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 A single commit, when interpreted as a <revision range>
43 expression, means "everything that leads to that commit", but
44 if you write 'git format-patch <commit>', the previous rule
45 applies to that command line and you do not get "everything
46 since the beginning of the time". If you want to format
47 everything since project inception to one commit, say "git
48 format-patch \--root <commit>" to make it clear that it is the
51 By default, each output file is numbered sequentially from 1, and uses the
52 first line of the commit message (massaged for pathname safety) as
53 the filename. With the --numbered-files option, the output file names
54 will only be numbers, without the first line of the commit appended.
55 The names of the output files are printed to standard
56 output, unless the --stdout option is specified.
58 If -o is specified, output files are created in <dir>. Otherwise
59 they are created in the current working directory.
61 By default, the subject of a single patch is "[PATCH] First Line" and
62 the subject when multiple patches are output is "[PATCH n/m] First
63 Line". To force 1/1 to be added for a single patch, use -n. To omit
64 patch numbers from the subject, use -N
66 If given --thread, 'git-format-patch' will generate In-Reply-To and
67 References headers to make the second and subsequent patch mails appear
68 as replies to the first mail; this also generates a Message-Id header to
74 include::diff-options.txt[]
77 Limits the number of patches to prepare.
80 --output-directory <dir>::
81 Use <dir> to store the resulting files, instead of the
82 current working directory.
86 Name output in '[PATCH n/m]' format, even with a single patch.
90 Name output in '[PATCH]' format.
93 Start numbering the patches at <n> instead of 1.
96 Output file names will be a simple number sequence
97 without the default first line of the commit appended.
98 Mutually exclusive with the --stdout option.
102 Do not strip/add '[PATCH]' from the first line of the
107 Add `Signed-off-by:` line to the commit message, using
108 the committer identity of yourself.
111 Print all commits to the standard output in mbox format,
112 instead of creating a file for each one.
114 --attach[=<boundary>]::
115 Create multipart/mixed attachment, the first part of
116 which is the commit message and the patch itself in the
117 second part, with "Content-Disposition: attachment".
119 --inline[=<boundary>]::
120 Create multipart/mixed attachment, the first part of
121 which is the commit message and the patch itself in the
122 second part, with "Content-Disposition: inline".
125 Add In-Reply-To and References headers to make the second and
126 subsequent mails appear as replies to the first. Also generates
127 the Message-Id header to reference.
129 --in-reply-to=Message-Id::
130 Make the first mail (or all the mails with --no-thread) appear as a
131 reply to the given Message-Id, which avoids breaking threads to
132 provide a new patch series.
134 --ignore-if-in-upstream::
135 Do not include a patch that matches a commit in
136 <until>..<since>. This will examine all patches reachable
137 from <since> but not from <until> and compare them with the
138 patches being generated, and any patch that matches is
141 --subject-prefix=<Subject-Prefix>::
142 Instead of the standard '[PATCH]' prefix in the subject
143 line, instead use '[<Subject-Prefix>]'. This
144 allows for useful naming of a patch series, and can be
145 combined with the --numbered option.
148 Add a "Cc:" header to the email headers. This is in addition
149 to any configured headers, and may be used multiple times.
152 In addition to the patches, generate a cover letter file
153 containing the shortlog and the overall diffstat. You can
154 fill in a description in the file before sending it out.
157 Instead of using `.patch` as the suffix for generated
158 filenames, use specified suffix. A common alternative is
161 Note that you would need to include the leading dot `.` if you
162 want a filename like `0001-description-of-my-change.patch`, and
163 the first letter does not have to be a dot. Leaving it empty would
167 Don't output contents of changes in binary files, just take note
168 that they differ. Note that this disable the patch to be properly
169 applied. By default the contents of changes in those files are
170 encoded in the patch.
174 You can specify extra mail header lines to be added to each message
175 in the repository configuration, new defaults for the subject prefix
176 and file suffix, and number patches when outputting more than one.
180 headers = "Organization: git-foo\n"
181 subjectprefix = CHANGE
191 * Extract commits between revisions R1 and R2, and apply them on top of
192 the current branch using 'git-am' to cherry-pick them:
195 $ git format-patch -k --stdout R1..R2 | git am -3 -k
198 * Extract all commits which are in the current branch but not in the
202 $ git format-patch origin
205 For each commit a separate file is created in the current directory.
207 * Extract all commits that lead to 'origin' since the inception of the
211 $ git format-patch --root origin
214 * The same as the previous one:
217 $ git format-patch -M -B origin
220 Additionally, it detects and handles renames and complete rewrites
221 intelligently to produce a renaming patch. A renaming patch reduces
222 the amount of text output, and generally makes it easier to review it.
223 Note that the "patch" program does not understand renaming patches, so
224 use it only when you know the recipient uses git to apply your patch.
226 * Extract three topmost commits from the current branch and format them
227 as e-mailable patches:
230 $ git format-patch -3
235 linkgit:git-am[1], linkgit:git-send-email[1]
240 Written by Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
244 Documentation by Junio C Hamano and the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>.
248 Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite