Documentation/git.txt

   1 git(1)
   2 ======
   3
   4 NAME
   5 ----
   6 git - the stupid content tracker
   7
   8
   9 SYNOPSIS
  10 --------
  11 [verse]
  12 'git' [--version] [--exec-path[=GIT_EXEC_PATH]]
  13     [-p|--paginate|--no-pager]
  14     [--bare] [--git-dir=GIT_DIR] [--work-tree=GIT_WORK_TREE]
  15     [--help] COMMAND [ARGS]
  16
  17 DESCRIPTION
  18 -----------
  19 Git is a fast, scalable, distributed revision control system with an
  20 unusually rich command set that provides both high-level operations
  21 and full access to internals.
  22
  23 See this linkgit:gittutorial[7][tutorial] to get started, then see
  24 link:everyday.html[Everyday Git] for a useful minimum set of commands, and
  25 "man git-commandname" for documentation of each command.  CVS users may
  26 also want to read linkgit:gitcvs-migration[7][CVS migration].  See
  27 link:user-manual.html[Git User's Manual] for a more in-depth
  28 introduction.
  29
  30 The COMMAND is either a name of a Git command (see below) or an alias
  31 as defined in the configuration file (see linkgit:git-config[1]).
  32
  33 Formatted and hyperlinked version of the latest git
  34 documentation can be viewed at
  35 `http://www.kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/`.
  36
  37 ifdef::stalenotes[]
  38 [NOTE]
  39 ============
  40
  41 You are reading the documentation for the latest (possibly
  42 unreleased) version of git, that is available from 'master'
  43 branch of the `git.git` repository.
  44 Documentation for older releases are available here:
  45
  46 * link:v1.5.6.3/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.6.3]
  47
  48 * release notes for
  49   link:RelNotes-1.5.6.3.txt[1.5.6.3].
  50   link:RelNotes-1.5.6.2.txt[1.5.6.2].
  51   link:RelNotes-1.5.6.1.txt[1.5.6.1].
  52   link:RelNotes-1.5.6.txt[1.5.6].
  53
  54 * link:v1.5.5.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.5.4]
  55
  56 * release notes for
  57   link:RelNotes-1.5.5.4.txt[1.5.5.4],
  58   link:RelNotes-1.5.5.3.txt[1.5.5.3],
  59   link:RelNotes-1.5.5.2.txt[1.5.5.2],
  60   link:RelNotes-1.5.5.1.txt[1.5.5.1],
  61   link:RelNotes-1.5.5.txt[1.5.5].
  62
  63 * link:v1.5.4.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.4.5]
  64
  65 * release notes for
  66   link:RelNotes-1.5.4.5.txt[1.5.4.5],
  67   link:RelNotes-1.5.4.4.txt[1.5.4.4],
  68   link:RelNotes-1.5.4.3.txt[1.5.4.3],
  69   link:RelNotes-1.5.4.2.txt[1.5.4.2],
  70   link:RelNotes-1.5.4.1.txt[1.5.4.1],
  71   link:RelNotes-1.5.4.txt[1.5.4].
  72
  73 * link:v1.5.3.8/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.3.8]
  74
  75 * release notes for
  76   link:RelNotes-1.5.3.8.txt[1.5.3.8],
  77   link:RelNotes-1.5.3.7.txt[1.5.3.7],
  78   link:RelNotes-1.5.3.6.txt[1.5.3.6],
  79   link:RelNotes-1.5.3.5.txt[1.5.3.5],
  80   link:RelNotes-1.5.3.4.txt[1.5.3.4],
  81   link:RelNotes-1.5.3.3.txt[1.5.3.3],
  82   link:RelNotes-1.5.3.2.txt[1.5.3.2],
  83   link:RelNotes-1.5.3.1.txt[1.5.3.1],
  84   link:RelNotes-1.5.3.txt[1.5.3].
  85
  86 * link:v1.5.2.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.2.5]
  87
  88 * release notes for
  89   link:RelNotes-1.5.2.5.txt[1.5.2.5],
  90   link:RelNotes-1.5.2.4.txt[1.5.2.4],
  91   link:RelNotes-1.5.2.3.txt[1.5.2.3],
  92   link:RelNotes-1.5.2.2.txt[1.5.2.2],
  93   link:RelNotes-1.5.2.1.txt[1.5.2.1],
  94   link:RelNotes-1.5.2.txt[1.5.2].
  95
  96 * link:v1.5.1.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.1.6]
  97
  98 * release notes for
  99   link:RelNotes-1.5.1.6.txt[1.5.1.6],
 100   link:RelNotes-1.5.1.5.txt[1.5.1.5],
 101   link:RelNotes-1.5.1.4.txt[1.5.1.4],
 102   link:RelNotes-1.5.1.3.txt[1.5.1.3],
 103   link:RelNotes-1.5.1.2.txt[1.5.1.2],
 104   link:RelNotes-1.5.1.1.txt[1.5.1.1],
 105   link:RelNotes-1.5.1.txt[1.5.1].
 106
 107 * link:v1.5.0.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.0.7]
 108
 109 * release notes for
 110   link:RelNotes-1.5.0.7.txt[1.5.0.7],
 111   link:RelNotes-1.5.0.6.txt[1.5.0.6],
 112   link:RelNotes-1.5.0.5.txt[1.5.0.5],
 113   link:RelNotes-1.5.0.3.txt[1.5.0.3],
 114   link:RelNotes-1.5.0.2.txt[1.5.0.2],
 115   link:RelNotes-1.5.0.1.txt[1.5.0.1],
 116   link:RelNotes-1.5.0.txt[1.5.0].
 117
 118 * documentation for release link:v1.4.4.4/git.html[1.4.4.4],
 119   link:v1.3.3/git.html[1.3.3],
 120   link:v1.2.6/git.html[1.2.6],
 121   link:v1.0.13/git.html[1.0.13].
 122
 123 ============
 124
 125 endif::stalenotes[]
 126
 127 OPTIONS
 128 -------
 129 --version::
 130         Prints the git suite version that the 'git' program came from.
 131
 132 --help::
 133         Prints the synopsis and a list of the most commonly used
 134         commands. If the option '--all' or '-a' is given then all
 135         available commands are printed. If a git command is named this
 136         option will bring up the manual page for that command.
 137 +
 138 Other options are available to control how the manual page is
 139 displayed. See linkgit:git-help[1] for more information,
 140 because 'git --help ...' is converted internally into 'git
 141 help ...'.
 142
 143 --exec-path::
 144         Path to wherever your core git programs are installed.
 145         This can also be controlled by setting the GIT_EXEC_PATH
 146         environment variable. If no path is given 'git' will print
 147         the current setting and then exit.
 148
 149 -p::
 150 --paginate::
 151         Pipe all output into 'less' (or if set, $PAGER).
 152
 153 --no-pager::
 154         Do not pipe git output into a pager.
 155
 156 --git-dir=<path>::
 157         Set the path to the repository. This can also be controlled by
 158         setting the GIT_DIR environment variable. It can be an absolute
 159         path or relative path to current working directory.
 160
 161 --work-tree=<path>::
 162         Set the path to the working tree.  The value will not be
 163         used in combination with repositories found automatically in
 164         a .git directory (i.e. $GIT_DIR is not set).
 165         This can also be controlled by setting the GIT_WORK_TREE
 166         environment variable and the core.worktree configuration
 167         variable. It can be an absolute path or relative path to
 168         the directory specified by --git-dir or GIT_DIR.
 169         Note: If --git-dir or GIT_DIR are specified but none of
 170         --work-tree, GIT_WORK_TREE and core.worktree is specified,
 171         the current working directory is regarded as the top directory
 172         of your working tree.
 173
 174 --bare::
 175         Treat the repository as a bare repository.  If GIT_DIR
 176         environment is not set, it is set to the current working
 177         directory.
 178
 179
 180 FURTHER DOCUMENTATION
 181 ---------------------
 182
 183 See the references above to get started using git.  The following is
 184 probably more detail than necessary for a first-time user.
 185
 186 The link:user-manual.html#git-concepts[git concepts chapter of the
 187 user-manual] and the linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7][Core tutorial] both provide
 188 introductions to the underlying git architecture.
 189
 190 See also the link:howto-index.html[howto] documents for some useful
 191 examples.
 192
 193 The internals are documented link:technical/api-index.html[here].
 194
 195 GIT COMMANDS
 196 ------------
 197
 198 We divide git into high level ("porcelain") commands and low level
 199 ("plumbing") commands.
 200
 201 High-level commands (porcelain)
 202 -------------------------------
 203
 204 We separate the porcelain commands into the main commands and some
 205 ancillary user utilities.
 206
 207 Main porcelain commands
 208 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 209
 210 include::cmds-mainporcelain.txt[]
 211
 212 Ancillary Commands
 213 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 214 Manipulators:
 215
 216 include::cmds-ancillarymanipulators.txt[]
 217
 218 Interrogators:
 219
 220 include::cmds-ancillaryinterrogators.txt[]
 221
 222
 223 Interacting with Others
 224 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 225
 226 These commands are to interact with foreign SCM and with other
 227 people via patch over e-mail.
 228
 229 include::cmds-foreignscminterface.txt[]
 230
 231
 232 Low-level commands (plumbing)
 233 -----------------------------
 234
 235 Although git includes its
 236 own porcelain layer, its low-level commands are sufficient to support
 237 development of alternative porcelains.  Developers of such porcelains
 238 might start by reading about linkgit:git-update-index[1] and
 239 linkgit:git-read-tree[1].
 240
 241 The interface (input, output, set of options and the semantics)
 242 to these low-level commands are meant to be a lot more stable
 243 than Porcelain level commands, because these commands are
 244 primarily for scripted use.  The interface to Porcelain commands
 245 on the other hand are subject to change in order to improve the
 246 end user experience.
 247
 248 The following description divides
 249 the low-level commands into commands that manipulate objects (in
 250 the repository, index, and working tree), commands that interrogate and
 251 compare objects, and commands that move objects and references between
 252 repositories.
 253
 254
 255 Manipulation commands
 256 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 257
 258 include::cmds-plumbingmanipulators.txt[]
 259
 260
 261 Interrogation commands
 262 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 263
 264 include::cmds-plumbinginterrogators.txt[]
 265
 266 In general, the interrogate commands do not touch the files in
 267 the working tree.
 268
 269
 270 Synching repositories
 271 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 272
 273 include::cmds-synchingrepositories.txt[]
 274
 275 The following are helper programs used by the above; end users
 276 typically do not use them directly.
 277
 278 include::cmds-synchelpers.txt[]
 279
 280
 281 Internal helper commands
 282 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 283
 284 These are internal helper commands used by other commands; end
 285 users typically do not use them directly.
 286
 287 include::cmds-purehelpers.txt[]
 288
 289
 290 Configuration Mechanism
 291 -----------------------
 292
 293 Starting from 0.99.9 (actually mid 0.99.8.GIT), `.git/config` file
 294 is used to hold per-repository configuration options.  It is a
 295 simple text file modeled after `.ini` format familiar to some
 296 people.  Here is an example:
 297
 298 ------------
 299 #
 300 # A '#' or ';' character indicates a comment.
 301 #
 302
 303 ; core variables
 304 [core]
 305         ; Don't trust file modes
 306         filemode = false
 307
 308 ; user identity
 309 [user]
 310         name = "Junio C Hamano"
 311         email = "junkio@twinsun.com"
 312
 313 ------------
 314
 315 Various commands read from the configuration file and adjust
 316 their operation accordingly.
 317
 318
 319 Identifier Terminology
 320 ----------------------
 321 <object>::
 322         Indicates the object name for any type of object.
 323
 324 <blob>::
 325         Indicates a blob object name.
 326
 327 <tree>::
 328         Indicates a tree object name.
 329
 330 <commit>::
 331         Indicates a commit object name.
 332
 333 <tree-ish>::
 334         Indicates a tree, commit or tag object name.  A
 335         command that takes a <tree-ish> argument ultimately wants to
 336         operate on a <tree> object but automatically dereferences
 337         <commit> and <tag> objects that point at a <tree>.
 338
 339 <commit-ish>::
 340         Indicates a commit or tag object name.  A
 341         command that takes a <commit-ish> argument ultimately wants to
 342         operate on a <commit> object but automatically dereferences
 343         <tag> objects that point at a <commit>.
 344
 345 <type>::
 346         Indicates that an object type is required.
 347         Currently one of: `blob`, `tree`, `commit`, or `tag`.
 348
 349 <file>::
 350         Indicates a filename - almost always relative to the
 351         root of the tree structure `GIT_INDEX_FILE` describes.
 352
 353 Symbolic Identifiers
 354 --------------------
 355 Any git command accepting any <object> can also use the following
 356 symbolic notation:
 357
 358 HEAD::
 359         indicates the head of the current branch (i.e. the
 360         contents of `$GIT_DIR/HEAD`).
 361
 362 <tag>::
 363         a valid tag 'name'
 364         (i.e. the contents of `$GIT_DIR/refs/tags/<tag>`).
 365
 366 <head>::
 367         a valid head 'name'
 368         (i.e. the contents of `$GIT_DIR/refs/heads/<head>`).
 369
 370 For a more complete list of ways to spell object names, see
 371 "SPECIFYING REVISIONS" section in linkgit:git-rev-parse[1].
 372
 373
 374 File/Directory Structure
 375 ------------------------
 376
 377 Please see the linkgit:gitrepository-layout[5][repository layout]
 378 document.
 379
 380 Read linkgit:githooks[5][hooks] for more details about each hook.
 381
 382 Higher level SCMs may provide and manage additional information in the
 383 `$GIT_DIR`.
 384
 385
 386 Terminology
 387 -----------
 388 Please see the linkgit:gitglossary[7][glossary] document.
 389
 390
 391 Environment Variables
 392 ---------------------
 393 Various git commands use the following environment variables:
 394
 395 The git Repository
 396 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 397 These environment variables apply to 'all' core git commands. Nb: it
 398 is worth noting that they may be used/overridden by SCMS sitting above
 399 git so take care if using Cogito etc.
 400
 401 'GIT_INDEX_FILE'::
 402         This environment allows the specification of an alternate
 403         index file. If not specified, the default of `$GIT_DIR/index`
 404         is used.
 405
 406 'GIT_OBJECT_DIRECTORY'::
 407         If the object storage directory is specified via this
 408         environment variable then the sha1 directories are created
 409         underneath - otherwise the default `$GIT_DIR/objects`
 410         directory is used.
 411
 412 'GIT_ALTERNATE_OBJECT_DIRECTORIES'::
 413         Due to the immutable nature of git objects, old objects can be
 414         archived into shared, read-only directories. This variable
 415         specifies a ":" separated list of git object directories which
 416         can be used to search for git objects. New objects will not be
 417         written to these directories.
 418
 419 'GIT_DIR'::
 420         If the 'GIT_DIR' environment variable is set then it
 421         specifies a path to use instead of the default `.git`
 422         for the base of the repository.
 423
 424 'GIT_WORK_TREE'::
 425         Set the path to the working tree.  The value will not be
 426         used in combination with repositories found automatically in
 427         a .git directory (i.e. $GIT_DIR is not set).
 428         This can also be controlled by the '--work-tree' command line
 429         option and the core.worktree configuration variable.
 430
 431 git Commits
 432 ~~~~~~~~~~~
 433 'GIT_AUTHOR_NAME'::
 434 'GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL'::
 435 'GIT_AUTHOR_DATE'::
 436 'GIT_COMMITTER_NAME'::
 437 'GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL'::
 438 'GIT_COMMITTER_DATE'::
 439 'EMAIL'::
 440         see linkgit:git-commit-tree[1]
 441
 442 git Diffs
 443 ~~~~~~~~~
 444 'GIT_DIFF_OPTS'::
 445         Only valid setting is "--unified=??" or "-u??" to set the
 446         number of context lines shown when a unified diff is created.
 447         This takes precedence over any "-U" or "--unified" option
 448         value passed on the git diff command line.
 449
 450 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF'::
 451         When the environment variable 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is set, the
 452         program named by it is called, instead of the diff invocation
 453         described above.  For a path that is added, removed, or modified,
 454         'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called with 7 parameters:
 455
 456         path old-file old-hex old-mode new-file new-hex new-mode
 457 +
 458 where:
 459
 460         <old|new>-file:: are files GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF can use to read the
 461                          contents of <old|new>,
 462         <old|new>-hex:: are the 40-hexdigit SHA1 hashes,
 463         <old|new>-mode:: are the octal representation of the file modes.
 464
 465 +
 466 The file parameters can point at the user's working file
 467 (e.g. `new-file` in "git-diff-files"), `/dev/null` (e.g. `old-file`
 468 when a new file is added), or a temporary file (e.g. `old-file` in the
 469 index).  'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' should not worry about unlinking the
 470 temporary file --- it is removed when 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' exits.
 471 +
 472 For a path that is unmerged, 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called with 1
 473 parameter, <path>.
 474
 475 other
 476 ~~~~~
 477 'GIT_MERGE_VERBOSITY'::
 478         A number controlling the amount of output shown by
 479         the recursive merge strategy.  Overrides merge.verbosity.
 480         See linkgit:git-merge[1]
 481
 482 'GIT_PAGER'::
 483         This environment variable overrides `$PAGER`. If it is set
 484         to an empty string or to the value "cat", git will not launch
 485         a pager.
 486
 487 'GIT_SSH'::
 488         If this environment variable is set then linkgit:git-fetch[1]
 489         and linkgit:git-push[1] will use this command instead
 490         of `ssh` when they need to connect to a remote system.
 491         The 'GIT_SSH' command will be given exactly two arguments:
 492         the 'username@host' (or just 'host') from the URL and the
 493         shell command to execute on that remote system.
 494 +
 495 To pass options to the program that you want to list in GIT_SSH
 496 you will need to wrap the program and options into a shell script,
 497 then set GIT_SSH to refer to the shell script.
 498 +
 499 Usually it is easier to configure any desired options through your
 500 personal `.ssh/config` file.  Please consult your ssh documentation
 501 for further details.
 502
 503 'GIT_FLUSH'::
 504         If this environment variable is set to "1", then commands such
 505         as git-blame (in incremental mode), git-rev-list, git-log,
 506         git-whatchanged, etc., will force a flush of the output stream
 507         after each commit-oriented record have been flushed.   If this
 508         variable is set to "0", the output of these commands will be done
 509         using completely buffered I/O.   If this environment variable is
 510         not set, git will choose buffered or record-oriented flushing
 511         based on whether stdout appears to be redirected to a file or not.
 512
 513 'GIT_TRACE'::
 514         If this variable is set to "1", "2" or "true" (comparison
 515         is case insensitive), git will print `trace:` messages on
 516         stderr telling about alias expansion, built-in command
 517         execution and external command execution.
 518         If this variable is set to an integer value greater than 1
 519         and lower than 10 (strictly) then git will interpret this
 520         value as an open file descriptor and will try to write the
 521         trace messages into this file descriptor.
 522         Alternatively, if this variable is set to an absolute path
 523         (starting with a '/' character), git will interpret this
 524         as a file path and will try to write the trace messages
 525         into it.
 526
 527 Discussion[[Discussion]]
 528 ------------------------
 529
 530 More detail on the following is available from the
 531 link:user-manual.html#git-concepts[git concepts chapter of the
 532 user-manual] and the linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7][Core tutorial].
 533
 534 A git project normally consists of a working directory with a ".git"
 535 subdirectory at the top level.  The .git directory contains, among other
 536 things, a compressed object database representing the complete history
 537 of the project, an "index" file which links that history to the current
 538 contents of the working tree, and named pointers into that history such
 539 as tags and branch heads.
 540
 541 The object database contains objects of three main types: blobs, which
 542 hold file data; trees, which point to blobs and other trees to build up
 543 directory hierarchies; and commits, which each reference a single tree
 544 and some number of parent commits.
 545
 546 The commit, equivalent to what other systems call a "changeset" or
 547 "version", represents a step in the project's history, and each parent
 548 represents an immediately preceding step.  Commits with more than one
 549 parent represent merges of independent lines of development.
 550
 551 All objects are named by the SHA1 hash of their contents, normally
 552 written as a string of 40 hex digits.  Such names are globally unique.
 553 The entire history leading up to a commit can be vouched for by signing
 554 just that commit.  A fourth object type, the tag, is provided for this
 555 purpose.
 556
 557 When first created, objects are stored in individual files, but for
 558 efficiency may later be compressed together into "pack files".
 559
 560 Named pointers called refs mark interesting points in history.  A ref
 561 may contain the SHA1 name of an object or the name of another ref.  Refs
 562 with names beginning `ref/head/` contain the SHA1 name of the most
 563 recent commit (or "head") of a branch under development.  SHA1 names of
 564 tags of interest are stored under `ref/tags/`.  A special ref named
 565 `HEAD` contains the name of the currently checked-out branch.
 566
 567 The index file is initialized with a list of all paths and, for each
 568 path, a blob object and a set of attributes.  The blob object represents
 569 the contents of the file as of the head of the current branch.  The
 570 attributes (last modified time, size, etc.) are taken from the
 571 corresponding file in the working tree.  Subsequent changes to the
 572 working tree can be found by comparing these attributes.  The index may
 573 be updated with new content, and new commits may be created from the
 574 content stored in the index.
 575
 576 The index is also capable of storing multiple entries (called "stages")
 577 for a given pathname.  These stages are used to hold the various
 578 unmerged version of a file when a merge is in progress.
 579
 580 Authors
 581 -------
 582 * git's founding father is Linus Torvalds <torvalds@osdl.org>.
 583 * The current git nurse is Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>.
 584 * The git potty was written by Andreas Ericsson <ae@op5.se>.
 585 * General upbringing is handled by the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>.
 586
 587 Documentation
 588 --------------
 589 The documentation for git suite was started by David Greaves
 590 <david@dgreaves.com>, and later enhanced greatly by the
 591 contributors on the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>.
 592
 593 SEE ALSO
 594 --------
 595 linkgit:gittutorial[7], linkgit:gittutorial-2[7],
 596 linkgit:giteveryday[7], linkgit:gitcvs-migration[7],
 597 linkgit:gitglossary[7], linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7],
 598 link:user-manual.html[The Git User's Manual]
 599
 600 GIT
 601 ---
 602 Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite