6 git-format-patch - Prepare patches for e-mail submission
12 'git-format-patch' [-k] [-o <dir> | --stdout] [--thread]
13 [--attach[=<boundary>] | --inline[=<boundary>]]
14 [-s | --signoff] [<common diff options>]
15 [-n | --numbered | -N | --no-numbered]
16 [--start-number <n>] [--numbered-files]
17 [--in-reply-to=Message-Id] [--suffix=.<sfx>]
18 [--ignore-if-in-upstream]
19 [--subject-prefix=Subject-Prefix]
22 [ <since> | <revision range> ]
27 Prepare each commit with its patch in
28 one file per commit, formatted to resemble UNIX mailbox format.
29 The output of this command is convenient for e-mail submission or
30 for use with linkgit:git-am[1].
32 There are two ways to specify which commits to operate on.
34 1. A single commit, <since>, specifies that the commits leading
35 to the tip of the current branch that are not in the history
36 that leads to the <since> to be output.
38 2. Generic <revision range> expression (see "SPECIFYING
39 REVISIONS" section in linkgit:git-rev-parse[1]) means the
40 commits in the specified range.
42 A single commit, when interpreted as a <revision range>
43 expression, means "everything that leads to that commit", but
44 if you write 'git format-patch <commit>', the previous rule
45 applies to that command line and you do not get "everything
46 since the beginning of the time". If you want to format
47 everything since project inception to one commit, say "git
48 format-patch \--root <commit>" to make it clear that it is the
51 By default, each output file is numbered sequentially from 1, and uses the
52 first line of the commit message (massaged for pathname safety) as
53 the filename. With the --numbered-files option, the output file names
54 will only be numbers, without the first line of the commit appended.
55 The names of the output files are printed to standard
56 output, unless the --stdout option is specified.
58 If -o is specified, output files are created in <dir>. Otherwise
59 they are created in the current working directory.
61 If -n is specified, instead of "[PATCH] Subject", the first line
62 is formatted as "[PATCH n/m] Subject".
64 If given --thread, git-format-patch will generate In-Reply-To and
65 References headers to make the second and subsequent patch mails appear
66 as replies to the first mail; this also generates a Message-Id header to
72 include::diff-options.txt[]
75 Limits the number of patches to prepare.
78 --output-directory <dir>::
79 Use <dir> to store the resulting files, instead of the
80 current working directory.
84 Name output in '[PATCH n/m]' format.
88 Name output in '[PATCH]' format.
91 Start numbering the patches at <n> instead of 1.
94 Output file names will be a simple number sequence
95 without the default first line of the commit appended.
96 Mutually exclusive with the --stdout option.
100 Do not strip/add '[PATCH]' from the first line of the
105 Add `Signed-off-by:` line to the commit message, using
106 the committer identity of yourself.
109 Print all commits to the standard output in mbox format,
110 instead of creating a file for each one.
112 --attach[=<boundary>]::
113 Create multipart/mixed attachment, the first part of
114 which is the commit message and the patch itself in the
115 second part, with "Content-Disposition: attachment".
117 --inline[=<boundary>]::
118 Create multipart/mixed attachment, the first part of
119 which is the commit message and the patch itself in the
120 second part, with "Content-Disposition: inline".
123 Add In-Reply-To and References headers to make the second and
124 subsequent mails appear as replies to the first. Also generates
125 the Message-Id header to reference.
127 --in-reply-to=Message-Id::
128 Make the first mail (or all the mails with --no-thread) appear as a
129 reply to the given Message-Id, which avoids breaking threads to
130 provide a new patch series.
132 --ignore-if-in-upstream::
133 Do not include a patch that matches a commit in
134 <until>..<since>. This will examine all patches reachable
135 from <since> but not from <until> and compare them with the
136 patches being generated, and any patch that matches is
139 --subject-prefix=<Subject-Prefix>::
140 Instead of the standard '[PATCH]' prefix in the subject
141 line, instead use '[<Subject-Prefix>]'. This
142 allows for useful naming of a patch series, and can be
143 combined with the --numbered option.
146 Add a "Cc:" header to the email headers. This is in addition
147 to any configured headers, and may be used multiple times.
150 Generate a cover letter template. You still have to fill in
151 a description, but the shortlog and the diffstat will be
155 Instead of using `.patch` as the suffix for generated
156 filenames, use specified suffix. A common alternative is
159 Note that you would need to include the leading dot `.` if you
160 want a filename like `0001-description-of-my-change.patch`, and
161 the first letter does not have to be a dot. Leaving it empty would
165 Don't output contents of changes in binary files, just take note
166 that they differ. Note that this disable the patch to be properly
167 applied. By default the contents of changes in those files are
168 encoded in the patch.
172 You can specify extra mail header lines to be added to each message
173 in the repository configuration, new defaults for the subject prefix
174 and file suffix, and number patches when outputting more than one.
178 headers = "Organization: git-foo\n"
179 subjectprefix = CHANGE
189 * Extract commits between revisions R1 and R2, and apply them on top of
190 the current branch using `git-am` to cherry-pick them:
193 $ git format-patch -k --stdout R1..R2 | git-am -3 -k
196 * Extract all commits which are in the current branch but not in the
200 $ git format-patch origin
203 For each commit a separate file is created in the current directory.
205 * Extract all commits that lead to 'origin' since the inception of the
209 $ git format-patch \--root origin
212 * The same as the previous one:
215 $ git format-patch -M -B origin
218 Additionally, it detects and handles renames and complete rewrites
219 intelligently to produce a renaming patch. A renaming patch reduces
220 the amount of text output, and generally makes it easier to review it.
221 Note that the "patch" program does not understand renaming patches, so
222 use it only when you know the recipient uses git to apply your patch.
224 * Extract three topmost commits from the current branch and format them
225 as e-mailable patches:
228 $ git format-patch -3
233 linkgit:git-am[1], linkgit:git-send-email[1]
238 Written by Junio C Hamano <junkio@cox.net>
242 Documentation by Junio C Hamano and the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>.
246 Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite