git-commit.txt

git-commit(1)
=============

NAME
----
git-commit - Record your changes

SYNOPSIS
--------
[verse]
'git-commit' [-a] [-s] [-v] [(-c | -C) <commit> | -F <file> | -m <msg>]
 [--no-verify] [--amend] [-e] [--author <author>]
 [--] [[-i | -o ]<file>...]

DESCRIPTION
-----------
Updates the index file for given paths, or all modified files if
'-a' is specified, and makes a commit object. The command
VISUAL and EDITOR environment variables to edit the commit log
message.

Several environment variable are used during commits. They are
documented in gitlink:git-commit-tree[1].


This command can run `commit-msg`, `pre-commit`, and
`post-commit` hooks. See link:hooks.html[hooks] for more
information.

OPTIONS
-------
-a|--all::
Update all paths in the index file. This flag notices
files that have been modified and deleted, but new files
you have not told git about are not affected.

-c or -C <commit>::
Take existing commit object, and reuse the log message
and the authorship information (including the timestamp)
when creating the commit. With '-C', the editor is not
invoked; with '-c' the user can further edit the commit
message.

-F <file>::
Take the commit message from the given file. Use '-' to
read the message from the standard input.

--author <author>::
Override the author name used in the commit. Use
`A U Thor <author@example.com>` format.

-m <msg>::
Use the given <msg> as the commit message.

-s|--signoff::
Add Signed-off-by line at the end of the commit message.

-v|--verify::
Look for suspicious lines the commit introduces, and
abort committing if there is one. The definition of
'suspicious lines' is currently the lines that has
trailing whitespaces, and the lines whose indentation
has a SP character immediately followed by a TAB
character. This is the default.

-n|--no-verify::
The opposite of `--verify`.

-e|--edit::
The message taken from file with `-F`, command line with
`-m`, and from file with `-C` are usually used as the
commit log message unmodified. This option lets you
further edit the message taken from these sources.

--amend::

Used to amend the tip of the current branch. Prepare the tree
object you would want to replace the latest commit as usual
(this includes the usual -i/-o and explicit paths), and the
commit log editor is seeded with the commit message from the
tip of the current branch. The commit you create replaces the
current tip -- if it was a merge, it will have the parents of
the current tip as parents -- so the current top commit is
discarded.
+
--
It is a rough equivalent for:
------
$ git reset --soft HEAD^
$ ... do something else to come up with the right tree ...
$ git commit -c ORIG_HEAD

------
but can be used to amend a merge commit.
--

-i|--include::
Instead of committing only the files specified on the
command line, update them in the index file and then
commit the whole index. This is the traditional
behaviour.

-o|--only::
Commit only the files specified on the command line.
This format cannot be used during a merge, nor when the
index and the latest commit does not match on the
specified paths to avoid confusion.

--::
Do not interpret any more arguments as options.

<file>...::
Files to be committed. The meaning of these is
different between `--include` and `--only`. Without
either, it defaults `--only` semantics.

If you make a commit and then found a mistake immediately after
that, you can recover from it with gitlink:git-reset[1].


Discussion
----------

`git commit` without _any_ parameter commits the tree structure
recorded by the current index file. This is a whole-tree commit
even the command is invoked from a subdirectory.

`git commit --include paths...` is equivalent to

git update-index --remove paths...
git commit

That is, update the specified paths to the index and then commit
the whole tree.

`git commit paths...` largely bypasses the index file and
commits only the changes made to the specified paths. It has
however several safety valves to prevent confusion.

. It refuses to run during a merge (i.e. when
 `$GIT_DIR/MERGE_HEAD` exists), and reminds trained git users
 that the traditional semantics now needs -i flag.

. It refuses to run if named `paths...` are different in HEAD
 and the index (ditto about reminding). Added paths are OK.
 This is because an earlier `git diff` (not `git diff HEAD`)
 would have shown the differences since the last `git
 update-index paths...` to the user, and an inexperienced user
 may mistakenly think that the changes between the index and
 the HEAD (i.e. earlier changes made before the last `git
 update-index paths...` was done) are not being committed.

. It reads HEAD commit into a temporary index file, updates the
 specified `paths...` and makes a commit. At the same time,
 the real index file is also updated with the same `paths...`.

`git commit --all` updates the index file with _all_ changes to
the working tree, and makes a whole-tree commit, regardless of
which subdirectory the command is invoked in.


Author
------
Written by Linus Torvalds <torvalds@osdl.org> and
Junio C Hamano <junkio@cox.net>


GIT
---
Part of the gitlink:git[7] suite