6 git - the stupid content tracker
12 'git' [--version] [--exec-path[=GIT_EXEC_PATH]] [--html-path]
13 [-p|--paginate|--no-pager] [--no-replace-objects]
14 [--bare] [--git-dir=GIT_DIR] [--work-tree=GIT_WORK_TREE]
15 [--help] COMMAND [ARGS]
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.
23 See linkgit:gittutorial[7] 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]. See
27 the link:user-manual.html[Git User's Manual] for a more in-depth
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]).
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/`.
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:
47 * link:v1.7.1/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.1]
50 link:RelNotes-1.7.1.txt[1.7.1].
52 * link:v1.7.0.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.7.0.7]
55 link:RelNotes-1.7.0.7.txt[1.7.0.7],
56 link:RelNotes-1.7.0.6.txt[1.7.0.6],
57 link:RelNotes-1.7.0.5.txt[1.7.0.5],
58 link:RelNotes-1.7.0.4.txt[1.7.0.4],
59 link:RelNotes-1.7.0.3.txt[1.7.0.3],
60 link:RelNotes-1.7.0.2.txt[1.7.0.2],
61 link:RelNotes-1.7.0.1.txt[1.7.0.1],
62 link:RelNotes-1.7.0.txt[1.7.0].
64 * link:v1.6.6.2/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.6.2]
67 link:RelNotes-1.6.6.2.txt[1.6.6.2],
68 link:RelNotes-1.6.6.1.txt[1.6.6.1],
69 link:RelNotes-1.6.6.txt[1.6.6].
71 * link:v1.6.5.8/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.5.8]
74 link:RelNotes-1.6.5.8.txt[1.6.5.8],
75 link:RelNotes-1.6.5.7.txt[1.6.5.7],
76 link:RelNotes-1.6.5.6.txt[1.6.5.6],
77 link:RelNotes-1.6.5.5.txt[1.6.5.5],
78 link:RelNotes-1.6.5.4.txt[1.6.5.4],
79 link:RelNotes-1.6.5.3.txt[1.6.5.3],
80 link:RelNotes-1.6.5.2.txt[1.6.5.2],
81 link:RelNotes-1.6.5.1.txt[1.6.5.1],
82 link:RelNotes-1.6.5.txt[1.6.5].
84 * link:v1.6.4.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.4.4]
87 link:RelNotes-1.6.4.4.txt[1.6.4.4],
88 link:RelNotes-1.6.4.3.txt[1.6.4.3],
89 link:RelNotes-1.6.4.2.txt[1.6.4.2],
90 link:RelNotes-1.6.4.1.txt[1.6.4.1],
91 link:RelNotes-1.6.4.txt[1.6.4].
93 * link:v1.6.3.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.3.4]
96 link:RelNotes-1.6.3.4.txt[1.6.3.4],
97 link:RelNotes-1.6.3.3.txt[1.6.3.3],
98 link:RelNotes-1.6.3.2.txt[1.6.3.2],
99 link:RelNotes-1.6.3.1.txt[1.6.3.1],
100 link:RelNotes-1.6.3.txt[1.6.3].
103 link:RelNotes-1.6.2.5.txt[1.6.2.5],
104 link:RelNotes-1.6.2.4.txt[1.6.2.4],
105 link:RelNotes-1.6.2.3.txt[1.6.2.3],
106 link:RelNotes-1.6.2.2.txt[1.6.2.2],
107 link:RelNotes-1.6.2.1.txt[1.6.2.1],
108 link:RelNotes-1.6.2.txt[1.6.2].
110 * link:v1.6.1.3/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.1.3]
113 link:RelNotes-1.6.1.3.txt[1.6.1.3],
114 link:RelNotes-1.6.1.2.txt[1.6.1.2],
115 link:RelNotes-1.6.1.1.txt[1.6.1.1],
116 link:RelNotes-1.6.1.txt[1.6.1].
118 * link:v1.6.0.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.0.6]
121 link:RelNotes-1.6.0.6.txt[1.6.0.6],
122 link:RelNotes-1.6.0.5.txt[1.6.0.5],
123 link:RelNotes-1.6.0.4.txt[1.6.0.4],
124 link:RelNotes-1.6.0.3.txt[1.6.0.3],
125 link:RelNotes-1.6.0.2.txt[1.6.0.2],
126 link:RelNotes-1.6.0.1.txt[1.6.0.1],
127 link:RelNotes-1.6.0.txt[1.6.0].
129 * link:v1.5.6.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.6.6]
132 link:RelNotes-1.5.6.6.txt[1.5.6.6],
133 link:RelNotes-1.5.6.5.txt[1.5.6.5],
134 link:RelNotes-1.5.6.4.txt[1.5.6.4],
135 link:RelNotes-1.5.6.3.txt[1.5.6.3],
136 link:RelNotes-1.5.6.2.txt[1.5.6.2],
137 link:RelNotes-1.5.6.1.txt[1.5.6.1],
138 link:RelNotes-1.5.6.txt[1.5.6].
140 * link:v1.5.5.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.5.6]
143 link:RelNotes-1.5.5.6.txt[1.5.5.6],
144 link:RelNotes-1.5.5.5.txt[1.5.5.5],
145 link:RelNotes-1.5.5.4.txt[1.5.5.4],
146 link:RelNotes-1.5.5.3.txt[1.5.5.3],
147 link:RelNotes-1.5.5.2.txt[1.5.5.2],
148 link:RelNotes-1.5.5.1.txt[1.5.5.1],
149 link:RelNotes-1.5.5.txt[1.5.5].
151 * link:v1.5.4.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.4.7]
154 link:RelNotes-1.5.4.7.txt[1.5.4.7],
155 link:RelNotes-1.5.4.6.txt[1.5.4.6],
156 link:RelNotes-1.5.4.5.txt[1.5.4.5],
157 link:RelNotes-1.5.4.4.txt[1.5.4.4],
158 link:RelNotes-1.5.4.3.txt[1.5.4.3],
159 link:RelNotes-1.5.4.2.txt[1.5.4.2],
160 link:RelNotes-1.5.4.1.txt[1.5.4.1],
161 link:RelNotes-1.5.4.txt[1.5.4].
163 * link:v1.5.3.8/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.3.8]
166 link:RelNotes-1.5.3.8.txt[1.5.3.8],
167 link:RelNotes-1.5.3.7.txt[1.5.3.7],
168 link:RelNotes-1.5.3.6.txt[1.5.3.6],
169 link:RelNotes-1.5.3.5.txt[1.5.3.5],
170 link:RelNotes-1.5.3.4.txt[1.5.3.4],
171 link:RelNotes-1.5.3.3.txt[1.5.3.3],
172 link:RelNotes-1.5.3.2.txt[1.5.3.2],
173 link:RelNotes-1.5.3.1.txt[1.5.3.1],
174 link:RelNotes-1.5.3.txt[1.5.3].
176 * link:v1.5.2.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.2.5]
179 link:RelNotes-1.5.2.5.txt[1.5.2.5],
180 link:RelNotes-1.5.2.4.txt[1.5.2.4],
181 link:RelNotes-1.5.2.3.txt[1.5.2.3],
182 link:RelNotes-1.5.2.2.txt[1.5.2.2],
183 link:RelNotes-1.5.2.1.txt[1.5.2.1],
184 link:RelNotes-1.5.2.txt[1.5.2].
186 * link:v1.5.1.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.1.6]
189 link:RelNotes-1.5.1.6.txt[1.5.1.6],
190 link:RelNotes-1.5.1.5.txt[1.5.1.5],
191 link:RelNotes-1.5.1.4.txt[1.5.1.4],
192 link:RelNotes-1.5.1.3.txt[1.5.1.3],
193 link:RelNotes-1.5.1.2.txt[1.5.1.2],
194 link:RelNotes-1.5.1.1.txt[1.5.1.1],
195 link:RelNotes-1.5.1.txt[1.5.1].
197 * link:v1.5.0.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.0.7]
200 link:RelNotes-1.5.0.7.txt[1.5.0.7],
201 link:RelNotes-1.5.0.6.txt[1.5.0.6],
202 link:RelNotes-1.5.0.5.txt[1.5.0.5],
203 link:RelNotes-1.5.0.3.txt[1.5.0.3],
204 link:RelNotes-1.5.0.2.txt[1.5.0.2],
205 link:RelNotes-1.5.0.1.txt[1.5.0.1],
206 link:RelNotes-1.5.0.txt[1.5.0].
208 * documentation for release link:v1.4.4.4/git.html[1.4.4.4],
209 link:v1.3.3/git.html[1.3.3],
210 link:v1.2.6/git.html[1.2.6],
211 link:v1.0.13/git.html[1.0.13].
220 Prints the git suite version that the 'git' program came from.
223 Prints the synopsis and a list of the most commonly used
224 commands. If the option '--all' or '-a' is given then all
225 available commands are printed. If a git command is named this
226 option will bring up the manual page for that command.
228 Other options are available to control how the manual page is
229 displayed. See linkgit:git-help[1] for more information,
230 because `git --help ...` is converted internally into `git
234 Path to wherever your core git programs are installed.
235 This can also be controlled by setting the GIT_EXEC_PATH
236 environment variable. If no path is given, 'git' will print
237 the current setting and then exit.
240 Print the path to wherever your git HTML documentation is installed
245 Pipe all output into 'less' (or if set, $PAGER) if standard
246 output is a terminal. This overrides the `pager.<cmd>`
247 configuration options (see the "Configuration Mechanism" section
251 Do not pipe git output into a pager.
254 Set the path to the repository. This can also be controlled by
255 setting the GIT_DIR environment variable. It can be an absolute
256 path or relative path to current working directory.
259 Set the path to the working tree. The value will not be
260 used in combination with repositories found automatically in
261 a .git directory (i.e. $GIT_DIR is not set).
262 This can also be controlled by setting the GIT_WORK_TREE
263 environment variable and the core.worktree configuration
264 variable. It can be an absolute path or relative path to
265 the directory specified by --git-dir or GIT_DIR.
266 Note: If --git-dir or GIT_DIR are specified but none of
267 --work-tree, GIT_WORK_TREE and core.worktree is specified,
268 the current working directory is regarded as the top directory
269 of your working tree.
272 Treat the repository as a bare repository. If GIT_DIR
273 environment is not set, it is set to the current working
276 --no-replace-objects::
277 Do not use replacement refs to replace git objects. See
278 linkgit:git-replace[1] for more information.
281 FURTHER DOCUMENTATION
282 ---------------------
284 See the references above to get started using git. The following is
285 probably more detail than necessary for a first-time user.
287 The link:user-manual.html#git-concepts[git concepts chapter of the
288 user-manual] and linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7] both provide
289 introductions to the underlying git architecture.
291 See linkgit:gitworkflows[7] for an overview of recommended workflows.
293 See also the link:howto-index.html[howto] documents for some useful
296 The internals are documented in the
297 link:technical/api-index.html[GIT API documentation].
302 We divide git into high level ("porcelain") commands and low level
303 ("plumbing") commands.
305 High-level commands (porcelain)
306 -------------------------------
308 We separate the porcelain commands into the main commands and some
309 ancillary user utilities.
311 Main porcelain commands
312 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
314 include::cmds-mainporcelain.txt[]
320 include::cmds-ancillarymanipulators.txt[]
324 include::cmds-ancillaryinterrogators.txt[]
327 Interacting with Others
328 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
330 These commands are to interact with foreign SCM and with other
331 people via patch over e-mail.
333 include::cmds-foreignscminterface.txt[]
336 Low-level commands (plumbing)
337 -----------------------------
339 Although git includes its
340 own porcelain layer, its low-level commands are sufficient to support
341 development of alternative porcelains. Developers of such porcelains
342 might start by reading about linkgit:git-update-index[1] and
343 linkgit:git-read-tree[1].
345 The interface (input, output, set of options and the semantics)
346 to these low-level commands are meant to be a lot more stable
347 than Porcelain level commands, because these commands are
348 primarily for scripted use. The interface to Porcelain commands
349 on the other hand are subject to change in order to improve the
352 The following description divides
353 the low-level commands into commands that manipulate objects (in
354 the repository, index, and working tree), commands that interrogate and
355 compare objects, and commands that move objects and references between
359 Manipulation commands
360 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
362 include::cmds-plumbingmanipulators.txt[]
365 Interrogation commands
366 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
368 include::cmds-plumbinginterrogators.txt[]
370 In general, the interrogate commands do not touch the files in
374 Synching repositories
375 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
377 include::cmds-synchingrepositories.txt[]
379 The following are helper commands used by the above; end users
380 typically do not use them directly.
382 include::cmds-synchelpers.txt[]
385 Internal helper commands
386 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
388 These are internal helper commands used by other commands; end
389 users typically do not use them directly.
391 include::cmds-purehelpers.txt[]
394 Configuration Mechanism
395 -----------------------
397 Starting from 0.99.9 (actually mid 0.99.8.GIT), `.git/config` file
398 is used to hold per-repository configuration options. It is a
399 simple text file modeled after `.ini` format familiar to some
400 people. Here is an example:
404 # A '#' or ';' character indicates a comment.
409 ; Don't trust file modes
414 name = "Junio C Hamano"
415 email = "junkio@twinsun.com"
419 Various commands read from the configuration file and adjust
420 their operation accordingly. See linkgit:git-config[1] for a
424 Identifier Terminology
425 ----------------------
427 Indicates the object name for any type of object.
430 Indicates a blob object name.
433 Indicates a tree object name.
436 Indicates a commit object name.
439 Indicates a tree, commit or tag object name. A
440 command that takes a <tree-ish> argument ultimately wants to
441 operate on a <tree> object but automatically dereferences
442 <commit> and <tag> objects that point at a <tree>.
445 Indicates a commit or tag object name. A
446 command that takes a <commit-ish> argument ultimately wants to
447 operate on a <commit> object but automatically dereferences
448 <tag> objects that point at a <commit>.
451 Indicates that an object type is required.
452 Currently one of: `blob`, `tree`, `commit`, or `tag`.
455 Indicates a filename - almost always relative to the
456 root of the tree structure `GIT_INDEX_FILE` describes.
460 Any git command accepting any <object> can also use the following
464 indicates the head of the current branch (i.e. the
465 contents of `$GIT_DIR/HEAD`).
469 (i.e. the contents of `$GIT_DIR/refs/tags/<tag>`).
473 (i.e. the contents of `$GIT_DIR/refs/heads/<head>`).
475 For a more complete list of ways to spell object names, see
476 "SPECIFYING REVISIONS" section in linkgit:git-rev-parse[1].
479 File/Directory Structure
480 ------------------------
482 Please see the linkgit:gitrepository-layout[5] document.
484 Read linkgit:githooks[5] for more details about each hook.
486 Higher level SCMs may provide and manage additional information in the
492 Please see linkgit:gitglossary[7].
495 Environment Variables
496 ---------------------
497 Various git commands use the following environment variables:
501 These environment variables apply to 'all' core git commands. Nb: it
502 is worth noting that they may be used/overridden by SCMS sitting above
503 git so take care if using Cogito etc.
506 This environment allows the specification of an alternate
507 index file. If not specified, the default of `$GIT_DIR/index`
510 'GIT_OBJECT_DIRECTORY'::
511 If the object storage directory is specified via this
512 environment variable then the sha1 directories are created
513 underneath - otherwise the default `$GIT_DIR/objects`
516 'GIT_ALTERNATE_OBJECT_DIRECTORIES'::
517 Due to the immutable nature of git objects, old objects can be
518 archived into shared, read-only directories. This variable
519 specifies a ":" separated (on Windows ";" separated) list
520 of git object directories which can be used to search for git
521 objects. New objects will not be written to these directories.
524 If the 'GIT_DIR' environment variable is set then it
525 specifies a path to use instead of the default `.git`
526 for the base of the repository.
529 Set the path to the working tree. The value will not be
530 used in combination with repositories found automatically in
531 a .git directory (i.e. $GIT_DIR is not set).
532 This can also be controlled by the '--work-tree' command line
533 option and the core.worktree configuration variable.
535 'GIT_CEILING_DIRECTORIES'::
536 This should be a colon-separated list of absolute paths.
537 If set, it is a list of directories that git should not chdir
538 up into while looking for a repository directory.
539 It will not exclude the current working directory or
540 a GIT_DIR set on the command line or in the environment.
541 (Useful for excluding slow-loading network directories.)
548 'GIT_COMMITTER_NAME'::
549 'GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL'::
550 'GIT_COMMITTER_DATE'::
552 see linkgit:git-commit-tree[1]
557 Only valid setting is "--unified=??" or "-u??" to set the
558 number of context lines shown when a unified diff is created.
559 This takes precedence over any "-U" or "--unified" option
560 value passed on the git diff command line.
562 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF'::
563 When the environment variable 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is set, the
564 program named by it is called, instead of the diff invocation
565 described above. For a path that is added, removed, or modified,
566 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called with 7 parameters:
568 path old-file old-hex old-mode new-file new-hex new-mode
572 <old|new>-file:: are files GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF can use to read the
573 contents of <old|new>,
574 <old|new>-hex:: are the 40-hexdigit SHA1 hashes,
575 <old|new>-mode:: are the octal representation of the file modes.
578 The file parameters can point at the user's working file
579 (e.g. `new-file` in "git-diff-files"), `/dev/null` (e.g. `old-file`
580 when a new file is added), or a temporary file (e.g. `old-file` in the
581 index). 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' should not worry about unlinking the
582 temporary file --- it is removed when 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' exits.
584 For a path that is unmerged, 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called with 1
589 'GIT_MERGE_VERBOSITY'::
590 A number controlling the amount of output shown by
591 the recursive merge strategy. Overrides merge.verbosity.
592 See linkgit:git-merge[1]
595 This environment variable overrides `$PAGER`. If it is set
596 to an empty string or to the value "cat", git will not launch
597 a pager. See also the `core.pager` option in
598 linkgit:git-config[1].
601 If this environment variable is set then 'git fetch'
602 and 'git push' will use this command instead
603 of 'ssh' when they need to connect to a remote system.
604 The '$GIT_SSH' command will be given exactly two arguments:
605 the 'username@host' (or just 'host') from the URL and the
606 shell command to execute on that remote system.
608 To pass options to the program that you want to list in GIT_SSH
609 you will need to wrap the program and options into a shell script,
610 then set GIT_SSH to refer to the shell script.
612 Usually it is easier to configure any desired options through your
613 personal `.ssh/config` file. Please consult your ssh documentation
617 If this environment variable is set to "1", then commands such
618 as 'git blame' (in incremental mode), 'git rev-list', 'git log',
619 and 'git whatchanged' will force a flush of the output stream
620 after each commit-oriented record have been flushed. If this
621 variable is set to "0", the output of these commands will be done
622 using completely buffered I/O. If this environment variable is
623 not set, git will choose buffered or record-oriented flushing
624 based on whether stdout appears to be redirected to a file or not.
627 If this variable is set to "1", "2" or "true" (comparison
628 is case insensitive), git will print `trace:` messages on
629 stderr telling about alias expansion, built-in command
630 execution and external command execution.
631 If this variable is set to an integer value greater than 1
632 and lower than 10 (strictly) then git will interpret this
633 value as an open file descriptor and will try to write the
634 trace messages into this file descriptor.
635 Alternatively, if this variable is set to an absolute path
636 (starting with a '/' character), git will interpret this
637 as a file path and will try to write the trace messages
640 Discussion[[Discussion]]
641 ------------------------
643 More detail on the following is available from the
644 link:user-manual.html#git-concepts[git concepts chapter of the
645 user-manual] and linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7].
647 A git project normally consists of a working directory with a ".git"
648 subdirectory at the top level. The .git directory contains, among other
649 things, a compressed object database representing the complete history
650 of the project, an "index" file which links that history to the current
651 contents of the working tree, and named pointers into that history such
652 as tags and branch heads.
654 The object database contains objects of three main types: blobs, which
655 hold file data; trees, which point to blobs and other trees to build up
656 directory hierarchies; and commits, which each reference a single tree
657 and some number of parent commits.
659 The commit, equivalent to what other systems call a "changeset" or
660 "version", represents a step in the project's history, and each parent
661 represents an immediately preceding step. Commits with more than one
662 parent represent merges of independent lines of development.
664 All objects are named by the SHA1 hash of their contents, normally
665 written as a string of 40 hex digits. Such names are globally unique.
666 The entire history leading up to a commit can be vouched for by signing
667 just that commit. A fourth object type, the tag, is provided for this
670 When first created, objects are stored in individual files, but for
671 efficiency may later be compressed together into "pack files".
673 Named pointers called refs mark interesting points in history. A ref
674 may contain the SHA1 name of an object or the name of another ref. Refs
675 with names beginning `ref/head/` contain the SHA1 name of the most
676 recent commit (or "head") of a branch under development. SHA1 names of
677 tags of interest are stored under `ref/tags/`. A special ref named
678 `HEAD` contains the name of the currently checked-out branch.
680 The index file is initialized with a list of all paths and, for each
681 path, a blob object and a set of attributes. The blob object represents
682 the contents of the file as of the head of the current branch. The
683 attributes (last modified time, size, etc.) are taken from the
684 corresponding file in the working tree. Subsequent changes to the
685 working tree can be found by comparing these attributes. The index may
686 be updated with new content, and new commits may be created from the
687 content stored in the index.
689 The index is also capable of storing multiple entries (called "stages")
690 for a given pathname. These stages are used to hold the various
691 unmerged version of a file when a merge is in progress.
695 * git's founding father is Linus Torvalds <torvalds@osdl.org>.
696 * The current git nurse is Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>.
697 * The git potty was written by Andreas Ericsson <ae@op5.se>.
698 * General upbringing is handled by the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>.
702 The documentation for git suite was started by David Greaves
703 <david@dgreaves.com>, and later enhanced greatly by the
704 contributors on the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>.
708 linkgit:gittutorial[7], linkgit:gittutorial-2[7],
709 link:everyday.html[Everyday Git], linkgit:gitcvs-migration[7],
710 linkgit:gitglossary[7], linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7],
711 linkgit:gitcli[7], link:user-manual.html[The Git User's Manual],
712 linkgit:gitworkflows[7]
716 Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite