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.
95 Mutually exclusive with the --stdout option.
99 Do not strip/add '[PATCH]' from the first line of the
104 Add `Signed-off-by:` line to the commit message, using
105 the committer identity of yourself.
108 Print all commits to the standard output in mbox format,
109 instead of creating a file for each one.
111 --attach[=<boundary>]::
112 Create multipart/mixed attachment, the first part of
113 which is the commit message and the patch itself in the
114 second part, with "Content-Disposition: attachment".
116 --inline[=<boundary>]::
117 Create multipart/mixed attachment, the first part of
118 which is the commit message and the patch itself in the
119 second part, with "Content-Disposition: inline".
122 Add In-Reply-To and References headers to make the second and
123 subsequent mails appear as replies to the first. Also generates
124 the Message-Id header to reference.
126 --in-reply-to=Message-Id::
127 Make the first mail (or all the mails with --no-thread) appear as a
128 reply to the given Message-Id, which avoids breaking threads to
129 provide a new patch series.
131 --ignore-if-in-upstream::
132 Do not include a patch that matches a commit in
133 <until>..<since>. This will examine all patches reachable
134 from <since> but not from <until> and compare them with the
135 patches being generated, and any patch that matches is
138 --subject-prefix=<Subject-Prefix>::
139 Instead of the standard '[PATCH]' prefix in the subject
140 line, instead use '[<Subject-Prefix>]'. This
141 allows for useful naming of a patch series, and can be
142 combined with the --numbered option.
145 Add a "Cc:" header to the email headers. This is in addition
146 to any configured headers, and may be used multiple times.
149 In addition to the patches, generate a cover letter file
150 containing the shortlog and the overall diffstat. You can
151 fill in a description in the file before sending it out.
154 Instead of using `.patch` as the suffix for generated
155 filenames, use specified suffix. A common alternative is
158 Note that you would need to include the leading dot `.` if you
159 want a filename like `0001-description-of-my-change.patch`, and
160 the first letter does not have to be a dot. Leaving it empty would
164 Don't output contents of changes in binary files, just take note
165 that they differ. Note that this disable the patch to be properly
166 applied. By default the contents of changes in those files are
167 encoded in the patch.
170 Treat the revision argument as a <revision range>, even if it
171 is just a single commit (that would normally be treated as a
172 <since>). Note that root commits included in the specified
173 range are always formatted as creation patches, independently
178 You can specify extra mail header lines to be added to each message
179 in the repository configuration, new defaults for the subject prefix
180 and file suffix, and number patches when outputting more than one.
184 headers = "Organization: git-foo\n"
185 subjectprefix = CHANGE
195 * Extract commits between revisions R1 and R2, and apply them on top of
196 the current branch using 'git-am' to cherry-pick them:
199 $ git format-patch -k --stdout R1..R2 | git am -3 -k
202 * Extract all commits which are in the current branch but not in the
206 $ git format-patch origin
209 For each commit a separate file is created in the current directory.
211 * Extract all commits that lead to 'origin' since the inception of the
215 $ git format-patch --root origin
218 * The same as the previous one:
221 $ git format-patch -M -B origin
224 Additionally, it detects and handles renames and complete rewrites
225 intelligently to produce a renaming patch. A renaming patch reduces
226 the amount of text output, and generally makes it easier to review it.
227 Note that the "patch" program does not understand renaming patches, so
228 use it only when you know the recipient uses git to apply your patch.
230 * Extract three topmost commits from the current branch and format them
231 as e-mailable patches:
234 $ git format-patch -3
239 linkgit:git-am[1], linkgit:git-send-email[1]
244 Written by Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
248 Documentation by Junio C Hamano and the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>.
252 Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite