6 git - the stupid content tracker
12 'git' [--version] [--exec-path[=GIT_EXEC_PATH]] [--html-path]
13 [-p|--paginate|--no-pager]
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:
46 * link:v1.6.3.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.3.4]
49 link:RelNotes-1.6.3.4.txt[1.6.3.4],
50 link:RelNotes-1.6.3.3.txt[1.6.3.3],
51 link:RelNotes-1.6.3.2.txt[1.6.3.2],
52 link:RelNotes-1.6.3.1.txt[1.6.3.1],
53 link:RelNotes-1.6.3.txt[1.6.3].
56 link:RelNotes-1.6.2.5.txt[1.6.2.5],
57 link:RelNotes-1.6.2.4.txt[1.6.2.4],
58 link:RelNotes-1.6.2.3.txt[1.6.2.3],
59 link:RelNotes-1.6.2.2.txt[1.6.2.2],
60 link:RelNotes-1.6.2.1.txt[1.6.2.1],
61 link:RelNotes-1.6.2.txt[1.6.2].
63 * link:v1.6.1.3/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.1.3]
66 link:RelNotes-1.6.1.3.txt[1.6.1.3],
67 link:RelNotes-1.6.1.2.txt[1.6.1.2],
68 link:RelNotes-1.6.1.1.txt[1.6.1.1],
69 link:RelNotes-1.6.1.txt[1.6.1].
71 * link:v1.6.0.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.0.6]
74 link:RelNotes-1.6.0.6.txt[1.6.0.6],
75 link:RelNotes-1.6.0.5.txt[1.6.0.5],
76 link:RelNotes-1.6.0.4.txt[1.6.0.4],
77 link:RelNotes-1.6.0.3.txt[1.6.0.3],
78 link:RelNotes-1.6.0.2.txt[1.6.0.2],
79 link:RelNotes-1.6.0.1.txt[1.6.0.1],
80 link:RelNotes-1.6.0.txt[1.6.0].
82 * link:v1.5.6.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.6.6]
85 link:RelNotes-1.5.6.6.txt[1.5.6.6],
86 link:RelNotes-1.5.6.5.txt[1.5.6.5],
87 link:RelNotes-1.5.6.4.txt[1.5.6.4],
88 link:RelNotes-1.5.6.3.txt[1.5.6.3],
89 link:RelNotes-1.5.6.2.txt[1.5.6.2],
90 link:RelNotes-1.5.6.1.txt[1.5.6.1],
91 link:RelNotes-1.5.6.txt[1.5.6].
93 * link:v1.5.5.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.5.6]
96 link:RelNotes-1.5.5.6.txt[1.5.5.6],
97 link:RelNotes-1.5.5.5.txt[1.5.5.5],
98 link:RelNotes-1.5.5.4.txt[1.5.5.4],
99 link:RelNotes-1.5.5.3.txt[1.5.5.3],
100 link:RelNotes-1.5.5.2.txt[1.5.5.2],
101 link:RelNotes-1.5.5.1.txt[1.5.5.1],
102 link:RelNotes-1.5.5.txt[1.5.5].
104 * link:v1.5.4.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.4.7]
107 link:RelNotes-1.5.4.7.txt[1.5.4.7],
108 link:RelNotes-1.5.4.6.txt[1.5.4.6],
109 link:RelNotes-1.5.4.5.txt[1.5.4.5],
110 link:RelNotes-1.5.4.4.txt[1.5.4.4],
111 link:RelNotes-1.5.4.3.txt[1.5.4.3],
112 link:RelNotes-1.5.4.2.txt[1.5.4.2],
113 link:RelNotes-1.5.4.1.txt[1.5.4.1],
114 link:RelNotes-1.5.4.txt[1.5.4].
116 * link:v1.5.3.8/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.3.8]
119 link:RelNotes-1.5.3.8.txt[1.5.3.8],
120 link:RelNotes-1.5.3.7.txt[1.5.3.7],
121 link:RelNotes-1.5.3.6.txt[1.5.3.6],
122 link:RelNotes-1.5.3.5.txt[1.5.3.5],
123 link:RelNotes-1.5.3.4.txt[1.5.3.4],
124 link:RelNotes-1.5.3.3.txt[1.5.3.3],
125 link:RelNotes-1.5.3.2.txt[1.5.3.2],
126 link:RelNotes-1.5.3.1.txt[1.5.3.1],
127 link:RelNotes-1.5.3.txt[1.5.3].
129 * link:v1.5.2.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.2.5]
132 link:RelNotes-1.5.2.5.txt[1.5.2.5],
133 link:RelNotes-1.5.2.4.txt[1.5.2.4],
134 link:RelNotes-1.5.2.3.txt[1.5.2.3],
135 link:RelNotes-1.5.2.2.txt[1.5.2.2],
136 link:RelNotes-1.5.2.1.txt[1.5.2.1],
137 link:RelNotes-1.5.2.txt[1.5.2].
139 * link:v1.5.1.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.1.6]
142 link:RelNotes-1.5.1.6.txt[1.5.1.6],
143 link:RelNotes-1.5.1.5.txt[1.5.1.5],
144 link:RelNotes-1.5.1.4.txt[1.5.1.4],
145 link:RelNotes-1.5.1.3.txt[1.5.1.3],
146 link:RelNotes-1.5.1.2.txt[1.5.1.2],
147 link:RelNotes-1.5.1.1.txt[1.5.1.1],
148 link:RelNotes-1.5.1.txt[1.5.1].
150 * link:v1.5.0.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.0.7]
153 link:RelNotes-1.5.0.7.txt[1.5.0.7],
154 link:RelNotes-1.5.0.6.txt[1.5.0.6],
155 link:RelNotes-1.5.0.5.txt[1.5.0.5],
156 link:RelNotes-1.5.0.3.txt[1.5.0.3],
157 link:RelNotes-1.5.0.2.txt[1.5.0.2],
158 link:RelNotes-1.5.0.1.txt[1.5.0.1],
159 link:RelNotes-1.5.0.txt[1.5.0].
161 * documentation for release link:v1.4.4.4/git.html[1.4.4.4],
162 link:v1.3.3/git.html[1.3.3],
163 link:v1.2.6/git.html[1.2.6],
164 link:v1.0.13/git.html[1.0.13].
173 Prints the git suite version that the 'git' program came from.
176 Prints the synopsis and a list of the most commonly used
177 commands. If the option '--all' or '-a' is given then all
178 available commands are printed. If a git command is named this
179 option will bring up the manual page for that command.
181 Other options are available to control how the manual page is
182 displayed. See linkgit:git-help[1] for more information,
183 because `git --help ...` is converted internally into `git
187 Path to wherever your core git programs are installed.
188 This can also be controlled by setting the GIT_EXEC_PATH
189 environment variable. If no path is given, 'git' will print
190 the current setting and then exit.
193 Print the path to wherever your git HTML documentation is installed
198 Pipe all output into 'less' (or if set, $PAGER).
201 Do not pipe git output into a pager.
204 Set the path to the repository. This can also be controlled by
205 setting the GIT_DIR environment variable. It can be an absolute
206 path or relative path to current working directory.
209 Set the path to the working tree. The value will not be
210 used in combination with repositories found automatically in
211 a .git directory (i.e. $GIT_DIR is not set).
212 This can also be controlled by setting the GIT_WORK_TREE
213 environment variable and the core.worktree configuration
214 variable. It can be an absolute path or relative path to
215 the directory specified by --git-dir or GIT_DIR.
216 Note: If --git-dir or GIT_DIR are specified but none of
217 --work-tree, GIT_WORK_TREE and core.worktree is specified,
218 the current working directory is regarded as the top directory
219 of your working tree.
222 Treat the repository as a bare repository. If GIT_DIR
223 environment is not set, it is set to the current working
227 FURTHER DOCUMENTATION
228 ---------------------
230 See the references above to get started using git. The following is
231 probably more detail than necessary for a first-time user.
233 The link:user-manual.html#git-concepts[git concepts chapter of the
234 user-manual] and linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7] both provide
235 introductions to the underlying git architecture.
237 See linkgit:gitworkflows[7] for an overview of recommended workflows.
239 See also the link:howto-index.html[howto] documents for some useful
242 The internals are documented in the
243 link:technical/api-index.html[GIT API documentation].
248 We divide git into high level ("porcelain") commands and low level
249 ("plumbing") commands.
251 High-level commands (porcelain)
252 -------------------------------
254 We separate the porcelain commands into the main commands and some
255 ancillary user utilities.
257 Main porcelain commands
258 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
260 include::cmds-mainporcelain.txt[]
266 include::cmds-ancillarymanipulators.txt[]
270 include::cmds-ancillaryinterrogators.txt[]
273 Interacting with Others
274 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
276 These commands are to interact with foreign SCM and with other
277 people via patch over e-mail.
279 include::cmds-foreignscminterface.txt[]
282 Low-level commands (plumbing)
283 -----------------------------
285 Although git includes its
286 own porcelain layer, its low-level commands are sufficient to support
287 development of alternative porcelains. Developers of such porcelains
288 might start by reading about linkgit:git-update-index[1] and
289 linkgit:git-read-tree[1].
291 The interface (input, output, set of options and the semantics)
292 to these low-level commands are meant to be a lot more stable
293 than Porcelain level commands, because these commands are
294 primarily for scripted use. The interface to Porcelain commands
295 on the other hand are subject to change in order to improve the
298 The following description divides
299 the low-level commands into commands that manipulate objects (in
300 the repository, index, and working tree), commands that interrogate and
301 compare objects, and commands that move objects and references between
305 Manipulation commands
306 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
308 include::cmds-plumbingmanipulators.txt[]
311 Interrogation commands
312 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
314 include::cmds-plumbinginterrogators.txt[]
316 In general, the interrogate commands do not touch the files in
320 Synching repositories
321 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
323 include::cmds-synchingrepositories.txt[]
325 The following are helper programs used by the above; end users
326 typically do not use them directly.
328 include::cmds-synchelpers.txt[]
331 Internal helper commands
332 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
334 These are internal helper commands used by other commands; end
335 users typically do not use them directly.
337 include::cmds-purehelpers.txt[]
340 Configuration Mechanism
341 -----------------------
343 Starting from 0.99.9 (actually mid 0.99.8.GIT), `.git/config` file
344 is used to hold per-repository configuration options. It is a
345 simple text file modeled after `.ini` format familiar to some
346 people. Here is an example:
350 # A '#' or ';' character indicates a comment.
355 ; Don't trust file modes
360 name = "Junio C Hamano"
361 email = "junkio@twinsun.com"
365 Various commands read from the configuration file and adjust
366 their operation accordingly.
369 Identifier Terminology
370 ----------------------
372 Indicates the object name for any type of object.
375 Indicates a blob object name.
378 Indicates a tree object name.
381 Indicates a commit object name.
384 Indicates a tree, commit or tag object name. A
385 command that takes a <tree-ish> argument ultimately wants to
386 operate on a <tree> object but automatically dereferences
387 <commit> and <tag> objects that point at a <tree>.
390 Indicates a commit or tag object name. A
391 command that takes a <commit-ish> argument ultimately wants to
392 operate on a <commit> object but automatically dereferences
393 <tag> objects that point at a <commit>.
396 Indicates that an object type is required.
397 Currently one of: `blob`, `tree`, `commit`, or `tag`.
400 Indicates a filename - almost always relative to the
401 root of the tree structure `GIT_INDEX_FILE` describes.
405 Any git command accepting any <object> can also use the following
409 indicates the head of the current branch (i.e. the
410 contents of `$GIT_DIR/HEAD`).
414 (i.e. the contents of `$GIT_DIR/refs/tags/<tag>`).
418 (i.e. the contents of `$GIT_DIR/refs/heads/<head>`).
420 For a more complete list of ways to spell object names, see
421 "SPECIFYING REVISIONS" section in linkgit:git-rev-parse[1].
424 File/Directory Structure
425 ------------------------
427 Please see the linkgit:gitrepository-layout[5] document.
429 Read linkgit:githooks[5] for more details about each hook.
431 Higher level SCMs may provide and manage additional information in the
437 Please see linkgit:gitglossary[7].
440 Environment Variables
441 ---------------------
442 Various git commands use the following environment variables:
446 These environment variables apply to 'all' core git commands. Nb: it
447 is worth noting that they may be used/overridden by SCMS sitting above
448 git so take care if using Cogito etc.
451 This environment allows the specification of an alternate
452 index file. If not specified, the default of `$GIT_DIR/index`
455 'GIT_OBJECT_DIRECTORY'::
456 If the object storage directory is specified via this
457 environment variable then the sha1 directories are created
458 underneath - otherwise the default `$GIT_DIR/objects`
461 'GIT_ALTERNATE_OBJECT_DIRECTORIES'::
462 Due to the immutable nature of git objects, old objects can be
463 archived into shared, read-only directories. This variable
464 specifies a ":" separated (on Windows ";" separated) list
465 of git object directories which can be used to search for git
466 objects. New objects will not be written to these directories.
469 If the 'GIT_DIR' environment variable is set then it
470 specifies a path to use instead of the default `.git`
471 for the base of the repository.
474 Set the path to the working tree. The value will not be
475 used in combination with repositories found automatically in
476 a .git directory (i.e. $GIT_DIR is not set).
477 This can also be controlled by the '--work-tree' command line
478 option and the core.worktree configuration variable.
480 'GIT_CEILING_DIRECTORIES'::
481 This should be a colon-separated list of absolute paths.
482 If set, it is a list of directories that git should not chdir
483 up into while looking for a repository directory.
484 It will not exclude the current working directory or
485 a GIT_DIR set on the command line or in the environment.
486 (Useful for excluding slow-loading network directories.)
493 'GIT_COMMITTER_NAME'::
494 'GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL'::
495 'GIT_COMMITTER_DATE'::
497 see linkgit:git-commit-tree[1]
502 Only valid setting is "--unified=??" or "-u??" to set the
503 number of context lines shown when a unified diff is created.
504 This takes precedence over any "-U" or "--unified" option
505 value passed on the git diff command line.
507 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF'::
508 When the environment variable 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is set, the
509 program named by it is called, instead of the diff invocation
510 described above. For a path that is added, removed, or modified,
511 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called with 7 parameters:
513 path old-file old-hex old-mode new-file new-hex new-mode
517 <old|new>-file:: are files GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF can use to read the
518 contents of <old|new>,
519 <old|new>-hex:: are the 40-hexdigit SHA1 hashes,
520 <old|new>-mode:: are the octal representation of the file modes.
523 The file parameters can point at the user's working file
524 (e.g. `new-file` in "git-diff-files"), `/dev/null` (e.g. `old-file`
525 when a new file is added), or a temporary file (e.g. `old-file` in the
526 index). 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' should not worry about unlinking the
527 temporary file --- it is removed when 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' exits.
529 For a path that is unmerged, 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called with 1
534 'GIT_MERGE_VERBOSITY'::
535 A number controlling the amount of output shown by
536 the recursive merge strategy. Overrides merge.verbosity.
537 See linkgit:git-merge[1]
540 This environment variable overrides `$PAGER`. If it is set
541 to an empty string or to the value "cat", git will not launch
542 a pager. See also the `core.pager` option in
543 linkgit:git-config[1].
546 If this environment variable is set then 'git-fetch'
547 and 'git-push' will use this command instead
548 of 'ssh' when they need to connect to a remote system.
549 The '$GIT_SSH' command will be given exactly two arguments:
550 the 'username@host' (or just 'host') from the URL and the
551 shell command to execute on that remote system.
553 To pass options to the program that you want to list in GIT_SSH
554 you will need to wrap the program and options into a shell script,
555 then set GIT_SSH to refer to the shell script.
557 Usually it is easier to configure any desired options through your
558 personal `.ssh/config` file. Please consult your ssh documentation
562 If this environment variable is set to "1", then commands such
563 as 'git-blame' (in incremental mode), 'git-rev-list', 'git-log',
564 and 'git-whatchanged' will force a flush of the output stream
565 after each commit-oriented record have been flushed. If this
566 variable is set to "0", the output of these commands will be done
567 using completely buffered I/O. If this environment variable is
568 not set, git will choose buffered or record-oriented flushing
569 based on whether stdout appears to be redirected to a file or not.
572 If this variable is set to "1", "2" or "true" (comparison
573 is case insensitive), git will print `trace:` messages on
574 stderr telling about alias expansion, built-in command
575 execution and external command execution.
576 If this variable is set to an integer value greater than 1
577 and lower than 10 (strictly) then git will interpret this
578 value as an open file descriptor and will try to write the
579 trace messages into this file descriptor.
580 Alternatively, if this variable is set to an absolute path
581 (starting with a '/' character), git will interpret this
582 as a file path and will try to write the trace messages
585 Discussion[[Discussion]]
586 ------------------------
588 More detail on the following is available from the
589 link:user-manual.html#git-concepts[git concepts chapter of the
590 user-manual] and linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7].
592 A git project normally consists of a working directory with a ".git"
593 subdirectory at the top level. The .git directory contains, among other
594 things, a compressed object database representing the complete history
595 of the project, an "index" file which links that history to the current
596 contents of the working tree, and named pointers into that history such
597 as tags and branch heads.
599 The object database contains objects of three main types: blobs, which
600 hold file data; trees, which point to blobs and other trees to build up
601 directory hierarchies; and commits, which each reference a single tree
602 and some number of parent commits.
604 The commit, equivalent to what other systems call a "changeset" or
605 "version", represents a step in the project's history, and each parent
606 represents an immediately preceding step. Commits with more than one
607 parent represent merges of independent lines of development.
609 All objects are named by the SHA1 hash of their contents, normally
610 written as a string of 40 hex digits. Such names are globally unique.
611 The entire history leading up to a commit can be vouched for by signing
612 just that commit. A fourth object type, the tag, is provided for this
615 When first created, objects are stored in individual files, but for
616 efficiency may later be compressed together into "pack files".
618 Named pointers called refs mark interesting points in history. A ref
619 may contain the SHA1 name of an object or the name of another ref. Refs
620 with names beginning `ref/head/` contain the SHA1 name of the most
621 recent commit (or "head") of a branch under development. SHA1 names of
622 tags of interest are stored under `ref/tags/`. A special ref named
623 `HEAD` contains the name of the currently checked-out branch.
625 The index file is initialized with a list of all paths and, for each
626 path, a blob object and a set of attributes. The blob object represents
627 the contents of the file as of the head of the current branch. The
628 attributes (last modified time, size, etc.) are taken from the
629 corresponding file in the working tree. Subsequent changes to the
630 working tree can be found by comparing these attributes. The index may
631 be updated with new content, and new commits may be created from the
632 content stored in the index.
634 The index is also capable of storing multiple entries (called "stages")
635 for a given pathname. These stages are used to hold the various
636 unmerged version of a file when a merge is in progress.
640 * git's founding father is Linus Torvalds <torvalds@osdl.org>.
641 * The current git nurse is Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>.
642 * The git potty was written by Andreas Ericsson <ae@op5.se>.
643 * General upbringing is handled by the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>.
647 The documentation for git suite was started by David Greaves
648 <david@dgreaves.com>, and later enhanced greatly by the
649 contributors on the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>.
653 linkgit:gittutorial[7], linkgit:gittutorial-2[7],
654 link:everyday.html[Everyday Git], linkgit:gitcvs-migration[7],
655 linkgit:gitglossary[7], linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7],
656 linkgit:gitcli[7], link:user-manual.html[The Git User's Manual],
657 linkgit:gitworkflows[7]
661 Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite