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).
26 {git-diff? This is the default.}
27 endif::git-format-patch[]
31 Generate diffs with <n> lines of context instead of
33 ifndef::git-format-patch[]
35 endif::git-format-patch[]
37 ifndef::git-format-patch[]
39 Generate the raw format.
40 {git-diff-core? This is the default.}
41 endif::git-format-patch[]
43 ifndef::git-format-patch[]
45 Synonym for `-p --raw`.
46 endif::git-format-patch[]
49 Generate a diff using the "patience diff" algorithm.
51 --stat[=<width>[,<name-width>[,<count>]]]::
52 Generate a diffstat. You can override the default
53 output width for 80-column terminal by `--stat=<width>`.
54 The width of the filename part can be controlled by
55 giving another width to it separated by a comma.
56 By giving a third parameter `<count>`, you can limit the
57 output to the first `<count>` lines, followed by
58 `...` if there are more.
60 These parameters can also be set individually with `--stat-width=<width>`,
61 `--stat-name-width=<name-width>` and `--stat-count=<count>`.
64 Similar to `\--stat`, but shows number of added and
65 deleted lines in decimal notation and pathname without
66 abbreviation, to make it more machine friendly. For
67 binary files, outputs two `-` instead of saying
71 Output only the last line of the `--stat` format containing total
72 number of modified files, as well as number of added and deleted
75 --dirstat[=<param1,param2,...>]::
76 Output the distribution of relative amount of changes for each
77 sub-directory. The behavior of `--dirstat` can be customized by
78 passing it a comma separated list of parameters.
79 The defaults are controlled by the `diff.dirstat` configuration
80 variable (see linkgit:git-config[1]).
81 The following parameters are available:
85 Compute the dirstat numbers by counting the lines that have been
86 removed from the source, or added to the destination. This ignores
87 the amount of pure code movements within a file. In other words,
88 rearranging lines in a file is not counted as much as other changes.
89 This is the default behavior when no parameter is given.
91 Compute the dirstat numbers by doing the regular line-based diff
92 analysis, and summing the removed/added line counts. (For binary
93 files, count 64-byte chunks instead, since binary files have no
94 natural concept of lines). This is a more expensive `--dirstat`
95 behavior than the `changes` behavior, but it does count rearranged
96 lines within a file as much as other changes. The resulting output
97 is consistent with what you get from the other `--*stat` options.
99 Compute the dirstat numbers by counting the number of files changed.
100 Each changed file counts equally in the dirstat analysis. This is
101 the computationally cheapest `--dirstat` behavior, since it does
102 not have to look at the file contents at all.
104 Count changes in a child directory for the parent directory as well.
105 Note that when using `cumulative`, the sum of the percentages
106 reported may exceed 100%. The default (non-cumulative) behavior can
107 be specified with the `noncumulative` parameter.
109 An integer parameter specifies a cut-off percent (3% by default).
110 Directories contributing less than this percentage of the changes
111 are not shown in the output.
114 Example: The following will count changed files, while ignoring
115 directories with less than 10% of the total amount of changed files,
116 and accumulating child directory counts in the parent directories:
117 `--dirstat=files,10,cumulative`.
120 Output a condensed summary of extended header information
121 such as creations, renames and mode changes.
123 ifndef::git-format-patch[]
125 Synonym for `-p --stat`.
126 endif::git-format-patch[]
128 ifndef::git-format-patch[]
132 Separate the commits with NULs instead of with new newlines.
134 Also, when `--raw` or `--numstat` has been given, do not munge
135 pathnames and use NULs as output field terminators.
138 When `--raw`, `--numstat`, `--name-only` or `--name-status` has been
139 given, do not munge pathnames and use NULs as output field terminators.
142 Without this option, each pathname output will have TAB, LF, double quotes,
143 and backslash characters replaced with `\t`, `\n`, `\"`, and `\\`,
144 respectively, and the pathname will be enclosed in double quotes if
145 any of those replacements occurred.
148 Show only names of changed files.
151 Show only names and status of changed files. See the description
152 of the `--diff-filter` option on what the status letters mean.
154 --submodule[=<format>]::
155 Chose the output format for submodule differences. <format> can be one of
156 'short' and 'log'. 'short' just shows pairs of commit names, this format
157 is used when this option is not given. 'log' is the default value for this
158 option and lists the commits in that commit range like the 'summary'
159 option of linkgit:git-submodule[1] does.
163 The value must be `always` (the default for `<when>`), `never`, or `auto`.
164 The default value is `never`.
166 It can be changed by the `color.ui` and `color.diff`
167 configuration settings.
171 Turn off colored diff.
173 This can be used to override configuration settings.
175 It is the same as `--color=never`.
177 --word-diff[=<mode>]::
178 Show a word diff, using the <mode> to delimit changed words.
179 By default, words are delimited by whitespace; see
180 `--word-diff-regex` below. The <mode> defaults to 'plain', and
185 Highlight changed words using only colors. Implies `--color`.
187 Show words as `[-removed-]` and `{+added+}`. Makes no
188 attempts to escape the delimiters if they appear in the input,
189 so the output may be ambiguous.
191 Use a special line-based format intended for script
192 consumption. Added/removed/unchanged runs are printed in the
193 usual unified diff format, starting with a `+`/`-`/` `
194 character at the beginning of the line and extending to the
195 end of the line. Newlines in the input are represented by a
196 tilde `~` on a line of its own.
198 Disable word diff again.
201 Note that despite the name of the first mode, color is used to
202 highlight the changed parts in all modes if enabled.
204 --word-diff-regex=<regex>::
205 Use <regex> to decide what a word is, instead of considering
206 runs of non-whitespace to be a word. Also implies
207 `--word-diff` unless it was already enabled.
209 Every non-overlapping match of the
210 <regex> is considered a word. Anything between these matches is
211 considered whitespace and ignored(!) for the purposes of finding
212 differences. You may want to append `|[^[:space:]]` to your regular
213 expression to make sure that it matches all non-whitespace characters.
214 A match that contains a newline is silently truncated(!) at the
217 The regex can also be set via a diff driver or configuration option, see
218 linkgit:gitattributes[1] or linkgit:git-config[1]. Giving it explicitly
219 overrides any diff driver or configuration setting. Diff drivers
220 override configuration settings.
222 --color-words[=<regex>]::
223 Equivalent to `--word-diff=color` plus (if a regex was
224 specified) `--word-diff-regex=<regex>`.
225 endif::git-format-patch[]
228 Turn off rename detection, even when the configuration
229 file gives the default to do so.
231 ifndef::git-format-patch[]
233 Warn if changes introduce whitespace errors. What are
234 considered whitespace errors is controlled by `core.whitespace`
235 configuration. By default, trailing whitespaces (including
236 lines that solely consist of whitespaces) and a space character
237 that is immediately followed by a tab character inside the
238 initial indent of the line are considered whitespace errors.
239 Exits with non-zero status if problems are found. Not compatible
241 endif::git-format-patch[]
244 Instead of the first handful of characters, show the full
245 pre- and post-image blob object names on the "index"
246 line when generating patch format output.
249 In addition to `--full-index`, output a binary diff that
250 can be applied with `git-apply`.
253 Instead of showing the full 40-byte hexadecimal object
254 name in diff-raw format output and diff-tree header
255 lines, show only a partial prefix. This is
256 independent of the `--full-index` option above, which controls
257 the diff-patch output format. Non default number of
258 digits can be specified with `--abbrev=<n>`.
261 --break-rewrites[=[<n>][/<m>]]::
262 Break complete rewrite changes into pairs of delete and
263 create. This serves two purposes:
265 It affects the way a change that amounts to a total rewrite of a file
266 not as a series of deletion and insertion mixed together with a very
267 few lines that happen to match textually as the context, but as a
268 single deletion of everything old followed by a single insertion of
269 everything new, and the number `m` controls this aspect of the -B
270 option (defaults to 60%). `-B/70%` specifies that less than 30% of the
271 original should remain in the result for git to consider it a total
272 rewrite (i.e. otherwise the resulting patch will be a series of
273 deletion and insertion mixed together with context lines).
275 When used with -M, a totally-rewritten file is also considered as the
276 source of a rename (usually -M only considers a file that disappeared
277 as the source of a rename), and the number `n` controls this aspect of
278 the -B option (defaults to 50%). `-B20%` specifies that a change with
279 addition and deletion compared to 20% or more of the file's size are
280 eligible for being picked up as a possible source of a rename to
284 --find-renames[=<n>]::
289 If generating diffs, detect and report renames for each commit.
290 For following files across renames while traversing history, see
293 If `n` is specified, it is a threshold on the similarity
294 index (i.e. amount of addition/deletions compared to the
295 file's size). For example, `-M90%` means git should consider a
296 delete/add pair to be a rename if more than 90% of the file
300 --find-copies[=<n>]::
301 Detect copies as well as renames. See also `--find-copies-harder`.
302 If `n` is specified, it has the same meaning as for `-M<n>`.
304 --find-copies-harder::
305 For performance reasons, by default, `-C` option finds copies only
306 if the original file of the copy was modified in the same
307 changeset. This flag makes the command
308 inspect unmodified files as candidates for the source of
309 copy. This is a very expensive operation for large
310 projects, so use it with caution. Giving more than one
311 `-C` option has the same effect.
314 --irreversible-delete::
315 Omit the preimage for deletes, i.e. print only the header but not
316 the diff between the preimage and `/dev/null`. The resulting patch
317 is not meant to be applied with `patch` nor `git apply`; this is
318 solely for people who want to just concentrate on reviewing the
319 text after the change. In addition, the output obviously lack
320 enough information to apply such a patch in reverse, even manually,
321 hence the name of the option.
323 When used together with `-B`, omit also the preimage in the deletion part
324 of a delete/create pair.
327 The `-M` and `-C` options require O(n^2) processing time where n
328 is the number of potential rename/copy targets. This
329 option prevents rename/copy detection from running if
330 the number of rename/copy targets exceeds the specified
333 ifndef::git-format-patch[]
334 --diff-filter=[(A|C|D|M|R|T|U|X|B)...[*]]::
335 Select only files that are Added (`A`), Copied (`C`),
336 Deleted (`D`), Modified (`M`), Renamed (`R`), have their
337 type (i.e. regular file, symlink, submodule, ...) changed (`T`),
338 are Unmerged (`U`), are
339 Unknown (`X`), or have had their pairing Broken (`B`).
340 Any combination of the filter characters (including none) can be used.
341 When `*` (All-or-none) is added to the combination, all
342 paths are selected if there is any file that matches
343 other criteria in the comparison; if there is no file
344 that matches other criteria, nothing is selected.
347 Look for differences that introduce or remove an instance of
348 <string>. Note that this is different than the string simply
349 appearing in diff output; see the 'pickaxe' entry in
350 linkgit:gitdiffcore[7] for more details.
353 Look for differences whose added or removed line matches
357 When `-S` or `-G` finds a change, show all the changes in that
358 changeset, not just the files that contain the change
362 Make the <string> not a plain string but an extended POSIX
364 endif::git-format-patch[]
367 Output the patch in the order specified in the
368 <orderfile>, which has one shell glob pattern per line.
370 ifndef::git-format-patch[]
372 Swap two inputs; that is, show differences from index or
373 on-disk file to tree contents.
375 --relative[=<path>]::
376 When run from a subdirectory of the project, it can be
377 told to exclude changes outside the directory and show
378 pathnames relative to it with this option. When you are
379 not in a subdirectory (e.g. in a bare repository), you
380 can name which subdirectory to make the output relative
381 to by giving a <path> as an argument.
382 endif::git-format-patch[]
386 Treat all files as text.
388 --ignore-space-at-eol::
389 Ignore changes in whitespace at EOL.
392 --ignore-space-change::
393 Ignore changes in amount of whitespace. This ignores whitespace
394 at line end, and considers all other sequences of one or
395 more whitespace characters to be equivalent.
399 Ignore whitespace when comparing lines. This ignores
400 differences even if one line has whitespace where the other
403 --inter-hunk-context=<lines>::
404 Show the context between diff hunks, up to the specified number
405 of lines, thereby fusing hunks that are close to each other.
407 ifndef::git-format-patch[]
409 Make the program exit with codes similar to diff(1).
410 That is, it exits with 1 if there were differences and
411 0 means no differences.
414 Disable all output of the program. Implies `--exit-code`.
415 endif::git-format-patch[]
418 Allow an external diff helper to be executed. If you set an
419 external diff driver with linkgit:gitattributes[5], you need
420 to use this option with linkgit:git-log[1] and friends.
423 Disallow external diff drivers.
427 Allow (or disallow) external text conversion filters to be run
428 when comparing binary files. See linkgit:gitattributes[5] for
429 details. Because textconv filters are typically a one-way
430 conversion, the resulting diff is suitable for human
431 consumption, but cannot be applied. For this reason, textconv
432 filters are enabled by default only for linkgit:git-diff[1] and
433 linkgit:git-log[1], but not for linkgit:git-format-patch[1] or
434 diff plumbing commands.
436 --ignore-submodules[=<when>]::
437 Ignore changes to submodules in the diff generation. <when> can be
438 either "none", "untracked", "dirty" or "all", which is the default
439 Using "none" will consider the submodule modified when it either contains
440 untracked or modified files or its HEAD differs from the commit recorded
441 in the superproject and can be used to override any settings of the
442 'ignore' option in linkgit:git-config[1] or linkgit:gitmodules[5]. When
443 "untracked" is used submodules are not considered dirty when they only
444 contain untracked content (but they are still scanned for modified
445 content). Using "dirty" ignores all changes to the work tree of submodules,
446 only changes to the commits stored in the superproject are shown (this was
447 the behavior until 1.7.0). Using "all" hides all changes to submodules.
449 --src-prefix=<prefix>::
450 Show the given source prefix instead of "a/".
452 --dst-prefix=<prefix>::
453 Show the given destination prefix instead of "b/".
456 Do not show any source or destination prefix.
458 For more detailed explanation on these common options, see also
459 linkgit:gitdiffcore[7].