6 git - the stupid content tracker
12 'git' [--version] [--exec-path[=GIT_EXEC_PATH]] [--html-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 linkgit:gittutorial[7] 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 linkgit:gitcvs-migration[7]. See
27 the 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:v1.6.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.5]
49 link:RelNotes-1.6.5.1.txt[1.6.5.1],
50 link:RelNotes-1.6.5.txt[1.6.5].
52 * link:v1.6.4.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.4.4]
55 link:RelNotes-1.6.4.4.txt[1.6.4.4],
56 link:RelNotes-1.6.4.3.txt[1.6.4.3],
57 link:RelNotes-1.6.4.2.txt[1.6.4.2],
58 link:RelNotes-1.6.4.1.txt[1.6.4.1],
59 link:RelNotes-1.6.4.txt[1.6.4].
61 * link:v1.6.3.4/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.3.4]
64 link:RelNotes-1.6.3.4.txt[1.6.3.4],
65 link:RelNotes-1.6.3.3.txt[1.6.3.3],
66 link:RelNotes-1.6.3.2.txt[1.6.3.2],
67 link:RelNotes-1.6.3.1.txt[1.6.3.1],
68 link:RelNotes-1.6.3.txt[1.6.3].
71 link:RelNotes-1.6.2.5.txt[1.6.2.5],
72 link:RelNotes-1.6.2.4.txt[1.6.2.4],
73 link:RelNotes-1.6.2.3.txt[1.6.2.3],
74 link:RelNotes-1.6.2.2.txt[1.6.2.2],
75 link:RelNotes-1.6.2.1.txt[1.6.2.1],
76 link:RelNotes-1.6.2.txt[1.6.2].
78 * link:v1.6.1.3/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.1.3]
81 link:RelNotes-1.6.1.3.txt[1.6.1.3],
82 link:RelNotes-1.6.1.2.txt[1.6.1.2],
83 link:RelNotes-1.6.1.1.txt[1.6.1.1],
84 link:RelNotes-1.6.1.txt[1.6.1].
86 * link:v1.6.0.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.6.0.6]
89 link:RelNotes-1.6.0.6.txt[1.6.0.6],
90 link:RelNotes-1.6.0.5.txt[1.6.0.5],
91 link:RelNotes-1.6.0.4.txt[1.6.0.4],
92 link:RelNotes-1.6.0.3.txt[1.6.0.3],
93 link:RelNotes-1.6.0.2.txt[1.6.0.2],
94 link:RelNotes-1.6.0.1.txt[1.6.0.1],
95 link:RelNotes-1.6.0.txt[1.6.0].
97 * link:v1.5.6.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.6.6]
100 link:RelNotes-1.5.6.6.txt[1.5.6.6],
101 link:RelNotes-1.5.6.5.txt[1.5.6.5],
102 link:RelNotes-1.5.6.4.txt[1.5.6.4],
103 link:RelNotes-1.5.6.3.txt[1.5.6.3],
104 link:RelNotes-1.5.6.2.txt[1.5.6.2],
105 link:RelNotes-1.5.6.1.txt[1.5.6.1],
106 link:RelNotes-1.5.6.txt[1.5.6].
108 * link:v1.5.5.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.5.6]
111 link:RelNotes-1.5.5.6.txt[1.5.5.6],
112 link:RelNotes-1.5.5.5.txt[1.5.5.5],
113 link:RelNotes-1.5.5.4.txt[1.5.5.4],
114 link:RelNotes-1.5.5.3.txt[1.5.5.3],
115 link:RelNotes-1.5.5.2.txt[1.5.5.2],
116 link:RelNotes-1.5.5.1.txt[1.5.5.1],
117 link:RelNotes-1.5.5.txt[1.5.5].
119 * link:v1.5.4.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.4.7]
122 link:RelNotes-1.5.4.7.txt[1.5.4.7],
123 link:RelNotes-1.5.4.6.txt[1.5.4.6],
124 link:RelNotes-1.5.4.5.txt[1.5.4.5],
125 link:RelNotes-1.5.4.4.txt[1.5.4.4],
126 link:RelNotes-1.5.4.3.txt[1.5.4.3],
127 link:RelNotes-1.5.4.2.txt[1.5.4.2],
128 link:RelNotes-1.5.4.1.txt[1.5.4.1],
129 link:RelNotes-1.5.4.txt[1.5.4].
131 * link:v1.5.3.8/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.3.8]
134 link:RelNotes-1.5.3.8.txt[1.5.3.8],
135 link:RelNotes-1.5.3.7.txt[1.5.3.7],
136 link:RelNotes-1.5.3.6.txt[1.5.3.6],
137 link:RelNotes-1.5.3.5.txt[1.5.3.5],
138 link:RelNotes-1.5.3.4.txt[1.5.3.4],
139 link:RelNotes-1.5.3.3.txt[1.5.3.3],
140 link:RelNotes-1.5.3.2.txt[1.5.3.2],
141 link:RelNotes-1.5.3.1.txt[1.5.3.1],
142 link:RelNotes-1.5.3.txt[1.5.3].
144 * link:v1.5.2.5/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.2.5]
147 link:RelNotes-1.5.2.5.txt[1.5.2.5],
148 link:RelNotes-1.5.2.4.txt[1.5.2.4],
149 link:RelNotes-1.5.2.3.txt[1.5.2.3],
150 link:RelNotes-1.5.2.2.txt[1.5.2.2],
151 link:RelNotes-1.5.2.1.txt[1.5.2.1],
152 link:RelNotes-1.5.2.txt[1.5.2].
154 * link:v1.5.1.6/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.1.6]
157 link:RelNotes-1.5.1.6.txt[1.5.1.6],
158 link:RelNotes-1.5.1.5.txt[1.5.1.5],
159 link:RelNotes-1.5.1.4.txt[1.5.1.4],
160 link:RelNotes-1.5.1.3.txt[1.5.1.3],
161 link:RelNotes-1.5.1.2.txt[1.5.1.2],
162 link:RelNotes-1.5.1.1.txt[1.5.1.1],
163 link:RelNotes-1.5.1.txt[1.5.1].
165 * link:v1.5.0.7/git.html[documentation for release 1.5.0.7]
168 link:RelNotes-1.5.0.7.txt[1.5.0.7],
169 link:RelNotes-1.5.0.6.txt[1.5.0.6],
170 link:RelNotes-1.5.0.5.txt[1.5.0.5],
171 link:RelNotes-1.5.0.3.txt[1.5.0.3],
172 link:RelNotes-1.5.0.2.txt[1.5.0.2],
173 link:RelNotes-1.5.0.1.txt[1.5.0.1],
174 link:RelNotes-1.5.0.txt[1.5.0].
176 * documentation for release link:v1.4.4.4/git.html[1.4.4.4],
177 link:v1.3.3/git.html[1.3.3],
178 link:v1.2.6/git.html[1.2.6],
179 link:v1.0.13/git.html[1.0.13].
188 Prints the git suite version that the 'git' program came from.
191 Prints the synopsis and a list of the most commonly used
192 commands. If the option '--all' or '-a' is given then all
193 available commands are printed. If a git command is named this
194 option will bring up the manual page for that command.
196 Other options are available to control how the manual page is
197 displayed. See linkgit:git-help[1] for more information,
198 because `git --help ...` is converted internally into `git
202 Path to wherever your core git programs are installed.
203 This can also be controlled by setting the GIT_EXEC_PATH
204 environment variable. If no path is given, 'git' will print
205 the current setting and then exit.
208 Print the path to wherever your git HTML documentation is installed
213 Pipe all output into 'less' (or if set, $PAGER).
216 Do not pipe git output into a pager.
219 Set the path to the repository. This can also be controlled by
220 setting the GIT_DIR environment variable. It can be an absolute
221 path or relative path to current working directory.
224 Set the path to the working tree. The value will not be
225 used in combination with repositories found automatically in
226 a .git directory (i.e. $GIT_DIR is not set).
227 This can also be controlled by setting the GIT_WORK_TREE
228 environment variable and the core.worktree configuration
229 variable. It can be an absolute path or relative path to
230 the directory specified by --git-dir or GIT_DIR.
231 Note: If --git-dir or GIT_DIR are specified but none of
232 --work-tree, GIT_WORK_TREE and core.worktree is specified,
233 the current working directory is regarded as the top directory
234 of your working tree.
237 Treat the repository as a bare repository. If GIT_DIR
238 environment is not set, it is set to the current working
242 FURTHER DOCUMENTATION
243 ---------------------
245 See the references above to get started using git. The following is
246 probably more detail than necessary for a first-time user.
248 The link:user-manual.html#git-concepts[git concepts chapter of the
249 user-manual] and linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7] both provide
250 introductions to the underlying git architecture.
252 See linkgit:gitworkflows[7] for an overview of recommended workflows.
254 See also the link:howto-index.html[howto] documents for some useful
257 The internals are documented in the
258 link:technical/api-index.html[GIT API documentation].
263 We divide git into high level ("porcelain") commands and low level
264 ("plumbing") commands.
266 High-level commands (porcelain)
267 -------------------------------
269 We separate the porcelain commands into the main commands and some
270 ancillary user utilities.
272 Main porcelain commands
273 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
275 include::cmds-mainporcelain.txt[]
281 include::cmds-ancillarymanipulators.txt[]
285 include::cmds-ancillaryinterrogators.txt[]
288 Interacting with Others
289 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
291 These commands are to interact with foreign SCM and with other
292 people via patch over e-mail.
294 include::cmds-foreignscminterface.txt[]
297 Low-level commands (plumbing)
298 -----------------------------
300 Although git includes its
301 own porcelain layer, its low-level commands are sufficient to support
302 development of alternative porcelains. Developers of such porcelains
303 might start by reading about linkgit:git-update-index[1] and
304 linkgit:git-read-tree[1].
306 The interface (input, output, set of options and the semantics)
307 to these low-level commands are meant to be a lot more stable
308 than Porcelain level commands, because these commands are
309 primarily for scripted use. The interface to Porcelain commands
310 on the other hand are subject to change in order to improve the
313 The following description divides
314 the low-level commands into commands that manipulate objects (in
315 the repository, index, and working tree), commands that interrogate and
316 compare objects, and commands that move objects and references between
320 Manipulation commands
321 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
323 include::cmds-plumbingmanipulators.txt[]
326 Interrogation commands
327 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
329 include::cmds-plumbinginterrogators.txt[]
331 In general, the interrogate commands do not touch the files in
335 Synching repositories
336 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
338 include::cmds-synchingrepositories.txt[]
340 The following are helper commands used by the above; end users
341 typically do not use them directly.
343 include::cmds-synchelpers.txt[]
346 Internal helper commands
347 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
349 These are internal helper commands used by other commands; end
350 users typically do not use them directly.
352 include::cmds-purehelpers.txt[]
355 Configuration Mechanism
356 -----------------------
358 Starting from 0.99.9 (actually mid 0.99.8.GIT), `.git/config` file
359 is used to hold per-repository configuration options. It is a
360 simple text file modeled after `.ini` format familiar to some
361 people. Here is an example:
365 # A '#' or ';' character indicates a comment.
370 ; Don't trust file modes
375 name = "Junio C Hamano"
376 email = "junkio@twinsun.com"
380 Various commands read from the configuration file and adjust
381 their operation accordingly.
384 Identifier Terminology
385 ----------------------
387 Indicates the object name for any type of object.
390 Indicates a blob object name.
393 Indicates a tree object name.
396 Indicates a commit object name.
399 Indicates a tree, commit or tag object name. A
400 command that takes a <tree-ish> argument ultimately wants to
401 operate on a <tree> object but automatically dereferences
402 <commit> and <tag> objects that point at a <tree>.
405 Indicates a commit or tag object name. A
406 command that takes a <commit-ish> argument ultimately wants to
407 operate on a <commit> object but automatically dereferences
408 <tag> objects that point at a <commit>.
411 Indicates that an object type is required.
412 Currently one of: `blob`, `tree`, `commit`, or `tag`.
415 Indicates a filename - almost always relative to the
416 root of the tree structure `GIT_INDEX_FILE` describes.
420 Any git command accepting any <object> can also use the following
424 indicates the head of the current branch (i.e. the
425 contents of `$GIT_DIR/HEAD`).
429 (i.e. the contents of `$GIT_DIR/refs/tags/<tag>`).
433 (i.e. the contents of `$GIT_DIR/refs/heads/<head>`).
435 For a more complete list of ways to spell object names, see
436 "SPECIFYING REVISIONS" section in linkgit:git-rev-parse[1].
439 File/Directory Structure
440 ------------------------
442 Please see the linkgit:gitrepository-layout[5] document.
444 Read linkgit:githooks[5] for more details about each hook.
446 Higher level SCMs may provide and manage additional information in the
452 Please see linkgit:gitglossary[7].
455 Environment Variables
456 ---------------------
457 Various git commands use the following environment variables:
461 These environment variables apply to 'all' core git commands. Nb: it
462 is worth noting that they may be used/overridden by SCMS sitting above
463 git so take care if using Cogito etc.
466 This environment allows the specification of an alternate
467 index file. If not specified, the default of `$GIT_DIR/index`
470 'GIT_OBJECT_DIRECTORY'::
471 If the object storage directory is specified via this
472 environment variable then the sha1 directories are created
473 underneath - otherwise the default `$GIT_DIR/objects`
476 'GIT_ALTERNATE_OBJECT_DIRECTORIES'::
477 Due to the immutable nature of git objects, old objects can be
478 archived into shared, read-only directories. This variable
479 specifies a ":" separated (on Windows ";" separated) list
480 of git object directories which can be used to search for git
481 objects. New objects will not be written to these directories.
484 If the 'GIT_DIR' environment variable is set then it
485 specifies a path to use instead of the default `.git`
486 for the base of the repository.
489 Set the path to the working tree. The value will not be
490 used in combination with repositories found automatically in
491 a .git directory (i.e. $GIT_DIR is not set).
492 This can also be controlled by the '--work-tree' command line
493 option and the core.worktree configuration variable.
495 'GIT_CEILING_DIRECTORIES'::
496 This should be a colon-separated list of absolute paths.
497 If set, it is a list of directories that git should not chdir
498 up into while looking for a repository directory.
499 It will not exclude the current working directory or
500 a GIT_DIR set on the command line or in the environment.
501 (Useful for excluding slow-loading network directories.)
508 'GIT_COMMITTER_NAME'::
509 'GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL'::
510 'GIT_COMMITTER_DATE'::
512 see linkgit:git-commit-tree[1]
517 Only valid setting is "--unified=??" or "-u??" to set the
518 number of context lines shown when a unified diff is created.
519 This takes precedence over any "-U" or "--unified" option
520 value passed on the git diff command line.
522 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF'::
523 When the environment variable 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is set, the
524 program named by it is called, instead of the diff invocation
525 described above. For a path that is added, removed, or modified,
526 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called with 7 parameters:
528 path old-file old-hex old-mode new-file new-hex new-mode
532 <old|new>-file:: are files GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF can use to read the
533 contents of <old|new>,
534 <old|new>-hex:: are the 40-hexdigit SHA1 hashes,
535 <old|new>-mode:: are the octal representation of the file modes.
538 The file parameters can point at the user's working file
539 (e.g. `new-file` in "git-diff-files"), `/dev/null` (e.g. `old-file`
540 when a new file is added), or a temporary file (e.g. `old-file` in the
541 index). 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' should not worry about unlinking the
542 temporary file --- it is removed when 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' exits.
544 For a path that is unmerged, 'GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF' is called with 1
549 'GIT_MERGE_VERBOSITY'::
550 A number controlling the amount of output shown by
551 the recursive merge strategy. Overrides merge.verbosity.
552 See linkgit:git-merge[1]
555 This environment variable overrides `$PAGER`. If it is set
556 to an empty string or to the value "cat", git will not launch
557 a pager. See also the `core.pager` option in
558 linkgit:git-config[1].
561 If this environment variable is set then 'git-fetch'
562 and 'git-push' will use this command instead
563 of 'ssh' when they need to connect to a remote system.
564 The '$GIT_SSH' command will be given exactly two arguments:
565 the 'username@host' (or just 'host') from the URL and the
566 shell command to execute on that remote system.
568 To pass options to the program that you want to list in GIT_SSH
569 you will need to wrap the program and options into a shell script,
570 then set GIT_SSH to refer to the shell script.
572 Usually it is easier to configure any desired options through your
573 personal `.ssh/config` file. Please consult your ssh documentation
577 If this environment variable is set to "1", then commands such
578 as 'git-blame' (in incremental mode), 'git-rev-list', 'git-log',
579 and 'git-whatchanged' will force a flush of the output stream
580 after each commit-oriented record have been flushed. If this
581 variable is set to "0", the output of these commands will be done
582 using completely buffered I/O. If this environment variable is
583 not set, git will choose buffered or record-oriented flushing
584 based on whether stdout appears to be redirected to a file or not.
587 If this variable is set to "1", "2" or "true" (comparison
588 is case insensitive), git will print `trace:` messages on
589 stderr telling about alias expansion, built-in command
590 execution and external command execution.
591 If this variable is set to an integer value greater than 1
592 and lower than 10 (strictly) then git will interpret this
593 value as an open file descriptor and will try to write the
594 trace messages into this file descriptor.
595 Alternatively, if this variable is set to an absolute path
596 (starting with a '/' character), git will interpret this
597 as a file path and will try to write the trace messages
600 Discussion[[Discussion]]
601 ------------------------
603 More detail on the following is available from the
604 link:user-manual.html#git-concepts[git concepts chapter of the
605 user-manual] and linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7].
607 A git project normally consists of a working directory with a ".git"
608 subdirectory at the top level. The .git directory contains, among other
609 things, a compressed object database representing the complete history
610 of the project, an "index" file which links that history to the current
611 contents of the working tree, and named pointers into that history such
612 as tags and branch heads.
614 The object database contains objects of three main types: blobs, which
615 hold file data; trees, which point to blobs and other trees to build up
616 directory hierarchies; and commits, which each reference a single tree
617 and some number of parent commits.
619 The commit, equivalent to what other systems call a "changeset" or
620 "version", represents a step in the project's history, and each parent
621 represents an immediately preceding step. Commits with more than one
622 parent represent merges of independent lines of development.
624 All objects are named by the SHA1 hash of their contents, normally
625 written as a string of 40 hex digits. Such names are globally unique.
626 The entire history leading up to a commit can be vouched for by signing
627 just that commit. A fourth object type, the tag, is provided for this
630 When first created, objects are stored in individual files, but for
631 efficiency may later be compressed together into "pack files".
633 Named pointers called refs mark interesting points in history. A ref
634 may contain the SHA1 name of an object or the name of another ref. Refs
635 with names beginning `ref/head/` contain the SHA1 name of the most
636 recent commit (or "head") of a branch under development. SHA1 names of
637 tags of interest are stored under `ref/tags/`. A special ref named
638 `HEAD` contains the name of the currently checked-out branch.
640 The index file is initialized with a list of all paths and, for each
641 path, a blob object and a set of attributes. The blob object represents
642 the contents of the file as of the head of the current branch. The
643 attributes (last modified time, size, etc.) are taken from the
644 corresponding file in the working tree. Subsequent changes to the
645 working tree can be found by comparing these attributes. The index may
646 be updated with new content, and new commits may be created from the
647 content stored in the index.
649 The index is also capable of storing multiple entries (called "stages")
650 for a given pathname. These stages are used to hold the various
651 unmerged version of a file when a merge is in progress.
655 * git's founding father is Linus Torvalds <torvalds@osdl.org>.
656 * The current git nurse is Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>.
657 * The git potty was written by Andreas Ericsson <ae@op5.se>.
658 * General upbringing is handled by the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>.
662 The documentation for git suite was started by David Greaves
663 <david@dgreaves.com>, and later enhanced greatly by the
664 contributors on the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>.
668 linkgit:gittutorial[7], linkgit:gittutorial-2[7],
669 link:everyday.html[Everyday Git], linkgit:gitcvs-migration[7],
670 linkgit:gitglossary[7], linkgit:gitcore-tutorial[7],
671 linkgit:gitcli[7], link:user-manual.html[The Git User's Manual],
672 linkgit:gitworkflows[7]
676 Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite