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