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 'git-am'.
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 The first rule takes precedence in the case of a single <commit>. To
43 apply the second rule, i.e., format everything since the beginning of
44 history up until <commit>, use the '\--root' option: "git format-patch
45 \--root <commit>". If you want to format only <commit> itself, you
46 can do this with "git format-patch -1 <commit>".
48 By default, each output file is numbered sequentially from 1, and uses the
49 first line of the commit message (massaged for pathname safety) as
50 the filename. With the --numbered-files option, the output file names
51 will only be numbers, without the first line of the commit appended.
52 The names of the output files are printed to standard
53 output, unless the --stdout option is specified.
55 If -o is specified, output files are created in <dir>. Otherwise
56 they are created in the current working directory.
58 By default, the subject of a single patch is "[PATCH] First Line" and
59 the subject when multiple patches are output is "[PATCH n/m] First
60 Line". To force 1/1 to be added for a single patch, use -n. To omit
61 patch numbers from the subject, use -N
63 If given --thread, 'git-format-patch' will generate In-Reply-To and
64 References headers to make the second and subsequent patch mails appear
65 as replies to the first mail; this also generates a Message-Id header to
71 include::diff-options.txt[]
74 Limits the number of patches to prepare.
77 --output-directory <dir>::
78 Use <dir> to store the resulting files, instead of the
79 current working directory.
83 Name output in '[PATCH n/m]' format, even with a single patch.
87 Name output in '[PATCH]' format.
90 Start numbering the patches at <n> instead of 1.
93 Output file names will be a simple number sequence
94 without the default first line of the commit appended.
98 Do not strip/add '[PATCH]' from the first line of the
103 Add `Signed-off-by:` line to the commit message, using
104 the committer identity of yourself.
107 Print all commits to the standard output in mbox format,
108 instead of creating a file for each one.
110 --attach[=<boundary>]::
111 Create multipart/mixed attachment, the first part of
112 which is the commit message and the patch itself in the
113 second part, with "Content-Disposition: attachment".
115 --inline[=<boundary>]::
116 Create multipart/mixed attachment, the first part of
117 which is the commit message and the patch itself in the
118 second part, with "Content-Disposition: inline".
121 Add In-Reply-To and References headers to make the second and
122 subsequent mails appear as replies to the first. Also generates
123 the Message-Id header to reference.
125 --in-reply-to=Message-Id::
126 Make the first mail (or all the mails with --no-thread) appear as a
127 reply to the given Message-Id, which avoids breaking threads to
128 provide a new patch series.
130 --ignore-if-in-upstream::
131 Do not include a patch that matches a commit in
132 <until>..<since>. This will examine all patches reachable
133 from <since> but not from <until> and compare them with the
134 patches being generated, and any patch that matches is
137 --subject-prefix=<Subject-Prefix>::
138 Instead of the standard '[PATCH]' prefix in the subject
139 line, instead use '[<Subject-Prefix>]'. This
140 allows for useful naming of a patch series, and can be
141 combined with the --numbered option.
144 Add a "Cc:" header to the email headers. This is in addition
145 to any configured headers, and may be used multiple times.
148 In addition to the patches, generate a cover letter file
149 containing the shortlog and the overall diffstat. You can
150 fill in a description in the file before sending it out.
153 Instead of using `.patch` as the suffix for generated
154 filenames, use specified suffix. A common alternative is
157 Note that you would need to include the leading dot `.` if you
158 want a filename like `0001-description-of-my-change.patch`, and
159 the first letter does not have to be a dot. Leaving it empty would
163 Don't output contents of changes in binary files, just take note
164 that they differ. Note that this disable the patch to be properly
165 applied. By default the contents of changes in those files are
166 encoded in the patch.
169 Treat the revision argument as a <revision range>, even if it
170 is just a single commit (that would normally be treated as a
171 <since>). Note that root commits included in the specified
172 range are always formatted as creation patches, independently
177 You can specify extra mail header lines to be added to each message
178 in the repository configuration, new defaults for the subject prefix
179 and file suffix, and number patches when outputting more than one.
183 headers = "Organization: git-foo\n"
184 subjectprefix = CHANGE
194 * Extract commits between revisions R1 and R2, and apply them on top of
195 the current branch using 'git-am' to cherry-pick them:
198 $ git format-patch -k --stdout R1..R2 | git am -3 -k
201 * Extract all commits which are in the current branch but not in the
205 $ git format-patch origin
208 For each commit a separate file is created in the current directory.
210 * Extract all commits that lead to 'origin' since the inception of the
214 $ git format-patch --root origin
217 * The same as the previous one:
220 $ git format-patch -M -B origin
223 Additionally, it detects and handles renames and complete rewrites
224 intelligently to produce a renaming patch. A renaming patch reduces
225 the amount of text output, and generally makes it easier to review it.
226 Note that the "patch" program does not understand renaming patches, so
227 use it only when you know the recipient uses git to apply your patch.
229 * Extract three topmost commits from the current branch and format them
230 as e-mailable patches:
233 $ git format-patch -3
238 linkgit:git-am[1], linkgit:git-send-email[1]
243 Written by Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
247 Documentation by Junio C Hamano and the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>.
251 Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite