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 571 <div id="header">
 572 <h1>
 573 gitglossary(7) Manual Page
 574 </h1>
 575 <h2>NAME</h2>
 576 <div class="sectionbody">
 577 <p>gitglossary -
 578    A GIT Glossary
 579 </p>
 580 </div>
 581 </div>
 582 <div id="content">
 583 <h2 id="_synopsis">SYNOPSIS</h2>
 584 <div class="sectionbody">
 585 <div class="paragraph"><p>*</p></div>
 586 </div>
 587 <h2 id="_description">DESCRIPTION</h2>
 588 <div class="sectionbody">
 589 <div class="dlist"><dl>
 590 <dt class="hdlist1">
 591 <a id="def_alternate_object_database"></a>alternate object database
 592 </dt>
 593 <dd>
 594 <p>
 595         Via the alternates mechanism, a <a href="#def_repository">repository</a>
 596         can inherit part of its <a href="#def_object_database">object database</a>
 597         from another object database, which is called "alternate".
 598 </p>
 599 </dd>
 600 <dt class="hdlist1">
 601 <a id="def_bare_repository"></a>bare repository
 602 </dt>
 603 <dd>
 604 <p>
 605         A bare repository is normally an appropriately
 606         named <a href="#def_directory">directory</a> with a <tt>.git</tt> suffix that does not
 607         have a locally checked-out copy of any of the files under
 608         revision control. That is, all of the <tt>git</tt>
 609         administrative and control files that would normally be present in the
 610         hidden <tt>.git</tt> sub-directory are directly present in the
 611         <tt>repository.git</tt> directory instead,
 612         and no other files are present and checked out. Usually publishers of
 613         public repositories make bare repositories available.
 614 </p>
 615 </dd>
 616 <dt class="hdlist1">
 617 <a id="def_blob_object"></a>blob object
 618 </dt>
 619 <dd>
 620 <p>
 621         Untyped <a href="#def_object">object</a>, e.g. the contents of a file.
 622 </p>
 623 </dd>
 624 <dt class="hdlist1">
 625 <a id="def_branch"></a>branch
 626 </dt>
 627 <dd>
 628 <p>
 629         A "branch" is an active line of development.  The most recent
 630         <a href="#def_commit">commit</a> on a branch is referred to as the tip of
 631         that branch.  The tip of the branch is referenced by a branch
 632         <a href="#def_head">head</a>, which moves forward as additional development
 633         is done on the branch.  A single git
 634         <a href="#def_repository">repository</a> can track an arbitrary number of
 635         branches, but your <a href="#def_working_tree">working tree</a> is
 636         associated with just one of them (the "current" or "checked out"
 637         branch), and <a href="#def_HEAD">HEAD</a> points to that branch.
 638 </p>
 639 </dd>
 640 <dt class="hdlist1">
 641 <a id="def_cache"></a>cache
 642 </dt>
 643 <dd>
 644 <p>
 645         Obsolete for: <a href="#def_index">index</a>.
 646 </p>
 647 </dd>
 648 <dt class="hdlist1">
 649 <a id="def_chain"></a>chain
 650 </dt>
 651 <dd>
 652 <p>
 653         A list of objects, where each <a href="#def_object">object</a> in the list contains
 654         a reference to its successor (for example, the successor of a
 655         <a href="#def_commit">commit</a> could be one of its <a href="#def_parent">parents</a>).
 656 </p>
 657 </dd>
 658 <dt class="hdlist1">
 659 <a id="def_changeset"></a>changeset
 660 </dt>
 661 <dd>
 662 <p>
 663         BitKeeper/cvsps speak for "<a href="#def_commit">commit</a>". Since git does not
 664         store changes, but states, it really does not make sense to use the term
 665         "changesets" with git.
 666 </p>
 667 </dd>
 668 <dt class="hdlist1">
 669 <a id="def_checkout"></a>checkout
 670 </dt>
 671 <dd>
 672 <p>
 673         The action of updating all or part of the
 674         <a href="#def_working_tree">working tree</a> with a <a href="#def_tree_object">tree object</a>
 675         or <a href="#def_blob_object">blob</a> from the
 676         <a href="#def_object_database">object database</a>, and updating the
 677         <a href="#def_index">index</a> and <a href="#def_HEAD">HEAD</a> if the whole working tree has
 678         been pointed at a new <a href="#def_branch">branch</a>.
 679 </p>
 680 </dd>
 681 <dt class="hdlist1">
 682 <a id="def_cherry-picking"></a>cherry-picking
 683 </dt>
 684 <dd>
 685 <p>
 686         In <a href="#def_SCM">SCM</a> jargon, "cherry pick" means to choose a subset of
 687         changes out of a series of changes (typically commits) and record them
 688         as a new series of changes on top of a different codebase. In GIT, this is
 689         performed by the "git cherry-pick" command to extract the change introduced
 690         by an existing <a href="#def_commit">commit</a> and to record it based on the tip
 691         of the current <a href="#def_branch">branch</a> as a new commit.
 692 </p>
 693 </dd>
 694 <dt class="hdlist1">
 695 <a id="def_clean"></a>clean
 696 </dt>
 697 <dd>
 698 <p>
 699         A <a href="#def_working_tree">working tree</a> is clean, if it
 700         corresponds to the <a href="#def_revision">revision</a> referenced by the current
 701         <a href="#def_head">head</a>. Also see "<a href="#def_dirty">dirty</a>".
 702 </p>
 703 </dd>
 704 <dt class="hdlist1">
 705 <a id="def_commit"></a>commit
 706 </dt>
 707 <dd>
 708 <p>
 709         As a noun: A single point in the
 710         git history; the entire history of a project is represented as a
 711         set of interrelated commits.  The word "commit" is often
 712         used by git in the same places other revision control systems
 713         use the words "revision" or "version".  Also used as a short
 714         hand for <a href="#def_commit_object">commit object</a>.
 715 </p>
 716 <div class="paragraph"><p>As a verb: The action of storing a new snapshot of the project&#8217;s
 717 state in the git history, by creating a new commit representing the current
 718 state of the <a href="#def_index">index</a> and advancing <a href="#def_HEAD">HEAD</a>
 719 to point at the new commit.</p></div>
 720 </dd>
 721 <dt class="hdlist1">
 722 <a id="def_commit_object"></a>commit object
 723 </dt>
 724 <dd>
 725 <p>
 726         An <a href="#def_object">object</a> which contains the information about a
 727         particular <a href="#def_revision">revision</a>, such as <a href="#def_parent">parents</a>, committer,
 728         author, date and the <a href="#def_tree_object">tree object</a> which corresponds
 729         to the top <a href="#def_directory">directory</a> of the stored
 730         revision.
 731 </p>
 732 </dd>
 733 <dt class="hdlist1">
 734 <a id="def_core_git"></a>core git
 735 </dt>
 736 <dd>
 737 <p>
 738         Fundamental data structures and utilities of git. Exposes only limited
 739         source code management tools.
 740 </p>
 741 </dd>
 742 <dt class="hdlist1">
 743 <a id="def_DAG"></a>DAG
 744 </dt>
 745 <dd>
 746 <p>
 747         Directed acyclic graph. The <a href="#def_commit_object">commit objects</a> form a
 748         directed acyclic graph, because they have parents (directed), and the
 749         graph of commit objects is acyclic (there is no <a href="#def_chain">chain</a>
 750         which begins and ends with the same <a href="#def_object">object</a>).
 751 </p>
 752 </dd>
 753 <dt class="hdlist1">
 754 <a id="def_dangling_object"></a>dangling object
 755 </dt>
 756 <dd>
 757 <p>
 758         An <a href="#def_unreachable_object">unreachable object</a> which is not
 759         <a href="#def_reachable">reachable</a> even from other unreachable objects; a
 760         dangling object has no references to it from any
 761         reference or <a href="#def_object">object</a> in the <a href="#def_repository">repository</a>.
 762 </p>
 763 </dd>
 764 <dt class="hdlist1">
 765 <a id="def_detached_HEAD"></a>detached HEAD
 766 </dt>
 767 <dd>
 768 <p>
 769         Normally the <a href="#def_HEAD">HEAD</a> stores the name of a
 770         <a href="#def_branch">branch</a>.  However, git also allows you to <a href="#def_checkout">check out</a>
 771         an arbitrary <a href="#def_commit">commit</a> that isn&#8217;t necessarily the tip of any
 772         particular branch.  In this case HEAD is said to be "detached".
 773 </p>
 774 </dd>
 775 <dt class="hdlist1">
 776 <a id="def_dircache"></a>dircache
 777 </dt>
 778 <dd>
 779 <p>
 780         You are <strong>waaaaay</strong> behind. See <a href="#def_index">index</a>.
 781 </p>
 782 </dd>
 783 <dt class="hdlist1">
 784 <a id="def_directory"></a>directory
 785 </dt>
 786 <dd>
 787 <p>
 788         The list you get with "ls" :-)
 789 </p>
 790 </dd>
 791 <dt class="hdlist1">
 792 <a id="def_dirty"></a>dirty
 793 </dt>
 794 <dd>
 795 <p>
 796         A <a href="#def_working_tree">working tree</a> is said to be "dirty" if
 797         it contains modifications which have not been <a href="#def_commit">committed</a> to the current
 798         <a href="#def_branch">branch</a>.
 799 </p>
 800 </dd>
 801 <dt class="hdlist1">
 802 <a id="def_ent"></a>ent
 803 </dt>
 804 <dd>
 805 <p>
 806         Favorite synonym to "<a href="#def_tree-ish">tree-ish</a>" by some total geeks. See
 807         <tt>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ent_(Middle-earth)</tt> for an in-depth
 808         explanation. Avoid this term, not to confuse people.
 809 </p>
 810 </dd>
 811 <dt class="hdlist1">
 812 <a id="def_evil_merge"></a>evil merge
 813 </dt>
 814 <dd>
 815 <p>
 816         An evil merge is a <a href="#def_merge">merge</a> that introduces changes that
 817         do not appear in any <a href="#def_parent">parent</a>.
 818 </p>
 819 </dd>
 820 <dt class="hdlist1">
 821 <a id="def_fast_forward"></a>fast-forward
 822 </dt>
 823 <dd>
 824 <p>
 825         A fast-forward is a special type of <a href="#def_merge">merge</a> where you have a
 826         <a href="#def_revision">revision</a> and you are "merging" another
 827         <a href="#def_branch">branch</a>'s changes that happen to be a descendant of what
 828         you have. In such these cases, you do not make a new <a href="#def_merge">merge</a>
 829         <a href="#def_commit">commit</a> but instead just update to his
 830         revision. This will happen frequently on a
 831         <a href="#def_remote_tracking_branch">remote-tracking branch</a> of a remote
 832         <a href="#def_repository">repository</a>.
 833 </p>
 834 </dd>
 835 <dt class="hdlist1">
 836 <a id="def_fetch"></a>fetch
 837 </dt>
 838 <dd>
 839 <p>
 840         Fetching a <a href="#def_branch">branch</a> means to get the
 841         branch&#8217;s <a href="#def_head_ref">head ref</a> from a remote
 842         <a href="#def_repository">repository</a>, to find out which objects are
 843         missing from the local <a href="#def_object_database">object database</a>,
 844         and to get them, too.  See also <a href="git-fetch.html">git-fetch(1)</a>.
 845 </p>
 846 </dd>
 847 <dt class="hdlist1">
 848 <a id="def_file_system"></a>file system
 849 </dt>
 850 <dd>
 851 <p>
 852         Linus Torvalds originally designed git to be a user space file system,
 853         i.e. the infrastructure to hold files and directories. That ensured the
 854         efficiency and speed of git.
 855 </p>
 856 </dd>
 857 <dt class="hdlist1">
 858 <a id="def_git_archive"></a>git archive
 859 </dt>
 860 <dd>
 861 <p>
 862         Synonym for <a href="#def_repository">repository</a> (for arch people).
 863 </p>
 864 </dd>
 865 <dt class="hdlist1">
 866 <a id="def_grafts"></a>grafts
 867 </dt>
 868 <dd>
 869 <p>
 870         Grafts enables two otherwise different lines of development to be joined
 871         together by recording fake ancestry information for commits. This way
 872         you can make git pretend the set of <a href="#def_parent">parents</a> a <a href="#def_commit">commit</a> has
 873         is different from what was recorded when the commit was
 874         created. Configured via the <tt>.git/info/grafts</tt> file.
 875 </p>
 876 </dd>
 877 <dt class="hdlist1">
 878 <a id="def_hash"></a>hash
 879 </dt>
 880 <dd>
 881 <p>
 882         In git&#8217;s context, synonym to <a href="#def_object_name">object name</a>.
 883 </p>
 884 </dd>
 885 <dt class="hdlist1">
 886 <a id="def_head"></a>head
 887 </dt>
 888 <dd>
 889 <p>
 890         A <a href="#def_ref">named reference</a> to the <a href="#def_commit">commit</a> at the tip of a
 891         <a href="#def_branch">branch</a>.  Heads are stored in a file in
 892         <tt>$GIT_DIR/refs/heads/</tt> directory, except when using packed refs. (See
 893         <a href="git-pack-refs.html">git-pack-refs(1)</a>.)
 894 </p>
 895 </dd>
 896 <dt class="hdlist1">
 897 <a id="def_HEAD"></a>HEAD
 898 </dt>
 899 <dd>
 900 <p>
 901         The current <a href="#def_branch">branch</a>.  In more detail: Your <a href="#def_working_tree">working tree</a> is normally derived from the state of the tree
 902         referred to by HEAD.  HEAD is a reference to one of the
 903         <a href="#def_head">heads</a> in your repository, except when using a
 904         <a href="#def_detached_HEAD">detached HEAD</a>, in which case it directly
 905         references an arbitrary commit.
 906 </p>
 907 </dd>
 908 <dt class="hdlist1">
 909 <a id="def_head_ref"></a>head ref
 910 </dt>
 911 <dd>
 912 <p>
 913         A synonym for <a href="#def_head">head</a>.
 914 </p>
 915 </dd>
 916 <dt class="hdlist1">
 917 <a id="def_hook"></a>hook
 918 </dt>
 919 <dd>
 920 <p>
 921         During the normal execution of several git commands, call-outs are made
 922         to optional scripts that allow a developer to add functionality or
 923         checking. Typically, the hooks allow for a command to be pre-verified
 924         and potentially aborted, and allow for a post-notification after the
 925         operation is done. The hook scripts are found in the
 926         <tt>$GIT_DIR/hooks/</tt> directory, and are enabled by simply
 927         removing the <tt>.sample</tt> suffix from the filename. In earlier versions
 928         of git you had to make them executable.
 929 </p>
 930 </dd>
 931 <dt class="hdlist1">
 932 <a id="def_index"></a>index
 933 </dt>
 934 <dd>
 935 <p>
 936         A collection of files with stat information, whose contents are stored
 937         as objects. The index is a stored version of your
 938         <a href="#def_working_tree">working tree</a>. Truth be told, it can also contain a second, and even
 939         a third version of a working tree, which are used
 940         when <a href="#def_merge">merging</a>.
 941 </p>
 942 </dd>
 943 <dt class="hdlist1">
 944 <a id="def_index_entry"></a>index entry
 945 </dt>
 946 <dd>
 947 <p>
 948         The information regarding a particular file, stored in the
 949         <a href="#def_index">index</a>. An index entry can be unmerged, if a
 950         <a href="#def_merge">merge</a> was started, but not yet finished (i.e. if
 951         the index contains multiple versions of that file).
 952 </p>
 953 </dd>
 954 <dt class="hdlist1">
 955 <a id="def_master"></a>master
 956 </dt>
 957 <dd>
 958 <p>
 959         The default development <a href="#def_branch">branch</a>. Whenever you
 960         create a git <a href="#def_repository">repository</a>, a branch named
 961         "master" is created, and becomes the active branch. In most
 962         cases, this contains the local development, though that is
 963         purely by convention and is not required.
 964 </p>
 965 </dd>
 966 <dt class="hdlist1">
 967 <a id="def_merge"></a>merge
 968 </dt>
 969 <dd>
 970 <p>
 971         As a verb: To bring the contents of another
 972         <a href="#def_branch">branch</a> (possibly from an external
 973         <a href="#def_repository">repository</a>) into the current branch.  In the
 974         case where the merged-in branch is from a different repository,
 975         this is done by first <a href="#def_fetch">fetching</a> the remote branch
 976         and then merging the result into the current branch.  This
 977         combination of fetch and merge operations is called a
 978         <a href="#def_pull">pull</a>.  Merging is performed by an automatic process
 979         that identifies changes made since the branches diverged, and
 980         then applies all those changes together.  In cases where changes
 981         conflict, manual intervention may be required to complete the
 982         merge.
 983 </p>
 984 <div class="paragraph"><p>As a noun: unless it is a <a href="#def_fast_forward">fast-forward</a>, a
 985 successful merge results in the creation of a new <a href="#def_commit">commit</a>
 986 representing the result of the merge, and having as
 987 <a href="#def_parent">parents</a> the tips of the merged <a href="#def_branch">branches</a>.
 988 This commit is referred to as a "merge commit", or sometimes just a
 989 "merge".</p></div>
 990 </dd>
 991 <dt class="hdlist1">
 992 <a id="def_object"></a>object
 993 </dt>
 994 <dd>
 995 <p>
 996         The unit of storage in git. It is uniquely identified by the
 997         <a href="#def_SHA1">SHA1</a> of its contents. Consequently, an
 998         object can not be changed.
 999 </p>
1000 </dd>
1001 <dt class="hdlist1">
1002 <a id="def_object_database"></a>object database
1003 </dt>
1004 <dd>
1005 <p>
1006         Stores a set of "objects", and an individual <a href="#def_object">object</a> is
1007         identified by its <a href="#def_object_name">object name</a>. The objects usually
1008         live in <tt>$GIT_DIR/objects/</tt>.
1009 </p>
1010 </dd>
1011 <dt class="hdlist1">
1012 <a id="def_object_identifier"></a>object identifier
1013 </dt>
1014 <dd>
1015 <p>
1016         Synonym for <a href="#def_object_name">object name</a>.
1017 </p>
1018 </dd>
1019 <dt class="hdlist1">
1020 <a id="def_object_name"></a>object name
1021 </dt>
1022 <dd>
1023 <p>
1024         The unique identifier of an <a href="#def_object">object</a>. The <a href="#def_hash">hash</a>
1025         of the object&#8217;s contents using the Secure Hash Algorithm
1026         1 and usually represented by the 40 character hexadecimal encoding of
1027         the <a href="#def_hash">hash</a> of the object.
1028 </p>
1029 </dd>
1030 <dt class="hdlist1">
1031 <a id="def_object_type"></a>object type
1032 </dt>
1033 <dd>
1034 <p>
1035         One of the identifiers "<a href="#def_commit_object">commit</a>",
1036         "<a href="#def_tree_object">tree</a>", "<a href="#def_tag_object">tag</a>" or
1037         "<a href="#def_blob_object">blob</a>" describing the type of an
1038         <a href="#def_object">object</a>.
1039 </p>
1040 </dd>
1041 <dt class="hdlist1">
1042 <a id="def_octopus"></a>octopus
1043 </dt>
1044 <dd>
1045 <p>
1046         To <a href="#def_merge">merge</a> more than two <a href="#def_branch">branches</a>. Also denotes an
1047         intelligent predator.
1048 </p>
1049 </dd>
1050 <dt class="hdlist1">
1051 <a id="def_origin"></a>origin
1052 </dt>
1053 <dd>
1054 <p>
1055         The default upstream <a href="#def_repository">repository</a>. Most projects have
1056         at least one upstream project which they track. By default
1057         <em>origin</em> is used for that purpose. New upstream updates
1058         will be fetched into remote <a href="#def_remote_tracking_branch">remote-tracking branches</a> named
1059         origin/name-of-upstream-branch, which you can see using
1060         <tt>git branch -r</tt>.
1061 </p>
1062 </dd>
1063 <dt class="hdlist1">
1064 <a id="def_pack"></a>pack
1065 </dt>
1066 <dd>
1067 <p>
1068         A set of objects which have been compressed into one file (to save space
1069         or to transmit them efficiently).
1070 </p>
1071 </dd>
1072 <dt class="hdlist1">
1073 <a id="def_pack_index"></a>pack index
1074 </dt>
1075 <dd>
1076 <p>
1077         The list of identifiers, and other information, of the objects in a
1078         <a href="#def_pack">pack</a>, to assist in efficiently accessing the contents of a
1079         pack.
1080 </p>
1081 </dd>
1082 <dt class="hdlist1">
1083 <a id="def_pathspec"></a>pathspec
1084 </dt>
1085 <dd>
1086 <p>
1087        Pattern used to specify paths.
1088 </p>
1089 <div class="paragraph"><p>Pathspecs are used on the command line of "git ls-files", "git
1090 ls-tree", "git add", "git grep", "git diff", "git checkout",
1091 and many other commands to
1092 limit the scope of operations to some subset of the tree or
1093 worktree.  See the documentation of each command for whether
1094 paths are relative to the current directory or toplevel.  The
1095 pathspec syntax is as follows:</p></div>
1096 <div class="ulist"><ul>
1097 <li>
1098 <p>
1099 any path matches itself
1100 </p>
1101 </li>
1102 <li>
1103 <p>
1104 the pathspec up to the last slash represents a
1105   directory prefix.  The scope of that pathspec is
1106   limited to that subtree.
1107 </p>
1108 </li>
1109 <li>
1110 <p>
1111 the rest of the pathspec is a pattern for the remainder
1112   of the pathname.  Paths relative to the directory
1113   prefix will be matched against that pattern using fnmatch(3);
1114   in particular, <em>*</em> and <em>?</em> <em>can</em> match directory separators.
1115 </p>
1116 <div class="paragraph"><p>For example, Documentation/*.jpg will match all .jpg files
1117 in the Documentation subtree,
1118 including Documentation/chapter_1/figure_1.jpg.</p></div>
1119 </li>
1120 </ul></div>
1121 <div class="paragraph"><p>A pathspec that begins with a colon <tt>:</tt> has special meaning.  In the
1122 short form, the leading colon <tt>:</tt> is followed by zero or more "magic
1123 signature" letters (which optionally is terminated by another colon <tt>:</tt>),
1124 and the remainder is the pattern to match against the path. The optional
1125 colon that terminates the "magic signature" can be omitted if the pattern
1126 begins with a character that cannot be a "magic signature" and is not a
1127 colon.</p></div>
1128 <div class="paragraph"><p>In the long form, the leading colon <tt>:</tt> is followed by a open
1129 parenthesis <tt>(</tt>, a comma-separated list of zero or more "magic words",
1130 and a close parentheses <tt>)</tt>, and the remainder is the pattern to match
1131 against the path.</p></div>
1132 <div class="paragraph"><p>The "magic signature" consists of an ASCII symbol that is not
1133 alphanumeric.</p></div>
1134 <div class="dlist"><dl>
1135 <dt class="hdlist1">
1136 top <tt>/</tt>
1137 </dt>
1138 <dd>
1139 <p>
1140         The magic word <tt>top</tt> (mnemonic: <tt>/</tt>) makes the pattern match
1141         from the root of the working tree, even when you are running
1142         the command from inside a subdirectory.
1143 </p>
1144 </dd>
1145 </dl></div>
1146 <div class="paragraph"><p>Currently only the slash <tt>/</tt> is recognized as the "magic signature",
1147 but it is envisioned that we will support more types of magic in later
1148 versions of git.</p></div>
1149 <div class="paragraph"><p>A pathspec with only a colon means "there is no pathspec". This form
1150 should not be combined with other pathspec.</p></div>
1151 </dd>
1152 <dt class="hdlist1">
1153 <a id="def_parent"></a>parent
1154 </dt>
1155 <dd>
1156 <p>
1157         A <a href="#def_commit_object">commit object</a> contains a (possibly empty) list
1158         of the logical predecessor(s) in the line of development, i.e. its
1159         parents.
1160 </p>
1161 </dd>
1162 <dt class="hdlist1">
1163 <a id="def_pickaxe"></a>pickaxe
1164 </dt>
1165 <dd>
1166 <p>
1167         The term <a href="#def_pickaxe">pickaxe</a> refers to an option to the diffcore
1168         routines that help select changes that add or delete a given text
1169         string. With the <tt>--pickaxe-all</tt> option, it can be used to view the full
1170         <a href="#def_changeset">changeset</a> that introduced or removed, say, a
1171         particular line of text. See <a href="git-diff.html">git-diff(1)</a>.
1172 </p>
1173 </dd>
1174 <dt class="hdlist1">
1175 <a id="def_plumbing"></a>plumbing
1176 </dt>
1177 <dd>
1178 <p>
1179         Cute name for <a href="#def_core_git">core git</a>.
1180 </p>
1181 </dd>
1182 <dt class="hdlist1">
1183 <a id="def_porcelain"></a>porcelain
1184 </dt>
1185 <dd>
1186 <p>
1187         Cute name for programs and program suites depending on
1188         <a href="#def_core_git">core git</a>, presenting a high level access to
1189         core git. Porcelains expose more of a <a href="#def_SCM">SCM</a>
1190         interface than the <a href="#def_plumbing">plumbing</a>.
1191 </p>
1192 </dd>
1193 <dt class="hdlist1">
1194 <a id="def_pull"></a>pull
1195 </dt>
1196 <dd>
1197 <p>
1198         Pulling a <a href="#def_branch">branch</a> means to <a href="#def_fetch">fetch</a> it and
1199         <a href="#def_merge">merge</a> it.  See also <a href="git-pull.html">git-pull(1)</a>.
1200 </p>
1201 </dd>
1202 <dt class="hdlist1">
1203 <a id="def_push"></a>push
1204 </dt>
1205 <dd>
1206 <p>
1207         Pushing a <a href="#def_branch">branch</a> means to get the branch&#8217;s
1208         <a href="#def_head_ref">head ref</a> from a remote <a href="#def_repository">repository</a>,
1209         find out if it is a direct ancestor to the branch&#8217;s local
1210         head ref, and in that case, putting all
1211         objects, which are <a href="#def_reachable">reachable</a> from the local
1212         head ref, and which are missing from the remote
1213         repository, into the remote
1214         <a href="#def_object_database">object database</a>, and updating the remote
1215         head ref. If the remote <a href="#def_head">head</a> is not an
1216         ancestor to the local head, the push fails.
1217 </p>
1218 </dd>
1219 <dt class="hdlist1">
1220 <a id="def_reachable"></a>reachable
1221 </dt>
1222 <dd>
1223 <p>
1224         All of the ancestors of a given <a href="#def_commit">commit</a> are said to be
1225         "reachable" from that commit. More
1226         generally, one <a href="#def_object">object</a> is reachable from
1227         another if we can reach the one from the other by a <a href="#def_chain">chain</a>
1228         that follows <a href="#def_tag">tags</a> to whatever they tag,
1229         <a href="#def_commit_object">commits</a> to their parents or trees, and
1230         <a href="#def_tree_object">trees</a> to the trees or <a href="#def_blob_object">blobs</a>
1231         that they contain.
1232 </p>
1233 </dd>
1234 <dt class="hdlist1">
1235 <a id="def_rebase"></a>rebase
1236 </dt>
1237 <dd>
1238 <p>
1239         To reapply a series of changes from a <a href="#def_branch">branch</a> to a
1240         different base, and reset the <a href="#def_head">head</a> of that branch
1241         to the result.
1242 </p>
1243 </dd>
1244 <dt class="hdlist1">
1245 <a id="def_ref"></a>ref
1246 </dt>
1247 <dd>
1248 <p>
1249         A 40-byte hex representation of a <a href="#def_SHA1">SHA1</a> or a name that
1250         denotes a particular <a href="#def_object">object</a>. They may be stored in
1251         a file under <tt>$GIT_DIR/refs/</tt> directory, or
1252         in the <tt>$GIT_DIR/packed-refs</tt> file.
1253 </p>
1254 </dd>
1255 <dt class="hdlist1">
1256 <a id="def_reflog"></a>reflog
1257 </dt>
1258 <dd>
1259 <p>
1260         A reflog shows the local "history" of a ref.  In other words,
1261         it can tell you what the 3rd last revision in <em>this</em> repository
1262         was, and what was the current state in <em>this</em> repository,
1263         yesterday 9:14pm.  See <a href="git-reflog.html">git-reflog(1)</a> for details.
1264 </p>
1265 </dd>
1266 <dt class="hdlist1">
1267 <a id="def_refspec"></a>refspec
1268 </dt>
1269 <dd>
1270 <p>
1271         A "refspec" is used by <a href="#def_fetch">fetch</a> and
1272         <a href="#def_push">push</a> to describe the mapping between remote
1273         <a href="#def_ref">ref</a> and local ref. They are combined with a colon in
1274         the format &lt;src&gt;:&lt;dst&gt;, preceded by an optional plus sign, +.
1275         For example: <tt>git fetch $URL
1276         refs/heads/master:refs/heads/origin</tt> means "grab the master
1277         <a href="#def_branch">branch</a> <a href="#def_head">head</a> from the $URL and store
1278         it as my origin branch head". And <tt>git push
1279         $URL refs/heads/master:refs/heads/to-upstream</tt> means "publish my
1280         master branch head as to-upstream branch at $URL". See also
1281         <a href="git-push.html">git-push(1)</a>.
1282 </p>
1283 </dd>
1284 <dt class="hdlist1">
1285 <a id="def_remote_tracking_branch"></a>remote-tracking branch
1286 </dt>
1287 <dd>
1288 <p>
1289         A regular git <a href="#def_branch">branch</a> that is used to follow changes from
1290         another <a href="#def_repository">repository</a>. A remote-tracking
1291         branch should not contain direct modifications or have local commits
1292         made to it. A remote-tracking branch can usually be
1293         identified as the right-hand-side <a href="#def_ref">ref</a> in a Pull:
1294         <a href="#def_refspec">refspec</a>.
1295 </p>
1296 </dd>
1297 <dt class="hdlist1">
1298 <a id="def_repository"></a>repository
1299 </dt>
1300 <dd>
1301 <p>
1302         A collection of <a href="#def_ref">refs</a> together with an
1303         <a href="#def_object_database">object database</a> containing all objects
1304         which are <a href="#def_reachable">reachable</a> from the refs, possibly
1305         accompanied by meta data from one or more <a href="#def_porcelain">porcelains</a>. A
1306         repository can share an object database with other repositories
1307         via <a href="#def_alternate_object_database">alternates mechanism</a>.
1308 </p>
1309 </dd>
1310 <dt class="hdlist1">
1311 <a id="def_resolve"></a>resolve
1312 </dt>
1313 <dd>
1314 <p>
1315         The action of fixing up manually what a failed automatic
1316         <a href="#def_merge">merge</a> left behind.
1317 </p>
1318 </dd>
1319 <dt class="hdlist1">
1320 <a id="def_revision"></a>revision
1321 </dt>
1322 <dd>
1323 <p>
1324         A particular state of files and directories which was stored in the
1325         <a href="#def_object_database">object database</a>. It is referenced by a
1326         <a href="#def_commit_object">commit object</a>.
1327 </p>
1328 </dd>
1329 <dt class="hdlist1">
1330 <a id="def_rewind"></a>rewind
1331 </dt>
1332 <dd>
1333 <p>
1334         To throw away part of the development, i.e. to assign the
1335         <a href="#def_head">head</a> to an earlier <a href="#def_revision">revision</a>.
1336 </p>
1337 </dd>
1338 <dt class="hdlist1">
1339 <a id="def_SCM"></a>SCM
1340 </dt>
1341 <dd>
1342 <p>
1343         Source code management (tool).
1344 </p>
1345 </dd>
1346 <dt class="hdlist1">
1347 <a id="def_SHA1"></a>SHA1
1348 </dt>
1349 <dd>
1350 <p>
1351         Synonym for <a href="#def_object_name">object name</a>.
1352 </p>
1353 </dd>
1354 <dt class="hdlist1">
1355 <a id="def_shallow_repository"></a>shallow repository
1356 </dt>
1357 <dd>
1358 <p>
1359         A shallow <a href="#def_repository">repository</a> has an incomplete
1360         history some of whose <a href="#def_commit">commits</a> have <a href="#def_parent">parents</a> cauterized away (in other
1361         words, git is told to pretend that these commits do not have the
1362         parents, even though they are recorded in the <a href="#def_commit_object">commit         object</a>). This is sometimes useful when you are interested only in the
1363         recent history of a project even though the real history recorded in the
1364         upstream is much larger. A shallow repository
1365         is created by giving the <tt>--depth</tt> option to <a href="git-clone.html">git-clone(1)</a>, and
1366         its history can be later deepened with <a href="git-fetch.html">git-fetch(1)</a>.
1367 </p>
1368 </dd>
1369 <dt class="hdlist1">
1370 <a id="def_symref"></a>symref
1371 </dt>
1372 <dd>
1373 <p>
1374         Symbolic reference: instead of containing the <a href="#def_SHA1">SHA1</a>
1375         id itself, it is of the format <em>ref: refs/some/thing</em> and when
1376         referenced, it recursively dereferences to this reference.
1377         <em><a href="#def_HEAD">HEAD</a></em> is a prime example of a symref. Symbolic
1378         references are manipulated with the <a href="git-symbolic-ref.html">git-symbolic-ref(1)</a>
1379         command.
1380 </p>
1381 </dd>
1382 <dt class="hdlist1">
1383 <a id="def_tag"></a>tag
1384 </dt>
1385 <dd>
1386 <p>
1387         A <a href="#def_ref">ref</a> under <tt>refs/tags/</tt> namespace that points to an
1388         object of an arbitrary type (typically a tag points to either a
1389         <a href="#def_tag_object">tag</a> or a <a href="#def_commit_object">commit object</a>).
1390         In contrast to a <a href="#def_head">head</a>, a tag is not updated by
1391         the <tt>commit</tt> command. A git tag has nothing to do with a Lisp
1392         tag (which would be called an <a href="#def_object_type">object type</a>
1393         in git&#8217;s context). A tag is most typically used to mark a particular
1394         point in the commit ancestry <a href="#def_chain">chain</a>.
1395 </p>
1396 </dd>
1397 <dt class="hdlist1">
1398 <a id="def_tag_object"></a>tag object
1399 </dt>
1400 <dd>
1401 <p>
1402         An <a href="#def_object">object</a> containing a <a href="#def_ref">ref</a> pointing to
1403         another object, which can contain a message just like a
1404         <a href="#def_commit_object">commit object</a>. It can also contain a (PGP)
1405         signature, in which case it is called a "signed tag object".
1406 </p>
1407 </dd>
1408 <dt class="hdlist1">
1409 <a id="def_topic_branch"></a>topic branch
1410 </dt>
1411 <dd>
1412 <p>
1413         A regular git <a href="#def_branch">branch</a> that is used by a developer to
1414         identify a conceptual line of development. Since branches are very easy
1415         and inexpensive, it is often desirable to have several small branches
1416         that each contain very well defined concepts or small incremental yet
1417         related changes.
1418 </p>
1419 </dd>
1420 <dt class="hdlist1">
1421 <a id="def_tree"></a>tree
1422 </dt>
1423 <dd>
1424 <p>
1425         Either a <a href="#def_working_tree">working tree</a>, or a <a href="#def_tree_object">tree         object</a> together with the dependent <a href="#def_blob_object">blob</a> and tree objects
1426         (i.e. a stored representation of a working tree).
1427 </p>
1428 </dd>
1429 <dt class="hdlist1">
1430 <a id="def_tree_object"></a>tree object
1431 </dt>
1432 <dd>
1433 <p>
1434         An <a href="#def_object">object</a> containing a list of file names and modes along
1435         with refs to the associated blob and/or tree objects. A
1436         <a href="#def_tree">tree</a> is equivalent to a <a href="#def_directory">directory</a>.
1437 </p>
1438 </dd>
1439 <dt class="hdlist1">
1440 <a id="def_tree-ish"></a>tree-ish
1441 </dt>
1442 <dd>
1443 <p>
1444         A <a href="#def_ref">ref</a> pointing to either a <a href="#def_commit_object">commit         object</a>, a <a href="#def_tree_object">tree object</a>, or a <a href="#def_tag_object">tag         object</a> pointing to a tag or commit or tree object.
1445 </p>
1446 </dd>
1447 <dt class="hdlist1">
1448 <a id="def_unmerged_index"></a>unmerged index
1449 </dt>
1450 <dd>
1451 <p>
1452         An <a href="#def_index">index</a> which contains unmerged
1453         <a href="#def_index_entry">index entries</a>.
1454 </p>
1455 </dd>
1456 <dt class="hdlist1">
1457 <a id="def_unreachable_object"></a>unreachable object
1458 </dt>
1459 <dd>
1460 <p>
1461         An <a href="#def_object">object</a> which is not <a href="#def_reachable">reachable</a> from a
1462         <a href="#def_branch">branch</a>, <a href="#def_tag">tag</a>, or any other reference.
1463 </p>
1464 </dd>
1465 <dt class="hdlist1">
1466 <a id="def_upstream_branch"></a>upstream branch
1467 </dt>
1468 <dd>
1469 <p>
1470         The default <a href="#def_branch">branch</a> that is merged into the branch in
1471         question (or the branch in question is rebased onto). It is configured
1472         via branch.&lt;name&gt;.remote and branch.&lt;name&gt;.merge. If the upstream branch
1473         of <em>A</em> is <em>origin/B</em> sometimes we say "<em>A</em> is tracking <em>origin/B</em>".
1474 </p>
1475 </dd>
1476 <dt class="hdlist1">
1477 <a id="def_working_tree"></a>working tree
1478 </dt>
1479 <dd>
1480 <p>
1481         The tree of actual checked out files.  The working tree normally
1482         contains the contents of the <a href="#def_HEAD">HEAD</a> commit&#8217;s tree,
1483         plus any local changes that you have made but not yet committed.
1484 </p>
1485 </dd>
1486 </dl></div>
1487 </div>
1488 <h2 id="_see_also">SEE ALSO</h2>
1489 <div class="sectionbody">
1490 <div class="paragraph"><p><a href="gittutorial.html">gittutorial(7)</a>,
1491 <a href="gittutorial-2.html">gittutorial-2(7)</a>,
1492 <a href="gitcvs-migration.html">gitcvs-migration(7)</a>,
1493 <a href="everyday.html">Everyday git</a>,
1494 <a href="user-manual.html">The Git User&#8217;s Manual</a></p></div>
1495 </div>
1496 <h2 id="_git">GIT</h2>
1497 <div class="sectionbody">
1498 <div class="paragraph"><p>Part of the <a href="git.html">git(1)</a> suite.</p></div>
1499 </div>
1500 </div>
1501 <div id="footnotes"><hr /></div>
1502 <div id="footer">
1503 <div id="footer-text">
1504 Last updated 2011-09-21 23:01:14 PDT
1505 </div>
1506 </div>
1507 </body>
1508 </html>