6 git - the stupid content tracker
12 'git' [--version] [--exec-path[=GIT_EXEC_PATH]]
13 [-p|--paginate|--no-pager]
14 [--bare] [--git-dir=GIT_DIR] [--work-tree=GIT_WORK_TREE]
15 [--help] COMMAND [ARGS]
19 Git is a fast, scalable, distributed revision control system with an
20 unusually rich command set that provides both high-level operations
21 and full access to internals.
23 See this link:tutorial.html[tutorial] to get started, then see
24 link:everyday.html[Everyday Git] for a useful minimum set of commands, and
25 "man git-commandname" for documentation of each command. CVS users may
26 also want to read link:cvs-migration.html[CVS migration]. See
27 link:user-manual.html[Git User's Manual] for a more in-depth
30 The COMMAND is either a name of a Git command (see below) or an alias
31 as defined in the configuration file (see linkgit:git-config[1]).
33 Formatted and hyperlinked version of the latest git
34 documentation can be viewed at
35 `http://www.kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/`.
41 You are reading the documentation for the latest (possibly
42 unreleased) version of git, that is available from 'master'
43 branch of the `git.git` repository.
44 Documentation for older releases are available here:
46 * link:v1.5.4.1/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.4.1]
49 link:RelNotes-1.5.4.1.txt[1.5.4.1],
50 link:RelNotes-1.5.4.txt[1.5.4].
52 * link:v1.5.3.8/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.3.8]
55 link:RelNotes-1.5.3.8.txt[1.5.3.8],
56 link:RelNotes-1.5.3.7.txt[1.5.3.7],
57 link:RelNotes-1.5.3.6.txt[1.5.3.6],
58 link:RelNotes-1.5.3.5.txt[1.5.3.5],
59 link:RelNotes-1.5.3.4.txt[1.5.3.4],
60 link:RelNotes-1.5.3.3.txt[1.5.3.3],
61 link:RelNotes-1.5.3.2.txt[1.5.3.2],
62 link:RelNotes-1.5.3.1.txt[1.5.3.1],
63 link:RelNotes-1.5.3.txt[1.5.3].
66 link:RelNotes-1.5.2.5.txt[1.5.2.5],
67 link:RelNotes-1.5.2.4.txt[1.5.2.4],
68 link:RelNotes-1.5.2.3.txt[1.5.2.3],
69 link:RelNotes-1.5.2.2.txt[1.5.2.2],
70 link:RelNotes-1.5.2.1.txt[1.5.2.1],
71 link:RelNotes-1.5.2.txt[1.5.2].
73 * link:v1.5.1.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.1.6]
76 link:RelNotes-1.5.1.6.txt[1.5.1.6],
77 link:RelNotes-1.5.1.5.txt[1.5.1.5],
78 link:RelNotes-1.5.1.4.txt[1.5.1.4],
79 link:RelNotes-1.5.1.3.txt[1.5.1.3],
80 link:RelNotes-1.5.1.2.txt[1.5.1.2],
81 link:RelNotes-1.5.1.1.txt[1.5.1.1],
82 link:RelNotes-1.5.1.txt[1.5.1].
84 * link:v1.5.0.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.0.7]
87 link:RelNotes-1.5.0.7.txt[1.5.0.7],
88 link:RelNotes-1.5.0.6.txt[1.5.0.6],
89 link:RelNotes-1.5.0.5.txt[1.5.0.5],
90 link:RelNotes-1.5.0.3.txt[1.5.0.3],
91 link:RelNotes-1.5.0.2.txt[1.5.0.2],
92 link:RelNotes-1.5.0.1.txt[1.5.0.1],
93 link:RelNotes-1.5.0.txt[1.5.0].
95 * documentation for release link:v1.4.4.4/git.html[1.4.4.4],
96 link:v1.3.3/git.html[1.3.3],
97 link:v1.2.6/git.html[1.2.6],
98 link:v1.0.13/git.html[1.0.13].
107 Prints the git suite version that the 'git' program came from.
110 Prints the synopsis and a list of the most commonly used
111 commands. If the option '--all' or '-a' is given then all
112 available commands are printed. If a git command is named this
113 option will bring up the manual page for that command.
115 Other options are available to control how the manual page is
116 displayed. See linkgit:git-help[1] for more information,
117 because 'git --help ...' is converted internally into 'git
121 Path to wherever your core git programs are installed.
122 This can also be controlled by setting the GIT_EXEC_PATH
123 environment variable. If no path is given 'git' will print
124 the current setting and then exit.
127 Pipe all output into 'less' (or if set, $PAGER).
130 Do not pipe git output into a pager.
133 Set the path to the repository. This can also be controlled by
134 setting the GIT_DIR environment variable.
137 Set the path to the working tree. The value will not be
138 used in combination with repositories found automatically in
139 a .git directory (i.e. $GIT_DIR is not set).
140 This can also be controlled by setting the GIT_WORK_TREE
141 environment variable and the core.worktree configuration
145 Treat the repository as a bare repository. If GIT_DIR
146 environment is not set, it is set to the current working
150 FURTHER DOCUMENTATION
151 ---------------------
153 See the references above to get started using git. The following is
154 probably more detail than necessary for a first-time user.
156 The link:user-manual.html#git-concepts[git concepts chapter of the
157 user-manual] and the link:core-tutorial.html[Core tutorial] both provide
158 introductions to the underlying git architecture.
160 See also the link:howto-index.html[howto] documents for some useful
163 The internals are documented link:technical/api-index.html[here].
168 We divide git into high level ("porcelain") commands and low level
169 ("plumbing") commands.
171 High-level commands (porcelain)
172 -------------------------------
174 We separate the porcelain commands into the main commands and some
175 ancillary user utilities.
177 Main porcelain commands
178 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
180 include::cmds-mainporcelain.txt[]
186 include::cmds-ancillarymanipulators.txt[]
190 include::cmds-ancillaryinterrogators.txt[]
193 Interacting with Others
194 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
196 These commands are to interact with foreign SCM and with other
197 people via patch over e-mail.
199 include::cmds-foreignscminterface.txt[]
202 Low-level commands (plumbing)
203 -----------------------------
205 Although git includes its
206 own porcelain layer, its low-level commands are sufficient to support
207 development of alternative porcelains. Developers of such porcelains
208 might start by reading about linkgit:git-update-index[1] and
209 linkgit:git-read-tree[1].
211 The interface (input, output, set of options and the semantics)
212 to these low-level commands are meant to be a lot more stable
213 than Porcelain level commands, because these commands are
214 primarily for scripted use. The interface to Porcelain commands
215 on the other hand are subject to change in order to improve the
218 The following description divides
219 the low-level commands into commands that manipulate objects (in
220 the repository, index, and working tree), commands that interrogate and
221 compare objects, and commands that move objects and references between
225 Manipulation commands
226 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
228 include::cmds-plumbingmanipulators.txt[]
231 Interrogation commands
232 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
234 include::cmds-plumbinginterrogators.txt[]
236 In general, the interrogate commands do not touch the files in
240 Synching repositories
241 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
243 include::cmds-synchingrepositories.txt[]
245 The following are helper programs used by the above; end users
246 typically do not use them directly.
248 include::cmds-synchelpers.txt[]
251 Internal helper commands
252 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
254 These are internal helper commands used by other commands; end
255 users typically do not use them directly.
257 include::cmds-purehelpers.txt[]
260 Configuration Mechanism
261 -----------------------
263 Starting from 0.99.9 (actually mid 0.99.8.GIT), `.git/config` file
264 is used to hold per-repository configuration options. It is a
265 simple text file modeled after `.ini` format familiar to some
266 people. Here is an example:
270 # A '#' or ';' character indicates a comment.
275 ; Don't trust file modes
280 name = "Junio C Hamano"
281 email = "junkio@twinsun.com"
285 Various commands read from the configuration file and adjust
286 their operation accordingly.
289 Identifier Terminology
290 ----------------------
292 Indicates the object name for any type of object.
295 Indicates a blob object name.
298 Indicates a tree object name.
301 Indicates a commit object name.
304 Indicates a tree, commit or tag object name. A
305 command that takes a <tree-ish> argument ultimately wants to
306 operate on a <tree> object but automatically dereferences
307 <commit> and <tag> objects that point at a <tree>.
310 Indicates a commit or tag object name. A
311 command that takes a <commit-ish> argument ultimately wants to
312 operate on a <commit> object but automatically dereferences
313 <tag> objects that point at a <commit>.
316 Indicates that an object type is required.
317 Currently one of: `blob`, `tree`, `commit`, or `tag`.
320 Indicates a filename - almost always relative to the
321 root of the tree structure `GIT_INDEX_FILE` describes.
325 Any git command accepting any <object> can also use the following
329 indicates the head of the current branch (i.e. the
330 contents of `$GIT_DIR/HEAD`).
334 (i.e. the contents of `$GIT_DIR/refs/tags/<tag>`).
338 (i.e. the contents of `$GIT_DIR/refs/heads/<head>`).
340 For a more complete list of ways to spell object names, see
341 "SPECIFYING REVISIONS" section in linkgit:git-rev-parse[1].
344 File/Directory Structure
345 ------------------------
347 Please see the link:repository-layout.html[repository layout] document.
349 Read link:hooks.html[hooks] for more details about each hook.
351 Higher level SCMs may provide and manage additional information in the
357 Please see the link:glossary.html[glossary] document.
360 Environment Variables
361 ---------------------
362 Various git commands use the following environment variables:
366 These environment variables apply to 'all' core git commands. Nb: it
367 is worth noting that they may be used/overridden by SCMS sitting above
368 git so take care if using Cogito etc.
371 This environment allows the specification of an alternate
372 index file. If not specified, the default of `$GIT_DIR/index`
375 'GIT_OBJECT_DIRECTORY'::
376 If the object storage directory is specified via this
377 environment variable then the sha1 directories are created
378 underneath - otherwise the default `$GIT_DIR/objects`
381 'GIT_ALTERNATE_OBJECT_DIRECTORIES'::
382 Due to the immutable nature of git objects, old objects can be
383 archived into shared, read-only directories. This variable
384 specifies a ":" separated list of git object directories which
385 can be used to search for git objects. New objects will not be
386 written to these directories.
389 If the 'GIT_DIR' environment variable is set then it
390 specifies a path to use instead of the default `.git`
391 for the base of the repository.
394 Set the path to the working tree. The value will not be
395 used in combination with repositories found automatically in
396 a .git directory (i.e. $GIT_DIR is not set).
397 This can also be controlled by the '--work-tree' command line
398 option and the core.worktree configuration variable.
405 'GIT_COMMITTER_NAME'::
406 'GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL'::
407 'GIT_COMMITTER_DATE'::
409 see linkgit:git-commit-tree[1]
414 Only valid setting is "--unified=??" or "-u??" to set the
415 number of context lines shown when a unified diff is created.
416 This takes precedence over any "-U" or "--unified" option
417 value passed on the git diff command line.
419 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF'::
420 When the environment variable 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is set, the
421 program named by it is called, instead of the diff invocation
422 described above. For a path that is added, removed, or modified,
423 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called with 7 parameters:
425 path old-file old-hex old-mode new-file new-hex new-mode
429 <old|new>-file:: are files GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF can use to read the
430 contents of <old|new>,
431 <old|new>-hex:: are the 40-hexdigit SHA1 hashes,
432 <old|new>-mode:: are the octal representation of the file modes.
435 The file parameters can point at the user's working file
436 (e.g. `new-file` in "git-diff-files"), `/dev/null` (e.g. `old-file`
437 when a new file is added), or a temporary file (e.g. `old-file` in the
438 index). 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' should not worry about unlinking the
439 temporary file --- it is removed when 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' exits.
441 For a path that is unmerged, 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called with 1
446 'GIT_MERGE_VERBOSITY'::
447 A number controlling the amount of output shown by
448 the recursive merge strategy. Overrides merge.verbosity.
449 See linkgit:git-merge[1]
452 This environment variable overrides `$PAGER`. If it is set
453 to an empty string or to the value "cat", git will not launch
457 If this environment variable is set then linkgit:git-fetch[1]
458 and linkgit:git-push[1] will use this command instead
459 of `ssh` when they need to connect to a remote system.
460 The 'GIT_SSH' command will be given exactly two arguments:
461 the 'username@host' (or just 'host') from the URL and the
462 shell command to execute on that remote system.
464 To pass options to the program that you want to list in GIT_SSH
465 you will need to wrap the program and options into a shell script,
466 then set GIT_SSH to refer to the shell script.
468 Usually it is easier to configure any desired options through your
469 personal `.ssh/config` file. Please consult your ssh documentation
473 If this environment variable is set to "1", then commands such
474 as git-blame (in incremental mode), git-rev-list, git-log,
475 git-whatchanged, etc., will force a flush of the output stream
476 after each commit-oriented record have been flushed. If this
477 variable is set to "0", the output of these commands will be done
478 using completely buffered I/O. If this environment variable is
479 not set, git will choose buffered or record-oriented flushing
480 based on whether stdout appears to be redirected to a file or not.
483 If this variable is set to "1", "2" or "true" (comparison
484 is case insensitive), git will print `trace:` messages on
485 stderr telling about alias expansion, built-in command
486 execution and external command execution.
487 If this variable is set to an integer value greater than 1
488 and lower than 10 (strictly) then git will interpret this
489 value as an open file descriptor and will try to write the
490 trace messages into this file descriptor.
491 Alternatively, if this variable is set to an absolute path
492 (starting with a '/' character), git will interpret this
493 as a file path and will try to write the trace messages
496 Discussion[[Discussion]]
497 ------------------------
499 More detail on the following is available from the
500 link:user-manual.html#git-concepts[git concepts chapter of the
501 user-manual] and the link:core-tutorial.html[Core tutorial].
503 A git project normally consists of a working directory with a ".git"
504 subdirectory at the top level. The .git directory contains, among other
505 things, a compressed object database representing the complete history
506 of the project, an "index" file which links that history to the current
507 contents of the working tree, and named pointers into that history such
508 as tags and branch heads.
510 The object database contains objects of three main types: blobs, which
511 hold file data; trees, which point to blobs and other trees to build up
512 directory hierarchies; and commits, which each reference a single tree
513 and some number of parent commits.
515 The commit, equivalent to what other systems call a "changeset" or
516 "version", represents a step in the project's history, and each parent
517 represents an immediately preceding step. Commits with more than one
518 parent represent merges of independent lines of development.
520 All objects are named by the SHA1 hash of their contents, normally
521 written as a string of 40 hex digits. Such names are globally unique.
522 The entire history leading up to a commit can be vouched for by signing
523 just that commit. A fourth object type, the tag, is provided for this
526 When first created, objects are stored in individual files, but for
527 efficiency may later be compressed together into "pack files".
529 Named pointers called refs mark interesting points in history. A ref
530 may contain the SHA1 name of an object or the name of another ref. Refs
531 with names beginning `ref/head/` contain the SHA1 name of the most
532 recent commit (or "head") of a branch under development. SHA1 names of
533 tags of interest are stored under `ref/tags/`. A special ref named
534 `HEAD` contains the name of the currently checked-out branch.
536 The index file is initialized with a list of all paths and, for each
537 path, a blob object and a set of attributes. The blob object represents
538 the contents of the file as of the head of the current branch. The
539 attributes (last modified time, size, etc.) are taken from the
540 corresponding file in the working tree. Subsequent changes to the
541 working tree can be found by comparing these attributes. The index may
542 be updated with new content, and new commits may be created from the
543 content stored in the index.
545 The index is also capable of storing multiple entries (called "stages")
546 for a given pathname. These stages are used to hold the various
547 unmerged version of a file when a merge is in progress.
551 * git's founding father is Linus Torvalds <torvalds@osdl.org>.
552 * The current git nurse is Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>.
553 * The git potty was written by Andreas Ericsson <ae@op5.se>.
554 * General upbringing is handled by the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>.
558 The documentation for git suite was started by David Greaves
559 <david@dgreaves.com>, and later enhanced greatly by the
560 contributors on the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>.
564 Part of the linkgit:git[7] suite