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' [--color[=<when>] | --no-color] [-r | -a]
  12         [--list] [--show-current] [-v [--abbrev=<length> | --no-abbrev]]
  13         [--column[=<options>] | --no-column] [--sort=<key>]
  14         [(--merged | --no-merged) [<commit>]]
  15         [--contains [<commit]] [--no-contains [<commit>]]
  16         [--points-at <object>] [--format=<format>] [<pattern>...]
  17 'git branch' [--track | --no-track] [-f] <branchname> [<start-point>]
  18 'git branch' (--set-upstream-to=<upstream> | -u <upstream>) [<branchname>]
  19 'git branch' --unset-upstream [<branchname>]
  20 'git branch' (-m | -M) [<oldbranch>] <newbranch>
  21 'git branch' (-c | -C) [<oldbranch>] <newbranch>
  22 'git branch' (-d | -D) [-r] <branchname>...
  23 'git branch' --edit-description [<branchname>]
  24
  25 DESCRIPTION
  26 -----------
  27
  28 If `--list` is given, or if there are no non-option arguments, existing
  29 branches are listed; the current branch will be highlighted with an
  30 asterisk.  Option `-r` causes the remote-tracking branches to be listed,
  31 and option `-a` shows both local and remote branches. If a `<pattern>`
  32 is given, it is used as a shell wildcard to restrict the output to
  33 matching branches. If multiple patterns are given, a branch is shown if
  34 it matches any of the patterns.  Note that when providing a
  35 `<pattern>`, you must use `--list`; otherwise the command is interpreted
  36 as branch creation.
  37
  38 With `--contains`, shows only the branches that contain the named commit
  39 (in other words, the branches whose tip commits are descendants of the
  40 named commit), `--no-contains` inverts it. With `--merged`, only branches
  41 merged into the named commit (i.e. the branches whose tip commits are
  42 reachable from the named commit) will be listed.  With `--no-merged` only
  43 branches not merged into the named commit will be listed.  If the <commit>
  44 argument is missing it defaults to `HEAD` (i.e. the tip of the current
  45 branch).
  46
  47 The command's second form creates a new branch head named <branchname>
  48 which points to the current `HEAD`, or <start-point> if given. As a
  49 special case, for <start-point>, you may use `"A...B"` as a shortcut for
  50 the merge base of `A` and `B` if there is exactly one merge base. You
  51 can leave out at most one of `A` and `B`, in which case it defaults to
  52 `HEAD`.
  53
  54 Note that this will create the new branch, but it will not switch the
  55 working tree to it; use "git checkout <newbranch>" to switch to the
  56 new branch.
  57
  58 When a local branch is started off a remote-tracking branch, Git sets up the
  59 branch (specifically the `branch.<name>.remote` and `branch.<name>.merge`
  60 configuration entries) so that 'git pull' will appropriately merge from
  61 the remote-tracking branch. This behavior may be changed via the global
  62 `branch.autoSetupMerge` configuration flag. That setting can be
  63 overridden by using the `--track` and `--no-track` options, and
  64 changed later using `git branch --set-upstream-to`.
  65
  66 With a `-m` or `-M` option, <oldbranch> will be renamed to <newbranch>.
  67 If <oldbranch> had a corresponding reflog, it is renamed to match
  68 <newbranch>, and a reflog entry is created to remember the branch
  69 renaming. If <newbranch> exists, -M must be used to force the rename
  70 to happen.
  71
  72 The `-c` and `-C` options have the exact same semantics as `-m` and
  73 `-M`, except instead of the branch being renamed it along with its
  74 config and reflog will be copied to a new name.
  75
  76 With a `-d` or `-D` option, `<branchname>` will be deleted.  You may
  77 specify more than one branch for deletion.  If the branch currently
  78 has a reflog then the reflog will also be deleted.
  79
  80 Use `-r` together with `-d` to delete remote-tracking branches. Note, that it
  81 only makes sense to delete remote-tracking branches if they no longer exist
  82 in the remote repository or if 'git fetch' was configured not to fetch
  83 them again. See also the 'prune' subcommand of linkgit:git-remote[1] for a
  84 way to clean up all obsolete remote-tracking branches.
  85
  86
  87 OPTIONS
  88 -------
  89 -d::
  90 --delete::
  91         Delete a branch. The branch must be fully merged in its
  92         upstream branch, or in `HEAD` if no upstream was set with
  93         `--track` or `--set-upstream-to`.
  94
  95 -D::
  96         Shortcut for `--delete --force`.
  97
  98 --create-reflog::
  99         Create the branch's reflog.  This activates recording of
 100         all changes made to the branch ref, enabling use of date
 101         based sha1 expressions such as "<branchname>@\{yesterday}".
 102         Note that in non-bare repositories, reflogs are usually
 103         enabled by default by the `core.logAllRefUpdates` config option.
 104         The negated form `--no-create-reflog` only overrides an earlier
 105         `--create-reflog`, but currently does not negate the setting of
 106         `core.logAllRefUpdates`.
 107
 108 -f::
 109 --force::
 110         Reset <branchname> to <startpoint>, even if <branchname> exists
 111         already. Without `-f`, 'git branch' refuses to change an existing branch.
 112         In combination with `-d` (or `--delete`), allow deleting the
 113         branch irrespective of its merged status. In combination with
 114         `-m` (or `--move`), allow renaming the branch even if the new
 115         branch name already exists, the same applies for `-c` (or `--copy`).
 116
 117 -m::
 118 --move::
 119         Move/rename a branch and the corresponding reflog.
 120
 121 -M::
 122         Shortcut for `--move --force`.
 123
 124 -c::
 125 --copy::
 126         Copy a branch and the corresponding reflog.
 127
 128 -C::
 129         Shortcut for `--copy --force`.
 130
 131 --color[=<when>]::
 132         Color branches to highlight current, local, and
 133         remote-tracking branches.
 134         The value must be always (the default), never, or auto.
 135
 136 --no-color::
 137         Turn off branch colors, even when the configuration file gives the
 138         default to color output.
 139         Same as `--color=never`.
 140
 141 -i::
 142 --ignore-case::
 143         Sorting and filtering branches are case insensitive.
 144
 145 --column[=<options>]::
 146 --no-column::
 147         Display branch listing in columns. See configuration variable
 148         column.branch for option syntax.`--column` and `--no-column`
 149         without options are equivalent to 'always' and 'never' respectively.
 150 +
 151 This option is only applicable in non-verbose mode.
 152
 153 -r::
 154 --remotes::
 155         List or delete (if used with -d) the remote-tracking branches.
 156
 157 -a::
 158 --all::
 159         List both remote-tracking branches and local branches.
 160
 161 -l::
 162 --list::
 163         List branches.  With optional `<pattern>...`, e.g. `git
 164         branch --list 'maint-*'`, list only the branches that match
 165         the pattern(s).
 166
 167 --show-current::
 168         Print the name of the current branch. In detached HEAD state,
 169         nothing is printed.
 170
 171 -v::
 172 -vv::
 173 --verbose::
 174         When in list mode,
 175         show sha1 and commit subject line for each head, along with
 176         relationship to upstream branch (if any). If given twice, print
 177         the name of the upstream branch, as well (see also `git remote
 178         show <remote>`).
 179
 180 -q::
 181 --quiet::
 182         Be more quiet when creating or deleting a branch, suppressing
 183         non-error messages.
 184
 185 --abbrev=<length>::
 186         Alter the sha1's minimum display length in the output listing.
 187         The default value is 7 and can be overridden by the `core.abbrev`
 188         config option.
 189
 190 --no-abbrev::
 191         Display the full sha1s in the output listing rather than abbreviating them.
 192
 193 -t::
 194 --track::
 195         When creating a new branch, set up `branch.<name>.remote` and
 196         `branch.<name>.merge` configuration entries to mark the
 197         start-point branch as "upstream" from the new branch. This
 198         configuration will tell git to show the relationship between the
 199         two branches in `git status` and `git branch -v`. Furthermore,
 200         it directs `git pull` without arguments to pull from the
 201         upstream when the new branch is checked out.
 202 +
 203 This behavior is the default when the start point is a remote-tracking branch.
 204 Set the branch.autoSetupMerge configuration variable to `false` if you
 205 want `git checkout` and `git branch` to always behave as if `--no-track`
 206 were given. Set it to `always` if you want this behavior when the
 207 start-point is either a local or remote-tracking branch.
 208
 209 --no-track::
 210         Do not set up "upstream" configuration, even if the
 211         branch.autoSetupMerge configuration variable is true.
 212
 213 --set-upstream::
 214         As this option had confusing syntax, it is no longer supported.
 215         Please use `--track` or `--set-upstream-to` instead.
 216
 217 -u <upstream>::
 218 --set-upstream-to=<upstream>::
 219         Set up <branchname>'s tracking information so <upstream> is
 220         considered <branchname>'s upstream branch. If no <branchname>
 221         is specified, then it defaults to the current branch.
 222
 223 --unset-upstream::
 224         Remove the upstream information for <branchname>. If no branch
 225         is specified it defaults to the current branch.
 226
 227 --edit-description::
 228         Open an editor and edit the text to explain what the branch is
 229         for, to be used by various other commands (e.g. `format-patch`,
 230         `request-pull`, and `merge` (if enabled)). Multi-line explanations
 231         may be used.
 232
 233 --contains [<commit>]::
 234         Only list branches which contain the specified commit (HEAD
 235         if not specified). Implies `--list`.
 236
 237 --no-contains [<commit>]::
 238         Only list branches which don't contain the specified commit
 239         (HEAD if not specified). Implies `--list`.
 240
 241 --merged [<commit>]::
 242         Only list branches whose tips are reachable from the
 243         specified commit (HEAD if not specified). Implies `--list`,
 244         incompatible with `--no-merged`.
 245
 246 --no-merged [<commit>]::
 247         Only list branches whose tips are not reachable from the
 248         specified commit (HEAD if not specified). Implies `--list`,
 249         incompatible with `--merged`.
 250
 251 <branchname>::
 252         The name of the branch to create or delete.
 253         The new branch name must pass all checks defined by
 254         linkgit:git-check-ref-format[1].  Some of these checks
 255         may restrict the characters allowed in a branch name.
 256
 257 <start-point>::
 258         The new branch head will point to this commit.  It may be
 259         given as a branch name, a commit-id, or a tag.  If this
 260         option is omitted, the current HEAD will be used instead.
 261
 262 <oldbranch>::
 263         The name of an existing branch to rename.
 264
 265 <newbranch>::
 266         The new name for an existing branch. The same restrictions as for
 267         <branchname> apply.
 268
 269 --sort=<key>::
 270         Sort based on the key given. Prefix `-` to sort in descending
 271         order of the value. You may use the --sort=<key> option
 272         multiple times, in which case the last key becomes the primary
 273         key. The keys supported are the same as those in `git
 274         for-each-ref`. Sort order defaults to the value configured for the
 275         `branch.sort` variable if exists, or to sorting based on the
 276         full refname (including `refs/...` prefix). This lists
 277         detached HEAD (if present) first, then local branches and
 278         finally remote-tracking branches. See linkgit:git-config[1].
 279
 280
 281 --points-at <object>::
 282         Only list branches of the given object.
 283
 284 --format <format>::
 285         A string that interpolates `%(fieldname)` from a branch ref being shown
 286         and the object it points at.  The format is the same as
 287         that of linkgit:git-for-each-ref[1].
 288
 289 CONFIGURATION
 290 -------------
 291 `pager.branch` is only respected when listing branches, i.e., when
 292 `--list` is used or implied. The default is to use a pager.
 293 See linkgit:git-config[1].
 294
 295 EXAMPLES
 296 --------
 297
 298 Start development from a known tag::
 299 +
 300 ------------
 301 $ git clone git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/.../linux-2.6 my2.6
 302 $ cd my2.6
 303 $ git branch my2.6.14 v2.6.14   <1>
 304 $ git checkout my2.6.14
 305 ------------
 306 +
 307 <1> This step and the next one could be combined into a single step with
 308     "checkout -b my2.6.14 v2.6.14".
 309
 310 Delete an unneeded branch::
 311 +
 312 ------------
 313 $ git clone git://git.kernel.org/.../git.git my.git
 314 $ cd my.git
 315 $ git branch -d -r origin/todo origin/html origin/man   <1>
 316 $ git branch -D test                                    <2>
 317 ------------
 318 +
 319 <1> Delete the remote-tracking branches "todo", "html" and "man". The next
 320     'fetch' or 'pull' will create them again unless you configure them not to.
 321     See linkgit:git-fetch[1].
 322 <2> Delete the "test" branch even if the "master" branch (or whichever branch
 323     is currently checked out) does not have all commits from the test branch.
 324
 325
 326 NOTES
 327 -----
 328
 329 If you are creating a branch that you want to checkout immediately, it is
 330 easier to use the git checkout command with its `-b` option to create
 331 a branch and check it out with a single command.
 332
 333 The options `--contains`, `--no-contains`, `--merged` and `--no-merged`
 334 serve four related but different purposes:
 335
 336 - `--contains <commit>` is used to find all branches which will need
 337   special attention if <commit> were to be rebased or amended, since those
 338   branches contain the specified <commit>.
 339
 340 - `--no-contains <commit>` is the inverse of that, i.e. branches that don't
 341   contain the specified <commit>.
 342
 343 - `--merged` is used to find all branches which can be safely deleted,
 344   since those branches are fully contained by HEAD.
 345
 346 - `--no-merged` is used to find branches which are candidates for merging
 347   into HEAD, since those branches are not fully contained by HEAD.
 348
 349 SEE ALSO
 350 --------
 351 linkgit:git-check-ref-format[1],
 352 linkgit:git-fetch[1],
 353 linkgit:git-remote[1],
 354 link:user-manual.html#what-is-a-branch[``Understanding history: What is
 355 a branch?''] in the Git User's Manual.
 356
 357 GIT
 358 ---
 359 Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite