Documentation/git-branch.txt

   1 git-branch(1)
   2 =============
   3
   4 NAME
   5 ----
   6 git-branch - List, create, or delete branches.
   7
   8 SYNOPSIS
   9 --------
  10 [verse]
  11 'git-branch' [-r] [-a] [-v] [--abbrev=<length>]
  12 'git-branch' [-l] [-f] <branchname> [<start-point>]
  13 'git-branch' (-d | -D) <branchname>...
  14
  15 DESCRIPTION
  16 -----------
  17 With no arguments given a list of existing branches
  18 will be shown, the current branch will be highlighted with an asterisk.
  19 Option `-r` causes the remote-tracking branches to be listed,
  20 and option `-a` shows both.
  21
  22 In its second form, a new branch named <branchname> will be created.
  23 It will start out with a head equal to the one given as <start-point>.
  24 If no <start-point> is given, the branch will be created with a head
  25 equal to that of the currently checked out branch.
  26
  27 With a `-d` or `-D` option, `<branchname>` will be deleted.  You may
  28 specify more than one branch for deletion.  If the branch currently
  29 has a ref log then the ref log will also be deleted.
  30
  31
  32 OPTIONS
  33 -------
  34 -d::
  35         Delete a branch. The branch must be fully merged.
  36
  37 -D::
  38         Delete a branch irrespective of its index status.
  39
  40 -l::
  41         Create the branch's ref log.  This activates recording of
  42         all changes to made the branch ref, enabling use of date
  43         based sha1 expressions such as "<branchname>@{yesterday}".
  44
  45 -f::
  46         Force the creation of a new branch even if it means deleting
  47         a branch that already exists with the same name.
  48
  49 -r::
  50         List the remote-tracking branches.
  51
  52 -a::
  53         List both remote-tracking branches and local branches.
  54
  55 -v::
  56         Show sha1 and subject message for each head.
  57
  58 --abbrev=<length>::
  59         Alter minimum display length for sha1 in output listing,
  60         default value is 7.
  61
  62 <branchname>::
  63         The name of the branch to create or delete.
  64         The new branch name must pass all checks defined by
  65         gitlink:git-check-ref-format[1].  Some of these checks
  66         may restrict the characters allowed in a branch name.
  67
  68 <start-point>::
  69         The new branch will be created with a HEAD equal to this.  It may
  70         be given as a branch name, a commit-id, or a tag.  If this option
  71         is omitted, the current branch is assumed.
  72
  73
  74
  75 Examples
  76 --------
  77
  78 Start development off of a known tag::
  79 +
  80 ------------
  81 $ git clone git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/.../linux-2.6 my2.6
  82 $ cd my2.6
  83 $ git branch my2.6.14 v2.6.14   <1>
  84 $ git checkout my2.6.14
  85 ------------
  86 +
  87 <1> This step and the next one could be combined into a single step with
  88 "checkout -b my2.6.14 v2.6.14".
  89
  90 Delete unneeded branch::
  91 +
  92 ------------
  93 $ git clone git://git.kernel.org/.../git.git my.git
  94 $ cd my.git
  95 $ git branch -D todo    <1>
  96 ------------
  97 +
  98 <1> delete todo branch even if the "master" branch does not have all
  99 commits from todo branch.
 100
 101
 102 Notes
 103 -----
 104
 105 If you are creating a branch that you want to immediately checkout, it's
 106 easier to use the git checkout command with its `-b` option to create
 107 a branch and check it out with a single command.
 108
 109
 110 Author
 111 ------
 112 Written by Linus Torvalds <torvalds@osdl.org> and Junio C Hamano <junkio@cox.net>
 113
 114 Documentation
 115 --------------
 116 Documentation by Junio C Hamano and the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>.
 117
 118 GIT
 119 ---
 120 Part of the gitlink:git[7] suite
 121