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Johannes Schindelin 8f6aed71d2 rebase: introduce the --rebase-merges option
Once upon a time, this here developer thought: wouldn't it be nice if,
say, Git for Windows' patches on top of core Git could be represented as
a thicket of branches, and be rebased on top of core Git in order to
maintain a cherry-pick'able set of patch series?

The original attempt to answer this was: git rebase --preserve-merges.

However, that experiment was never intended as an interactive option,
and it only piggy-backed on git rebase --interactive because that
command's implementation looked already very, very familiar: it was
designed by the same person who designed --preserve-merges: yours truly.

Some time later, some other developer (I am looking at you, Andreas!
;-)) decided that it would be a good idea to allow --preserve-merges to
be combined with --interactive (with caveats!) and the Git maintainer
(well, the interim Git maintainer during Junio's absence, that is)
agreed, and that is when the glamor of the --preserve-merges design
started to fall apart rather quickly and unglamorously.

The reason? In --preserve-merges mode, the parents of a merge commit (or
for that matter, of *any* commit) were not stated explicitly, but were
*implied* by the commit name passed to the `pick` command.

This made it impossible, for example, to reorder commits. Not to mention
to move commits between branches or, deity forbid, to split topic branches
into two.

Alas, these shortcomings also prevented that mode (whose original
purpose was to serve Git for Windows' needs, with the additional hope
that it may be useful to others, too) from serving Git for Windows'
needs.

Five years later, when it became really untenable to have one unwieldy,
big hodge-podge patch series of partly related, partly unrelated patches
in Git for Windows that was rebased onto core Git's tags from time to
time (earning the undeserved wrath of the developer of the ill-fated
git-remote-hg series that first obsoleted Git for Windows' competing
approach, only to be abandoned without maintainer later) was really
untenable, the "Git garden shears" were born [*1*/*2*]: a script,
piggy-backing on top of the interactive rebase, that would first
determine the branch topology of the patches to be rebased, create a
pseudo todo list for further editing, transform the result into a real
todo list (making heavy use of the `exec` command to "implement" the
missing todo list commands) and finally recreate the patch series on
top of the new base commit.

That was in 2013. And it took about three weeks to come up with the
design and implement it as an out-of-tree script. Needless to say, the
implementation needed quite a few years to stabilize, all the while the
design itself proved itself sound.

With this patch, the goodness of the Git garden shears comes to `git
rebase -i` itself. Passing the `--rebase-merges` option will generate
a todo list that can be understood readily, and where it is obvious
how to reorder commits. New branches can be introduced by inserting
`label` commands and calling `merge <label>`. And once this mode will
have become stable and universally accepted, we can deprecate the design
mistake that was `--preserve-merges`.

Link *1*:
https://github.com/msysgit/msysgit/blob/master/share/msysGit/shears.sh
Link *2*:
https://github.com/git-for-windows/build-extra/blob/master/shears.sh

Signed-off-by: Johannes Schindelin <johannes.schindelin@gmx.de>
Signed-off-by: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
2018-04-26 12:28:43 +09:00
.github
Documentation rebase: introduce the --rebase-merges option 2018-04-26 12:28:43 +09:00
block-sha1
builtin rebase-helper --make-script: introduce a flag to rebase merges 2018-04-26 12:28:42 +09:00
ci Merge branch 'tg/split-index-fixes' into maint 2018-03-22 14:24:10 -07:00
compat mingw: abort on invalid strftime formats 2018-03-19 10:53:17 -07:00
contrib rebase: introduce the --rebase-merges option 2018-04-26 12:28:43 +09:00
ewah
git-gui Merge branch 'cb/git-gui-ttk-style' 2018-04-25 13:28:49 +09:00
gitk-git
gitweb gitweb: hard-depend on the Digest::MD5 5.8 module 2018-03-05 10:52:27 -08:00
mergetools mergetools: add support for guiffy 2018-04-06 08:11:39 +09:00
perl git-svn: allow empty email-address using authors-prog and authors-file 2018-04-05 19:22:06 +00:00
po l10n: de.po: translate 132 new messages 2018-03-31 13:21:09 +02:00
ppc
refs refs: use chdir_notify to update cached relative paths 2018-03-30 12:50:03 -07:00
sha1collisiondetection@19d97bf5af
sha1dc
t rebase: introduce the --rebase-merges option 2018-04-26 12:28:43 +09:00
templates
vcs-svn
xdiff
.clang-format
.gitattributes
.gitignore
.gitmodules
.mailmap
.travis.yml
.tsan-suppressions
COPYING
GIT-VERSION-GEN The first batch for 2.18 cycle 2018-04-10 08:31:17 +09:00
INSTALL RelNotes: add details on Perl module changes 2018-03-16 16:07:37 -07:00
LGPL-2.1
Makefile Merge branch 'jm/mem-pool' 2018-04-25 13:29:06 +09:00
README.md
RelNotes The first batch for 2.18 cycle 2018-04-10 08:31:17 +09:00
abspath.c
aclocal.m4
advice.c
advice.h
alias.c
alloc.c
apply.c Merge branch 'bc/object-id' 2018-04-10 08:25:45 +09:00
apply.h
archive-tar.c sha1_file: convert sha1_object_info* to object_id 2018-03-14 09:23:49 -07:00
archive-zip.c sha1_file: convert sha1_object_info* to object_id 2018-03-14 09:23:49 -07:00
archive.c sha1_file: convert read_sha1_file to struct object_id 2018-03-14 09:23:50 -07:00
archive.h archive: convert sha1_file_to_archive to struct object_id 2018-03-14 09:23:48 -07:00
argv-array.c
argv-array.h
attr.c exec_cmd: rename to use dash in file name 2018-04-11 18:11:00 +09:00
attr.h
base85.c
bisect.c Merge branch 'ys/bisect-object-id-missing-conversion-fix' 2018-04-10 16:28:24 +09:00
bisect.h
blame.c sha1_file: convert read_sha1_file to struct object_id 2018-03-14 09:23:50 -07:00
blame.h
blob.c
blob.h
branch.c
branch.h
builtin.h
bulk-checkin.c Merge branch 'sb/packfiles-in-repository' 2018-04-11 13:09:55 +09:00
bulk-checkin.h bulk-checkin: convert index_bulk_checkin to struct object_id 2018-03-14 09:23:47 -07:00
bundle.c sha1_file: convert read_sha1_file to struct object_id 2018-03-14 09:23:50 -07:00
bundle.h
cache-tree.c Merge branch 'tg/split-index-fixes' into maint 2018-03-22 14:24:10 -07:00
cache-tree.h cache-tree: convert write_*_as_tree to object_id 2018-03-14 09:23:47 -07:00
cache.h Merge branch 'jk/relative-directory-fix' 2018-04-25 13:28:52 +09:00
chdir-notify.c add chdir-notify API 2018-03-30 12:49:57 -07:00
chdir-notify.h add chdir-notify API 2018-03-30 12:49:57 -07:00
check-builtins.sh
check-racy.c
check_bindir
checkout.c
checkout.h
color.c
color.h
column.c
column.h
combine-diff.c sha1_file: convert read_sha1_file to struct object_id 2018-03-14 09:23:50 -07:00
command-list.txt
commit-slab.h
commit.c sha1_file: convert read_sha1_file to struct object_id 2018-03-14 09:23:50 -07:00
commit.h
common-main.c exec_cmd: rename to use dash in file name 2018-04-11 18:11:00 +09:00
config.c Merge branch 'sb/filenames-with-dashes' 2018-04-25 13:29:05 +09:00
config.h
config.mak.in
config.mak.uname
configure.ac Merge branch 'es/fread-reads-dir-autoconf-fix' 2018-04-25 13:29:01 +09:00
connect.c
connect.h
connected.c
connected.h
convert.c convert: convert to struct object_id 2018-03-14 09:23:50 -07:00
convert.h convert: convert to struct object_id 2018-03-14 09:23:50 -07:00
copy.c
credential-cache--daemon.c
credential-cache.c
credential-store.c
credential.c credential: ignore SIGPIPE when writing to credential helpers 2018-03-29 15:33:55 -07:00
credential.h
csum-file.c
csum-file.h
ctype.c
daemon.c Merge branch 'lw/daemon-log-destination' 2018-04-25 13:28:58 +09:00
date.c
decorate.c
decorate.h
delta.h
diff-delta.c
diff-lib.c Merge branch 'bw/c-plus-plus' 2018-03-06 14:54:07 -08:00
diff-no-index.c
diff.c Merge branch 'bc/object-id' 2018-04-10 08:25:45 +09:00
diff.h Merge branch 'nd/diff-stat-with-summary' 2018-03-14 12:01:02 -07:00
diffcore-break.c
diffcore-delta.c diffcore-delta: rename 'new' variables 2018-02-22 10:08:05 -08:00
diffcore-order.c
diffcore-pickaxe.c
diffcore-rename.c
diffcore.h
dir-iterator.c
dir-iterator.h
dir.c sha1_file: convert read_sha1_file to struct object_id 2018-03-14 09:23:50 -07:00
dir.h Merge branch 'nd/fix-untracked-cache-invalidation' 2018-02-27 10:33:50 -08:00
editor.c
entry.c convert: convert to struct object_id 2018-03-14 09:23:50 -07:00
environment.c Merge branch 'jk/relative-directory-fix' 2018-04-25 13:28:52 +09:00
exec-cmd.c exec_cmd: rename to use dash in file name 2018-04-11 18:11:00 +09:00
exec-cmd.h exec_cmd: rename to use dash in file name 2018-04-11 18:11:00 +09:00
fast-import.c Merge branch 'jm/mem-pool' 2018-04-25 13:29:06 +09:00
fetch-object.c
fetch-object.h
fetch-pack.c exec_cmd: rename to use dash in file name 2018-04-11 18:11:00 +09:00
fetch-pack.h
fmt-merge-msg.h
fsck.c sha1_file: convert read_sha1_file to struct object_id 2018-03-14 09:23:50 -07:00
fsck.h
fsmonitor.c Merge branch 'bp/fsmonitor-prime-index' 2018-04-25 13:29:04 +09:00
fsmonitor.h
generate-cmdlist.sh
gettext.c
gettext.h
git-add--interactive.perl Merge branch 'pw/add-p-single' 2018-04-02 10:10:55 -07:00
git-archimport.perl
git-bisect.sh
git-compat-util.h wrapper: rename 'template' variables 2018-02-22 10:08:05 -08:00
git-cvsexportcommit.perl
git-cvsimport.perl perl: call timegm and timelocal with 4-digit year 2018-02-23 14:47:06 -08:00
git-cvsserver.perl
git-difftool--helper.sh
git-filter-branch.sh Merge branch 'yk/filter-branch-non-committish-refs' 2018-04-10 16:28:23 +09:00
git-instaweb.sh
git-merge-octopus.sh
git-merge-one-file.sh
git-merge-resolve.sh
git-mergetool--lib.sh
git-mergetool.sh
git-p4.py
git-parse-remote.sh
git-quiltimport.sh
git-rebase--am.sh Merge branch 'pw/rebase-signoff' 2018-04-25 13:28:51 +09:00
git-rebase--interactive.sh rebase: introduce the --rebase-merges option 2018-04-26 12:28:43 +09:00
git-rebase--merge.sh Merge branch 'pw/rebase-signoff' 2018-04-25 13:28:51 +09:00
git-rebase.sh rebase: introduce the --rebase-merges option 2018-04-26 12:28:43 +09:00
git-remote-testgit.sh
git-request-pull.sh
git-send-email.perl Merge branch 'ab/perl-fixes' 2018-03-15 15:00:46 -07:00
git-sh-i18n.sh
git-sh-setup.sh
git-stash.sh Merge branch 'tg/stash-untracked-with-pathspec-fix' 2018-04-10 08:25:45 +09:00
git-submodule.sh
git-svn.perl git-svn: search --authors-prog in PATH too 2018-04-05 06:55:02 +00:00
git-web--browse.sh
git.c exec_cmd: rename to use dash in file name 2018-04-11 18:11:00 +09:00
git.rc
gpg-interface.c
gpg-interface.h
graph.c
graph.h
grep.c sha1_file: convert read_sha1_file to struct object_id 2018-03-14 09:23:50 -07:00
grep.h
hash.h
hashmap.c
hashmap.h Merge branch 'rb/hashmap-h-compilation-fix' into maint 2018-03-22 14:24:15 -07:00
help.c exec_cmd: rename to use dash in file name 2018-04-11 18:11:00 +09:00
help.h
hex.c
http-backend.c exec_cmd: rename to use dash in file name 2018-04-11 18:11:00 +09:00
http-fetch.c exec_cmd: rename to use dash in file name 2018-04-11 18:11:00 +09:00
http-push.c exec_cmd: rename to use dash in file name 2018-04-11 18:11:00 +09:00
http-walker.c Merge branch 'sb/object-store' 2018-04-11 13:09:55 +09:00
http.c Merge branch 'lv/tls-1.3' 2018-04-11 13:09:57 +09:00
http.h
ident.c
imap-send.c exec_cmd: rename to use dash in file name 2018-04-11 18:11:00 +09:00
iterator.h
khash.h
kwset.c
kwset.h
levenshtein.c
levenshtein.h
line-log.c tree-walk: convert tree entry functions to object_id 2018-03-14 09:23:50 -07:00
line-log.h
line-range.c
line-range.h
list-objects-filter-options.c
list-objects-filter-options.h
list-objects-filter.c sha1_name.c: rename to use dash in file name 2018-04-11 18:11:00 +09:00
list-objects-filter.h
list-objects.c
list-objects.h
list.h
ll-merge.c
ll-merge.h
lockfile.c
lockfile.h
log-tree.c Convert find_unique_abbrev* to struct object_id 2018-03-14 09:23:48 -07:00
log-tree.h
mailinfo.c Merge branch 'jc/mailinfo-cleanup-fix' into maint 2018-03-22 14:24:16 -07:00
mailinfo.h
mailmap.c sha1_file: convert read_sha1_file to struct object_id 2018-03-14 09:23:50 -07:00
mailmap.h
match-trees.c sha1_file: convert read_sha1_file to struct object_id 2018-03-14 09:23:50 -07:00
mem-pool.c mem-pool: move reusable parts of memory pool into its own file 2018-04-12 11:55:20 +09:00
mem-pool.h mem-pool: move reusable parts of memory pool into its own file 2018-04-12 11:55:20 +09:00
merge-blobs.c sha1_file: convert read_sha1_file to struct object_id 2018-03-14 09:23:50 -07:00
merge-blobs.h
merge-recursive.c Revert "Merge branch 'en/rename-directory-detection'" 2018-04-11 18:07:11 +09:00
merge-recursive.h Revert "Merge branch 'en/rename-directory-detection'" 2018-04-11 18:07:11 +09:00
merge.c merge: always roll back lock in `checkout_fast_forward()` 2018-02-28 11:15:51 -08:00
mergesort.c
mergesort.h
name-hash.c Merge branch 'bp/name-hash-dirname-fix' 2018-02-27 10:33:53 -08:00
notes-cache.c sha1_file: convert read_sha1_file to struct object_id 2018-03-14 09:23:50 -07:00
notes-cache.h
notes-merge.c sha1_file: convert read_sha1_file to struct object_id 2018-03-14 09:23:50 -07:00
notes-merge.h
notes-utils.c
notes-utils.h
notes.c sha1_file: convert read_sha1_file to struct object_id 2018-03-14 09:23:50 -07:00
notes.h
object-store.h sha1_file: allow map_sha1_file to handle arbitrary repositories 2018-03-26 10:05:55 -07:00
object.c Merge branch 'sb/object-store' 2018-04-11 13:09:55 +09:00
object.h sha1_name.c: rename to use dash in file name 2018-04-11 18:11:00 +09:00
oidmap.c
oidmap.h
oidset.c
oidset.h
pack-bitmap-write.c sha1_file: convert sha1_object_info* to object_id 2018-03-14 09:23:49 -07:00
pack-bitmap.c packfile: keep prepare_packed_git() private 2018-03-26 10:07:43 -07:00
pack-bitmap.h
pack-check.c Merge branch 'sb/object-store' 2018-04-11 13:09:55 +09:00
pack-objects.c
pack-objects.h
pack-revindex.c object-store: move packed_git and packed_git_mru to object store 2018-03-26 10:05:46 -07:00
pack-revindex.h
pack-write.c
pack.h
packfile.c Merge branch 'sb/packfiles-in-repository' 2018-04-11 13:09:55 +09:00
packfile.h Merge branch 'sb/packfiles-in-repository' 2018-04-11 13:09:55 +09:00
pager.c
parse-options-cb.c
parse-options.c Merge branch 'ps/contains-id-error-message' 2018-04-10 16:28:20 +09:00
parse-options.h Merge branch 'ps/contains-id-error-message' 2018-04-10 16:28:20 +09:00
patch-delta.c
patch-ids.c
patch-ids.h
path.c repository: introduce raw object store field 2018-03-23 11:06:01 -07:00
path.h
pathspec.c
pathspec.h
pkt-line.c
pkt-line.h
preload-index.c
pretty.c strbuf: convert strbuf_add_unique_abbrev to use struct object_id 2018-03-14 09:23:48 -07:00
pretty.h
prio-queue.c
prio-queue.h
progress.c
progress.h
prompt.c
prompt.h
protocol.c
protocol.h
quote.c Merge branch 'jk/sq-dequote-on-bogus-input' 2018-02-27 10:34:02 -08:00
quote.h
reachable.c Merge branch 'sb/object-store' 2018-04-11 13:09:55 +09:00
reachable.h
read-cache.c Merge branch 'bc/object-id' 2018-04-10 08:25:45 +09:00
ref-filter.c Merge branch 'jk/ref-array-push' 2018-04-25 13:28:59 +09:00
ref-filter.h ref-filter: factor ref_array pushing into its own function 2018-04-09 06:14:46 +09:00
reflog-walk.c
reflog-walk.h
refs.c sha1_file: convert sha1_object_info* to object_id 2018-03-14 09:23:49 -07:00
refs.h
remote-curl.c exec_cmd: rename to use dash in file name 2018-04-11 18:11:00 +09:00
remote-testsvn.c exec_cmd: rename to use dash in file name 2018-04-11 18:11:00 +09:00
remote.c sha1_file: convert sha1_object_info* to object_id 2018-03-14 09:23:49 -07:00
remote.h Merge branch 'jh/status-no-ahead-behind' 2018-03-08 12:36:24 -08:00
replace-object.c replace_object.c: rename to use dash in file name 2018-04-11 18:11:00 +09:00
repository.c repository: introduce raw object store field 2018-03-23 11:06:01 -07:00
repository.h repository: introduce raw object store field 2018-03-23 11:06:01 -07:00
rerere.c Merge branch 'bc/object-id' 2018-04-10 08:25:45 +09:00
rerere.h completion: don't set PARSE_OPT_NOCOMPLETE on --rerere-autoupdate 2018-03-07 11:02:48 -08:00
resolve-undo.c resolve-undo: convert struct resolve_undo_info to object_id 2018-03-14 09:23:47 -07:00
resolve-undo.h resolve-undo: convert struct resolve_undo_info to object_id 2018-03-14 09:23:47 -07:00
revision.c Merge branch 'jk/cached-commit-buffer' into maint 2018-03-22 14:24:25 -07:00
revision.h Merge branch 'jk/cached-commit-buffer' 2018-03-06 14:54:05 -08:00
run-command.c exec_cmd: rename to use dash in file name 2018-04-11 18:11:00 +09:00
run-command.h
send-pack.c send-pack: convert remaining functions to struct object_id 2018-03-14 09:23:48 -07:00
send-pack.h
sequencer.c rebase-helper --make-script: introduce a flag to rebase merges 2018-04-26 12:28:42 +09:00
sequencer.h rebase-helper --make-script: introduce a flag to rebase merges 2018-04-26 12:28:42 +09:00
server-info.c packfile: keep prepare_packed_git() private 2018-03-26 10:07:43 -07:00
setup.c Merge branch 'jk/relative-directory-fix' 2018-04-25 13:28:52 +09:00
sh-i18n--envsubst.c
sha1-array.c
sha1-array.h
sha1-file.c sha1_file.c: rename to use dash in file name 2018-04-11 18:11:00 +09:00
sha1-lookup.c
sha1-lookup.h
sha1-name.c sha1_name.c: rename to use dash in file name 2018-04-11 18:11:00 +09:00
sha1dc_git.c
sha1dc_git.h
shallow.c
shell.c exec_cmd: rename to use dash in file name 2018-04-11 18:11:00 +09:00
shortlog.h
show-index.c
sideband.c
sideband.h
sigchain.c
sigchain.h
split-index.c Merge branch 'bw/c-plus-plus' 2018-03-06 14:54:07 -08:00
split-index.h split-index: rename 'new' variables 2018-02-22 10:08:05 -08:00
strbuf.c Revert "Merge branch 'en/rename-directory-detection'" 2018-04-11 18:07:11 +09:00
strbuf.h Revert "Merge branch 'en/rename-directory-detection'" 2018-04-11 18:07:11 +09:00
streaming.c Merge branch 'sb/object-store' 2018-04-11 13:09:55 +09:00
streaming.h streaming: convert open_istream to use struct object_id 2018-03-14 09:23:49 -07:00
string-list.c
string-list.h
sub-process.c
sub-process.h
submodule-config.c sha1_file: convert read_sha1_file to struct object_id 2018-03-14 09:23:50 -07:00
submodule-config.h
submodule.c Merge branch 'sb/object-store' 2018-04-11 13:09:55 +09:00
submodule.h submodule: rename 'new' variables 2018-02-22 10:08:05 -08:00
symlinks.c
tag.c sha1_file: convert read_sha1_file to struct object_id 2018-03-14 09:23:50 -07:00
tag.h
tar.h
tempfile.c tempfile: rename 'template' variables 2018-02-22 10:08:05 -08:00
tempfile.h tempfile: rename 'template' variables 2018-02-22 10:08:05 -08:00
thread-utils.c
thread-utils.h
tmp-objdir.c object-store: migrate alternates struct and functions from cache.h 2018-03-23 11:06:01 -07:00
tmp-objdir.h
trace.c trace.c: export trace_setup_key 2018-03-30 12:49:57 -07:00
trace.h trace.c: export trace_setup_key 2018-03-30 12:49:57 -07:00
trailer.c trailer: rename 'template' variables 2018-02-22 10:08:05 -08:00
trailer.h
transport-helper.c
transport-internal.h
transport.c Merge branch 'sb/object-store' 2018-04-11 13:09:55 +09:00
transport.h
tree-diff.c
tree-walk.c sha1_file: convert read_sha1_file to struct object_id 2018-03-14 09:23:50 -07:00
tree-walk.h tree-walk: convert tree entry functions to object_id 2018-03-14 09:23:50 -07:00
tree.c sha1_file: convert read_sha1_file to struct object_id 2018-03-14 09:23:50 -07:00
tree.h tree: convert read_tree_recursive to struct object_id 2018-03-14 09:23:47 -07:00
unicode-width.h unicode_width.h: rename to use dash in file name 2018-04-11 18:11:00 +09:00
unimplemented.sh
unix-socket.c
unix-socket.h
unpack-trees.c Revert "Merge branch 'en/rename-directory-detection'" 2018-04-11 18:07:11 +09:00
unpack-trees.h Revert "Merge branch 'en/rename-directory-detection'" 2018-04-11 18:07:11 +09:00
upload-pack.c exec_cmd: rename to use dash in file name 2018-04-11 18:11:00 +09:00
url.c
url.h
urlmatch.c
urlmatch.h
usage.c
userdiff.c Merge branch 'tl/userdiff-csharp-async' 2018-03-15 15:00:47 -07:00
userdiff.h
utf8.c unicode_width.h: rename to use dash in file name 2018-04-11 18:11:00 +09:00
utf8.h
varint.c
varint.h
version.c
version.h
versioncmp.c
walker.c
walker.h
wildmatch.c
wildmatch.h
worktree.c
worktree.h
wrap-for-bin.sh
wrapper.c wrapper: rename 'template' variables 2018-02-22 10:08:05 -08:00
write-or-die.c write_or_die.c: rename to use dashes in file name 2018-04-11 18:11:00 +09:00
ws.c
wt-status.c Convert find_unique_abbrev* to struct object_id 2018-03-14 09:23:48 -07:00
wt-status.h wt-status: convert struct wt_status_state to object_id 2018-03-14 09:23:48 -07:00
xdiff-interface.c sha1_file: convert read_sha1_file to struct object_id 2018-03-14 09:23:50 -07:00
xdiff-interface.h
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 https://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 https://public-inbox.org/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