mailsplit[1]::
442 A stupid program to split UNIX mbox format mailbox into
443 individual pieces of e-mail.
445 gitlink:git-merge-tree[1]::
446 Show three-way merge without touching index.
448 gitlink:git-patch-id[1]::
449 Compute unique ID for a patch.
451 gitlink:git-parse-remote[1]::
452 Routines to help parsing `$GIT_DIR/remotes/` files.
454 gitlink:git-request-pull[1]::
455 git-request-pull.
457 gitlink:git-rev-parse[1]::
458 Pick out and massage parameters.
460 gitlink:git-send-email[1]::
461 Send patch e-mails out of "format-patch --mbox" output.
463 gitlink:git-symbolic-ref[1]::
464 Read and modify symbolic refs.
466 gitlink:git-stripspace[1]::
467 Filter out empty lines.
470 Commands not yet documented
471 ---------------------------
473 gitlink:gitk[1]::
474 The gitk repository browser.
477 Configuration Mechanism
478 -----------------------
480 Starting from 0.99.9 (actually mid 0.99.8.GIT), `.git/config` file
481 is used to hold per-repository configuration options. It is a
482 simple text file modelled after `.ini` format familiar to some
483 people. Here is an example:
485 ------------
486 #
487 # A '#' or ';' character indicates a comment.
488 #
490 ; core variables
491 [core]
492 ; Don't trust file modes
493 filemode = false
495 ; user identity
496 [user]
497 name = "Junio C Hamano"
498 email = "junkio@twinsun.com"
500 ------------
502 Various commands read from the configuration file and adjust
503 their operation accordingly.
506 Identifier Terminology
507 ----------------------
508 <object>::
509 Indicates the object name for any type of object.
511 <blob>::
512 Indicates a blob object name.
514 <tree>::
515 Indicates a tree object name.
517 <commit>::
518 Indicates a commit object name.
520 <tree-ish>::
521 Indicates a tree, commit or tag object name. A
522 command that takes a <tree-ish> argument ultimately wants to
523 operate on a <tree> object but automatically dereferences
524 <commit> and <tag> objects that point at a <tree>.
526 <type>::
527 Indicates that an object type is required.
528 Currently one of: `blob`, `tree`, `commit`, or `tag`.
530 <file>::
531 Indicates a filename - almost always relative to the
532 root of the tree structure `GIT_INDEX_FILE` describes.
534 Symbolic Identifiers
535 --------------------
536 Any git command accepting any <object> can also use the following
537 symbolic notation:
539 HEAD::
540 indicates the head of the current branch (i.e. the
541 contents of `$GIT_DIR/HEAD`).
543 <tag>::
544 a valid tag 'name'
545 (i.e. the contents of `$GIT_DIR/refs/tags/<tag>`).
547 <head>::
548 a valid head 'name'
549 (i.e. the contents of `$GIT_DIR/refs/heads/<head>`).
552 File/Directory Structure
553 ------------------------
555 Please see link:repository-layout.html[repository layout] document.
557 Read link:hooks.html[hooks] for more details about each hook.
559 Higher level SCMs may provide and manage additional information in the
560 `$GIT_DIR`.
563 Terminology
564 -----------
565 Please see link:glossary.html[glossary] document.
568 Environment Variables
569 ---------------------
570 Various git commands use the following environment variables:
572 The git Repository
573 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
574 These environment variables apply to 'all' core git commands. Nb: it
575 is worth noting that they may be used/overridden by SCMS sitting above
576 git so take care if using Cogito etc.
578 'GIT_INDEX_FILE'::
579 This environment allows the specification of an alternate
580 index file. If not specified, the default of `$GIT_DIR/index`
581 is used.
583 'GIT_OBJECT_DIRECTORY'::
584 If the object storage directory is specified via this
585 environment variable then the sha1 directories are created
586 underneath - otherwise the default `$GIT_DIR/objects`
587 directory is used.
589 'GIT_ALTERNATE_OBJECT_DIRECTORIES'::
590 Due to the immutable nature of git objects, old objects can be
591 archived into shared, read-only directories. This variable
592 specifies a ":" separated list of git object directories which
593 can be used to search for git objects. New objects will not be
594 written to these directories.
596 'GIT_DIR'::
597 If the 'GIT_DIR' environment variable is set then it
598 specifies a path to use instead of the default `.git`
599 for the base of the repository.
601 git Commits
602 ~~~~~~~~~~~
603 'GIT_AUTHOR_NAME'::
604 'GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL'::
605 'GIT_AUTHOR_DATE'::
606 'GIT_COMMITTER_NAME'::
607 'GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL'::
608 see gitlink:git-commit-tree[1]
610 git Diffs
611 ~~~~~~~~~
612 'GIT_DIFF_OPTS'::
613 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF'::
614 see the "generating patches" section in :
615 gitlink:git-diff-index[1];
616 gitlink:git-diff-files[1];
617 gitlink:git-diff-tree[1]
619 Discussion[[Discussion]]
620 ------------------------
621 include::README[]
623 Authors
624 -------
625 * git's founding father is Linus Torvalds <torvalds@osdl.org>.
626 * The current git nurse is Junio C Hamano <junkio@cox.net>.
627 * The git potty was written by Andres Ericsson <ae@op5.se>.
628 * General upbringing is handled by the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>.
630 Documentation
631 --------------
632 The documentation for git suite was started by David Greaves
633 <david@dgreaves.com>, and later enhanced greatly by the
634 contributors on the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>.
636 GIT
637 ---
638 Part of the gitlink:git[7] suite