Documentation/git-bisect-script.txt

   1 git-bisect-script(1)
   2 ====================
   3
   4 NAME
   5 ----
   6 git-bisect-script - Find the change that introduced a bug
   7
   8
   9 SYNOPSIS
  10 --------
  11 'git bisect' start
  12 'git bisect' bad <rev>
  13 'git bisect' good <rev>
  14 'git bisect' reset [<branch>]
  15 'git bisect' visualize
  16
  17
  18 DESCRIPTION
  19 -----------
  20 This command uses 'git-rev-list --bisect' option to help drive
  21 the binary search process to find which change introduced a bug,
  22 given an old "good" commit object name and a later "bad" commit
  23 object name.
  24
  25 The way you use it is:
  26
  27 ------------------------------------------------
  28 git bisect start
  29 git bisect bad                  # Current version is bad
  30 git bisect good v2.6.13-rc2     # v2.6.13-rc2 was the last version
  31                                 # tested that was good
  32 ------------------------------------------------
  33
  34 When you give at least one bad and one good versions, it will
  35 bisect the revision tree and say something like:
  36
  37 ------------------------------------------------
  38 Bisecting: 675 revisions left to test after this
  39 ------------------------------------------------
  40
  41 and check out the state in the middle. Now, compile that kernel, and boot
  42 it. Now, let's say that this booted kernel works fine, then just do
  43
  44 ------------------------------------------------
  45 git bisect good                 # this one is good
  46 ------------------------------------------------
  47
  48 which will now say
  49
  50 ------------------------------------------------
  51 Bisecting: 337 revisions left to test after this
  52 ------------------------------------------------
  53
  54 and you continue along, compiling that one, testing it, and depending on
  55 whether it is good or bad, you say "git bisect good" or "git bisect bad",
  56 and ask for the next bisection.
  57
  58 Until you have no more left, and you'll have been left with the first bad
  59 kernel rev in "refs/bisect/bad".
  60
  61 Oh, and then after you want to reset to the original head, do a
  62
  63 ------------------------------------------------
  64 git bisect reset
  65 ------------------------------------------------
  66
  67 to get back to the master branch, instead of being in one of the bisection
  68 branches ("git bisect start" will do that for you too, actually: it will
  69 reset the bisection state, and before it does that it checks that you're
  70 not using some old bisection branch).
  71
  72 During the bisection process, you can say
  73
  74         git bisect visualize
  75
  76 to see the currently remaining suspects in `gitk`.
  77
  78
  79 Author
  80 ------
  81 Written by Linus Torvalds <torvalds@osdl.org>
  82
  83 Documentation
  84 --------------
  85 Documentation by Junio C Hamano and the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>.
  86
  87 GIT
  88 ---
  89 Part of the link:git.html[git] suite
  90