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Jeff King 3e3f8bd608 fsck: prepare dummy objects for --connectivity-check
Normally fsck makes a pass over all objects to check their
integrity, and then follows up with a reachability check to
make sure we have all of the referenced objects (and to know
which ones are dangling). The latter checks for the HAS_OBJ
flag in obj->flags to see if we found the object in the
first pass.

Commit 02976bf85 (fsck: introduce `git fsck --connectivity-only`,
2015-06-22) taught fsck to skip the initial pass, and to
fallback to has_sha1_file() instead of the HAS_OBJ check.

However, it converted only one HAS_OBJ check to use
has_sha1_file(). But there are many other places in
builtin/fsck.c that assume that the flag is set (or that
lookup_object() will return an object at all). This leads to
several bugs with --connectivity-only:

  1. mark_object() will not queue objects for examination,
     so recursively following links from commits to trees,
     etc, did nothing. I.e., we were checking the
     reachability of hardly anything at all.

  2. When a set of heads is given on the command-line, we
     use lookup_object() to see if they exist. But without
     the initial pass, we assume nothing exists.

  3. When loading reflog entries, we do a similar
     lookup_object() check, and complain that the reflog is
     broken if the object doesn't exist in our hash.

So in short, --connectivity-only is broken pretty badly, and
will claim that your repository is fine when it's not.
Presumably nobody noticed for a few reasons.

One is that the embedded test does not actually test the
recursive nature of the reachability check. All of the
missing objects are still in the index, and we directly
check items from the index. This patch modifies the test to
delete the index, which shows off breakage (1).

Another is that --connectivity-only just skips the initial
pass for loose objects. So on a real repository, the packed
objects were still checked correctly. But on the flipside,
it means that "git fsck --connectivity-only" still checks
the sha1 of all of the packed objects, nullifying its
original purpose of being a faster git-fsck.

And of course the final problem is that the bug only shows
up when there _is_ corruption, which is rare. So anybody
running "git fsck --connectivity-only" proactively would
assume it was being thorough, when it was not.

One possibility for fixing this is to find all of the spots
that rely on HAS_OBJ and tweak them for the connectivity-only
case. But besides the risk that we might miss a spot (and I
found three already, corresponding to the three bugs above),
there are other parts of fsck that _can't_ work without a
full list of objects. E.g., the list of dangling objects.

Instead, let's make the connectivity-only case look more
like the normal case. Rather than skip the initial pass
completely, we'll do an abbreviated one that sets up the
HAS_OBJ flag for each object, without actually loading the
object data.

That's simple and fast, and we don't have to care about the
connectivity_only flag in the rest of the code at all.
While we're at it, let's make sure we treat loose and packed
objects the same (i.e., setting up dummy objects for both
and skipping the actual sha1 check). That makes the
connectivity-only check actually fast on a real repo (40
seconds versus 180 seconds on my copy of linux.git).

Signed-off-by: Jeff King <peff@peff.net>
Signed-off-by: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
2017-01-17 14:23:20 -08:00
Documentation Sync with maint-2.10 2016-12-05 11:25:47 -08:00
block-sha1
builtin fsck: prepare dummy objects for --connectivity-check 2017-01-17 14:23:20 -08:00
ci
compat Merge branch 'rs/compat-strdup' into maint 2016-09-19 13:51:42 -07:00
contrib Merge branch 'rs/cocci' into maint 2016-11-29 13:28:00 -08:00
ewah
git-gui git-gui 0.21.0 2016-10-20 09:33:17 -07:00
gitk-git
gitweb Merge branch 'ab/gitweb-abbrev-links' 2016-10-26 13:14:46 -07:00
mergetools
perl Merge branch 'mm/send-email-cc-cruft-after-address' into maint 2016-11-29 13:27:55 -08:00
po Merge branch 'russian-l10n' of https://github.com/DJm00n/git-po-ru 2016-11-29 21:19:43 +08:00
ppc
refs Merge branch 'jk/ref-symlink-loop' 2016-10-17 13:25:20 -07:00
t fsck: prepare dummy objects for --connectivity-check 2017-01-17 14:23:20 -08:00
templates pre-receive.sample: mark it executable 2016-10-28 14:21:11 -07:00
vcs-svn Merge branch 'mr/vcs-svn-printf-ulong' into maint 2016-09-29 16:49:37 -07:00
xdiff Merge branch 'mh/diff-indent-heuristic' 2016-10-03 13:30:38 -07:00
.gitattributes
.gitignore
.mailmap add David Turner's Two Sigma address 2016-09-26 17:46:44 -07:00
.travis.yml Merge branch 'ls/macos-update' into maint 2016-11-29 13:27:56 -08:00
COPYING
GIT-VERSION-GEN Git 2.11 2016-11-29 12:23:07 -08:00
INSTALL
LGPL-2.1
Makefile Merge branch 'ls/macos-update' into maint 2016-11-29 13:27:56 -08:00
README.md
RelNotes preparing for 2.10.3 2016-12-05 11:25:02 -08:00
abspath.c
aclocal.m4
advice.c
advice.h
alias.c
alloc.c
apply.c i18n: apply: mark error message for translation 2016-10-17 14:51:42 -07:00
apply.h apply: learn to use a different index file 2016-09-07 12:29:54 -07:00
archive-tar.c Merge branch 'jk/big-and-future-archive-tar' 2016-08-12 09:47:37 -07:00
archive-zip.c
archive.c archive: read local configuration 2016-11-22 13:55:20 -08:00
archive.h archive: read local configuration 2016-11-22 13:55:20 -08:00
argv-array.c
argv-array.h
attr.c read info/{attributes,exclude} only when in repository 2016-10-26 13:30:51 -07:00
attr.h
base85.c
bisect.c use QSORT 2016-09-29 15:42:18 -07:00
bisect.h
blob.c
blob.h
branch.c create_branch: drop unused "head" parameter 2016-11-09 14:56:21 -08:00
branch.h create_branch: drop unused "head" parameter 2016-11-09 14:56:21 -08:00
builtin.h builtin: convert textconv_object to use struct object_id 2016-09-07 12:59:42 -07:00
bulk-checkin.c
bulk-checkin.h
bundle.c
bundle.h
cache-tree.c cache: convert struct cache_entry to use struct object_id 2016-09-07 12:59:42 -07:00
cache-tree.h
cache.h Merge branch 'ls/git-open-cloexec' 2016-10-31 13:15:21 -07:00
check-builtins.sh
check-racy.c
check_bindir
color.c Merge branch 'jk/squelch-false-warning-from-gcc-o3' into maint 2016-09-19 13:51:41 -07:00
color.h
column.c
column.h
combine-diff.c diff_aligned_abbrev: use "struct oid" 2016-10-26 13:30:51 -07:00
command-list.txt
commit-slab.h Merge branch 'vs/typofix' 2016-08-12 09:47:37 -07:00
commit.c Merge branch 'rs/copy-array' into maint 2016-10-11 14:18:32 -07:00
commit.h Merge branch 'nd/shallow-deepen' 2016-10-10 14:03:50 -07:00
common-main.c common-main: stop munging argv[0] path 2016-11-29 11:01:48 -08:00
config.c get_short_sha1: make default disambiguation configurable 2016-09-27 10:29:56 -07:00
config.mak.in
config.mak.uname Merge branch 'ew/build-time-pager-tweaks' 2016-08-08 14:48:44 -07:00
configure.ac Merge branch 'dp/autoconf-curl-ssl' into maint 2016-10-28 09:01:13 -07:00
connect.c Merge branch 'ls/filter-process' 2016-10-31 13:15:21 -07:00
connect.h
connected.c check_connected: accept an env argument 2016-10-10 13:54:02 -07:00
connected.h check_connected: accept an env argument 2016-10-10 13:54:02 -07:00
convert.c Merge branch 'ls/filter-process' 2016-10-31 13:15:21 -07:00
convert.h
copy.c
credential-cache--daemon.c i18n: credential-cache--daemon: mark advice for translation 2016-10-17 14:51:47 -07:00
credential-cache.c
credential-store.c
credential.c
credential.h
csum-file.c
csum-file.h
ctype.c
daemon.c Merge branch 'jk/daemon-path-ok-check-truncation' into maint 2016-11-29 13:27:56 -08:00
date.c
decorate.c
decorate.h
delta.h
diff-delta.c
diff-lib.c commit: fix empty commit creation when there's no changes but ita entries 2016-10-24 10:48:23 -07:00
diff-no-index.c Merge branch 'jk/setup-sequence-update' 2016-09-21 15:15:24 -07:00
diff.c Merge branch 'tk/diffcore-delta-remove-unused' into maint 2016-11-29 13:28:03 -08:00
diff.h Merge branch 'nd/ita-empty-commit' 2016-10-27 14:58:50 -07:00
diffcore-break.c Merge branch 'tk/diffcore-delta-remove-unused' into maint 2016-11-29 13:28:03 -08:00
diffcore-delta.c Merge branch 'tk/diffcore-delta-remove-unused' 2016-11-17 13:45:22 -08:00
diffcore-order.c use QSORT 2016-09-29 15:42:18 -07:00
diffcore-pickaxe.c Merge branch 'js/regexec-buf' into maint 2016-09-29 16:49:45 -07:00
diffcore-rename.c Merge branch 'tk/diffcore-delta-remove-unused' into maint 2016-11-29 13:28:03 -08:00
diffcore.h Merge branch 'tk/diffcore-delta-remove-unused' into maint 2016-11-29 13:28:03 -08:00
dir-iterator.c
dir-iterator.h
dir.c read info/{attributes,exclude} only when in repository 2016-10-26 13:30:51 -07:00
dir.h ls-files: add pathspec matching for submodules 2016-10-10 12:14:58 -07:00
editor.c
entry.c streaming: make stream_blob_to_fd take struct object_id 2016-09-07 12:59:42 -07:00
environment.c Merge branch 'lt/abbrev-auto' 2016-10-27 14:58:47 -07:00
exec_cmd.c common-main: stop munging argv[0] path 2016-11-29 11:01:48 -08:00
exec_cmd.h common-main: stop munging argv[0] path 2016-11-29 11:01:48 -08:00
fast-import.c use QSORT 2016-09-29 15:42:18 -07:00
fetch-pack.c fetch-pack.c: correct command at the beginning of an error message 2016-11-11 13:28:39 -08:00
fetch-pack.h
fmt-merge-msg.h
fsck.c fsck: handle bad trees like other errors 2016-09-27 14:09:10 -07:00
fsck.h
generate-cmdlist.sh
gettext.c
gettext.h
git-add--interactive.perl diff: improve positioning of add/delete blocks in diffs 2016-09-19 10:25:11 -07:00
git-archimport.perl
git-bisect.sh
git-compat-util.h Merge branch 'jk/common-main' into maint-2.10 2016-12-05 11:24:28 -08:00
git-cvsexportcommit.perl
git-cvsimport.perl
git-cvsserver.perl
git-difftool--helper.sh difftool: always honor fatal error exit codes 2016-08-15 15:24:05 -07:00
git-difftool.perl
git-filter-branch.sh
git-instaweb.sh
git-merge-octopus.sh git-merge-octopus: do not capitalize "octopus" 2016-09-08 12:17:10 -07:00
git-merge-one-file.sh
git-merge-resolve.sh
git-mergetool--lib.sh
git-mergetool.sh mergetool: honor -O<orderfile> 2016-10-11 10:04:31 -07:00
git-p4.py Spelling fixes 2016-08-11 14:35:42 -07:00
git-parse-remote.sh
git-quiltimport.sh
git-rebase--am.sh
git-rebase--interactive.sh Merge branch 'js/rebase-i-commentchar-fix' 2016-11-23 11:23:17 -08:00
git-rebase--merge.sh
git-rebase.sh
git-relink.perl
git-remote-testgit.sh
git-request-pull.sh
git-send-email.perl
git-sh-i18n.sh
git-sh-setup.sh git-sh-setup: be explicit where to dot-source git-sh-i18n from. 2016-10-30 16:13:49 -07:00
git-stash.sh stash: allow stashes to be referenced by index only 2016-10-26 09:58:10 -07:00
git-submodule.sh clone: pass --progress decision to recursive submodules 2016-09-22 11:22:47 -07:00
git-svn.perl git-svn: "git worktree" awareness 2016-10-14 01:36:12 +00:00
git-web--browse.sh
git.c Merge branch 'jk/common-main' into maint-2.10 2016-12-05 11:24:28 -08:00
git.rc
gpg-interface.c gpg-interface: use more status letters 2016-10-12 10:41:59 -07:00
gpg-interface.h
graph.c Merge branch 'jk/graph-padding-fix' into maint 2016-10-11 14:19:03 -07:00
graph.h graph: add support for --line-prefix on all graph-aware output 2016-08-31 18:07:09 -07:00
grep.c Merge branch 'js/regexec-buf' into maint 2016-09-29 16:49:45 -07:00
grep.h Merge branch 'jc/grep-commandline-vs-configuration' into maint 2016-08-10 11:55:29 -07:00
hashmap.c
hashmap.h
help.c use QSORT 2016-09-29 15:42:18 -07:00
help.h
hex.c hex: make wraparound of the index into ring-buffer explicit 2016-10-26 10:54:11 -07:00
http-backend.c pkt-line: rename packet_write() to packet_write_fmt() 2016-10-17 11:36:50 -07:00
http-fetch.c
http-push.c Merge branch 'jk/common-main' into maint 2016-09-08 21:35:51 -07:00
http-walker.c
http.c Merge branch 'dt/http-empty-auth' 2016-10-17 13:25:18 -07:00
http.h
ident.c Merge branch 'jk/ident-ai-canonname-could-be-null' into maint 2016-10-03 13:22:32 -07:00
imap-send.c Merge branch 'jc/cocci-xstrdup-or-null' into maint 2016-10-28 09:01:23 -07:00
iterator.h
khash.h
kwset.c
kwset.h
levenshtein.c
levenshtein.h
line-log.c use QSORT 2016-09-29 15:42:18 -07:00
line-log.h
line-range.c
line-range.h
list-objects.c
list-objects.h
list.h
ll-merge.c
ll-merge.h
lockfile.c
lockfile.h mingw: ensure temporary file handles are not inherited by child processes 2016-08-23 09:09:55 -07:00
log-tree.c graph: add support for --line-prefix on all graph-aware output 2016-08-31 18:07:09 -07:00
log-tree.h
mailinfo.c Merge branch 'kd/mailinfo-quoted-string' 2016-10-03 13:30:38 -07:00
mailinfo.h mailinfo: handle in-body header continuations 2016-09-21 10:23:11 -07:00
mailmap.c cocci: refactor common patterns to use xstrdup_or_null() 2016-10-12 11:22:10 -07:00
mailmap.h
match-trees.c
merge-blobs.c
merge-blobs.h
merge-recursive.c Merge branch 'rs/cocci' 2016-10-17 13:25:21 -07:00
merge-recursive.h
merge.c sequencer: lib'ify checkout_fast_forward() 2016-09-09 11:24:52 -07:00
mergesort.c
mergesort.h
mru.c
mru.h
name-hash.c
notes-cache.c
notes-cache.h
notes-merge.c Merge branch 'va/i18n-more' 2016-09-26 16:09:18 -07:00
notes-merge.h
notes-utils.c
notes-utils.h
notes.c notes: convert init_notes to use struct object_id 2016-09-07 12:59:42 -07:00
notes.h
object.c
object.h
pack-bitmap-write.c use QSORT 2016-09-29 15:42:18 -07:00
pack-bitmap.c sha1_file: rename git_open_noatime() to git_open() 2016-10-25 10:59:13 -07:00
pack-bitmap.h
pack-check.c Merge branch 'jk/verify-packfile-gently' into maint 2016-10-11 14:21:36 -07:00
pack-objects.c
pack-objects.h pack-objects: break delta cycles before delta-search phase 2016-08-11 10:44:13 -07:00
pack-revindex.c use COPY_ARRAY 2016-09-25 16:44:13 -07:00
pack-revindex.h
pack-write.c use QSORT 2016-09-29 15:42:18 -07:00
pack.h
pager.c Merge branch 'jk/setup-sequence-update' 2016-09-21 15:15:24 -07:00
parse-options-cb.c Merge branch 'rs/cocci' 2016-10-17 13:25:21 -07:00
parse-options.c
parse-options.h Merge branch 'mh/diff-indent-heuristic' 2016-09-26 16:09:16 -07:00
patch-delta.c
patch-ids.c patch-ids: refuse to compute patch-id for merge commit 2016-09-12 13:45:01 -07:00
patch-ids.h rebase: avoid computing unnecessary patch IDs 2016-08-11 14:39:16 -07:00
path.c Merge branch 'rs/ring-buffer-wraparound' 2016-10-27 14:58:49 -07:00
pathspec.c Merge branch 'ex/deprecate-empty-pathspec-as-match-all' 2016-10-26 13:14:56 -07:00
pathspec.h Merge branch 'bw/pathspec-remove-unused-extern-decl' into maint 2016-09-29 16:49:34 -07:00
pkt-line.c pkt-line: add functions to read/write flush terminated packet streams 2016-10-17 11:36:50 -07:00
pkt-line.h pkt-line: add functions to read/write flush terminated packet streams 2016-10-17 11:36:50 -07:00
preload-index.c
pretty.c Merge branch 'rs/cocci' into maint 2016-10-28 09:01:23 -07:00
prio-queue.c
prio-queue.h
progress.c
progress.h
prompt.c
prompt.h
quote.c
quote.h
reachable.c
reachable.h
read-cache.c read-cache: make sure file handles are not inherited by child processes 2016-10-25 11:10:18 -07:00
ref-filter.c Merge branch 'jc/for-each-ref-head-segfault-fix' 2016-11-23 11:23:16 -08:00
ref-filter.h
reflog-walk.c
reflog-walk.h
refs.c Merge branch 'jc/cocci-xstrdup-or-null' 2016-10-26 13:14:45 -07:00
refs.h Merge branch 'nd/shallow-deepen' 2016-10-10 14:03:50 -07:00
remote-curl.c Merge branch 'nd/shallow-deepen' 2016-10-10 14:03:50 -07:00
remote-testsvn.c
remote.c use strbuf_addstr() for adding constant strings to a strbuf, part 2 2016-09-15 12:23:38 -07:00
remote.h Merge branch 'jk/push-force-with-lease-creation' into maint 2016-09-08 21:35:53 -07:00
replace_object.c
rerere.c cache: convert struct cache_entry to use struct object_id 2016-09-07 12:59:42 -07:00
rerere.h
resolve-undo.c cache: convert struct cache_entry to use struct object_id 2016-09-07 12:59:42 -07:00
resolve-undo.h
revision.c Merge branch 'vn/revision-shorthand-for-side-branch-log' 2016-10-06 14:53:10 -07:00
revision.h
run-command.c run-command: add clean_on_exit_handler 2016-10-17 11:36:50 -07:00
run-command.h run-command: add clean_on_exit_handler 2016-10-17 11:36:50 -07:00
send-pack.c cocci: refactor common patterns to use xstrdup_or_null() 2016-10-12 11:22:10 -07:00
send-pack.h
sequencer.c Merge branch 'js/prepare-sequencer' 2016-11-22 14:15:38 -08:00
sequencer.h sequencer: get rid of the subcommand field 2016-10-21 09:32:34 -07:00
server-info.c use QSORT 2016-09-29 15:42:18 -07:00
setup.c i18n: setup: mark error messages for translation 2016-08-09 12:44:59 -07:00
sh-i18n--envsubst.c remove unnecessary check before QSORT 2016-09-29 15:42:18 -07:00
sha1-array.c Merge branch 'rs/qsort' 2016-10-10 14:03:46 -07:00
sha1-array.h sha1_array: let callbacks interrupt iteration 2016-09-26 11:46:41 -07:00
sha1-lookup.c
sha1-lookup.h
sha1_file.c Merge branch 'jk/alt-odb-cleanup' 2016-11-10 13:17:30 -08:00
sha1_name.c Merge branch 'jk/no-looking-at-dotgit-outside-repo' 2016-11-01 12:58:49 -07:00
shallow.c Merge branch 'ls/filter-process' 2016-10-31 13:15:21 -07:00
shell.c
shortlog.h
show-index.c
sideband.c Merge branch 'lf/recv-sideband-cleanup' into maint 2016-08-08 14:21:41 -07:00
sideband.h
sigchain.c
sigchain.h
split-index.c split-index: s/eith/with/ typo fix 2016-11-01 11:48:02 -07:00
split-index.h
strbuf.c link_alt_odb_entry: handle normalize_path errors 2016-10-10 13:52:36 -07:00
strbuf.h link_alt_odb_entry: handle normalize_path errors 2016-10-10 13:52:36 -07:00
streaming.c Merge branch 'jk/pack-objects-optim-mru' 2016-10-10 14:03:47 -07:00
streaming.h streaming: make stream_blob_to_fd take struct object_id 2016-09-07 12:59:42 -07:00
string-list.c use QSORT 2016-09-29 15:42:18 -07:00
string-list.h
submodule-config.c Merge branch 'sb/submodule-update-dot-branch' 2016-08-10 12:33:20 -07:00
submodule-config.h
submodule.c Merge branch 'rs/cocci' into maint 2016-10-28 09:01:23 -07:00
submodule.h diff: teach diff to display submodule difference with an inline diff 2016-08-31 18:07:10 -07:00
symlinks.c
tag.c
tag.h
tar.h
tempfile.c mingw: ensure temporary file handles are not inherited by child processes 2016-08-23 09:09:55 -07:00
tempfile.h mingw: ensure temporary file handles are not inherited by child processes 2016-08-23 09:09:55 -07:00
thread-utils.c
thread-utils.h
tmp-objdir.c tmp-objdir: do not migrate files starting with '.' 2016-10-10 13:54:02 -07:00
tmp-objdir.h tmp-objdir: introduce API for temporary object directories 2016-10-10 13:54:02 -07:00
trace.c
trace.h
trailer.c Merge branch 'jt/trailer-with-cruft' 2016-10-31 13:15:22 -07:00
trailer.h
transport-helper.c Merge branch 'nd/shallow-deepen' 2016-10-10 14:03:50 -07:00
transport.c Merge branch 'jc/abbrev-auto' 2016-10-27 14:58:48 -07:00
transport.h Merge branch 'jc/abbrev-auto' 2016-10-27 14:58:48 -07:00
tree-diff.c
tree-walk.c fsck: handle bad trees like other errors 2016-09-27 14:09:10 -07:00
tree-walk.h fsck: handle bad trees like other errors 2016-09-27 14:09:10 -07:00
tree.c use QSORT 2016-09-29 15:42:18 -07:00
tree.h
unicode_width.h
unimplemented.sh
unix-socket.c
unix-socket.h
unpack-trees.c Merge branch 'rs/unpack-trees-reduce-file-scope-global' into maint 2016-09-29 16:49:36 -07:00
unpack-trees.h
update_unicode.sh
upload-pack.c Merge branch 'ls/filter-process' 2016-10-31 13:15:21 -07:00
url.c introduce hex2chr() for converting two hexadecimal digits to a character 2016-09-07 10:42:46 -07:00
url.h
urlmatch.c
urlmatch.h
usage.c Merge branch 'cc/apply-am' 2016-09-19 13:47:18 -07:00
userdiff.c
userdiff.h
utf8.c
utf8.h
varint.c
varint.h
version.c
version.h
versioncmp.c
walker.c
walker.h
wildmatch.c
wildmatch.h
worktree.c worktree: allow the main brach of a bare repository to be checked out 2016-10-14 09:58:58 -07:00
worktree.h
wrap-for-bin.sh
wrapper.c
write_or_die.c run-command: move check_pipe() from write_or_die to run_command 2016-10-17 11:36:49 -07:00
ws.c
wt-status.c Merge branch 'nd/ita-empty-commit' 2016-10-27 14:58:50 -07:00
wt-status.h wt-status: teach has_{unstaged,uncommitted}_changes() about submodules 2016-10-07 09:29:31 -07:00
xdiff-interface.c Merge branch 'js/regexec-buf' into maint 2016-09-29 16:49:45 -07:00
xdiff-interface.h Convert read_mmblob to take struct object_id. 2016-09-07 12:59:42 -07:00
zlib.c

README.md

Git - fast, scalable, distributed revision control system

Git is a fast, scalable, distributed revision control system with an unusually rich command set that provides both high-level operations and full access to internals.

Git is an Open Source project covered by the GNU General Public License version 2 (some parts of it are under different licenses, compatible with the GPLv2). It was originally written by Linus Torvalds with help of a group of hackers around the net.

Please read the file INSTALL for installation instructions.

Many Git online resources are accessible from http://git-scm.com/ including full documentation and Git related tools.

See Documentation/gittutorial.txt to get started, then see Documentation/giteveryday.txt for a useful minimum set of commands, and Documentation/git-.txt for documentation of each command. If git has been correctly installed, then the tutorial can also be read with man gittutorial or git help tutorial, and the documentation of each command with man git-<commandname> or git help <commandname>.

CVS users may also want to read Documentation/gitcvs-migration.txt (man gitcvs-migration or git help cvs-migration if git is installed).

The user discussion and development of Git take place on the Git mailing list -- everyone is welcome to post bug reports, feature requests, comments and patches to git@vger.kernel.org (read Documentation/SubmittingPatches for instructions on patch submission). To subscribe to the list, send an email with just "subscribe git" in the body to majordomo@vger.kernel.org. The mailing list archives are available at http://news.gmane.org/gmane.comp.version-control.git/, http://marc.info/?l=git and other archival sites.

The maintainer frequently sends the "What's cooking" reports that list the current status of various development topics to the mailing list. The discussion following them give a good reference for project status, development direction and remaining tasks.

The name "git" was given by Linus Torvalds when he wrote the very first version. He described the tool as "the stupid content tracker" and the name as (depending on your mood):

  • random three-letter combination that is pronounceable, and not actually used by any common UNIX command. The fact that it is a mispronunciation of "get" may or may not be relevant.
  • stupid. contemptible and despicable. simple. Take your pick from the dictionary of slang.
  • "global information tracker": you're in a good mood, and it actually works for you. Angels sing, and a light suddenly fills the room.
  • "goddamn idiotic truckload of sh*t": when it breaks