6 git-tag - Create, list, delete or verify a tag object signed with GPG
12 'git tag' [-a | -s | -u <key-id>] [-f] [-m <msg> | -F <file>]
13 <tagname> [<commit> | <object>]
14 'git tag' -d <tagname>...
15 'git tag' [-n[<num>]] -l [--contains <commit>] [<pattern>]
16 'git tag' -v <tagname>...
21 Adds a tag reference in `.git/refs/tags/`.
23 Unless `-f` is given, the tag must not yet exist in
24 `.git/refs/tags/` directory.
26 If one of `-a`, `-s`, or `-u <key-id>` is passed, the command
27 creates a 'tag' object, and requires the tag message. Unless
28 `-m <msg>` or `-F <file>` is given, an editor is started for the user to type
31 If `-m <msg>` or `-F <file>` is given and `-a`, `-s`, and `-u <key-id>`
32 are absent, `-a` is implied.
34 Otherwise just the SHA1 object name of the commit object is
35 written (i.e. a lightweight tag).
37 A GnuPG signed tag object will be created when `-s` or `-u
38 <key-id>` is used. When `-u <key-id>` is not used, the
39 committer identity for the current user is used to find the
40 GnuPG key for signing.
45 Make an unsigned, annotated tag object
48 Make a GPG-signed tag, using the default e-mail address's key
51 Make a GPG-signed tag, using the given key
54 Replace an existing tag with the given name (instead of failing)
57 Delete existing tags with the given names.
60 Verify the gpg signature of the given tag names.
63 <num> specifies how many lines from the annotation, if any,
64 are printed when using -l.
65 The default is not to print any annotation lines.
66 If no number is given to `-n`, only the first line is printed.
67 If the tag is not annotated, the commit message is displayed instead.
70 List tags with names that match the given pattern (or all if no pattern is given).
71 Typing "git tag" without arguments, also lists all tags.
74 Only list tags which contain the specified commit.
77 Use the given tag message (instead of prompting).
78 If multiple `-m` options are given, their values are
79 concatenated as separate paragraphs.
80 Implies `-a` if none of `-a`, `-s`, or `-u <key-id>`
84 Take the tag message from the given file. Use '-' to
85 read the message from the standard input.
86 Implies `-a` if none of `-a`, `-s`, or `-u <key-id>`
90 The name of the tag to create, delete, or describe.
91 The new tag name must pass all checks defined by
92 linkgit:git-check-ref-format[1]. Some of these checks
93 may restrict the characters allowed in a tag name.
97 By default, 'git-tag' in sign-with-default mode (-s) will use your
98 committer identity (of the form "Your Name <your@email.address>") to
99 find a key. If you want to use a different default key, you can specify
100 it in the repository configuration as follows:
102 -------------------------------------
104 signingkey = <gpg-key-id>
105 -------------------------------------
114 What should you do when you tag a wrong commit and you would
117 If you never pushed anything out, just re-tag it. Use "-f" to
118 replace the old one. And you're done.
120 But if you have pushed things out (or others could just read
121 your repository directly), then others will have already seen
122 the old tag. In that case you can do one of two things:
125 Just admit you screwed up, and use a different name. Others have
126 already seen one tag-name, and if you keep the same name, you
127 may be in the situation that two people both have "version X",
128 but they actually have 'different' "X"'s. So just call it "X.1"
132 You really want to call the new version "X" too, 'even though'
133 others have already seen the old one. So just use 'git-tag -f'
134 again, as if you hadn't already published the old one.
136 However, Git does *not* (and it should not) change tags behind
137 users back. So if somebody already got the old tag, doing a
138 'git-pull' on your tree shouldn't just make them overwrite the old
141 If somebody got a release tag from you, you cannot just change
142 the tag for them by updating your own one. This is a big
143 security issue, in that people MUST be able to trust their
144 tag-names. If you really want to do the insane thing, you need
145 to just fess up to it, and tell people that you messed up. You
146 can do that by making a very public announcement saying:
149 Ok, I messed up, and I pushed out an earlier version tagged as X. I
150 then fixed something, and retagged the *fixed* tree as X again.
152 If you got the wrong tag, and want the new one, please delete
153 the old one and fetch the new one by doing:
156 git fetch origin tag X
158 to get my updated tag.
160 You can test which tag you have by doing
164 which should return 0123456789abcdef.. if you have the new version.
166 Sorry for inconvenience.
169 Does this seem a bit complicated? It *should* be. There is no
170 way that it would be correct to just "fix" it behind peoples
171 backs. People need to know that their tags might have been
175 On Automatic following
176 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
178 If you are following somebody else's tree, you are most likely
179 using tracking branches (`refs/heads/origin` in traditional
180 layout, or `refs/remotes/origin/master` in the separate-remote
181 layout). You usually want the tags from the other end.
183 On the other hand, if you are fetching because you would want a
184 one-shot merge from somebody else, you typically do not want to
185 get tags from there. This happens more often for people near
186 the toplevel but not limited to them. Mere mortals when pulling
187 from each other do not necessarily want to automatically get
188 private anchor point tags from the other person.
190 You would notice "please pull" messages on the mailing list says
191 repo URL and branch name alone. This is designed to be easily
192 cut&pasted to a 'git-fetch' command line:
195 Linus, please pull from
197 git://git..../proj.git master
199 to get the following updates...
205 $ git pull git://git..../proj.git master
208 In such a case, you do not want to automatically follow other's
211 One important aspect of git is it is distributed, and being
212 distributed largely means there is no inherent "upstream" or
213 "downstream" in the system. On the face of it, the above
214 example might seem to indicate that the tag namespace is owned
215 by upper echelon of people and tags only flow downwards, but
216 that is not the case. It only shows that the usage pattern
217 determines who are interested in whose tags.
219 A one-shot pull is a sign that a commit history is now crossing
220 the boundary between one circle of people (e.g. "people who are
221 primarily interested in the networking part of the kernel") who may
222 have their own set of tags (e.g. "this is the third release
223 candidate from the networking group to be proposed for general
224 consumption with 2.6.21 release") to another circle of people
225 (e.g. "people who integrate various subsystem improvements").
226 The latter are usually not interested in the detailed tags used
227 internally in the former group (that is what "internal" means).
228 That is why it is desirable not to follow tags automatically in
231 It may well be that among networking people, they may want to
232 exchange the tags internal to their group, but in that workflow
233 they are most likely tracking with each other's progress by
234 having tracking branches. Again, the heuristic to automatically
235 follow such tags is a good thing.
241 If you have imported some changes from another VCS and would like
242 to add tags for major releases of your work, it is useful to be able
243 to specify the date to embed inside of the tag object. The data in
244 the tag object affects, for example, the ordering of tags in the
247 To set the date used in future tag objects, set the environment
248 variable GIT_COMMITTER_DATE to one or more of the date and time. The
249 date and time can be specified in a number of ways; the most common
250 is "YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM".
255 $ GIT_COMMITTER_DATE="2006-10-02 10:31" git tag -s v1.0.1
261 linkgit:git-check-ref-format[1].
265 Written by Linus Torvalds <torvalds@osdl.org>,
266 Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com> and Chris Wright <chrisw@osdl.org>.
270 Documentation by David Greaves, Junio C Hamano and the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>.
274 Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite