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[thirdparty/git.git] / Documentation / diff-options.txt
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1// Please don't remove this comment as asciidoc behaves badly when
2// the first non-empty line is ifdef/ifndef. The symptom is that
3// without this comment the <git-diff-core> attribute conditionally
4// defined below ends up being defined unconditionally.
5// Last checked with asciidoc 7.0.2.
6
7ifndef::git-format-patch[]
8ifndef::git-diff[]
272bd3cf 9ifndef::git-log[]
c1a95fa6 10:git-diff-core: 1
272bd3cf 11endif::git-log[]
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12endif::git-diff[]
13endif::git-format-patch[]
14
15ifdef::git-format-patch[]
16-p::
2cfa8330 17--no-stat::
02bc5b03 18 Generate plain patches without any diffstats.
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19endif::git-format-patch[]
20
21ifndef::git-format-patch[]
dda2d79a 22-p::
a9e67c8c 23-u::
1c9eecff 24--patch::
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25 Generate patch (see section on generating patches).
26 {git-diff? This is the default.}
27endif::git-format-patch[]
dda2d79a 28
4eb99473 29-U<n>::
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30--unified=<n>::
31 Generate diffs with <n> lines of context instead of
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32 the usual three.
33ifndef::git-format-patch[]
dce5ef14 34 Implies `-p`.
02bc5b03 35endif::git-format-patch[]
4eb99473 36
d4cb003f 37ifndef::git-format-patch[]
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38--raw::
39 Generate the raw format.
c1a95fa6 40 {git-diff-core? This is the default.}
d4cb003f 41endif::git-format-patch[]
b5376648 42
02bc5b03 43ifndef::git-format-patch[]
5c91da25 44--patch-with-raw::
dce5ef14 45 Synonym for `-p --raw`.
02bc5b03 46endif::git-format-patch[]
5c91da25 47
ec74042d 48--patience::
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49 Generate a diff using the "patience diff" algorithm.
50
62b4698e 51--stat[=<width>[,<name-width>]]::
5c5b2ea9 52 Generate a diffstat. You can override the default
62b4698e 53 output width for 80-column terminal by `--stat=<width>`.
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54 The width of the filename part can be controlled by
55 giving another width to it separated by a comma.
d75f7952 56
74e2abe5 57--numstat::
dce5ef14 58 Similar to `\--stat`, but shows number of added and
74e2abe5 59 deleted lines in decimal notation and pathname without
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60 abbreviation, to make it more machine friendly. For
61 binary files, outputs two `-` instead of saying
62 `0 0`.
74e2abe5 63
ebd124c6 64--shortstat::
dce5ef14 65 Output only the last line of the `--stat` format containing total
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66 number of modified files, as well as number of added and deleted
67 lines.
68
62b4698e 69--dirstat[=<limit>]::
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70 Output the distribution of relative amount of changes (number of lines added or
71 removed) for each sub-directory. Directories with changes below
72 a cut-off percent (3% by default) are not shown. The cut-off percent
62b4698e 73 can be set with `--dirstat=<limit>`. Changes in a child directory are not
dce5ef14 74 counted for the parent directory, unless `--cumulative` is used.
37152d83 75
62b4698e 76--dirstat-by-file[=<limit>]::
dce5ef14 77 Same as `--dirstat`, but counts changed files instead of lines.
fd33777b 78
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79--summary::
80 Output a condensed summary of extended header information
81 such as creations, renames and mode changes.
82
02bc5b03 83ifndef::git-format-patch[]
29353273 84--patch-with-stat::
dce5ef14 85 Synonym for `-p --stat`.
02bc5b03 86endif::git-format-patch[]
29353273 87
d4cb003f 88ifndef::git-format-patch[]
64485b4a 89
dda2d79a 90-z::
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91ifdef::git-log[]
92 Separate the commits with NULs instead of with new newlines.
93+
94Also, when `--raw` or `--numstat` has been given, do not munge
95pathnames and use NULs as output field terminators.
96endif::git-log[]
64485b4a 97ifndef::git-log[]
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98 When `--raw`, `--numstat`, `--name-only` or `--name-status` has been
99 given, do not munge pathnames and use NULs as output field terminators.
5c931c8d 100endif::git-log[]
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101+
102Without this option, each pathname output will have TAB, LF, double quotes,
103and backslash characters replaced with `\t`, `\n`, `\"`, and `\\`,
104respectively, and the pathname will be enclosed in double quotes if
105any of those replacements occurred.
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106
107--name-only::
108 Show only names of changed files.
109
946f5f7c 110--name-status::
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111 Show only names and status of changed files. See the description
112 of the `--diff-filter` option on what the status letters mean.
dda2d79a 113
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114--submodule[=<format>]::
115 Chose the output format for submodule differences. <format> can be one of
116 'short' and 'log'. 'short' just shows pairs of commit names, this format
117 is used when this option is not given. 'log' is the default value for this
118 option and lists the commits in that commit range like the 'summary'
119 option of linkgit:git-submodule[1] does.
120
73e9da01 121--color[=<when>]::
b5376648 122 Show colored diff.
73e9da01 123 The value must be always (the default), never, or auto.
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124
125--no-color::
126 Turn off colored diff, even when the configuration file
127 gives the default to color output.
73e9da01 128 Same as `--color=never`.
b5376648 129
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130--word-diff[=<mode>]::
131 Show a word diff, using the <mode> to delimit changed words.
132 By default, words are delimited by whitespace; see
133 `--word-diff-regex` below. The <mode> defaults to 'plain', and
134 must be one of:
135+
136--
137color::
138 Highlight changed words using only colors. Implies `--color`.
139plain::
140 Show words as `[-removed-]` and `{+added+}`. Makes no
141 attempts to escape the delimiters if they appear in the input,
142 so the output may be ambiguous.
143porcelain::
144 Use a special line-based format intended for script
145 consumption. Added/removed/unchanged runs are printed in the
146 usual unified diff format, starting with a `+`/`-`/` `
147 character at the beginning of the line and extending to the
148 end of the line. Newlines in the input are represented by a
149 tilde `~` on a line of its own.
150none::
151 Disable word diff again.
152--
153+
154Note that despite the name of the first mode, color is used to
155highlight the changed parts in all modes if enabled.
156
157--word-diff-regex=<regex>::
158 Use <regex> to decide what a word is, instead of considering
159 runs of non-whitespace to be a word. Also implies
160 `--word-diff` unless it was already enabled.
2b6a5417 161+
882749a0 162Every non-overlapping match of the
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163<regex> is considered a word. Anything between these matches is
164considered whitespace and ignored(!) for the purposes of finding
165differences. You may want to append `|[^[:space:]]` to your regular
166expression to make sure that it matches all non-whitespace characters.
167A match that contains a newline is silently truncated(!) at the
168newline.
80c49c3d 169+
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170The regex can also be set via a diff driver or configuration option, see
171linkgit:gitattributes[1] or linkgit:git-config[1]. Giving it explicitly
172overrides any diff driver or configuration setting. Diff drivers
173override configuration settings.
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174
175--color-words[=<regex>]::
176 Equivalent to `--word-diff=color` plus (if a regex was
177 specified) `--word-diff-regex=<regex>`.
d4cb003f 178endif::git-format-patch[]
f59a59e2 179
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180--no-renames::
181 Turn off rename detection, even when the configuration
182 file gives the default to do so.
183
02bc5b03 184ifndef::git-format-patch[]
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185--check::
186 Warn if changes introduce trailing whitespace
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187 or an indent that uses a space before a tab. Exits with
188 non-zero status if problems are found. Not compatible with
189 --exit-code.
02bc5b03 190endif::git-format-patch[]
16507fcf 191
80b1e511 192--full-index::
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193 Instead of the first handful of characters, show the full
194 pre- and post-image blob object names on the "index"
195 line when generating patch format output.
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196
197--binary::
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198 In addition to `--full-index`, output a binary diff that
199 can be applied with `git-apply`.
80b1e511 200
913419fc 201--abbrev[=<n>]::
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202 Instead of showing the full 40-byte hexadecimal object
203 name in diff-raw format output and diff-tree header
323b9db8 204 lines, show only a partial prefix. This is
dce5ef14 205 independent of the `--full-index` option above, which controls
913419fc 206 the diff-patch output format. Non default number of
dce5ef14 207 digits can be specified with `--abbrev=<n>`.
47dd0d59 208
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209-B[<n>][/<m>]::
210 Break complete rewrite changes into pairs of delete and
211 create. This serves two purposes:
212+
213It affects the way a change that amounts to a total rewrite of a file
214not as a series of deletion and insertion mixed together with a very
215few lines that happen to match textually as the context, but as a
216single deletion of everything old followed by a single insertion of
217everything new, and the number `m` controls this aspect of the -B
218option (defaults to 60%). `-B/70%` specifies that less than 30% of the
219original should remain in the result for git to consider it a total
220rewrite (i.e. otherwise the resulting patch will be a series of
221deletion and insertion mixed together with context lines).
222+
223When used with -M, a totally-rewritten file is also considered as the
224source of a rename (usually -M only considers a file that disappeared
225as the source of a rename), and the number `n` controls this aspect of
226the -B option (defaults to 50%). `-B20%` specifies that a change with
227addition and deletion compared to 20% or more of the file's size are
228eligible for being picked up as a possible source of a rename to
229another file.
230
231-M[<n>]::
7ffad250 232ifndef::git-log[]
dda2d79a 233 Detect renames.
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234endif::git-log[]
235ifdef::git-log[]
236 If generating diffs, detect and report renames for each commit.
237 For following files across renames while traversing history, see
238 `--follow`.
239endif::git-log[]
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240 If `n` is specified, it is a is a threshold on the similarity
241 index (i.e. amount of addition/deletions compared to the
242 file's size). For example, `-M90%` means git should consider a
243 delete/add pair to be a rename if more than 90% of the file
244 hasn't changed.
dda2d79a 245
cf958afd 246-C[<n>]::
ca6c0970 247 Detect copies as well as renames. See also `--find-copies-harder`.
cf958afd 248 If `n` is specified, it has the same meaning as for `-M<n>`.
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249
250--find-copies-harder::
ca6c0970 251 For performance reasons, by default, `-C` option finds copies only
a6080a0a 252 if the original file of the copy was modified in the same
f73ae1fc 253 changeset. This flag makes the command
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254 inspect unmodified files as candidates for the source of
255 copy. This is a very expensive operation for large
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256 projects, so use it with caution. Giving more than one
257 `-C` option has the same effect.
dda2d79a 258
8082d8d3 259-l<num>::
dce5ef14 260 The `-M` and `-C` options require O(n^2) processing time where n
f73ae1fc 261 is the number of potential rename/copy targets. This
8082d8d3 262 option prevents rename/copy detection from running if
f73ae1fc 263 the number of rename/copy targets exceeds the specified
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264 number.
265
d4cb003f 266ifndef::git-format-patch[]
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267--diff-filter=[(A|C|D|M|R|T|U|X|B)...[*]]::
268 Select only files that are Added (`A`), Copied (`C`),
269 Deleted (`D`), Modified (`M`), Renamed (`R`), have their
270 type (i.e. regular file, symlink, submodule, ...) changed (`T`),
271 are Unmerged (`U`), are
272 Unknown (`X`), or have had their pairing Broken (`B`).
273 Any combination of the filter characters (including none) can be used.
274 When `*` (All-or-none) is added to the combination, all
275 paths are selected if there is any file that matches
276 other criteria in the comparison; if there is no file
277 that matches other criteria, nothing is selected.
278
dda2d79a 279-S<string>::
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280 Look for differences that introduce or remove an instance of
281 <string>. Note that this is different than the string simply
282 appearing in diff output; see the 'pickaxe' entry in
283 linkgit:gitdiffcore[7] for more details.
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284
285--pickaxe-all::
dce5ef14 286 When `-S` finds a change, show all the changes in that
f73ae1fc 287 changeset, not just the files that contain the change
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288 in <string>.
289
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290--pickaxe-regex::
291 Make the <string> not a plain string but an extended POSIX
292 regex to match.
d4cb003f 293endif::git-format-patch[]
d01d8c67 294
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295-O<orderfile>::
296 Output the patch in the order specified in the
297 <orderfile>, which has one shell glob pattern per line.
298
d4cb003f 299ifndef::git-format-patch[]
dda2d79a 300-R::
5f3aa197 301 Swap two inputs; that is, show differences from index or
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302 on-disk file to tree contents.
303
c0cb4a06 304--relative[=<path>]::
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305 When run from a subdirectory of the project, it can be
306 told to exclude changes outside the directory and show
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307 pathnames relative to it with this option. When you are
308 not in a subdirectory (e.g. in a bare repository), you
309 can name which subdirectory to make the output relative
310 to by giving a <path> as an argument.
d4cb003f 311endif::git-format-patch[]
cd676a51 312
a9e67c8c 313-a::
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314--text::
315 Treat all files as text.
316
a44a0c99 317--ignore-space-at-eol::
0ac7903e 318 Ignore changes in whitespace at EOL.
a44a0c99 319
a9e67c8c 320-b::
8ebe185b 321--ignore-space-change::
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322 Ignore changes in amount of whitespace. This ignores whitespace
323 at line end, and considers all other sequences of one or
324 more whitespace characters to be equivalent.
8ebe185b 325
a9e67c8c 326-w::
8ebe185b 327--ignore-all-space::
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328 Ignore whitespace when comparing lines. This ignores
329 differences even if one line has whitespace where the other
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330 line has none.
331
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332--inter-hunk-context=<lines>::
333 Show the context between diff hunks, up to the specified number
334 of lines, thereby fusing hunks that are close to each other.
335
d4cb003f 336ifndef::git-format-patch[]
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337--exit-code::
338 Make the program exit with codes similar to diff(1).
339 That is, it exits with 1 if there were differences and
340 0 means no differences.
341
2a18c266 342--quiet::
dce5ef14 343 Disable all output of the program. Implies `--exit-code`.
d4cb003f 344endif::git-format-patch[]
2a18c266 345
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346--ext-diff::
347 Allow an external diff helper to be executed. If you set an
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348 external diff driver with linkgit:gitattributes[5], you need
349 to use this option with linkgit:git-log[1] and friends.
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350
351--no-ext-diff::
352 Disallow external diff drivers.
353
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354--ignore-submodules[=<when>]::
355 Ignore changes to submodules in the diff generation. <when> can be
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356 either "none", "untracked", "dirty" or "all", which is the default
357 Using "none" will consider the submodule modified when it either contains
358 untracked or modified files or its HEAD differs from the commit recorded
359 in the superproject and can be used to override any settings of the
302ad7a9 360 'ignore' option in linkgit:git-config[1] or linkgit:gitmodules[5]. When
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361 "untracked" is used submodules are not considered dirty when they only
362 contain untracked content (but they are still scanned for modified
363 content). Using "dirty" ignores all changes to the work tree of submodules,
364 only changes to the commits stored in the superproject are shown (this was
365 the behavior until 1.7.0). Using "all" hides all changes to submodules.
50fd9bd8 366
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367--src-prefix=<prefix>::
368 Show the given source prefix instead of "a/".
369
370--dst-prefix=<prefix>::
371 Show the given destination prefix instead of "b/".
372
373--no-prefix::
374 Do not show any source or destination prefix.
375
8db9307c 376For more detailed explanation on these common options, see also
6998e4db 377linkgit:gitdiffcore[7].