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1git-submodule(1)
2================
3
4NAME
5----
6git-submodule - Initialize, update or inspect submodules
7
8
9SYNOPSIS
10--------
b2493649 11[verse]
eb2f2f5f 12'git submodule' [--quiet] add [<options>] [--] <repository> [<path>]
64b19ffe 13'git submodule' [--quiet] status [--cached] [--recursive] [--] [<path>...]
b1889c36 14'git submodule' [--quiet] init [--] [<path>...]
f6a52799 15'git submodule' [--quiet] deinit [-f|--force] (--all|[--] <path>...)
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16'git submodule' [--quiet] update [<options>] [--] [<path>...]
17'git submodule' [--quiet] summary [<options>] [--] [<path>...]
15fc56a8 18'git submodule' [--quiet] foreach [--recursive] <command>
9393ae79 19'git submodule' [--quiet] sync [--recursive] [--] [<path>...]
f6f85861 20'git submodule' [--quiet] absorbgitdirs [--] [<path>...]
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21
22
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23DESCRIPTION
24-----------
ec48a763 25Inspects, updates and manages submodules.
c47f1024 26
d4803455 27For more information about submodules, see linkgit:gitsubmodules[7].
e38953ab 28
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29COMMANDS
30--------
eb2f2f5f 31add [-b <branch>] [-f|--force] [--name <name>] [--reference <repository>] [--depth <depth>] [--] <repository> [<path>]::
ecda0723 32 Add the given repository as a submodule at the given path
ec05df35 33 to the changeset to be committed next to the current
77ef80a8 34 project: the current project is termed the "superproject".
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36<repository> is the URL of the new submodule's origin repository.
37This may be either an absolute URL, or (if it begins with ./
d1b3b81a 38or ../), the location relative to the superproject's default remote
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39repository (Please note that to specify a repository 'foo.git'
40which is located right next to a superproject 'bar.git', you'll
41have to use '../foo.git' instead of './foo.git' - as one might expect
42when following the rules for relative URLs - because the evaluation
43of relative URLs in Git is identical to that of relative directories).
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44+
45The default remote is the remote of the remote tracking branch
46of the current branch. If no such remote tracking branch exists or
47the HEAD is detached, "origin" is assumed to be the default remote.
48If the superproject doesn't have a default remote configured
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49the superproject is its own authoritative upstream and the current
50working directory is used instead.
ec05df35 51+
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52The optional argument <path> is the relative location for the cloned
53submodule to exist in the superproject. If <path> is not given, the
54canonical part of the source repository is used ("repo" for
55"/path/to/repo.git" and "foo" for "host.xz:foo/.git"). If <path>
56exists and is already a valid Git repository, then it is staged
57for commit without cloning. The <path> is also used as the submodule's
58logical name in its configuration entries unless `--name` is used
59to specify a logical name.
ec05df35 60+
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61The given URL is recorded into `.gitmodules` for use by subsequent users
62cloning the superproject. If the URL is given relative to the
63superproject's repository, the presumption is the superproject and
64submodule repositories will be kept together in the same relative
65location, and only the superproject's URL needs to be provided.
66git-submodule will correctly locate the submodule using the relative
67URL in `.gitmodules`.
ecda0723 68
eb2f2f5f 69status [--cached] [--recursive] [--] [<path>...]::
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70 Show the status of the submodules. This will print the SHA-1 of the
71 currently checked out commit for each submodule, along with the
0b444cdb 72 submodule path and the output of 'git describe' for the
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73 SHA-1. Each SHA-1 will possibly be prefixed with `-` if the submodule is
74 not initialized, `+` if the currently checked out submodule commit
70c7ac22 75 does not match the SHA-1 found in the index of the containing
313ee0d6 76 repository and `U` if the submodule has merge conflicts.
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402e8a6d 78If `--recursive` is specified, this command will recurse into nested
64b19ffe 79submodules, and show their status as well.
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80+
81If you are only interested in changes of the currently initialized
82submodules with respect to the commit recorded in the index or the HEAD,
83linkgit:git-status[1] and linkgit:git-diff[1] will provide that information
84too (and can also report changes to a submodule's work tree).
70c7ac22 85
eb2f2f5f 86init [--] [<path>...]::
3244eb9b 87 Initialize the submodules recorded in the index (which were
d1b3b81a 88 added and committed elsewhere) by setting `submodule.$name.url`
beebc6df 89 in .git/config. It uses the same setting from `.gitmodules` as
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90 a template. If the URL is relative, it will be resolved using
91 the default remote. If there is no default remote, the current
92 repository will be assumed to be upstream.
93+
94Optional <path> arguments limit which submodules will be initialized.
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95If no path is specified and submodule.active has been configured, submodules
96configured to be active will be initialized, otherwise all submodules are
97initialized.
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98+
99When present, it will also copy the value of `submodule.$name.update`.
100This command does not alter existing information in .git/config.
101You can then customize the submodule clone URLs in .git/config
102for your local setup and proceed to `git submodule update`;
103you can also just use `git submodule update --init` without
104the explicit 'init' step if you do not intend to customize
105any submodule locations.
106+
64127575 107See the add subcommand for the definition of default remote.
70c7ac22 108
eb2f2f5f 109deinit [-f|--force] (--all|[--] <path>...)::
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110 Unregister the given submodules, i.e. remove the whole
111 `submodule.$name` section from .git/config together with their work
112 tree. Further calls to `git submodule update`, `git submodule foreach`
113 and `git submodule sync` will skip any unregistered submodules until
114 they are initialized again, so use this command if you don't want to
d4803455 115 have a local checkout of the submodule in your working tree anymore.
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117When the command is run without pathspec, it errors out,
118instead of deinit-ing everything, to prevent mistakes.
119+
120If `--force` is specified, the submodule's working tree will
121be removed even if it contains local modifications.
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122+
123If you really want to remove a submodule from the repository and commit
124that use linkgit:git-rm[1] instead. See linkgit:gitsubmodules[7] for removal
125options.
cf419828 126
eb2f2f5f 127update [--init] [--remote] [-N|--no-fetch] [--[no-]recommend-shallow] [-f|--force] [--checkout|--rebase|--merge] [--reference <repository>] [--depth <depth>] [--recursive] [--jobs <n>] [--] [<path>...]::
be4d2c83 128+
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129--
130Update the registered submodules to match what the superproject
131expects by cloning missing submodules and updating the working tree of
132the submodules. The "updating" can be done in several ways depending
133on command line options and the value of `submodule.<name>.update`
fc01a5d2 134configuration variable. The command line option takes precedence over
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135the configuration variable. If neither is given, a 'checkout' is performed.
136The 'update' procedures supported both from the command line as well as
137through the `submodule.<name>.update` configuration are:
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138
139 checkout;; the commit recorded in the superproject will be
fc01a5d2 140 checked out in the submodule on a detached HEAD.
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141+
142If `--force` is specified, the submodule will be checked out (using
e1b3f3dd 143`git checkout --force`), even if the commit specified
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144in the index of the containing repository already matches the commit
145checked out in the submodule.
146
147 rebase;; the current branch of the submodule will be rebased
fc01a5d2 148 onto the commit recorded in the superproject.
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149
150 merge;; the commit recorded in the superproject will be merged
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151 into the current branch in the submodule.
152
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153The following 'update' procedures are only available via the
154`submodule.<name>.update` configuration variable:
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155
156 custom command;; arbitrary shell command that takes a single
157 argument (the sha1 of the commit recorded in the
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158 superproject) is executed. When `submodule.<name>.update`
159 is set to '!command', the remainder after the exclamation mark
160 is the custom command.
5c31acfb 161
fc01a5d2 162 none;; the submodule is not updated.
5c31acfb 163
be4d2c83 164If the submodule is not yet initialized, and you just want to use the
beebc6df 165setting as stored in `.gitmodules`, you can automatically initialize the
402e8a6d 166submodule with the `--init` option.
5c31acfb 167
402e8a6d 168If `--recursive` is specified, this command will recurse into the
b13fd5c1 169registered submodules, and update any nested submodules within.
5c31acfb 170--
eb2f2f5f 171summary [--cached|--files] [(-n|--summary-limit) <n>] [commit] [--] [<path>...]::
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172 Show commit summary between the given commit (defaults to HEAD) and
173 working tree/index. For a submodule in question, a series of commits
174 in the submodule between the given super project commit and the
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175 index or working tree (switched by `--cached`) are shown. If the option
176 `--files` is given, show the series of commits in the submodule between
ef92e1a4 177 the index of the super project and the working tree of the submodule
402e8a6d 178 (this option doesn't allow to use the `--cached` option or to provide an
1c244f6e 179 explicit commit).
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180+
181Using the `--submodule=log` option with linkgit:git-diff[1] will provide that
182information too.
70c7ac22 183
eb2f2f5f 184foreach [--recursive] <command>::
19a31f9c 185 Evaluates an arbitrary shell command in each checked out submodule.
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186 The command has access to the variables $name, $path, $sha1 and
187 $toplevel:
beebc6df 188 $name is the name of the relevant submodule section in `.gitmodules`,
19a31f9c 189 $path is the name of the submodule directory relative to the
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190 superproject, $sha1 is the commit as recorded in the superproject,
191 and $toplevel is the absolute path to the top-level of the superproject.
19a31f9c 192 Any submodules defined in the superproject but not checked out are
402e8a6d 193 ignored by this command. Unless given `--quiet`, foreach prints the name
19a31f9c 194 of each submodule before evaluating the command.
402e8a6d 195 If `--recursive` is given, submodules are traversed recursively (i.e.
15fc56a8 196 the given shell command is evaluated in nested submodules as well).
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197 A non-zero return from the command in any submodule causes
198 the processing to terminate. This can be overridden by adding '|| :'
199 to the end of the command.
200+
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201As an example, the command below will show the path and currently
202checked out commit for each submodule:
203+
204--------------
205git submodule foreach 'echo $path `git rev-parse HEAD`'
206--------------
19a31f9c 207
eb2f2f5f 208sync [--recursive] [--] [<path>...]::
2327f61e 209 Synchronizes submodules' remote URL configuration setting
beebc6df 210 to the value specified in `.gitmodules`. It will only affect those
a7793a74 211 submodules which already have a URL entry in .git/config (that is the
ccee6086 212 case when they are initialized or freshly added). This is useful when
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213 submodule URLs change upstream and you need to update your local
214 repositories accordingly.
215+
216"git submodule sync" synchronizes all submodules while
565e135a 217"git submodule sync \-- A" synchronizes submodule "A" only.
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218+
219If `--recursive` is specified, this command will recurse into the
220registered submodules, and sync any nested submodules within.
19a31f9c 221
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222absorbgitdirs::
223 If a git directory of a submodule is inside the submodule,
224 move the git directory of the submodule into its superprojects
225 `$GIT_DIR/modules` path and then connect the git directory and
226 its working directory by setting the `core.worktree` and adding
227 a .git file pointing to the git directory embedded in the
228 superprojects git directory.
229+
230A repository that was cloned independently and later added as a submodule or
231old setups have the submodules git directory inside the submodule instead of
232embedded into the superprojects git directory.
233+
234This command is recursive by default.
235
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236OPTIONS
237-------
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238-q::
239--quiet::
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240 Only print error messages.
241
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242--all::
243 This option is only valid for the deinit command. Unregister all
244 submodules in the working tree.
245
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246-b::
247--branch::
ecda0723 248 Branch of repository to add as submodule.
15d64936 249 The name of the branch is recorded as `submodule.<name>.branch` in
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250 `.gitmodules` for `update --remote`. A special value of `.` is used to
251 indicate that the name of the branch in the submodule should be the
252 same name as the current branch in the current repository.
ecda0723 253
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254-f::
255--force::
cf419828 256 This option is only valid for add, deinit and update commands.
9db31bdf 257 When running add, allow adding an otherwise ignored submodule path.
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258 When running deinit the submodule working trees will be removed even
259 if they contain local changes.
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260 When running update (only effective with the checkout procedure),
261 throw away local changes in submodules when switching to a
262 different commit; and always run a checkout operation in the
263 submodule, even if the commit listed in the index of the
264 containing repository matches the commit checked out in the
265 submodule.
d27b876b 266
70c7ac22 267--cached::
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268 This option is only valid for status and summary commands. These
269 commands typically use the commit found in the submodule HEAD, but
270 with this option, the commit stored in the index is used instead.
271
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272--files::
273 This option is only valid for the summary command. This command
274 compares the commit in the index with that in the submodule HEAD
275 when this option is used.
276
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277-n::
278--summary-limit::
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279 This option is only valid for the summary command.
280 Limit the summary size (number of commits shown in total).
51836e9e 281 Giving 0 will disable the summary; a negative number means unlimited
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282 (the default). This limit only applies to modified submodules. The
283 size is always limited to 1 for added/deleted/typechanged submodules.
70c7ac22 284
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285--remote::
286 This option is only valid for the update command. Instead of using
287 the superproject's recorded SHA-1 to update the submodule, use the
d6ac1d21 288 status of the submodule's remote-tracking branch. The remote used
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289 is branch's remote (`branch.<name>.remote`), defaulting to `origin`.
290 The remote branch used defaults to `master`, but the branch name may
291 be overridden by setting the `submodule.<name>.branch` option in
292 either `.gitmodules` or `.git/config` (with `.git/config` taking
293 precedence).
294+
295This works for any of the supported update procedures (`--checkout`,
296`--rebase`, etc.). The only change is the source of the target SHA-1.
297For example, `submodule update --remote --merge` will merge upstream
298submodule changes into the submodules, while `submodule update
299--merge` will merge superproject gitlink changes into the submodules.
300+
301In order to ensure a current tracking branch state, `update --remote`
302fetches the submodule's remote repository before calculating the
303SHA-1. If you don't want to fetch, you should use `submodule update
304--remote --no-fetch`.
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305+
306Use this option to integrate changes from the upstream subproject with
307your submodule's current HEAD. Alternatively, you can run `git pull`
308from the submodule, which is equivalent except for the remote branch
309name: `update --remote` uses the default upstream repository and
310`submodule.<name>.branch`, while `git pull` uses the submodule's
311`branch.<name>.merge`. Prefer `submodule.<name>.branch` if you want
312to distribute the default upstream branch with the superproject and
313`branch.<name>.merge` if you want a more native feel while working in
314the submodule itself.
06b1abb5 315
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316-N::
317--no-fetch::
318 This option is only valid for the update command.
319 Don't fetch new objects from the remote site.
320
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321--checkout::
322 This option is only valid for the update command.
323 Checkout the commit recorded in the superproject on a detached HEAD
324 in the submodule. This is the default behavior, the main use of
325 this option is to override `submodule.$name.update` when set to
5c31acfb 326 a value other than `checkout`.
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327 If the key `submodule.$name.update` is either not explicitly set or
328 set to `checkout`, this option is implicit.
329
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330--merge::
331 This option is only valid for the update command.
332 Merge the commit recorded in the superproject into the current branch
333 of the submodule. If this option is given, the submodule's HEAD will
334 not be detached. If a merge failure prevents this process, you will
335 have to resolve the resulting conflicts within the submodule with the
336 usual conflict resolution tools.
337 If the key `submodule.$name.update` is set to `merge`, this option is
338 implicit.
339
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340--rebase::
341 This option is only valid for the update command.
342 Rebase the current branch onto the commit recorded in the
343 superproject. If this option is given, the submodule's HEAD will not
6a5d0b0a 344 be detached. If a merge failure prevents this process, you will have
ca2cedba 345 to resolve these failures with linkgit:git-rebase[1].
32948425 346 If the key `submodule.$name.update` is set to `rebase`, this option is
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347 implicit.
348
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349--init::
350 This option is only valid for the update command.
351 Initialize all submodules for which "git submodule init" has not been
352 called so far before updating.
353
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354--name::
355 This option is only valid for the add command. It sets the submodule's
356 name to the given string instead of defaulting to its path. The name
357 must be valid as a directory name and may not end with a '/'.
358
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359--reference <repository>::
360 This option is only valid for add and update commands. These
361 commands sometimes need to clone a remote repository. In this case,
362 this option will be passed to the linkgit:git-clone[1] command.
363+
364*NOTE*: Do *not* use this option unless you have read the note
402e8a6d 365for linkgit:git-clone[1]'s `--reference` and `--shared` options carefully.
d92a3959 366
15fc56a8 367--recursive::
e7220c40 368 This option is only valid for foreach, update, status and sync commands.
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369 Traverse submodules recursively. The operation is performed not
370 only in the submodules of the current repo, but also
371 in any nested submodules inside those submodules (and so on).
372
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373--depth::
374 This option is valid for add and update commands. Create a 'shallow'
375 clone with a history truncated to the specified number of revisions.
376 See linkgit:git-clone[1]
377
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378--[no-]recommend-shallow::
379 This option is only valid for the update command.
380 The initial clone of a submodule will use the recommended
beebc6df 381 `submodule.<name>.shallow` as provided by the `.gitmodules` file
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382 by default. To ignore the suggestions use `--no-recommend-shallow`.
383
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384-j <n>::
385--jobs <n>::
386 This option is only valid for the update command.
387 Clone new submodules in parallel with as many jobs.
388 Defaults to the `submodule.fetchJobs` option.
275cd184 389
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390<path>...::
391 Paths to submodule(s). When specified this will restrict the command
70c7ac22 392 to only operate on the submodules found at the specified paths.
ec05df35 393 (This argument is required with add).
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394
395FILES
396-----
beebc6df 397When initializing submodules, a `.gitmodules` file in the top-level directory
70c7ac22 398of the containing repository is used to find the url of each submodule.
c4585701 399This file should be formatted in the same way as `$GIT_DIR/config`. The key
5162e697 400to each submodule url is "submodule.$name.url". See linkgit:gitmodules[5]
6fbe42c7 401for details.
70c7ac22 402
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403SEE ALSO
404--------
405linkgit:gitsubmodules[7], linkgit:gitmodules[5].
406
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407GIT
408---
9e1f0a85 409Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite