Documentation/git.txt

   1 git(7)
   2 ======
   3
   4 NAME
   5 ----
   6 git - the stupid content tracker
   7
   8
   9 SYNOPSIS
  10 --------
  11 'git' [--version] [--exec-path[=GIT_EXEC_PATH]] [--help] COMMAND [ARGS]
  12
  13 DESCRIPTION
  14 -----------
  15 'git' is both a program and a directory content tracker system.
  16 The program 'git' is just a wrapper to reach the core git programs
  17 (or a potty if you like, as it's not exactly porcelain but still
  18 brings your stuff to the plumbing).
  19
  20 OPTIONS
  21 -------
  22 --version::
  23         prints the git suite version that the 'git' program came from.
  24
  25 --help::
  26         prints the synopsis and a list of available commands.
  27         If a git command is named this option will bring up the
  28         man-page for that command.
  29
  30 --exec-path::
  31         path to wherever your core git programs are installed.
  32         This can also be controlled by setting the GIT_EXEC_PATH
  33         environment variable. If no path is given 'git' will print
  34         the current setting and then exit.
  35
  36
  37 NOT LEARNING CORE GIT COMMANDS
  38 ------------------------------
  39
  40 This manual is intended to give complete background information
  41 and internal workings of git, which may be too much for most
  42 people.  The <<Discussion>> section below contains much useful
  43 definition and clarification - read that first.
  44
  45 If you are interested in using git to manage (version control)
  46 projects, use link:tutorial.html[The Tutorial] to get you started,
  47 and then link:everyday.html[Everyday GIT] as a guide to the
  48 minimum set of commands you need to know for day-to-day work.
  49 Most likely, that will get you started, and you can go a long
  50 way without knowing the low level details too much.
  51
  52 The link:core-tutorial.html[Core tutorial] document covers how things
  53 internally work.
  54
  55 If you are migrating from CVS, link:cvs-migration.html[cvs
  56 migration] document may be helpful after you finish the
  57 tutorial.
  58
  59 After you get the general feel from the tutorial and this
  60 overview page, you may want to take a look at the
  61 link:howto-index.html[howto] documents.
  62
  63
  64 CORE GIT COMMANDS
  65 -----------------
  66
  67 If you are writing your own Porcelain, you need to be familiar
  68 with most of the low level commands --- I suggest starting from
  69 gitlink:git-update-index[1] and gitlink:git-read-tree[1].
  70
  71
  72 Commands Overview
  73 -----------------
  74 The git commands can helpfully be split into those that manipulate
  75 the repository, the index and the files in the working tree, those that
  76 interrogate and compare them, and those that moves objects and
  77 references between repositories.
  78
  79 In addition, git itself comes with a spartan set of porcelain
  80 commands.  They are usable but are not meant to compete with real
  81 Porcelains.
  82
  83 There are also some ancillary programs that can be viewed as useful
  84 aids for using the core commands but which are unlikely to be used by
  85 SCMs layered over git.
  86
  87 Manipulation commands
  88 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  89 gitlink:git-apply[1]::
  90         Reads a "diff -up1" or git generated patch file and
  91         applies it to the working tree.
  92
  93 gitlink:git-checkout-index[1]::
  94         Copy files from the index to the working tree.
  95
  96 gitlink:git-commit-tree[1]::
  97         Creates a new commit object.
  98
  99 gitlink:git-hash-object[1]::
 100         Computes the object ID from a file.
 101
 102 gitlink:git-index-pack[1]::
 103         Build pack idx file for an existing packed archive.
 104
 105 gitlink:git-init-db[1]::
 106         Creates an empty git object database, or reinitialize an
 107         existing one.
 108
 109 gitlink:git-merge-index[1]::
 110         Runs a merge for files needing merging.
 111
 112 gitlink:git-mktag[1]::
 113         Creates a tag object.
 114
 115 gitlink:git-pack-objects[1]::
 116         Creates a packed archive of objects.
 117
 118 gitlink:git-prune-packed[1]::
 119         Remove extra objects that are already in pack files.
 120
 121 gitlink:git-read-tree[1]::
 122         Reads tree information into the index.
 123
 124 gitlink:git-repo-config[1]::
 125         Get and set options in .git/config.
 126
 127 gitlink:git-unpack-objects[1]::
 128         Unpacks objects out of a packed archive.
 129
 130 gitlink:git-update-index[1]::
 131         Registers files in the working tree to the index.
 132
 133 gitlink:git-write-tree[1]::
 134         Creates a tree from the index.
 135
 136
 137 Interrogation commands
 138 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 139
 140 gitlink:git-cat-file[1]::
 141         Provide content or type/size information for repository objects.
 142
 143 gitlink:git-describe[1]::
 144         Show the most recent tag that is reachable from a commit.
 145
 146 gitlink:git-diff-index[1]::
 147         Compares content and mode of blobs between the index and repository.
 148
 149 gitlink:git-diff-files[1]::
 150         Compares files in the working tree and the index.
 151
 152 gitlink:git-diff-stages[1]::
 153         Compares two "merge stages" in the index.
 154
 155 gitlink:git-diff-tree[1]::
 156         Compares the content and mode of blobs found via two tree objects.
 157
 158 gitlink:git-fsck-objects[1]::
 159         Verifies the connectivity and validity of the objects in the database.
 160
 161 gitlink:git-ls-files[1]::
 162         Information about files in the index and the working tree.
 163
 164 gitlink:git-ls-tree[1]::
 165         Displays a tree object in human readable form.
 166
 167 gitlink:git-merge-base[1]::
 168         Finds as good common ancestors as possible for a merge.
 169
 170 gitlink:git-name-rev[1]::
 171         Find symbolic names for given revs.
 172
 173 gitlink:git-pack-redundant[1]::
 174         Find redundant pack files.
 175
 176 gitlink:git-rev-list[1]::
 177         Lists commit objects in reverse chronological order.
 178
 179 gitlink:git-show-index[1]::
 180         Displays contents of a pack idx file.
 181
 182 gitlink:git-tar-tree[1]::
 183         Creates a tar archive of the files in the named tree object.
 184
 185 gitlink:git-unpack-file[1]::
 186         Creates a temporary file with a blob's contents.
 187
 188 gitlink:git-var[1]::
 189         Displays a git logical variable.
 190
 191 gitlink:git-verify-pack[1]::
 192         Validates packed git archive files.
 193
 194 In general, the interrogate commands do not touch the files in
 195 the working tree.
 196
 197
 198 Synching repositories
 199 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 200
 201 gitlink:git-clone-pack[1]::
 202         Clones a repository into the current repository (engine
 203         for ssh and local transport).
 204
 205 gitlink:git-fetch-pack[1]::
 206         Updates from a remote repository (engine for ssh and
 207         local transport).
 208
 209 gitlink:git-http-fetch[1]::
 210         Downloads a remote git repository via HTTP by walking
 211         commit chain.
 212
 213 gitlink:git-local-fetch[1]::
 214         Duplicates another git repository on a local system by
 215         walking commit chain.
 216
 217 gitlink:git-peek-remote[1]::
 218         Lists references on a remote repository using
 219         upload-pack protocol (engine for ssh and local
 220         transport).
 221
 222 gitlink:git-receive-pack[1]::
 223         Invoked by 'git-send-pack' to receive what is pushed to it.
 224
 225 gitlink:git-send-pack[1]::
 226         Pushes to a remote repository, intelligently.
 227
 228 gitlink:git-http-push[1]::
 229         Push missing objects using HTTP/DAV.
 230
 231 gitlink:git-shell[1]::
 232         Restricted shell for GIT-only SSH access.
 233
 234 gitlink:git-ssh-fetch[1]::
 235         Pulls from a remote repository over ssh connection by
 236         walking commit chain.
 237
 238 gitlink:git-ssh-upload[1]::
 239         Helper "server-side" program used by git-ssh-fetch.
 240
 241 gitlink:git-update-server-info[1]::
 242         Updates auxiliary information on a dumb server to help
 243         clients discover references and packs on it.
 244
 245 gitlink:git-upload-pack[1]::
 246         Invoked by 'git-clone-pack' and 'git-fetch-pack' to push
 247         what are asked for.
 248
 249
 250 Porcelain-ish Commands
 251 ----------------------
 252
 253 gitlink:git-add[1]::
 254         Add paths to the index.
 255
 256 gitlink:git-am[1]::
 257         Apply patches from a mailbox, but cooler.
 258
 259 gitlink:git-applymbox[1]::
 260         Apply patches from a mailbox, original version by Linus.
 261
 262 gitlink:git-bisect[1]::
 263         Find the change that introduced a bug by binary search.
 264
 265 gitlink:git-branch[1]::
 266         Create and Show branches.
 267
 268 gitlink:git-checkout[1]::
 269         Checkout and switch to a branch.
 270
 271 gitlink:git-cherry-pick[1]::
 272         Cherry-pick the effect of an existing commit.
 273
 274 gitlink:git-clone[1]::
 275         Clones a repository into a new directory.
 276
 277 gitlink:git-commit[1]::
 278         Record changes to the repository.
 279
 280 gitlink:git-diff[1]::
 281         Show changes between commits, commit and working tree, etc.
 282
 283 gitlink:git-fetch[1]::
 284         Download from a remote repository via various protocols.
 285
 286 gitlink:git-format-patch[1]::
 287         Prepare patches for e-mail submission.
 288
 289 gitlink:git-grep[1]::
 290         Print lines matching a pattern.
 291
 292 gitlink:git-log[1]::
 293         Shows commit logs.
 294
 295 gitlink:git-ls-remote[1]::
 296         Shows references in a remote or local repository.
 297
 298 gitlink:git-merge[1]::
 299         Grand unified merge driver.
 300
 301 gitlink:git-mv[1]::
 302         Move or rename a file, a directory, or a symlink.
 303
 304 gitlink:git-pull[1]::
 305         Fetch from and merge with a remote repository.
 306
 307 gitlink:git-push[1]::
 308         Update remote refs along with associated objects.
 309
 310 gitlink:git-rebase[1]::
 311         Rebase local commits to the updated upstream head.
 312
 313 gitlink:git-repack[1]::
 314         Pack unpacked objects in a repository.
 315
 316 gitlink:git-rerere[1]::
 317         Reuse recorded resolution of conflicted merges.
 318
 319 gitlink:git-reset[1]::
 320         Reset current HEAD to the specified state.
 321
 322 gitlink:git-resolve[1]::
 323         Merge two commits.
 324
 325 gitlink:git-revert[1]::
 326         Revert an existing commit.
 327
 328 gitlink:git-shortlog[1]::
 329         Summarizes 'git log' output.
 330
 331 gitlink:git-show-branch[1]::
 332         Show branches and their commits.
 333
 334 gitlink:git-status[1]::
 335         Shows the working tree status.
 336
 337 gitlink:git-verify-tag[1]::
 338         Check the GPG signature of tag.
 339
 340 gitlink:git-whatchanged[1]::
 341         Shows commit logs and differences they introduce.
 342
 343
 344 Ancillary Commands
 345 ------------------
 346 Manipulators:
 347
 348 gitlink:git-applypatch[1]::
 349         Apply one patch extracted from an e-mail.
 350
 351 gitlink:git-archimport[1]::
 352         Import an arch repository into git.
 353
 354 gitlink:git-convert-objects[1]::
 355         Converts old-style git repository.
 356
 357 gitlink:git-cvsimport[1]::
 358         Salvage your data out of another SCM people love to hate.
 359
 360 gitlink:git-cvsexportcommit[1]::
 361         Export a single commit to a CVS checkout.
 362
 363 gitlink:git-lost-found[1]::
 364         Recover lost refs that luckily have not yet been pruned.
 365
 366 gitlink:git-merge-one-file[1]::
 367         The standard helper program to use with `git-merge-index`.
 368
 369 gitlink:git-prune[1]::
 370         Prunes all unreachable objects from the object database.
 371
 372 gitlink:git-relink[1]::
 373         Hardlink common objects in local repositories.
 374
 375 gitlink:git-svnimport[1]::
 376         Import a SVN repository into git.
 377
 378 gitlink:git-sh-setup[1]::
 379         Common git shell script setup code.
 380
 381 gitlink:git-symbolic-ref[1]::
 382         Read and modify symbolic refs.
 383
 384 gitlink:git-tag[1]::
 385         An example script to create a tag object signed with GPG.
 386
 387 gitlink:git-update-ref[1]::
 388         Update the object name stored in a ref safely.
 389
 390
 391 Interrogators:
 392
 393 gitlink:git-check-ref-format[1]::
 394         Make sure ref name is well formed.
 395
 396 gitlink:git-cherry[1]::
 397         Find commits not merged upstream.
 398
 399 gitlink:git-count-objects[1]::
 400         Count unpacked number of objects and their disk consumption.
 401
 402 gitlink:git-daemon[1]::
 403         A really simple server for git repositories.
 404
 405 gitlink:git-get-tar-commit-id[1]::
 406         Extract commit ID from an archive created using git-tar-tree.
 407
 408 gitlink:git-mailinfo[1]::
 409         Extracts patch and authorship information from a single
 410         e-mail message, optionally transliterating the commit
 411         message into utf-8.
 412
 413 gitlink:git-mailsplit[1]::
 414         A stupid program to split UNIX mbox format mailbox into
 415         individual pieces of e-mail.
 416
 417 gitlink:git-patch-id[1]::
 418         Compute unique ID for a patch.
 419
 420 gitlink:git-parse-remote[1]::
 421         Routines to help parsing `$GIT_DIR/remotes/` files.
 422
 423 gitlink:git-request-pull[1]::
 424         git-request-pull.
 425
 426 gitlink:git-rev-parse[1]::
 427         Pick out and massage parameters.
 428
 429 gitlink:git-send-email[1]::
 430         Send patch e-mails out of "format-patch --mbox" output.
 431
 432 gitlink:git-symbolic-ref[1]::
 433         Read and modify symbolic refs.
 434
 435 gitlink:git-stripspace[1]::
 436         Filter out empty lines.
 437
 438
 439 Commands not yet documented
 440 ---------------------------
 441
 442 gitlink:gitk[1]::
 443         The gitk repository browser.
 444
 445
 446 Configuration Mechanism
 447 -----------------------
 448
 449 Starting from 0.99.9 (actually mid 0.99.8.GIT), `.git/config` file
 450 is used to hold per-repository configuration options.  It is a
 451 simple text file modelled after `.ini` format familiar to some
 452 people.  Here is an example:
 453
 454 ------------
 455 #
 456 # A '#' or ';' character indicates a comment.
 457 #
 458
 459 ; core variables
 460 [core]
 461         ; Don't trust file modes
 462         filemode = false
 463
 464 ; user identity
 465 [user]
 466         name = "Junio C Hamano"
 467         email = "junkio@twinsun.com"
 468
 469 ------------
 470
 471 Various commands read from the configuration file and adjust
 472 their operation accordingly.
 473
 474
 475 Identifier Terminology
 476 ----------------------
 477 <object>::
 478         Indicates the object name for any type of object.
 479
 480 <blob>::
 481         Indicates a blob object name.
 482
 483 <tree>::
 484         Indicates a tree object name.
 485
 486 <commit>::
 487         Indicates a commit object name.
 488
 489 <tree-ish>::
 490         Indicates a tree, commit or tag object name.  A
 491         command that takes a <tree-ish> argument ultimately wants to
 492         operate on a <tree> object but automatically dereferences
 493         <commit> and <tag> objects that point at a <tree>.
 494
 495 <type>::
 496         Indicates that an object type is required.
 497         Currently one of: `blob`, `tree`, `commit`, or `tag`.
 498
 499 <file>::
 500         Indicates a filename - almost always relative to the
 501         root of the tree structure `GIT_INDEX_FILE` describes.
 502
 503 Symbolic Identifiers
 504 --------------------
 505 Any git command accepting any <object> can also use the following
 506 symbolic notation:
 507
 508 HEAD::
 509         indicates the head of the current branch (i.e. the
 510         contents of `$GIT_DIR/HEAD`).
 511
 512 <tag>::
 513         a valid tag 'name'
 514         (i.e. the contents of `$GIT_DIR/refs/tags/<tag>`).
 515
 516 <head>::
 517         a valid head 'name'
 518         (i.e. the contents of `$GIT_DIR/refs/heads/<head>`).
 519
 520 <snap>::
 521         a valid snapshot 'name'
 522         (i.e. the contents of `$GIT_DIR/refs/snap/<snap>`).
 523
 524
 525 File/Directory Structure
 526 ------------------------
 527
 528 Please see link:repository-layout.html[repository layout] document.
 529
 530 Higher level SCMs may provide and manage additional information in the
 531 `$GIT_DIR`.
 532
 533
 534 Terminology
 535 -----------
 536 Please see link:glossary.html[glossary] document.
 537
 538
 539 Environment Variables
 540 ---------------------
 541 Various git commands use the following environment variables:
 542
 543 The git Repository
 544 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 545 These environment variables apply to 'all' core git commands. Nb: it
 546 is worth noting that they may be used/overridden by SCMS sitting above
 547 git so take care if using Cogito etc.
 548
 549 'GIT_INDEX_FILE'::
 550         This environment allows the specification of an alternate
 551         index file. If not specified, the default of `$GIT_DIR/index`
 552         is used.
 553
 554 'GIT_OBJECT_DIRECTORY'::
 555         If the object storage directory is specified via this
 556         environment variable then the sha1 directories are created
 557         underneath - otherwise the default `$GIT_DIR/objects`
 558         directory is used.
 559
 560 'GIT_ALTERNATE_OBJECT_DIRECTORIES'::
 561         Due to the immutable nature of git objects, old objects can be
 562         archived into shared, read-only directories. This variable
 563         specifies a ":" separated list of git object directories which
 564         can be used to search for git objects. New objects will not be
 565         written to these directories.
 566
 567 'GIT_DIR'::
 568         If the 'GIT_DIR' environment variable is set then it
 569         specifies a path to use instead of the default `.git`
 570         for the base of the repository.
 571
 572 git Commits
 573 ~~~~~~~~~~~
 574 'GIT_AUTHOR_NAME'::
 575 'GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL'::
 576 'GIT_AUTHOR_DATE'::
 577 'GIT_COMMITTER_NAME'::
 578 'GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL'::
 579         see gitlink:git-commit-tree[1]
 580
 581 git Diffs
 582 ~~~~~~~~~
 583 'GIT_DIFF_OPTS'::
 584 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF'::
 585         see the "generating patches" section in :
 586         gitlink:git-diff-index[1];
 587         gitlink:git-diff-files[1];
 588         gitlink:git-diff-tree[1]
 589
 590 Discussion[[Discussion]]
 591 ------------------------
 592 include::README[]
 593
 594 Authors
 595 -------
 596 * git's founding father is Linus Torvalds <torvalds@osdl.org>.
 597 * The current git nurse is Junio C Hamano <junkio@cox.net>.
 598 * The git potty was written by Andres Ericsson <ae@op5.se>.
 599 * General upbringing is handled by the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>.
 600
 601 Documentation
 602 --------------
 603 The documentation for git suite was started by David Greaves
 604 <david@dgreaves.com>, and later enhanced greatly by the
 605 contributors on the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>.
 606
 607 GIT
 608 ---
 609 Part of the gitlink:git[7] suite
 610