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
49 latter case. If you want to format a single commit, you can do
50 this with "git format-patch -1 <commit>".
52 By default, each output file is numbered sequentially from 1, and uses the
53 first line of the commit message (massaged for pathname safety) as
54 the filename. With the --numbered-files option, the output file names
55 will only be numbers, without the first line of the commit appended.
56 The names of the output files are printed to standard
57 output, unless the --stdout option is specified.
59 If -o is specified, output files are created in <dir>. Otherwise
60 they are created in the current working directory.
62 If -n is specified, instead of "[PATCH] Subject", the first line
63 is formatted as "[PATCH n/m] Subject".
65 If given --thread, 'git-format-patch' will generate In-Reply-To and
66 References headers to make the second and subsequent patch mails appear
67 as replies to the first mail; this also generates a Message-Id header to
73 include::diff-options.txt[]
76 Limits the number of patches to prepare.
79 --output-directory <dir>::
80 Use <dir> to store the resulting files, instead of the
81 current working directory.
85 Name output in '[PATCH n/m]' format.
89 Name output in '[PATCH]' format.
92 Start numbering the patches at <n> instead of 1.
95 Output file names will be a simple number sequence
96 without the default first line of the commit appended.
97 Mutually exclusive with the --stdout option.
101 Do not strip/add '[PATCH]' from the first line of the
106 Add `Signed-off-by:` line to the commit message, using
107 the committer identity of yourself.
110 Print all commits to the standard output in mbox format,
111 instead of creating a file for each one.
113 --attach[=<boundary>]::
114 Create multipart/mixed attachment, the first part of
115 which is the commit message and the patch itself in the
116 second part, with "Content-Disposition: attachment".
118 --inline[=<boundary>]::
119 Create multipart/mixed attachment, the first part of
120 which is the commit message and the patch itself in the
121 second part, with "Content-Disposition: inline".
124 Add In-Reply-To and References headers to make the second and
125 subsequent mails appear as replies to the first. Also generates
126 the Message-Id header to reference.
128 --in-reply-to=Message-Id::
129 Make the first mail (or all the mails with --no-thread) appear as a
130 reply to the given Message-Id, which avoids breaking threads to
131 provide a new patch series.
133 --ignore-if-in-upstream::
134 Do not include a patch that matches a commit in
135 <until>..<since>. This will examine all patches reachable
136 from <since> but not from <until> and compare them with the
137 patches being generated, and any patch that matches is
140 --subject-prefix=<Subject-Prefix>::
141 Instead of the standard '[PATCH]' prefix in the subject
142 line, instead use '[<Subject-Prefix>]'. This
143 allows for useful naming of a patch series, and can be
144 combined with the --numbered option.
147 Add a "Cc:" header to the email headers. This is in addition
148 to any configured headers, and may be used multiple times.
151 In addition to the patches, generate a cover letter file
152 containing the shortlog and the overall diffstat. You can
153 fill in a description in the file before sending it out.
156 Instead of using `.patch` as the suffix for generated
157 filenames, use specified suffix. A common alternative is
160 Note that you would need to include the leading dot `.` if you
161 want a filename like `0001-description-of-my-change.patch`, and
162 the first letter does not have to be a dot. Leaving it empty would
166 Don't output contents of changes in binary files, just take note
167 that they differ. Note that this disable the patch to be properly
168 applied. By default the contents of changes in those files are
169 encoded in the patch.
173 You can specify extra mail header lines to be added to each message
174 in the repository configuration, new defaults for the subject prefix
175 and file suffix, and number patches when outputting more than one.
179 headers = "Organization: git-foo\n"
180 subjectprefix = CHANGE
190 * Extract commits between revisions R1 and R2, and apply them on top of
191 the current branch using 'git-am' to cherry-pick them:
194 $ git format-patch -k --stdout R1..R2 | git am -3 -k
197 * Extract all commits which are in the current branch but not in the
201 $ git format-patch origin
204 For each commit a separate file is created in the current directory.
206 * Extract all commits that lead to 'origin' since the inception of the
210 $ git format-patch --root origin
213 * The same as the previous one:
216 $ git format-patch -M -B origin
219 Additionally, it detects and handles renames and complete rewrites
220 intelligently to produce a renaming patch. A renaming patch reduces
221 the amount of text output, and generally makes it easier to review it.
222 Note that the "patch" program does not understand renaming patches, so
223 use it only when you know the recipient uses git to apply your patch.
225 * Extract three topmost commits from the current branch and format them
226 as e-mailable patches:
229 $ git format-patch -3
234 linkgit:git-am[1], linkgit:git-send-email[1]
239 Written by Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
243 Documentation by Junio C Hamano and the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>.
247 Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite
projects / git / blob