Documentation/git.txt

   1 git(1)
   2 ======
   3
   4 NAME
   5 ----
   6 git - the stupid content tracker
   7
   8
   9 SYNOPSIS
  10 --------
  11 [verse]
  12 'git' [--version] [--help] [-c <name>=<value>]
  13     [--exec-path[=<path>]] [--html-path] [--man-path] [--info-path]
  14     [-p|--paginate|--no-pager] [--no-replace-objects] [--bare]
  15     [--git-dir=<path>] [--work-tree=<path>] [--namespace=<name>]
  16     <command> [<args>]
  17
  18 DESCRIPTION
  19 -----------
  20 Git is a fast, scalable, distributed revision control system with an
  21 unusually rich command set that provides both high-level operations
  22 and full access to internals.
  23
  24 See linkgit:gittutorial[7] to get started, then see
  25 link:everyday.html[Everyday Git] for a useful minimum set of
  26 commands.  The link:user-manual.html[Git User's Manual] has a more
  27 in-depth introduction.
  28
  29 After you mastered the basic concepts, you can come back to this
  30 page to learn what commands git offers.  You can learn more about
  31 individual git commands with "git help command".  linkgit:gitcli[7]
  32 manual page gives you an overview of the command line command syntax.
  33
  34 Formatted and hyperlinked version of the latest git documentation
  35 can be viewed at `http://git-htmldocs.googlecode.com/git/git.html`.
  36
  37 ifdef::stalenotes[]
  38 [NOTE]
  39 ============
  40
  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:
  45
  46 * link:v1.7.12/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.12]
  47
  48 * release notes for
  49   link:RelNotes/1.7.12.txt[1.7.12].
  50
  51 * link:v1.7.11.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.11.6]
  52
  53 * release notes for
  54   link:RelNotes/1.7.11.6.txt[1.7.11.6],
  55   link:RelNotes/1.7.11.5.txt[1.7.11.5],
  56   link:RelNotes/1.7.11.4.txt[1.7.11.4],
  57   link:RelNotes/1.7.11.3.txt[1.7.11.3],
  58   link:RelNotes/1.7.11.2.txt[1.7.11.2],
  59   link:RelNotes/1.7.11.1.txt[1.7.11.1],
  60   link:RelNotes/1.7.11.txt[1.7.11].
  61
  62 * link:v1.7.10.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.10.5]
  63
  64 * release notes for
  65   link:RelNotes/1.7.10.5.txt[1.7.10.5],
  66   link:RelNotes/1.7.10.4.txt[1.7.10.4],
  67   link:RelNotes/1.7.10.3.txt[1.7.10.3],
  68   link:RelNotes/1.7.10.2.txt[1.7.10.2],
  69   link:RelNotes/1.7.10.1.txt[1.7.10.1],
  70   link:RelNotes/1.7.10.txt[1.7.10].
  71
  72 * link:v1.7.9.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.9.7]
  73
  74 * release notes for
  75   link:RelNotes/1.7.9.7.txt[1.7.9.7],
  76   link:RelNotes/1.7.9.6.txt[1.7.9.6],
  77   link:RelNotes/1.7.9.5.txt[1.7.9.5],
  78   link:RelNotes/1.7.9.4.txt[1.7.9.4],
  79   link:RelNotes/1.7.9.3.txt[1.7.9.3],
  80   link:RelNotes/1.7.9.2.txt[1.7.9.2],
  81   link:RelNotes/1.7.9.1.txt[1.7.9.1],
  82   link:RelNotes/1.7.9.txt[1.7.9].
  83
  84 * link:v1.7.8.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.8.6]
  85
  86 * release notes for
  87   link:RelNotes/1.7.8.6.txt[1.7.8.6],
  88   link:RelNotes/1.7.8.5.txt[1.7.8.5],
  89   link:RelNotes/1.7.8.4.txt[1.7.8.4],
  90   link:RelNotes/1.7.8.3.txt[1.7.8.3],
  91   link:RelNotes/1.7.8.2.txt[1.7.8.2],
  92   link:RelNotes/1.7.8.1.txt[1.7.8.1],
  93   link:RelNotes/1.7.8.txt[1.7.8].
  94
  95 * link:v1.7.7.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.7.7]
  96
  97 * release notes for
  98   link:RelNotes/1.7.7.7.txt[1.7.7.7],
  99   link:RelNotes/1.7.7.6.txt[1.7.7.6],
 100   link:RelNotes/1.7.7.5.txt[1.7.7.5],
 101   link:RelNotes/1.7.7.4.txt[1.7.7.4],
 102   link:RelNotes/1.7.7.3.txt[1.7.7.3],
 103   link:RelNotes/1.7.7.2.txt[1.7.7.2],
 104   link:RelNotes/1.7.7.1.txt[1.7.7.1],
 105   link:RelNotes/1.7.7.txt[1.7.7].
 106
 107 * link:v1.7.6.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.6.6]
 108
 109 * release notes for
 110   link:RelNotes/1.7.6.6.txt[1.7.6.6],
 111   link:RelNotes/1.7.6.5.txt[1.7.6.5],
 112   link:RelNotes/1.7.6.4.txt[1.7.6.4],
 113   link:RelNotes/1.7.6.3.txt[1.7.6.3],
 114   link:RelNotes/1.7.6.2.txt[1.7.6.2],
 115   link:RelNotes/1.7.6.1.txt[1.7.6.1],
 116   link:RelNotes/1.7.6.txt[1.7.6].
 117
 118 * link:v1.7.5.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.5.4]
 119
 120 * release notes for
 121   link:RelNotes/1.7.5.4.txt[1.7.5.4],
 122   link:RelNotes/1.7.5.3.txt[1.7.5.3],
 123   link:RelNotes/1.7.5.2.txt[1.7.5.2],
 124   link:RelNotes/1.7.5.1.txt[1.7.5.1],
 125   link:RelNotes/1.7.5.txt[1.7.5].
 126
 127 * link:v1.7.4.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.4.5]
 128
 129 * release notes for
 130   link:RelNotes/1.7.4.5.txt[1.7.4.5],
 131   link:RelNotes/1.7.4.4.txt[1.7.4.4],
 132   link:RelNotes/1.7.4.3.txt[1.7.4.3],
 133   link:RelNotes/1.7.4.2.txt[1.7.4.2],
 134   link:RelNotes/1.7.4.1.txt[1.7.4.1],
 135   link:RelNotes/1.7.4.txt[1.7.4].
 136
 137 * link:v1.7.3.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.3.5]
 138
 139 * release notes for
 140   link:RelNotes/1.7.3.5.txt[1.7.3.5],
 141   link:RelNotes/1.7.3.4.txt[1.7.3.4],
 142   link:RelNotes/1.7.3.3.txt[1.7.3.3],
 143   link:RelNotes/1.7.3.2.txt[1.7.3.2],
 144   link:RelNotes/1.7.3.1.txt[1.7.3.1],
 145   link:RelNotes/1.7.3.txt[1.7.3].
 146
 147 * link:v1.7.2.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.2.5]
 148
 149 * release notes for
 150   link:RelNotes/1.7.2.5.txt[1.7.2.5],
 151   link:RelNotes/1.7.2.4.txt[1.7.2.4],
 152   link:RelNotes/1.7.2.3.txt[1.7.2.3],
 153   link:RelNotes/1.7.2.2.txt[1.7.2.2],
 154   link:RelNotes/1.7.2.1.txt[1.7.2.1],
 155   link:RelNotes/1.7.2.txt[1.7.2].
 156
 157 * link:v1.7.1.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.1.4]
 158
 159 * release notes for
 160   link:RelNotes/1.7.1.4.txt[1.7.1.4],
 161   link:RelNotes/1.7.1.3.txt[1.7.1.3],
 162   link:RelNotes/1.7.1.2.txt[1.7.1.2],
 163   link:RelNotes/1.7.1.1.txt[1.7.1.1],
 164   link:RelNotes/1.7.1.txt[1.7.1].
 165
 166 * link:v1.7.0.9/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.0.9]
 167
 168 * release notes for
 169   link:RelNotes/1.7.0.9.txt[1.7.0.9],
 170   link:RelNotes/1.7.0.8.txt[1.7.0.8],
 171   link:RelNotes/1.7.0.7.txt[1.7.0.7],
 172   link:RelNotes/1.7.0.6.txt[1.7.0.6],
 173   link:RelNotes/1.7.0.5.txt[1.7.0.5],
 174   link:RelNotes/1.7.0.4.txt[1.7.0.4],
 175   link:RelNotes/1.7.0.3.txt[1.7.0.3],
 176   link:RelNotes/1.7.0.2.txt[1.7.0.2],
 177   link:RelNotes/1.7.0.1.txt[1.7.0.1],
 178   link:RelNotes/1.7.0.txt[1.7.0].
 179
 180 * link:v1.6.6.3/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.6.3]
 181
 182 * release notes for
 183   link:RelNotes/1.6.6.3.txt[1.6.6.3],
 184   link:RelNotes/1.6.6.2.txt[1.6.6.2],
 185   link:RelNotes/1.6.6.1.txt[1.6.6.1],
 186   link:RelNotes/1.6.6.txt[1.6.6].
 187
 188 * link:v1.6.5.9/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.5.9]
 189
 190 * release notes for
 191   link:RelNotes/1.6.5.9.txt[1.6.5.9],
 192   link:RelNotes/1.6.5.8.txt[1.6.5.8],
 193   link:RelNotes/1.6.5.7.txt[1.6.5.7],
 194   link:RelNotes/1.6.5.6.txt[1.6.5.6],
 195   link:RelNotes/1.6.5.5.txt[1.6.5.5],
 196   link:RelNotes/1.6.5.4.txt[1.6.5.4],
 197   link:RelNotes/1.6.5.3.txt[1.6.5.3],
 198   link:RelNotes/1.6.5.2.txt[1.6.5.2],
 199   link:RelNotes/1.6.5.1.txt[1.6.5.1],
 200   link:RelNotes/1.6.5.txt[1.6.5].
 201
 202 * link:v1.6.4.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.4.5]
 203
 204 * release notes for
 205   link:RelNotes/1.6.4.5.txt[1.6.4.5],
 206   link:RelNotes/1.6.4.4.txt[1.6.4.4],
 207   link:RelNotes/1.6.4.3.txt[1.6.4.3],
 208   link:RelNotes/1.6.4.2.txt[1.6.4.2],
 209   link:RelNotes/1.6.4.1.txt[1.6.4.1],
 210   link:RelNotes/1.6.4.txt[1.6.4].
 211
 212 * link:v1.6.3.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.3.4]
 213
 214 * release notes for
 215   link:RelNotes/1.6.3.4.txt[1.6.3.4],
 216   link:RelNotes/1.6.3.3.txt[1.6.3.3],
 217   link:RelNotes/1.6.3.2.txt[1.6.3.2],
 218   link:RelNotes/1.6.3.1.txt[1.6.3.1],
 219   link:RelNotes/1.6.3.txt[1.6.3].
 220
 221 * release notes for
 222   link:RelNotes/1.6.2.5.txt[1.6.2.5],
 223   link:RelNotes/1.6.2.4.txt[1.6.2.4],
 224   link:RelNotes/1.6.2.3.txt[1.6.2.3],
 225   link:RelNotes/1.6.2.2.txt[1.6.2.2],
 226   link:RelNotes/1.6.2.1.txt[1.6.2.1],
 227   link:RelNotes/1.6.2.txt[1.6.2].
 228
 229 * link:v1.6.1.3/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.1.3]
 230
 231 * release notes for
 232   link:RelNotes/1.6.1.3.txt[1.6.1.3],
 233   link:RelNotes/1.6.1.2.txt[1.6.1.2],
 234   link:RelNotes/1.6.1.1.txt[1.6.1.1],
 235   link:RelNotes/1.6.1.txt[1.6.1].
 236
 237 * link:v1.6.0.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.0.6]
 238
 239 * release notes for
 240   link:RelNotes/1.6.0.6.txt[1.6.0.6],
 241   link:RelNotes/1.6.0.5.txt[1.6.0.5],
 242   link:RelNotes/1.6.0.4.txt[1.6.0.4],
 243   link:RelNotes/1.6.0.3.txt[1.6.0.3],
 244   link:RelNotes/1.6.0.2.txt[1.6.0.2],
 245   link:RelNotes/1.6.0.1.txt[1.6.0.1],
 246   link:RelNotes/1.6.0.txt[1.6.0].
 247
 248 * link:v1.5.6.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.6.6]
 249
 250 * release notes for
 251   link:RelNotes/1.5.6.6.txt[1.5.6.6],
 252   link:RelNotes/1.5.6.5.txt[1.5.6.5],
 253   link:RelNotes/1.5.6.4.txt[1.5.6.4],
 254   link:RelNotes/1.5.6.3.txt[1.5.6.3],
 255   link:RelNotes/1.5.6.2.txt[1.5.6.2],
 256   link:RelNotes/1.5.6.1.txt[1.5.6.1],
 257   link:RelNotes/1.5.6.txt[1.5.6].
 258
 259 * link:v1.5.5.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.5.6]
 260
 261 * release notes for
 262   link:RelNotes/1.5.5.6.txt[1.5.5.6],
 263   link:RelNotes/1.5.5.5.txt[1.5.5.5],
 264   link:RelNotes/1.5.5.4.txt[1.5.5.4],
 265   link:RelNotes/1.5.5.3.txt[1.5.5.3],
 266   link:RelNotes/1.5.5.2.txt[1.5.5.2],
 267   link:RelNotes/1.5.5.1.txt[1.5.5.1],
 268   link:RelNotes/1.5.5.txt[1.5.5].
 269
 270 * link:v1.5.4.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.4.7]
 271
 272 * release notes for
 273   link:RelNotes/1.5.4.7.txt[1.5.4.7],
 274   link:RelNotes/1.5.4.6.txt[1.5.4.6],
 275   link:RelNotes/1.5.4.5.txt[1.5.4.5],
 276   link:RelNotes/1.5.4.4.txt[1.5.4.4],
 277   link:RelNotes/1.5.4.3.txt[1.5.4.3],
 278   link:RelNotes/1.5.4.2.txt[1.5.4.2],
 279   link:RelNotes/1.5.4.1.txt[1.5.4.1],
 280   link:RelNotes/1.5.4.txt[1.5.4].
 281
 282 * link:v1.5.3.8/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.3.8]
 283
 284 * release notes for
 285   link:RelNotes/1.5.3.8.txt[1.5.3.8],
 286   link:RelNotes/1.5.3.7.txt[1.5.3.7],
 287   link:RelNotes/1.5.3.6.txt[1.5.3.6],
 288   link:RelNotes/1.5.3.5.txt[1.5.3.5],
 289   link:RelNotes/1.5.3.4.txt[1.5.3.4],
 290   link:RelNotes/1.5.3.3.txt[1.5.3.3],
 291   link:RelNotes/1.5.3.2.txt[1.5.3.2],
 292   link:RelNotes/1.5.3.1.txt[1.5.3.1],
 293   link:RelNotes/1.5.3.txt[1.5.3].
 294
 295 * link:v1.5.2.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.2.5]
 296
 297 * release notes for
 298   link:RelNotes/1.5.2.5.txt[1.5.2.5],
 299   link:RelNotes/1.5.2.4.txt[1.5.2.4],
 300   link:RelNotes/1.5.2.3.txt[1.5.2.3],
 301   link:RelNotes/1.5.2.2.txt[1.5.2.2],
 302   link:RelNotes/1.5.2.1.txt[1.5.2.1],
 303   link:RelNotes/1.5.2.txt[1.5.2].
 304
 305 * link:v1.5.1.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.1.6]
 306
 307 * release notes for
 308   link:RelNotes/1.5.1.6.txt[1.5.1.6],
 309   link:RelNotes/1.5.1.5.txt[1.5.1.5],
 310   link:RelNotes/1.5.1.4.txt[1.5.1.4],
 311   link:RelNotes/1.5.1.3.txt[1.5.1.3],
 312   link:RelNotes/1.5.1.2.txt[1.5.1.2],
 313   link:RelNotes/1.5.1.1.txt[1.5.1.1],
 314   link:RelNotes/1.5.1.txt[1.5.1].
 315
 316 * link:v1.5.0.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.0.7]
 317
 318 * release notes for
 319   link:RelNotes/1.5.0.7.txt[1.5.0.7],
 320   link:RelNotes/1.5.0.6.txt[1.5.0.6],
 321   link:RelNotes/1.5.0.5.txt[1.5.0.5],
 322   link:RelNotes/1.5.0.3.txt[1.5.0.3],
 323   link:RelNotes/1.5.0.2.txt[1.5.0.2],
 324   link:RelNotes/1.5.0.1.txt[1.5.0.1],
 325   link:RelNotes/1.5.0.txt[1.5.0].
 326
 327 * documentation for release link:v1.4.4.4/git.html[1.4.4.4],
 328   link:v1.3.3/git.html[1.3.3],
 329   link:v1.2.6/git.html[1.2.6],
 330   link:v1.0.13/git.html[1.0.13].
 331
 332 ============
 333
 334 endif::stalenotes[]
 335
 336 OPTIONS
 337 -------
 338 --version::
 339         Prints the git suite version that the 'git' program came from.
 340
 341 --help::
 342         Prints the synopsis and a list of the most commonly used
 343         commands. If the option '--all' or '-a' is given then all
 344         available commands are printed. If a git command is named this
 345         option will bring up the manual page for that command.
 346 +
 347 Other options are available to control how the manual page is
 348 displayed. See linkgit:git-help[1] for more information,
 349 because `git --help ...` is converted internally into `git
 350 help ...`.
 351
 352 -c <name>=<value>::
 353         Pass a configuration parameter to the command. The value
 354         given will override values from configuration files.
 355         The <name> is expected in the same format as listed by
 356         'git config' (subkeys separated by dots).
 357
 358 --exec-path[=<path>]::
 359         Path to wherever your core git programs are installed.
 360         This can also be controlled by setting the GIT_EXEC_PATH
 361         environment variable. If no path is given, 'git' will print
 362         the current setting and then exit.
 363
 364 --html-path::
 365         Print the path, without trailing slash, where git's HTML
 366         documentation is installed and exit.
 367
 368 --man-path::
 369         Print the manpath (see `man(1)`) for the man pages for
 370         this version of git and exit.
 371
 372 --info-path::
 373         Print the path where the Info files documenting this
 374         version of git are installed and exit.
 375
 376 -p::
 377 --paginate::
 378         Pipe all output into 'less' (or if set, $PAGER) if standard
 379         output is a terminal.  This overrides the `pager.<cmd>`
 380         configuration options (see the "Configuration Mechanism" section
 381         below).
 382
 383 --no-pager::
 384         Do not pipe git output into a pager.
 385
 386 --git-dir=<path>::
 387         Set the path to the repository. This can also be controlled by
 388         setting the GIT_DIR environment variable. It can be an absolute
 389         path or relative path to current working directory.
 390
 391 --work-tree=<path>::
 392         Set the path to the working tree. It can be an absolute path
 393         or a path relative to the current working directory.
 394         This can also be controlled by setting the GIT_WORK_TREE
 395         environment variable and the core.worktree configuration
 396         variable (see core.worktree in linkgit:git-config[1] for a
 397         more detailed discussion).
 398
 399 --namespace=<path>::
 400         Set the git namespace.  See linkgit:gitnamespaces[7] for more
 401         details.  Equivalent to setting the `GIT_NAMESPACE` environment
 402         variable.
 403
 404 --bare::
 405         Treat the repository as a bare repository.  If GIT_DIR
 406         environment is not set, it is set to the current working
 407         directory.
 408
 409 --no-replace-objects::
 410         Do not use replacement refs to replace git objects. See
 411         linkgit:git-replace[1] for more information.
 412
 413
 414 GIT COMMANDS
 415 ------------
 416
 417 We divide git into high level ("porcelain") commands and low level
 418 ("plumbing") commands.
 419
 420 High-level commands (porcelain)
 421 -------------------------------
 422
 423 We separate the porcelain commands into the main commands and some
 424 ancillary user utilities.
 425
 426 Main porcelain commands
 427 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 428
 429 include::cmds-mainporcelain.txt[]
 430
 431 Ancillary Commands
 432 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 433 Manipulators:
 434
 435 include::cmds-ancillarymanipulators.txt[]
 436
 437 Interrogators:
 438
 439 include::cmds-ancillaryinterrogators.txt[]
 440
 441
 442 Interacting with Others
 443 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 444
 445 These commands are to interact with foreign SCM and with other
 446 people via patch over e-mail.
 447
 448 include::cmds-foreignscminterface.txt[]
 449
 450
 451 Low-level commands (plumbing)
 452 -----------------------------
 453
 454 Although git includes its
 455 own porcelain layer, its low-level commands are sufficient to support
 456 development of alternative porcelains.  Developers of such porcelains
 457 might start by reading about linkgit:git-update-index[1] and
 458 linkgit:git-read-tree[1].
 459
 460 The interface (input, output, set of options and the semantics)
 461 to these low-level commands are meant to be a lot more stable
 462 than Porcelain level commands, because these commands are
 463 primarily for scripted use.  The interface to Porcelain commands
 464 on the other hand are subject to change in order to improve the
 465 end user experience.
 466
 467 The following description divides
 468 the low-level commands into commands that manipulate objects (in
 469 the repository, index, and working tree), commands that interrogate and
 470 compare objects, and commands that move objects and references between
 471 repositories.
 472
 473
 474 Manipulation commands
 475 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 476
 477 include::cmds-plumbingmanipulators.txt[]
 478
 479
 480 Interrogation commands
 481 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 482
 483 include::cmds-plumbinginterrogators.txt[]
 484
 485 In general, the interrogate commands do not touch the files in
 486 the working tree.
 487
 488
 489 Synching repositories
 490 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 491
 492 include::cmds-synchingrepositories.txt[]
 493
 494 The following are helper commands used by the above; end users
 495 typically do not use them directly.
 496
 497 include::cmds-synchelpers.txt[]
 498
 499
 500 Internal helper commands
 501 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 502
 503 These are internal helper commands used by other commands; end
 504 users typically do not use them directly.
 505
 506 include::cmds-purehelpers.txt[]
 507
 508
 509 Configuration Mechanism
 510 -----------------------
 511
 512 Starting from 0.99.9 (actually mid 0.99.8.GIT), `.git/config` file
 513 is used to hold per-repository configuration options.  It is a
 514 simple text file modeled after `.ini` format familiar to some
 515 people.  Here is an example:
 516
 517 ------------
 518 #
 519 # A '#' or ';' character indicates a comment.
 520 #
 521
 522 ; core variables
 523 [core]
 524         ; Don't trust file modes
 525         filemode = false
 526
 527 ; user identity
 528 [user]
 529         name = "Junio C Hamano"
 530         email = "junkio@twinsun.com"
 531
 532 ------------
 533
 534 Various commands read from the configuration file and adjust
 535 their operation accordingly.  See linkgit:git-config[1] for a
 536 list.
 537
 538
 539 Identifier Terminology
 540 ----------------------
 541 <object>::
 542         Indicates the object name for any type of object.
 543
 544 <blob>::
 545         Indicates a blob object name.
 546
 547 <tree>::
 548         Indicates a tree object name.
 549
 550 <commit>::
 551         Indicates a commit object name.
 552
 553 <tree-ish>::
 554         Indicates a tree, commit or tag object name.  A
 555         command that takes a <tree-ish> argument ultimately wants to
 556         operate on a <tree> object but automatically dereferences
 557         <commit> and <tag> objects that point at a <tree>.
 558
 559 <commit-ish>::
 560         Indicates a commit or tag object name.  A
 561         command that takes a <commit-ish> argument ultimately wants to
 562         operate on a <commit> object but automatically dereferences
 563         <tag> objects that point at a <commit>.
 564
 565 <type>::
 566         Indicates that an object type is required.
 567         Currently one of: `blob`, `tree`, `commit`, or `tag`.
 568
 569 <file>::
 570         Indicates a filename - almost always relative to the
 571         root of the tree structure `GIT_INDEX_FILE` describes.
 572
 573 Symbolic Identifiers
 574 --------------------
 575 Any git command accepting any <object> can also use the following
 576 symbolic notation:
 577
 578 HEAD::
 579         indicates the head of the current branch.
 580
 581 <tag>::
 582         a valid tag 'name'
 583         (i.e. a `refs/tags/<tag>` reference).
 584
 585 <head>::
 586         a valid head 'name'
 587         (i.e. a `refs/heads/<head>` reference).
 588
 589 For a more complete list of ways to spell object names, see
 590 "SPECIFYING REVISIONS" section in linkgit:gitrevisions[7].
 591
 592
 593 File/Directory Structure
 594 ------------------------
 595
 596 Please see the linkgit:gitrepository-layout[5] document.
 597
 598 Read linkgit:githooks[5] for more details about each hook.
 599
 600 Higher level SCMs may provide and manage additional information in the
 601 `$GIT_DIR`.
 602
 603
 604 Terminology
 605 -----------
 606 Please see linkgit:gitglossary[7].
 607
 608
 609 Environment Variables
 610 ---------------------
 611 Various git commands use the following environment variables:
 612
 613 The git Repository
 614 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 615 These environment variables apply to 'all' core git commands. Nb: it
 616 is worth noting that they may be used/overridden by SCMS sitting above
 617 git so take care if using Cogito etc.
 618
 619 'GIT_INDEX_FILE'::
 620         This environment allows the specification of an alternate
 621         index file. If not specified, the default of `$GIT_DIR/index`
 622         is used.
 623
 624 'GIT_OBJECT_DIRECTORY'::
 625         If the object storage directory is specified via this
 626         environment variable then the sha1 directories are created
 627         underneath - otherwise the default `$GIT_DIR/objects`
 628         directory is used.
 629
 630 'GIT_ALTERNATE_OBJECT_DIRECTORIES'::
 631         Due to the immutable nature of git objects, old objects can be
 632         archived into shared, read-only directories. This variable
 633         specifies a ":" separated (on Windows ";" separated) list
 634         of git object directories which can be used to search for git
 635         objects. New objects will not be written to these directories.
 636
 637 'GIT_DIR'::
 638         If the 'GIT_DIR' environment variable is set then it
 639         specifies a path to use instead of the default `.git`
 640         for the base of the repository.
 641
 642 'GIT_WORK_TREE'::
 643         Set the path to the working tree.  The value will not be
 644         used in combination with repositories found automatically in
 645         a .git directory (i.e. $GIT_DIR is not set).
 646         This can also be controlled by the '--work-tree' command line
 647         option and the core.worktree configuration variable.
 648
 649 'GIT_NAMESPACE'::
 650         Set the git namespace; see linkgit:gitnamespaces[7] for details.
 651         The '--namespace' command-line option also sets this value.
 652
 653 'GIT_CEILING_DIRECTORIES'::
 654         This should be a colon-separated list of absolute paths.
 655         If set, it is a list of directories that git should not chdir
 656         up into while looking for a repository directory.
 657         It will not exclude the current working directory or
 658         a GIT_DIR set on the command line or in the environment.
 659         (Useful for excluding slow-loading network directories.)
 660
 661 'GIT_DISCOVERY_ACROSS_FILESYSTEM'::
 662         When run in a directory that does not have ".git" repository
 663         directory, git tries to find such a directory in the parent
 664         directories to find the top of the working tree, but by default it
 665         does not cross filesystem boundaries.  This environment variable
 666         can be set to true to tell git not to stop at filesystem
 667         boundaries.  Like 'GIT_CEILING_DIRECTORIES', this will not affect
 668         an explicit repository directory set via 'GIT_DIR' or on the
 669         command line.
 670
 671 git Commits
 672 ~~~~~~~~~~~
 673 'GIT_AUTHOR_NAME'::
 674 'GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL'::
 675 'GIT_AUTHOR_DATE'::
 676 'GIT_COMMITTER_NAME'::
 677 'GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL'::
 678 'GIT_COMMITTER_DATE'::
 679 'EMAIL'::
 680         see linkgit:git-commit-tree[1]
 681
 682 git Diffs
 683 ~~~~~~~~~
 684 'GIT_DIFF_OPTS'::
 685         Only valid setting is "--unified=??" or "-u??" to set the
 686         number of context lines shown when a unified diff is created.
 687         This takes precedence over any "-U" or "--unified" option
 688         value passed on the git diff command line.
 689
 690 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF'::
 691         When the environment variable 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is set, the
 692         program named by it is called, instead of the diff invocation
 693         described above.  For a path that is added, removed, or modified,
 694         'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called with 7 parameters:
 695
 696         path old-file old-hex old-mode new-file new-hex new-mode
 697 +
 698 where:
 699
 700         <old|new>-file:: are files GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF can use to read the
 701                          contents of <old|new>,
 702         <old|new>-hex:: are the 40-hexdigit SHA1 hashes,
 703         <old|new>-mode:: are the octal representation of the file modes.
 704 +
 705 The file parameters can point at the user's working file
 706 (e.g. `new-file` in "git-diff-files"), `/dev/null` (e.g. `old-file`
 707 when a new file is added), or a temporary file (e.g. `old-file` in the
 708 index).  'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' should not worry about unlinking the
 709 temporary file --- it is removed when 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' exits.
 710 +
 711 For a path that is unmerged, 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called with 1
 712 parameter, <path>.
 713
 714 other
 715 ~~~~~
 716 'GIT_MERGE_VERBOSITY'::
 717         A number controlling the amount of output shown by
 718         the recursive merge strategy.  Overrides merge.verbosity.
 719         See linkgit:git-merge[1]
 720
 721 'GIT_PAGER'::
 722         This environment variable overrides `$PAGER`. If it is set
 723         to an empty string or to the value "cat", git will not launch
 724         a pager.  See also the `core.pager` option in
 725         linkgit:git-config[1].
 726
 727 'GIT_EDITOR'::
 728         This environment variable overrides `$EDITOR` and `$VISUAL`.
 729         It is used by several git commands when, on interactive mode,
 730         an editor is to be launched. See also linkgit:git-var[1]
 731         and the `core.editor` option in linkgit:git-config[1].
 732
 733 'GIT_SSH'::
 734         If this environment variable is set then 'git fetch'
 735         and 'git push' will use this command instead
 736         of 'ssh' when they need to connect to a remote system.
 737         The '$GIT_SSH' command will be given exactly two arguments:
 738         the 'username@host' (or just 'host') from the URL and the
 739         shell command to execute on that remote system.
 740 +
 741 To pass options to the program that you want to list in GIT_SSH
 742 you will need to wrap the program and options into a shell script,
 743 then set GIT_SSH to refer to the shell script.
 744 +
 745 Usually it is easier to configure any desired options through your
 746 personal `.ssh/config` file.  Please consult your ssh documentation
 747 for further details.
 748
 749 'GIT_ASKPASS'::
 750         If this environment variable is set, then git commands which need to
 751         acquire passwords or passphrases (e.g. for HTTP or IMAP authentication)
 752         will call this program with a suitable prompt as command line argument
 753         and read the password from its STDOUT. See also the 'core.askpass'
 754         option in linkgit:git-config[1].
 755
 756 'GIT_FLUSH'::
 757         If this environment variable is set to "1", then commands such
 758         as 'git blame' (in incremental mode), 'git rev-list', 'git log',
 759         and 'git whatchanged' will force a flush of the output stream
 760         after each commit-oriented record have been flushed.   If this
 761         variable is set to "0", the output of these commands will be done
 762         using completely buffered I/O.   If this environment variable is
 763         not set, git will choose buffered or record-oriented flushing
 764         based on whether stdout appears to be redirected to a file or not.
 765
 766 'GIT_TRACE'::
 767         If this variable is set to "1", "2" or "true" (comparison
 768         is case insensitive), git will print `trace:` messages on
 769         stderr telling about alias expansion, built-in command
 770         execution and external command execution.
 771         If this variable is set to an integer value greater than 1
 772         and lower than 10 (strictly) then git will interpret this
 773         value as an open file descriptor and will try to write the
 774         trace messages into this file descriptor.
 775         Alternatively, if this variable is set to an absolute path
 776         (starting with a '/' character), git will interpret this
 777         as a file path and will try to write the trace messages
 778         into it.
 779
 780 Discussion[[Discussion]]
 781 ------------------------
 782
 783 More detail on the following is available from the
 784 link:user-manual.html#git-concepts[git concepts chapter of the
 785 user-manual] and linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7].
 786
 787 A git project normally consists of a working directory with a ".git"
 788 subdirectory at the top level.  The .git directory contains, among other
 789 things, a compressed object database representing the complete history
 790 of the project, an "index" file which links that history to the current
 791 contents of the working tree, and named pointers into that history such
 792 as tags and branch heads.
 793
 794 The object database contains objects of three main types: blobs, which
 795 hold file data; trees, which point to blobs and other trees to build up
 796 directory hierarchies; and commits, which each reference a single tree
 797 and some number of parent commits.
 798
 799 The commit, equivalent to what other systems call a "changeset" or
 800 "version", represents a step in the project's history, and each parent
 801 represents an immediately preceding step.  Commits with more than one
 802 parent represent merges of independent lines of development.
 803
 804 All objects are named by the SHA1 hash of their contents, normally
 805 written as a string of 40 hex digits.  Such names are globally unique.
 806 The entire history leading up to a commit can be vouched for by signing
 807 just that commit.  A fourth object type, the tag, is provided for this
 808 purpose.
 809
 810 When first created, objects are stored in individual files, but for
 811 efficiency may later be compressed together into "pack files".
 812
 813 Named pointers called refs mark interesting points in history.  A ref
 814 may contain the SHA1 name of an object or the name of another ref.  Refs
 815 with names beginning `ref/head/` contain the SHA1 name of the most
 816 recent commit (or "head") of a branch under development.  SHA1 names of
 817 tags of interest are stored under `ref/tags/`.  A special ref named
 818 `HEAD` contains the name of the currently checked-out branch.
 819
 820 The index file is initialized with a list of all paths and, for each
 821 path, a blob object and a set of attributes.  The blob object represents
 822 the contents of the file as of the head of the current branch.  The
 823 attributes (last modified time, size, etc.) are taken from the
 824 corresponding file in the working tree.  Subsequent changes to the
 825 working tree can be found by comparing these attributes.  The index may
 826 be updated with new content, and new commits may be created from the
 827 content stored in the index.
 828
 829 The index is also capable of storing multiple entries (called "stages")
 830 for a given pathname.  These stages are used to hold the various
 831 unmerged version of a file when a merge is in progress.
 832
 833 FURTHER DOCUMENTATION
 834 ---------------------
 835
 836 See the references in the "description" section to get started
 837 using git.  The following is probably more detail than necessary
 838 for a first-time user.
 839
 840 The link:user-manual.html#git-concepts[git concepts chapter of the
 841 user-manual] and linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7] both provide
 842 introductions to the underlying git architecture.
 843
 844 See linkgit:gitworkflows[7] for an overview of recommended workflows.
 845
 846 See also the link:howto-index.html[howto] documents for some useful
 847 examples.
 848
 849 The internals are documented in the
 850 link:technical/api-index.html[GIT API documentation].
 851
 852 Users migrating from CVS may also want to
 853 read linkgit:gitcvs-migration[7].
 854
 855
 856 Authors
 857 -------
 858 Git was started by Linus Torvalds, and is currently maintained by Junio
 859 C Hamano. Numerous contributions have come from the git mailing list
 860 <git@vger.kernel.org>. For a more complete list of contributors, see
 861 http://git-scm.com/about. If you have a clone of git.git itself, the
 862 output of linkgit:git-shortlog[1] and linkgit:git-blame[1] can show you
 863 the authors for specific parts of the project.
 864
 865 Reporting Bugs
 866 --------------
 867
 868 Report bugs to the Git mailing list <git@vger.kernel.org> where the
 869 development and maintenance is primarily done.  You do not have to be
 870 subscribed to the list to send a message there.
 871
 872 SEE ALSO
 873 --------
 874 linkgit:gittutorial[7], linkgit:gittutorial-2[7],
 875 link:everyday.html[Everyday Git], linkgit:gitcvs-migration[7],
 876 linkgit:gitglossary[7], linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7],
 877 linkgit:gitcli[7], link:user-manual.html[The Git User's Manual],
 878 linkgit:gitworkflows[7]
 879
 880 GIT
 881 ---
 882 Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite