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] [--help] [-C <path>] [-c <name>=<value>]
  13     [--exec-path[=<path>]] [--html-path] [--man-path] [--info-path]
  14     [-p|--paginate|--no-pager] [--no-replace-objects] [--bare]
  15     [--git-dir=<path>] [--work-tree=<path>] [--namespace=<name>]
  16     <command> [<args>]
  17
  18 DESCRIPTION
  19 -----------
  20 Git is a fast, scalable, distributed revision control system with an
  21 unusually rich command set that provides both high-level operations
  22 and full access to internals.
  23
  24 See linkgit:gittutorial[7] to get started, then see
  25 linkgit:giteveryday[7] for a useful minimum set of
  26 commands.  The link:user-manual.html[Git User's Manual] has a more
  27 in-depth introduction.
  28
  29 After you mastered the basic concepts, you can come back to this
  30 page to learn what commands Git offers.  You can learn more about
  31 individual Git commands with "git help command".  linkgit:gitcli[7]
  32 manual page gives you an overview of the command-line command syntax.
  33
  34 Formatted and hyperlinked version of the latest Git documentation
  35 can be viewed at `http://git-htmldocs.googlecode.com/git/git.html`.
  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 the 'master'
  43 branch of the `git.git` repository.
  44 Documentation for older releases are available here:
  45
  46 * link:v2.4.12/git.html[documentation for release 2.4.12]
  47
  48 * release notes for
  49   link:RelNotes/2.4.12.txt[2.4.12],
  50   link:RelNotes/2.4.11.txt[2.4.11],
  51   link:RelNotes/2.4.10.txt[2.4.10],
  52   link:RelNotes/2.4.9.txt[2.4.9],
  53   link:RelNotes/2.4.8.txt[2.4.8],
  54   link:RelNotes/2.4.7.txt[2.4.7],
  55   link:RelNotes/2.4.6.txt[2.4.6],
  56   link:RelNotes/2.4.5.txt[2.4.5],
  57   link:RelNotes/2.4.4.txt[2.4.4],
  58   link:RelNotes/2.4.3.txt[2.4.3],
  59   link:RelNotes/2.4.2.txt[2.4.2],
  60   link:RelNotes/2.4.1.txt[2.4.1],
  61   link:RelNotes/2.4.0.txt[2.4].
  62
  63 * link:v2.3.10/git.html[documentation for release 2.3.10]
  64
  65 * release notes for
  66   link:RelNotes/2.3.10.txt[2.3.10],
  67   link:RelNotes/2.3.9.txt[2.3.9],
  68   link:RelNotes/2.3.8.txt[2.3.8],
  69   link:RelNotes/2.3.7.txt[2.3.7],
  70   link:RelNotes/2.3.6.txt[2.3.6],
  71   link:RelNotes/2.3.5.txt[2.3.5],
  72   link:RelNotes/2.3.4.txt[2.3.4],
  73   link:RelNotes/2.3.3.txt[2.3.3],
  74   link:RelNotes/2.3.2.txt[2.3.2],
  75   link:RelNotes/2.3.1.txt[2.3.1],
  76   link:RelNotes/2.3.0.txt[2.3].
  77
  78 * link:v2.2.3/git.html[documentation for release 2.2.3]
  79
  80 * release notes for
  81   link:RelNotes/2.2.3.txt[2.2.3],
  82   link:RelNotes/2.2.2.txt[2.2.2],
  83   link:RelNotes/2.2.1.txt[2.2.1],
  84   link:RelNotes/2.2.0.txt[2.2].
  85
  86 * link:v2.1.4/git.html[documentation for release 2.1.4]
  87
  88 * release notes for
  89   link:RelNotes/2.1.4.txt[2.1.4],
  90   link:RelNotes/2.1.3.txt[2.1.3],
  91   link:RelNotes/2.1.2.txt[2.1.2],
  92   link:RelNotes/2.1.1.txt[2.1.1],
  93   link:RelNotes/2.1.0.txt[2.1].
  94
  95 * link:v2.0.5/git.html[documentation for release 2.0.5]
  96
  97 * release notes for
  98   link:RelNotes/2.0.5.txt[2.0.5],
  99   link:RelNotes/2.0.4.txt[2.0.4],
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 103   link:RelNotes/2.0.0.txt[2.0.0].
 104
 105 * link:v1.9.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.9.5]
 106
 107 * release notes for
 108   link:RelNotes/1.9.5.txt[1.9.5],
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 112   link:RelNotes/1.9.1.txt[1.9.1],
 113   link:RelNotes/1.9.0.txt[1.9.0].
 114
 115 * link:v1.8.5.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.8.5.6]
 116
 117 * release notes for
 118   link:RelNotes/1.8.5.6.txt[1.8.5.6],
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 124   link:RelNotes/1.8.5.txt[1.8.5].
 125
 126 * link:v1.8.4.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.8.4.5]
 127
 128 * release notes for
 129   link:RelNotes/1.8.4.5.txt[1.8.4.5],
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 133   link:RelNotes/1.8.4.1.txt[1.8.4.1],
 134   link:RelNotes/1.8.4.txt[1.8.4].
 135
 136 * link:v1.8.3.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.8.3.4]
 137
 138 * release notes for
 139   link:RelNotes/1.8.3.4.txt[1.8.3.4],
 140   link:RelNotes/1.8.3.3.txt[1.8.3.3],
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 142   link:RelNotes/1.8.3.1.txt[1.8.3.1],
 143   link:RelNotes/1.8.3.txt[1.8.3].
 144
 145 * link:v1.8.2.3/git.html[documentation for release 1.8.2.3]
 146
 147 * release notes for
 148   link:RelNotes/1.8.2.3.txt[1.8.2.3],
 149   link:RelNotes/1.8.2.2.txt[1.8.2.2],
 150   link:RelNotes/1.8.2.1.txt[1.8.2.1],
 151   link:RelNotes/1.8.2.txt[1.8.2].
 152
 153 * link:v1.8.1.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.8.1.6]
 154
 155 * release notes for
 156   link:RelNotes/1.8.1.6.txt[1.8.1.6],
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 162   link:RelNotes/1.8.1.txt[1.8.1].
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 164 * link:v1.8.0.3/git.html[documentation for release 1.8.0.3]
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 170   link:RelNotes/1.8.0.txt[1.8.0].
 171
 172 * link:v1.7.12.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.12.4]
 173
 174 * release notes for
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 179   link:RelNotes/1.7.12.txt[1.7.12].
 180
 181 * link:v1.7.11.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.11.7]
 182
 183 * release notes for
 184   link:RelNotes/1.7.11.7.txt[1.7.11.7],
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 191   link:RelNotes/1.7.11.txt[1.7.11].
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 193 * link:v1.7.10.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.10.5]
 194
 195 * release notes for
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 201   link:RelNotes/1.7.10.txt[1.7.10].
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 203 * link:v1.7.9.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.9.7]
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 213   link:RelNotes/1.7.9.txt[1.7.9].
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 215 * link:v1.7.8.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.8.6]
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 238 * link:v1.7.6.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.6.6]
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 268 * link:v1.7.3.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.3.5]
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 421   link:RelNotes/1.5.3.3.txt[1.5.3.3],
 422   link:RelNotes/1.5.3.2.txt[1.5.3.2],
 423   link:RelNotes/1.5.3.1.txt[1.5.3.1],
 424   link:RelNotes/1.5.3.txt[1.5.3].
 425
 426 * link:v1.5.2.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.2.5]
 427
 428 * release notes for
 429   link:RelNotes/1.5.2.5.txt[1.5.2.5],
 430   link:RelNotes/1.5.2.4.txt[1.5.2.4],
 431   link:RelNotes/1.5.2.3.txt[1.5.2.3],
 432   link:RelNotes/1.5.2.2.txt[1.5.2.2],
 433   link:RelNotes/1.5.2.1.txt[1.5.2.1],
 434   link:RelNotes/1.5.2.txt[1.5.2].
 435
 436 * link:v1.5.1.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.1.6]
 437
 438 * release notes for
 439   link:RelNotes/1.5.1.6.txt[1.5.1.6],
 440   link:RelNotes/1.5.1.5.txt[1.5.1.5],
 441   link:RelNotes/1.5.1.4.txt[1.5.1.4],
 442   link:RelNotes/1.5.1.3.txt[1.5.1.3],
 443   link:RelNotes/1.5.1.2.txt[1.5.1.2],
 444   link:RelNotes/1.5.1.1.txt[1.5.1.1],
 445   link:RelNotes/1.5.1.txt[1.5.1].
 446
 447 * link:v1.5.0.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.0.7]
 448
 449 * release notes for
 450   link:RelNotes/1.5.0.7.txt[1.5.0.7],
 451   link:RelNotes/1.5.0.6.txt[1.5.0.6],
 452   link:RelNotes/1.5.0.5.txt[1.5.0.5],
 453   link:RelNotes/1.5.0.3.txt[1.5.0.3],
 454   link:RelNotes/1.5.0.2.txt[1.5.0.2],
 455   link:RelNotes/1.5.0.1.txt[1.5.0.1],
 456   link:RelNotes/1.5.0.txt[1.5.0].
 457
 458 * documentation for release link:v1.4.4.4/git.html[1.4.4.4],
 459   link:v1.3.3/git.html[1.3.3],
 460   link:v1.2.6/git.html[1.2.6],
 461   link:v1.0.13/git.html[1.0.13].
 462
 463 ============
 464
 465 endif::stalenotes[]
 466
 467 OPTIONS
 468 -------
 469 --version::
 470         Prints the Git suite version that the 'git' program came from.
 471
 472 --help::
 473         Prints the synopsis and a list of the most commonly used
 474         commands. If the option '--all' or '-a' is given then all
 475         available commands are printed. If a Git command is named this
 476         option will bring up the manual page for that command.
 477 +
 478 Other options are available to control how the manual page is
 479 displayed. See linkgit:git-help[1] for more information,
 480 because `git --help ...` is converted internally into `git
 481 help ...`.
 482
 483 -C <path>::
 484         Run as if git was started in '<path>' instead of the current working
 485         directory.  When multiple `-C` options are given, each subsequent
 486         non-absolute `-C <path>` is interpreted relative to the preceding `-C
 487         <path>`.
 488 +
 489 This option affects options that expect path name like `--git-dir` and
 490 `--work-tree` in that their interpretations of the path names would be
 491 made relative to the working directory caused by the `-C` option. For
 492 example the following invocations are equivalent:
 493
 494     git --git-dir=a.git --work-tree=b -C c status
 495     git --git-dir=c/a.git --work-tree=c/b status
 496
 497 -c <name>=<value>::
 498         Pass a configuration parameter to the command. The value
 499         given will override values from configuration files.
 500         The <name> is expected in the same format as listed by
 501         'git config' (subkeys separated by dots).
 502 +
 503 Note that omitting the `=` in `git -c foo.bar ...` is allowed and sets
 504 `foo.bar` to the boolean true value (just like `[foo]bar` would in a
 505 config file). Including the equals but with an empty value (like `git -c
 506 foo.bar= ...`) sets `foo.bar` to the empty string.
 507
 508 --exec-path[=<path>]::
 509         Path to wherever your core Git programs are installed.
 510         This can also be controlled by setting the GIT_EXEC_PATH
 511         environment variable. If no path is given, 'git' will print
 512         the current setting and then exit.
 513
 514 --html-path::
 515         Print the path, without trailing slash, where Git's HTML
 516         documentation is installed and exit.
 517
 518 --man-path::
 519         Print the manpath (see `man(1)`) for the man pages for
 520         this version of Git and exit.
 521
 522 --info-path::
 523         Print the path where the Info files documenting this
 524         version of Git are installed and exit.
 525
 526 -p::
 527 --paginate::
 528         Pipe all output into 'less' (or if set, $PAGER) if standard
 529         output is a terminal.  This overrides the `pager.<cmd>`
 530         configuration options (see the "Configuration Mechanism" section
 531         below).
 532
 533 --no-pager::
 534         Do not pipe Git output into a pager.
 535
 536 --git-dir=<path>::
 537         Set the path to the repository. This can also be controlled by
 538         setting the GIT_DIR environment variable. It can be an absolute
 539         path or relative path to current working directory.
 540
 541 --work-tree=<path>::
 542         Set the path to the working tree. It can be an absolute path
 543         or a path relative to the current working directory.
 544         This can also be controlled by setting the GIT_WORK_TREE
 545         environment variable and the core.worktree configuration
 546         variable (see core.worktree in linkgit:git-config[1] for a
 547         more detailed discussion).
 548
 549 --namespace=<path>::
 550         Set the Git namespace.  See linkgit:gitnamespaces[7] for more
 551         details.  Equivalent to setting the `GIT_NAMESPACE` environment
 552         variable.
 553
 554 --bare::
 555         Treat the repository as a bare repository.  If GIT_DIR
 556         environment is not set, it is set to the current working
 557         directory.
 558
 559 --no-replace-objects::
 560         Do not use replacement refs to replace Git objects. See
 561         linkgit:git-replace[1] for more information.
 562
 563 --literal-pathspecs::
 564         Treat pathspecs literally (i.e. no globbing, no pathspec magic).
 565         This is equivalent to setting the `GIT_LITERAL_PATHSPECS` environment
 566         variable to `1`.
 567
 568 --glob-pathspecs::
 569         Add "glob" magic to all pathspec. This is equivalent to setting
 570         the `GIT_GLOB_PATHSPECS` environment variable to `1`. Disabling
 571         globbing on individual pathspecs can be done using pathspec
 572         magic ":(literal)"
 573
 574 --noglob-pathspecs::
 575         Add "literal" magic to all pathspec. This is equivalent to setting
 576         the `GIT_NOGLOB_PATHSPECS` environment variable to `1`. Enabling
 577         globbing on individual pathspecs can be done using pathspec
 578         magic ":(glob)"
 579
 580 --icase-pathspecs::
 581         Add "icase" magic to all pathspec. This is equivalent to setting
 582         the `GIT_ICASE_PATHSPECS` environment variable to `1`.
 583
 584 GIT COMMANDS
 585 ------------
 586
 587 We divide Git into high level ("porcelain") commands and low level
 588 ("plumbing") commands.
 589
 590 High-level commands (porcelain)
 591 -------------------------------
 592
 593 We separate the porcelain commands into the main commands and some
 594 ancillary user utilities.
 595
 596 Main porcelain commands
 597 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 598
 599 include::cmds-mainporcelain.txt[]
 600
 601 Ancillary Commands
 602 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 603 Manipulators:
 604
 605 include::cmds-ancillarymanipulators.txt[]
 606
 607 Interrogators:
 608
 609 include::cmds-ancillaryinterrogators.txt[]
 610
 611
 612 Interacting with Others
 613 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 614
 615 These commands are to interact with foreign SCM and with other
 616 people via patch over e-mail.
 617
 618 include::cmds-foreignscminterface.txt[]
 619
 620
 621 Low-level commands (plumbing)
 622 -----------------------------
 623
 624 Although Git includes its
 625 own porcelain layer, its low-level commands are sufficient to support
 626 development of alternative porcelains.  Developers of such porcelains
 627 might start by reading about linkgit:git-update-index[1] and
 628 linkgit:git-read-tree[1].
 629
 630 The interface (input, output, set of options and the semantics)
 631 to these low-level commands are meant to be a lot more stable
 632 than Porcelain level commands, because these commands are
 633 primarily for scripted use.  The interface to Porcelain commands
 634 on the other hand are subject to change in order to improve the
 635 end user experience.
 636
 637 The following description divides
 638 the low-level commands into commands that manipulate objects (in
 639 the repository, index, and working tree), commands that interrogate and
 640 compare objects, and commands that move objects and references between
 641 repositories.
 642
 643
 644 Manipulation commands
 645 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 646
 647 include::cmds-plumbingmanipulators.txt[]
 648
 649
 650 Interrogation commands
 651 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 652
 653 include::cmds-plumbinginterrogators.txt[]
 654
 655 In general, the interrogate commands do not touch the files in
 656 the working tree.
 657
 658
 659 Synching repositories
 660 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 661
 662 include::cmds-synchingrepositories.txt[]
 663
 664 The following are helper commands used by the above; end users
 665 typically do not use them directly.
 666
 667 include::cmds-synchelpers.txt[]
 668
 669
 670 Internal helper commands
 671 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 672
 673 These are internal helper commands used by other commands; end
 674 users typically do not use them directly.
 675
 676 include::cmds-purehelpers.txt[]
 677
 678
 679 Configuration Mechanism
 680 -----------------------
 681
 682 Git uses a simple text format to store customizations that are per
 683 repository and are per user.  Such a configuration file may look
 684 like this:
 685
 686 ------------
 687 #
 688 # A '#' or ';' character indicates a comment.
 689 #
 690
 691 ; core variables
 692 [core]
 693         ; Don't trust file modes
 694         filemode = false
 695
 696 ; user identity
 697 [user]
 698         name = "Junio C Hamano"
 699         email = "gitster@pobox.com"
 700
 701 ------------
 702
 703 Various commands read from the configuration file and adjust
 704 their operation accordingly.  See linkgit:git-config[1] for a
 705 list and more details about the configuration mechanism.
 706
 707
 708 Identifier Terminology
 709 ----------------------
 710 <object>::
 711         Indicates the object name for any type of object.
 712
 713 <blob>::
 714         Indicates a blob object name.
 715
 716 <tree>::
 717         Indicates a tree object name.
 718
 719 <commit>::
 720         Indicates a commit object name.
 721
 722 <tree-ish>::
 723         Indicates a tree, commit or tag object name.  A
 724         command that takes a <tree-ish> argument ultimately wants to
 725         operate on a <tree> object but automatically dereferences
 726         <commit> and <tag> objects that point at a <tree>.
 727
 728 <commit-ish>::
 729         Indicates a commit or tag object name.  A
 730         command that takes a <commit-ish> argument ultimately wants to
 731         operate on a <commit> object but automatically dereferences
 732         <tag> objects that point at a <commit>.
 733
 734 <type>::
 735         Indicates that an object type is required.
 736         Currently one of: `blob`, `tree`, `commit`, or `tag`.
 737
 738 <file>::
 739         Indicates a filename - almost always relative to the
 740         root of the tree structure `GIT_INDEX_FILE` describes.
 741
 742 Symbolic Identifiers
 743 --------------------
 744 Any Git command accepting any <object> can also use the following
 745 symbolic notation:
 746
 747 HEAD::
 748         indicates the head of the current branch.
 749
 750 <tag>::
 751         a valid tag 'name'
 752         (i.e. a `refs/tags/<tag>` reference).
 753
 754 <head>::
 755         a valid head 'name'
 756         (i.e. a `refs/heads/<head>` reference).
 757
 758 For a more complete list of ways to spell object names, see
 759 "SPECIFYING REVISIONS" section in linkgit:gitrevisions[7].
 760
 761
 762 File/Directory Structure
 763 ------------------------
 764
 765 Please see the linkgit:gitrepository-layout[5] document.
 766
 767 Read linkgit:githooks[5] for more details about each hook.
 768
 769 Higher level SCMs may provide and manage additional information in the
 770 `$GIT_DIR`.
 771
 772
 773 Terminology
 774 -----------
 775 Please see linkgit:gitglossary[7].
 776
 777
 778 Environment Variables
 779 ---------------------
 780 Various Git commands use the following environment variables:
 781
 782 The Git Repository
 783 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 784 These environment variables apply to 'all' core Git commands. Nb: it
 785 is worth noting that they may be used/overridden by SCMS sitting above
 786 Git so take care if using Cogito etc.
 787
 788 'GIT_INDEX_FILE'::
 789         This environment allows the specification of an alternate
 790         index file. If not specified, the default of `$GIT_DIR/index`
 791         is used.
 792
 793 'GIT_INDEX_VERSION'::
 794         This environment variable allows the specification of an index
 795         version for new repositories.  It won't affect existing index
 796         files.  By default index file version 2 or 3 is used. See
 797         linkgit:git-update-index[1] for more information.
 798
 799 'GIT_OBJECT_DIRECTORY'::
 800         If the object storage directory is specified via this
 801         environment variable then the sha1 directories are created
 802         underneath - otherwise the default `$GIT_DIR/objects`
 803         directory is used.
 804
 805 'GIT_ALTERNATE_OBJECT_DIRECTORIES'::
 806         Due to the immutable nature of Git objects, old objects can be
 807         archived into shared, read-only directories. This variable
 808         specifies a ":" separated (on Windows ";" separated) list
 809         of Git object directories which can be used to search for Git
 810         objects. New objects will not be written to these directories.
 811
 812 'GIT_DIR'::
 813         If the 'GIT_DIR' environment variable is set then it
 814         specifies a path to use instead of the default `.git`
 815         for the base of the repository.
 816         The '--git-dir' command-line option also sets this value.
 817
 818 'GIT_WORK_TREE'::
 819         Set the path to the root of the working tree.
 820         This can also be controlled by the '--work-tree' command-line
 821         option and the core.worktree configuration variable.
 822
 823 'GIT_NAMESPACE'::
 824         Set the Git namespace; see linkgit:gitnamespaces[7] for details.
 825         The '--namespace' command-line option also sets this value.
 826
 827 'GIT_CEILING_DIRECTORIES'::
 828         This should be a colon-separated list of absolute paths.  If
 829         set, it is a list of directories that Git should not chdir up
 830         into while looking for a repository directory (useful for
 831         excluding slow-loading network directories).  It will not
 832         exclude the current working directory or a GIT_DIR set on the
 833         command line or in the environment.  Normally, Git has to read
 834         the entries in this list and resolve any symlink that
 835         might be present in order to compare them with the current
 836         directory.  However, if even this access is slow, you
 837         can add an empty entry to the list to tell Git that the
 838         subsequent entries are not symlinks and needn't be resolved;
 839         e.g.,
 840         'GIT_CEILING_DIRECTORIES=/maybe/symlink::/very/slow/non/symlink'.
 841
 842 'GIT_DISCOVERY_ACROSS_FILESYSTEM'::
 843         When run in a directory that does not have ".git" repository
 844         directory, Git tries to find such a directory in the parent
 845         directories to find the top of the working tree, but by default it
 846         does not cross filesystem boundaries.  This environment variable
 847         can be set to true to tell Git not to stop at filesystem
 848         boundaries.  Like 'GIT_CEILING_DIRECTORIES', this will not affect
 849         an explicit repository directory set via 'GIT_DIR' or on the
 850         command line.
 851
 852 Git Commits
 853 ~~~~~~~~~~~
 854 'GIT_AUTHOR_NAME'::
 855 'GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL'::
 856 'GIT_AUTHOR_DATE'::
 857 'GIT_COMMITTER_NAME'::
 858 'GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL'::
 859 'GIT_COMMITTER_DATE'::
 860 'EMAIL'::
 861         see linkgit:git-commit-tree[1]
 862
 863 Git Diffs
 864 ~~~~~~~~~
 865 'GIT_DIFF_OPTS'::
 866         Only valid setting is "--unified=??" or "-u??" to set the
 867         number of context lines shown when a unified diff is created.
 868         This takes precedence over any "-U" or "--unified" option
 869         value passed on the Git diff command line.
 870
 871 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF'::
 872         When the environment variable 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is set, the
 873         program named by it is called, instead of the diff invocation
 874         described above.  For a path that is added, removed, or modified,
 875         'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called with 7 parameters:
 876
 877         path old-file old-hex old-mode new-file new-hex new-mode
 878 +
 879 where:
 880
 881         <old|new>-file:: are files GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF can use to read the
 882                          contents of <old|new>,
 883         <old|new>-hex:: are the 40-hexdigit SHA-1 hashes,
 884         <old|new>-mode:: are the octal representation of the file modes.
 885 +
 886 The file parameters can point at the user's working file
 887 (e.g. `new-file` in "git-diff-files"), `/dev/null` (e.g. `old-file`
 888 when a new file is added), or a temporary file (e.g. `old-file` in the
 889 index).  'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' should not worry about unlinking the
 890 temporary file --- it is removed when 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' exits.
 891 +
 892 For a path that is unmerged, 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called with 1
 893 parameter, <path>.
 894 +
 895 For each path 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called, two environment variables,
 896 'GIT_DIFF_PATH_COUNTER' and 'GIT_DIFF_PATH_TOTAL' are set.
 897
 898 'GIT_DIFF_PATH_COUNTER'::
 899         A 1-based counter incremented by one for every path.
 900
 901 'GIT_DIFF_PATH_TOTAL'::
 902         The total number of paths.
 903
 904 other
 905 ~~~~~
 906 'GIT_MERGE_VERBOSITY'::
 907         A number controlling the amount of output shown by
 908         the recursive merge strategy.  Overrides merge.verbosity.
 909         See linkgit:git-merge[1]
 910
 911 'GIT_PAGER'::
 912         This environment variable overrides `$PAGER`. If it is set
 913         to an empty string or to the value "cat", Git will not launch
 914         a pager.  See also the `core.pager` option in
 915         linkgit:git-config[1].
 916
 917 'GIT_EDITOR'::
 918         This environment variable overrides `$EDITOR` and `$VISUAL`.
 919         It is used by several Git commands when, on interactive mode,
 920         an editor is to be launched. See also linkgit:git-var[1]
 921         and the `core.editor` option in linkgit:git-config[1].
 922
 923 'GIT_SSH'::
 924 'GIT_SSH_COMMAND'::
 925         If either of these environment variables is set then 'git fetch'
 926         and 'git push' will use the specified command instead of 'ssh'
 927         when they need to connect to a remote system.
 928         The command will be given exactly two or four arguments: the
 929         'username@host' (or just 'host') from the URL and the shell
 930         command to execute on that remote system, optionally preceded by
 931         '-p' (literally) and the 'port' from the URL when it specifies
 932         something other than the default SSH port.
 933 +
 934 `$GIT_SSH_COMMAND` takes precedence over `$GIT_SSH`, and is interpreted
 935 by the shell, which allows additional arguments to be included.
 936 `$GIT_SSH` on the other hand must be just the path to a program
 937 (which can be a wrapper shell script, if additional arguments are
 938 needed).
 939 +
 940 Usually it is easier to configure any desired options through your
 941 personal `.ssh/config` file.  Please consult your ssh documentation
 942 for further details.
 943
 944 'GIT_ASKPASS'::
 945         If this environment variable is set, then Git commands which need to
 946         acquire passwords or passphrases (e.g. for HTTP or IMAP authentication)
 947         will call this program with a suitable prompt as command-line argument
 948         and read the password from its STDOUT. See also the 'core.askPass'
 949         option in linkgit:git-config[1].
 950
 951 'GIT_TERMINAL_PROMPT'::
 952         If this environment variable is set to `0`, git will not prompt
 953         on the terminal (e.g., when asking for HTTP authentication).
 954
 955 'GIT_CONFIG_NOSYSTEM'::
 956         Whether to skip reading settings from the system-wide
 957         `$(prefix)/etc/gitconfig` file.  This environment variable can
 958         be used along with `$HOME` and `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME` to create a
 959         predictable environment for a picky script, or you can set it
 960         temporarily to avoid using a buggy `/etc/gitconfig` file while
 961         waiting for someone with sufficient permissions to fix it.
 962
 963 'GIT_FLUSH'::
 964         If this environment variable is set to "1", then commands such
 965         as 'git blame' (in incremental mode), 'git rev-list', 'git log',
 966         'git check-attr' and 'git check-ignore' will
 967         force a flush of the output stream after each record have been
 968         flushed. If this
 969         variable is set to "0", the output of these commands will be done
 970         using completely buffered I/O.   If this environment variable is
 971         not set, Git will choose buffered or record-oriented flushing
 972         based on whether stdout appears to be redirected to a file or not.
 973
 974 'GIT_TRACE'::
 975         Enables general trace messages, e.g. alias expansion, built-in
 976         command execution and external command execution.
 977 +
 978 If this variable is set to "1", "2" or "true" (comparison
 979 is case insensitive), trace messages will be printed to
 980 stderr.
 981 +
 982 If the variable is set to an integer value greater than 2
 983 and lower than 10 (strictly) then Git will interpret this
 984 value as an open file descriptor and will try to write the
 985 trace messages into this file descriptor.
 986 +
 987 Alternatively, if the variable is set to an absolute path
 988 (starting with a '/' character), Git will interpret this
 989 as a file path and will try to write the trace messages
 990 into it.
 991 +
 992 Unsetting the variable, or setting it to empty, "0" or
 993 "false" (case insensitive) disables trace messages.
 994
 995 'GIT_TRACE_PACK_ACCESS'::
 996         Enables trace messages for all accesses to any packs. For each
 997         access, the pack file name and an offset in the pack is
 998         recorded. This may be helpful for troubleshooting some
 999         pack-related performance problems.
1000         See 'GIT_TRACE' for available trace output options.
1001
1002 'GIT_TRACE_PACKET'::
1003         Enables trace messages for all packets coming in or out of a
1004         given program. This can help with debugging object negotiation
1005         or other protocol issues. Tracing is turned off at a packet
1006         starting with "PACK".
1007         See 'GIT_TRACE' for available trace output options.
1008
1009 'GIT_TRACE_PERFORMANCE'::
1010         Enables performance related trace messages, e.g. total execution
1011         time of each Git command.
1012         See 'GIT_TRACE' for available trace output options.
1013
1014 'GIT_TRACE_SETUP'::
1015         Enables trace messages printing the .git, working tree and current
1016         working directory after Git has completed its setup phase.
1017         See 'GIT_TRACE' for available trace output options.
1018
1019 'GIT_TRACE_SHALLOW'::
1020         Enables trace messages that can help debugging fetching /
1021         cloning of shallow repositories.
1022         See 'GIT_TRACE' for available trace output options.
1023
1024 GIT_LITERAL_PATHSPECS::
1025         Setting this variable to `1` will cause Git to treat all
1026         pathspecs literally, rather than as glob patterns. For example,
1027         running `GIT_LITERAL_PATHSPECS=1 git log -- '*.c'` will search
1028         for commits that touch the path `*.c`, not any paths that the
1029         glob `*.c` matches. You might want this if you are feeding
1030         literal paths to Git (e.g., paths previously given to you by
1031         `git ls-tree`, `--raw` diff output, etc).
1032
1033 GIT_GLOB_PATHSPECS::
1034         Setting this variable to `1` will cause Git to treat all
1035         pathspecs as glob patterns (aka "glob" magic).
1036
1037 GIT_NOGLOB_PATHSPECS::
1038         Setting this variable to `1` will cause Git to treat all
1039         pathspecs as literal (aka "literal" magic).
1040
1041 GIT_ICASE_PATHSPECS::
1042         Setting this variable to `1` will cause Git to treat all
1043         pathspecs as case-insensitive.
1044
1045 'GIT_REFLOG_ACTION'::
1046         When a ref is updated, reflog entries are created to keep
1047         track of the reason why the ref was updated (which is
1048         typically the name of the high-level command that updated
1049         the ref), in addition to the old and new values of the ref.
1050         A scripted Porcelain command can use set_reflog_action
1051         helper function in `git-sh-setup` to set its name to this
1052         variable when it is invoked as the top level command by the
1053         end user, to be recorded in the body of the reflog.
1054
1055 `GIT_REF_PARANOIA`::
1056         If set to `1`, include broken or badly named refs when iterating
1057         over lists of refs. In a normal, non-corrupted repository, this
1058         does nothing. However, enabling it may help git to detect and
1059         abort some operations in the presence of broken refs. Git sets
1060         this variable automatically when performing destructive
1061         operations like linkgit:git-prune[1]. You should not need to set
1062         it yourself unless you want to be paranoid about making sure
1063         an operation has touched every ref (e.g., because you are
1064         cloning a repository to make a backup).
1065
1066 `GIT_ALLOW_PROTOCOL`::
1067         If set, provide a colon-separated list of protocols which are
1068         allowed to be used with fetch/push/clone. This is useful to
1069         restrict recursive submodule initialization from an untrusted
1070         repository. Any protocol not mentioned will be disallowed (i.e.,
1071         this is a whitelist, not a blacklist). If the variable is not
1072         set at all, all protocols are enabled.  The protocol names
1073         currently used by git are:
1074
1075           - `file`: any local file-based path (including `file://` URLs,
1076             or local paths)
1077
1078           - `git`: the anonymous git protocol over a direct TCP
1079             connection (or proxy, if configured)
1080
1081           - `ssh`: git over ssh (including `host:path` syntax,
1082             `git+ssh://`, etc).
1083
1084           - `rsync`: git over rsync
1085
1086           - `http`: git over http, both "smart http" and "dumb http".
1087             Note that this does _not_ include `https`; if you want both,
1088             you should specify both as `http:https`.
1089
1090           - any external helpers are named by their protocol (e.g., use
1091             `hg` to allow the `git-remote-hg` helper)
1092
1093
1094 Discussion[[Discussion]]
1095 ------------------------
1096
1097 More detail on the following is available from the
1098 link:user-manual.html#git-concepts[Git concepts chapter of the
1099 user-manual] and linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7].
1100
1101 A Git project normally consists of a working directory with a ".git"
1102 subdirectory at the top level.  The .git directory contains, among other
1103 things, a compressed object database representing the complete history
1104 of the project, an "index" file which links that history to the current
1105 contents of the working tree, and named pointers into that history such
1106 as tags and branch heads.
1107
1108 The object database contains objects of three main types: blobs, which
1109 hold file data; trees, which point to blobs and other trees to build up
1110 directory hierarchies; and commits, which each reference a single tree
1111 and some number of parent commits.
1112
1113 The commit, equivalent to what other systems call a "changeset" or
1114 "version", represents a step in the project's history, and each parent
1115 represents an immediately preceding step.  Commits with more than one
1116 parent represent merges of independent lines of development.
1117
1118 All objects are named by the SHA-1 hash of their contents, normally
1119 written as a string of 40 hex digits.  Such names are globally unique.
1120 The entire history leading up to a commit can be vouched for by signing
1121 just that commit.  A fourth object type, the tag, is provided for this
1122 purpose.
1123
1124 When first created, objects are stored in individual files, but for
1125 efficiency may later be compressed together into "pack files".
1126
1127 Named pointers called refs mark interesting points in history.  A ref
1128 may contain the SHA-1 name of an object or the name of another ref.  Refs
1129 with names beginning `ref/head/` contain the SHA-1 name of the most
1130 recent commit (or "head") of a branch under development.  SHA-1 names of
1131 tags of interest are stored under `ref/tags/`.  A special ref named
1132 `HEAD` contains the name of the currently checked-out branch.
1133
1134 The index file is initialized with a list of all paths and, for each
1135 path, a blob object and a set of attributes.  The blob object represents
1136 the contents of the file as of the head of the current branch.  The
1137 attributes (last modified time, size, etc.) are taken from the
1138 corresponding file in the working tree.  Subsequent changes to the
1139 working tree can be found by comparing these attributes.  The index may
1140 be updated with new content, and new commits may be created from the
1141 content stored in the index.
1142
1143 The index is also capable of storing multiple entries (called "stages")
1144 for a given pathname.  These stages are used to hold the various
1145 unmerged version of a file when a merge is in progress.
1146
1147 FURTHER DOCUMENTATION
1148 ---------------------
1149
1150 See the references in the "description" section to get started
1151 using Git.  The following is probably more detail than necessary
1152 for a first-time user.
1153
1154 The link:user-manual.html#git-concepts[Git concepts chapter of the
1155 user-manual] and linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7] both provide
1156 introductions to the underlying Git architecture.
1157
1158 See linkgit:gitworkflows[7] for an overview of recommended workflows.
1159
1160 See also the link:howto-index.html[howto] documents for some useful
1161 examples.
1162
1163 The internals are documented in the
1164 link:technical/api-index.html[Git API documentation].
1165
1166 Users migrating from CVS may also want to
1167 read linkgit:gitcvs-migration[7].
1168
1169
1170 Authors
1171 -------
1172 Git was started by Linus Torvalds, and is currently maintained by Junio
1173 C Hamano. Numerous contributions have come from the Git mailing list
1174 <git@vger.kernel.org>.  http://www.openhub.net/p/git/contributors/summary
1175 gives you a more complete list of contributors.
1176
1177 If you have a clone of git.git itself, the
1178 output of linkgit:git-shortlog[1] and linkgit:git-blame[1] can show you
1179 the authors for specific parts of the project.
1180
1181 Reporting Bugs
1182 --------------
1183
1184 Report bugs to the Git mailing list <git@vger.kernel.org> where the
1185 development and maintenance is primarily done.  You do not have to be
1186 subscribed to the list to send a message there.
1187
1188 SEE ALSO
1189 --------
1190 linkgit:gittutorial[7], linkgit:gittutorial-2[7],
1191 linkgit:giteveryday[7], linkgit:gitcvs-migration[7],
1192 linkgit:gitglossary[7], linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7],
1193 linkgit:gitcli[7], link:user-manual.html[The Git User's Manual],
1194 linkgit:gitworkflows[7]
1195
1196 GIT
1197 ---
1198 Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite