1 // Please don't remove this comment as asciidoc behaves badly when
2 // the first non-empty line is ifdef/ifndef. The symptom is that
3 // without this comment the <git-diff-core> attribute conditionally
4 // defined below ends up being defined unconditionally.
5 // Last checked with asciidoc 7.0.2.
7 ifndef::git-format-patch[]
13 endif::git-format-patch[]
15 ifdef::git-format-patch[]
18 Generate plain patches without any diffstats.
19 endif::git-format-patch[]
21 ifndef::git-format-patch[]
25 Generate patch (see section on generating patches).
32 Suppress diff output. Useful for commands like `git show` that
33 show the patch by default, or to cancel the effect of `--patch`.
34 endif::git-format-patch[]
38 Generate diffs with <n> lines of context instead of
40 ifndef::git-format-patch[]
42 endif::git-format-patch[]
44 ifndef::git-format-patch[]
47 Generate the diff in raw format.
48 ifdef::git-diff-core[]
50 endif::git-diff-core[]
53 For each commit, show a summary of changes using the raw diff
54 format. See the "RAW OUTPUT FORMAT" section of
55 linkgit:git-diff[1]. This is different from showing the log
56 itself in raw format, which you can achieve with
59 endif::git-format-patch[]
61 ifndef::git-format-patch[]
63 Synonym for `-p --raw`.
64 endif::git-format-patch[]
66 include::diff-heuristic-options.txt[]
69 Spend extra time to make sure the smallest possible
73 Generate a diff using the "patience diff" algorithm.
76 Generate a diff using the "histogram diff" algorithm.
78 --diff-algorithm={patience|minimal|histogram|myers}::
79 Choose a diff algorithm. The variants are as follows:
83 The basic greedy diff algorithm. Currently, this is the default.
85 Spend extra time to make sure the smallest possible diff is
88 Use "patience diff" algorithm when generating patches.
90 This algorithm extends the patience algorithm to "support
91 low-occurrence common elements".
94 For instance, if you configured diff.algorithm variable to a
95 non-default value and want to use the default one, then you
96 have to use `--diff-algorithm=default` option.
98 --stat[=<width>[,<name-width>[,<count>]]]::
99 Generate a diffstat. By default, as much space as necessary
100 will be used for the filename part, and the rest for the graph
101 part. Maximum width defaults to terminal width, or 80 columns
102 if not connected to a terminal, and can be overridden by
103 `<width>`. The width of the filename part can be limited by
104 giving another width `<name-width>` after a comma. The width
105 of the graph part can be limited by using
106 `--stat-graph-width=<width>` (affects all commands generating
107 a stat graph) or by setting `diff.statGraphWidth=<width>`
108 (does not affect `git format-patch`).
109 By giving a third parameter `<count>`, you can limit the
110 output to the first `<count>` lines, followed by `...` if
113 These parameters can also be set individually with `--stat-width=<width>`,
114 `--stat-name-width=<name-width>` and `--stat-count=<count>`.
117 Similar to `--stat`, but shows number of added and
118 deleted lines in decimal notation and pathname without
119 abbreviation, to make it more machine friendly. For
120 binary files, outputs two `-` instead of saying
124 Output only the last line of the `--stat` format containing total
125 number of modified files, as well as number of added and deleted
128 --dirstat[=<param1,param2,...>]::
129 Output the distribution of relative amount of changes for each
130 sub-directory. The behavior of `--dirstat` can be customized by
131 passing it a comma separated list of parameters.
132 The defaults are controlled by the `diff.dirstat` configuration
133 variable (see linkgit:git-config[1]).
134 The following parameters are available:
138 Compute the dirstat numbers by counting the lines that have been
139 removed from the source, or added to the destination. This ignores
140 the amount of pure code movements within a file. In other words,
141 rearranging lines in a file is not counted as much as other changes.
142 This is the default behavior when no parameter is given.
144 Compute the dirstat numbers by doing the regular line-based diff
145 analysis, and summing the removed/added line counts. (For binary
146 files, count 64-byte chunks instead, since binary files have no
147 natural concept of lines). This is a more expensive `--dirstat`
148 behavior than the `changes` behavior, but it does count rearranged
149 lines within a file as much as other changes. The resulting output
150 is consistent with what you get from the other `--*stat` options.
152 Compute the dirstat numbers by counting the number of files changed.
153 Each changed file counts equally in the dirstat analysis. This is
154 the computationally cheapest `--dirstat` behavior, since it does
155 not have to look at the file contents at all.
157 Count changes in a child directory for the parent directory as well.
158 Note that when using `cumulative`, the sum of the percentages
159 reported may exceed 100%. The default (non-cumulative) behavior can
160 be specified with the `noncumulative` parameter.
162 An integer parameter specifies a cut-off percent (3% by default).
163 Directories contributing less than this percentage of the changes
164 are not shown in the output.
167 Example: The following will count changed files, while ignoring
168 directories with less than 10% of the total amount of changed files,
169 and accumulating child directory counts in the parent directories:
170 `--dirstat=files,10,cumulative`.
173 Output a condensed summary of extended header information
174 such as creations, renames and mode changes.
176 ifndef::git-format-patch[]
178 Synonym for `-p --stat`.
179 endif::git-format-patch[]
181 ifndef::git-format-patch[]
185 Separate the commits with NULs instead of with new newlines.
187 Also, when `--raw` or `--numstat` has been given, do not munge
188 pathnames and use NULs as output field terminators.
191 When `--raw`, `--numstat`, `--name-only` or `--name-status` has been
192 given, do not munge pathnames and use NULs as output field terminators.
195 Without this option, pathnames with "unusual" characters are quoted as
196 explained for the configuration variable `core.quotePath` (see
197 linkgit:git-config[1]).
200 Show only names of changed files.
203 Show only names and status of changed files. See the description
204 of the `--diff-filter` option on what the status letters mean.
206 --submodule[=<format>]::
207 Specify how differences in submodules are shown. When specifying
208 `--submodule=short` the 'short' format is used. This format just
209 shows the names of the commits at the beginning and end of the range.
210 When `--submodule` or `--submodule=log` is specified, the 'log'
211 format is used. This format lists the commits in the range like
212 linkgit:git-submodule[1] `summary` does. When `--submodule=diff`
213 is specified, the 'diff' format is used. This format shows an
214 inline diff of the changes in the submodule contents between the
215 commit range. Defaults to `diff.submodule` or the 'short' format
216 if the config option is unset.
220 `--color` (i.e. without '=<when>') is the same as `--color=always`.
221 '<when>' can be one of `always`, `never`, or `auto`.
223 It can be changed by the `color.ui` and `color.diff`
224 configuration settings.
228 Turn off colored diff.
230 This can be used to override configuration settings.
232 It is the same as `--color=never`.
234 --word-diff[=<mode>]::
235 Show a word diff, using the <mode> to delimit changed words.
236 By default, words are delimited by whitespace; see
237 `--word-diff-regex` below. The <mode> defaults to 'plain', and
242 Highlight changed words using only colors. Implies `--color`.
244 Show words as `[-removed-]` and `{+added+}`. Makes no
245 attempts to escape the delimiters if they appear in the input,
246 so the output may be ambiguous.
248 Use a special line-based format intended for script
249 consumption. Added/removed/unchanged runs are printed in the
250 usual unified diff format, starting with a `+`/`-`/` `
251 character at the beginning of the line and extending to the
252 end of the line. Newlines in the input are represented by a
253 tilde `~` on a line of its own.
255 Disable word diff again.
258 Note that despite the name of the first mode, color is used to
259 highlight the changed parts in all modes if enabled.
261 --word-diff-regex=<regex>::
262 Use <regex> to decide what a word is, instead of considering
263 runs of non-whitespace to be a word. Also implies
264 `--word-diff` unless it was already enabled.
266 Every non-overlapping match of the
267 <regex> is considered a word. Anything between these matches is
268 considered whitespace and ignored(!) for the purposes of finding
269 differences. You may want to append `|[^[:space:]]` to your regular
270 expression to make sure that it matches all non-whitespace characters.
271 A match that contains a newline is silently truncated(!) at the
274 For example, `--word-diff-regex=.` will treat each character as a word
275 and, correspondingly, show differences character by character.
277 The regex can also be set via a diff driver or configuration option, see
278 linkgit:gitattributes[5] or linkgit:git-config[1]. Giving it explicitly
279 overrides any diff driver or configuration setting. Diff drivers
280 override configuration settings.
282 --color-words[=<regex>]::
283 Equivalent to `--word-diff=color` plus (if a regex was
284 specified) `--word-diff-regex=<regex>`.
285 endif::git-format-patch[]
288 Turn off rename detection, even when the configuration
289 file gives the default to do so.
291 ifndef::git-format-patch[]
293 Warn if changes introduce conflict markers or whitespace errors.
294 What are considered whitespace errors is controlled by `core.whitespace`
295 configuration. By default, trailing whitespaces (including
296 lines that solely consist of whitespaces) and a space character
297 that is immediately followed by a tab character inside the
298 initial indent of the line are considered whitespace errors.
299 Exits with non-zero status if problems are found. Not compatible
302 --ws-error-highlight=<kind>::
303 Highlight whitespace errors on lines specified by <kind>
304 in the color specified by `color.diff.whitespace`. <kind>
305 is a comma separated list of `old`, `new`, `context`. When
306 this option is not given, only whitespace errors in `new`
307 lines are highlighted. E.g. `--ws-error-highlight=new,old`
308 highlights whitespace errors on both deleted and added lines.
309 `all` can be used as a short-hand for `old,new,context`.
310 The `diff.wsErrorHighlight` configuration variable can be
311 used to specify the default behaviour.
313 endif::git-format-patch[]
316 Instead of the first handful of characters, show the full
317 pre- and post-image blob object names on the "index"
318 line when generating patch format output.
321 In addition to `--full-index`, output a binary diff that
322 can be applied with `git-apply`.
325 Instead of showing the full 40-byte hexadecimal object
326 name in diff-raw format output and diff-tree header
327 lines, show only a partial prefix. This is
328 independent of the `--full-index` option above, which controls
329 the diff-patch output format. Non default number of
330 digits can be specified with `--abbrev=<n>`.
333 --break-rewrites[=[<n>][/<m>]]::
334 Break complete rewrite changes into pairs of delete and
335 create. This serves two purposes:
337 It affects the way a change that amounts to a total rewrite of a file
338 not as a series of deletion and insertion mixed together with a very
339 few lines that happen to match textually as the context, but as a
340 single deletion of everything old followed by a single insertion of
341 everything new, and the number `m` controls this aspect of the -B
342 option (defaults to 60%). `-B/70%` specifies that less than 30% of the
343 original should remain in the result for Git to consider it a total
344 rewrite (i.e. otherwise the resulting patch will be a series of
345 deletion and insertion mixed together with context lines).
347 When used with -M, a totally-rewritten file is also considered as the
348 source of a rename (usually -M only considers a file that disappeared
349 as the source of a rename), and the number `n` controls this aspect of
350 the -B option (defaults to 50%). `-B20%` specifies that a change with
351 addition and deletion compared to 20% or more of the file's size are
352 eligible for being picked up as a possible source of a rename to
356 --find-renames[=<n>]::
361 If generating diffs, detect and report renames for each commit.
362 For following files across renames while traversing history, see
365 If `n` is specified, it is a threshold on the similarity
366 index (i.e. amount of addition/deletions compared to the
367 file's size). For example, `-M90%` means Git should consider a
368 delete/add pair to be a rename if more than 90% of the file
369 hasn't changed. Without a `%` sign, the number is to be read as
370 a fraction, with a decimal point before it. I.e., `-M5` becomes
371 0.5, and is thus the same as `-M50%`. Similarly, `-M05` is
372 the same as `-M5%`. To limit detection to exact renames, use
373 `-M100%`. The default similarity index is 50%.
376 --find-copies[=<n>]::
377 Detect copies as well as renames. See also `--find-copies-harder`.
378 If `n` is specified, it has the same meaning as for `-M<n>`.
380 --find-copies-harder::
381 For performance reasons, by default, `-C` option finds copies only
382 if the original file of the copy was modified in the same
383 changeset. This flag makes the command
384 inspect unmodified files as candidates for the source of
385 copy. This is a very expensive operation for large
386 projects, so use it with caution. Giving more than one
387 `-C` option has the same effect.
390 --irreversible-delete::
391 Omit the preimage for deletes, i.e. print only the header but not
392 the diff between the preimage and `/dev/null`. The resulting patch
393 is not meant to be applied with `patch` or `git apply`; this is
394 solely for people who want to just concentrate on reviewing the
395 text after the change. In addition, the output obviously lack
396 enough information to apply such a patch in reverse, even manually,
397 hence the name of the option.
399 When used together with `-B`, omit also the preimage in the deletion part
400 of a delete/create pair.
403 The `-M` and `-C` options require O(n^2) processing time where n
404 is the number of potential rename/copy targets. This
405 option prevents rename/copy detection from running if
406 the number of rename/copy targets exceeds the specified
409 ifndef::git-format-patch[]
410 --diff-filter=[(A|C|D|M|R|T|U|X|B)...[*]]::
411 Select only files that are Added (`A`), Copied (`C`),
412 Deleted (`D`), Modified (`M`), Renamed (`R`), have their
413 type (i.e. regular file, symlink, submodule, ...) changed (`T`),
414 are Unmerged (`U`), are
415 Unknown (`X`), or have had their pairing Broken (`B`).
416 Any combination of the filter characters (including none) can be used.
417 When `*` (All-or-none) is added to the combination, all
418 paths are selected if there is any file that matches
419 other criteria in the comparison; if there is no file
420 that matches other criteria, nothing is selected.
422 Also, these upper-case letters can be downcased to exclude. E.g.
423 `--diff-filter=ad` excludes added and deleted paths.
426 Look for differences that change the number of occurrences of
427 the specified string (i.e. addition/deletion) in a file.
428 Intended for the scripter's use.
430 It is useful when you're looking for an exact block of code (like a
431 struct), and want to know the history of that block since it first
432 came into being: use the feature iteratively to feed the interesting
433 block in the preimage back into `-S`, and keep going until you get the
434 very first version of the block.
437 Look for differences whose patch text contains added/removed
438 lines that match <regex>.
440 To illustrate the difference between `-S<regex> --pickaxe-regex` and
441 `-G<regex>`, consider a commit with the following diff in the same
445 + return !regexec(regexp, two->ptr, 1, ®match, 0);
447 - hit = !regexec(regexp, mf2.ptr, 1, ®match, 0);
450 While `git log -G"regexec\(regexp"` will show this commit, `git log
451 -S"regexec\(regexp" --pickaxe-regex` will not (because the number of
452 occurrences of that string did not change).
454 See the 'pickaxe' entry in linkgit:gitdiffcore[7] for more
458 When `-S` or `-G` finds a change, show all the changes in that
459 changeset, not just the files that contain the change
463 Treat the <string> given to `-S` as an extended POSIX regular
465 endif::git-format-patch[]
468 Control the order in which files appear in the output.
469 This overrides the `diff.orderFile` configuration variable
470 (see linkgit:git-config[1]). To cancel `diff.orderFile`,
473 The output order is determined by the order of glob patterns in
475 All files with pathnames that match the first pattern are output
476 first, all files with pathnames that match the second pattern (but not
477 the first) are output next, and so on.
478 All files with pathnames that do not match any pattern are output
479 last, as if there was an implicit match-all pattern at the end of the
481 If multiple pathnames have the same rank (they match the same pattern
482 but no earlier patterns), their output order relative to each other is
485 <orderfile> is parsed as follows:
488 - Blank lines are ignored, so they can be used as separators for
491 - Lines starting with a hash ("`#`") are ignored, so they can be used
492 for comments. Add a backslash ("`\`") to the beginning of the
493 pattern if it starts with a hash.
495 - Each other line contains a single pattern.
498 Patterns have the same syntax and semantics as patterns used for
499 fnmantch(3) without the FNM_PATHNAME flag, except a pathname also
500 matches a pattern if removing any number of the final pathname
501 components matches the pattern. For example, the pattern "`foo*bar`"
502 matches "`fooasdfbar`" and "`foo/bar/baz/asdf`" but not "`foobarx`".
504 ifndef::git-format-patch[]
506 Swap two inputs; that is, show differences from index or
507 on-disk file to tree contents.
509 --relative[=<path>]::
510 When run from a subdirectory of the project, it can be
511 told to exclude changes outside the directory and show
512 pathnames relative to it with this option. When you are
513 not in a subdirectory (e.g. in a bare repository), you
514 can name which subdirectory to make the output relative
515 to by giving a <path> as an argument.
516 endif::git-format-patch[]
520 Treat all files as text.
522 --ignore-space-at-eol::
523 Ignore changes in whitespace at EOL.
526 --ignore-space-change::
527 Ignore changes in amount of whitespace. This ignores whitespace
528 at line end, and considers all other sequences of one or
529 more whitespace characters to be equivalent.
533 Ignore whitespace when comparing lines. This ignores
534 differences even if one line has whitespace where the other
537 --ignore-blank-lines::
538 Ignore changes whose lines are all blank.
540 --inter-hunk-context=<lines>::
541 Show the context between diff hunks, up to the specified number
542 of lines, thereby fusing hunks that are close to each other.
543 Defaults to `diff.interHunkContext` or 0 if the config option
548 Show whole surrounding functions of changes.
550 ifndef::git-format-patch[]
553 Make the program exit with codes similar to diff(1).
554 That is, it exits with 1 if there were differences and
555 0 means no differences.
558 Disable all output of the program. Implies `--exit-code`.
560 endif::git-format-patch[]
563 Allow an external diff helper to be executed. If you set an
564 external diff driver with linkgit:gitattributes[5], you need
565 to use this option with linkgit:git-log[1] and friends.
568 Disallow external diff drivers.
572 Allow (or disallow) external text conversion filters to be run
573 when comparing binary files. See linkgit:gitattributes[5] for
574 details. Because textconv filters are typically a one-way
575 conversion, the resulting diff is suitable for human
576 consumption, but cannot be applied. For this reason, textconv
577 filters are enabled by default only for linkgit:git-diff[1] and
578 linkgit:git-log[1], but not for linkgit:git-format-patch[1] or
579 diff plumbing commands.
581 --ignore-submodules[=<when>]::
582 Ignore changes to submodules in the diff generation. <when> can be
583 either "none", "untracked", "dirty" or "all", which is the default.
584 Using "none" will consider the submodule modified when it either contains
585 untracked or modified files or its HEAD differs from the commit recorded
586 in the superproject and can be used to override any settings of the
587 'ignore' option in linkgit:git-config[1] or linkgit:gitmodules[5]. When
588 "untracked" is used submodules are not considered dirty when they only
589 contain untracked content (but they are still scanned for modified
590 content). Using "dirty" ignores all changes to the work tree of submodules,
591 only changes to the commits stored in the superproject are shown (this was
592 the behavior until 1.7.0). Using "all" hides all changes to submodules.
594 --src-prefix=<prefix>::
595 Show the given source prefix instead of "a/".
597 --dst-prefix=<prefix>::
598 Show the given destination prefix instead of "b/".
601 Do not show any source or destination prefix.
603 --line-prefix=<prefix>::
604 Prepend an additional prefix to every line of output.
606 --ita-invisible-in-index::
607 By default entries added by "git add -N" appear as an existing
608 empty file in "git diff" and a new file in "git diff --cached".
609 This option makes the entry appear as a new file in "git diff"
610 and non-existent in "git diff --cached". This option could be
611 reverted with `--ita-visible-in-index`. Both options are
612 experimental and could be removed in future.
614 For more detailed explanation on these common options, see also
615 linkgit:gitdiffcore[7].