6 git-send-email - Send a collection of patches as emails
12 'git send-email' [<options>] <file|directory|rev-list options>...
13 'git send-email' --dump-aliases
18 Takes the patches given on the command line and emails them out.
19 Patches can be specified as files, directories (which will send all
20 files in the directory), or directly as a revision list. In the
21 last case, any format accepted by linkgit:git-format-patch[1] can
22 be passed to git send-email.
24 The header of the email is configurable via command-line options. If not
25 specified on the command line, the user will be prompted with a ReadLine
26 enabled interface to provide the necessary information.
28 There are two formats accepted for patch files:
32 This is what linkgit:git-format-patch[1] generates. Most headers and MIME
33 formatting are ignored.
35 2. The original format used by Greg Kroah-Hartman's 'send_lots_of_email.pl'
38 This format expects the first line of the file to contain the "Cc:" value
39 and the "Subject:" of the message as the second line.
49 Review and edit each patch you're about to send. Default is the value
50 of `sendemail.annotate`. See the CONFIGURATION section for
51 `sendemail.multiEdit`.
54 Specify a "Bcc:" value for each email. Default is the value of
57 This option may be specified multiple times.
60 Specify a starting "Cc:" value for each email.
61 Default is the value of `sendemail.cc`.
63 This option may be specified multiple times.
66 Invoke a text editor (see GIT_EDITOR in linkgit:git-var[1])
67 to edit an introductory message for the patch series.
69 When `--compose` is used, git send-email will use the From, Subject, and
70 In-Reply-To headers specified in the message. If the body of the message
71 (what you type after the headers and a blank line) only contains blank
72 (or Git: prefixed) lines, the summary won't be sent, but From, Subject,
73 and In-Reply-To headers will be used unless they are removed.
75 Missing From or In-Reply-To headers will be prompted for.
77 See the CONFIGURATION section for `sendemail.multiEdit`.
80 Specify the sender of the emails. If not specified on the command line,
81 the value of the `sendemail.from` configuration option is used. If
82 neither the command-line option nor `sendemail.from` are set, then the
83 user will be prompted for the value. The default for the prompt will be
84 the value of GIT_AUTHOR_IDENT, or GIT_COMMITTER_IDENT if that is not
85 set, as returned by "git var -l".
87 --reply-to=<address>::
88 Specify the address where replies from recipients should go to.
89 Use this if replies to messages should go to another address than what
90 is specified with the --from parameter.
92 --in-reply-to=<identifier>::
93 Make the first mail (or all the mails with `--no-thread`) appear as a
94 reply to the given Message-Id, which avoids breaking threads to
95 provide a new patch series.
96 The second and subsequent emails will be sent as replies according to
97 the `--[no-]chain-reply-to` setting.
99 So for example when `--thread` and `--no-chain-reply-to` are specified, the
100 second and subsequent patches will be replies to the first one like in the
101 illustration below where `[PATCH v2 0/3]` is in reply to `[PATCH 0/2]`:
103 [PATCH 0/2] Here is what I did...
104 [PATCH 1/2] Clean up and tests
105 [PATCH 2/2] Implementation
106 [PATCH v2 0/3] Here is a reroll
107 [PATCH v2 1/3] Clean up
108 [PATCH v2 2/3] New tests
109 [PATCH v2 3/3] Implementation
111 Only necessary if --compose is also set. If --compose
112 is not set, this will be prompted for.
115 Specify the initial subject of the email thread.
116 Only necessary if --compose is also set. If --compose
117 is not set, this will be prompted for.
120 Specify the primary recipient of the emails generated. Generally, this
121 will be the upstream maintainer of the project involved. Default is the
122 value of the `sendemail.to` configuration value; if that is unspecified,
123 and --to-cmd is not specified, this will be prompted for.
125 This option may be specified multiple times.
127 --8bit-encoding=<encoding>::
128 When encountering a non-ASCII message or subject that does not
129 declare its encoding, add headers/quoting to indicate it is
130 encoded in <encoding>. Default is the value of the
131 'sendemail.assume8bitEncoding'; if that is unspecified, this
132 will be prompted for if any non-ASCII files are encountered.
134 Note that no attempts whatsoever are made to validate the encoding.
136 --compose-encoding=<encoding>::
137 Specify encoding of compose message. Default is the value of the
138 'sendemail.composeencoding'; if that is unspecified, UTF-8 is assumed.
140 --transfer-encoding=(7bit|8bit|quoted-printable|base64|auto)::
141 Specify the transfer encoding to be used to send the message over SMTP.
142 7bit will fail upon encountering a non-ASCII message. quoted-printable
143 can be useful when the repository contains files that contain carriage
144 returns, but makes the raw patch email file (as saved from a MUA) much
145 harder to inspect manually. base64 is even more fool proof, but also
146 even more opaque. auto will use 8bit when possible, and quoted-printable
149 Default is the value of the `sendemail.transferEncoding` configuration
150 value; if that is unspecified, default to `auto`.
154 Add (or prevent adding) the "X-Mailer:" header. By default,
155 the header is added, but it can be turned off by setting the
156 `sendemail.xmailer` configuration variable to `false`.
161 --envelope-sender=<address>::
162 Specify the envelope sender used to send the emails.
163 This is useful if your default address is not the address that is
164 subscribed to a list. In order to use the 'From' address, set the
165 value to "auto". If you use the sendmail binary, you must have
166 suitable privileges for the -f parameter. Default is the value of the
167 `sendemail.envelopeSender` configuration variable; if that is
168 unspecified, choosing the envelope sender is left to your MTA.
170 --smtp-encryption=<encryption>::
171 Specify the encryption to use, either 'ssl' or 'tls'. Any other
172 value reverts to plain SMTP. Default is the value of
173 `sendemail.smtpEncryption`.
175 --smtp-domain=<FQDN>::
176 Specifies the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) used in the
177 HELO/EHLO command to the SMTP server. Some servers require the
178 FQDN to match your IP address. If not set, git send-email attempts
179 to determine your FQDN automatically. Default is the value of
180 `sendemail.smtpDomain`.
182 --smtp-auth=<mechanisms>::
183 Whitespace-separated list of allowed SMTP-AUTH mechanisms. This setting
184 forces using only the listed mechanisms. Example:
187 $ git send-email --smtp-auth="PLAIN LOGIN GSSAPI" ...
190 If at least one of the specified mechanisms matches the ones advertised by the
191 SMTP server and if it is supported by the utilized SASL library, the mechanism
192 is used for authentication. If neither 'sendemail.smtpAuth' nor `--smtp-auth`
193 is specified, all mechanisms supported by the SASL library can be used.
195 --smtp-pass[=<password>]::
196 Password for SMTP-AUTH. The argument is optional: If no
197 argument is specified, then the empty string is used as
198 the password. Default is the value of `sendemail.smtpPass`,
199 however `--smtp-pass` always overrides this value.
201 Furthermore, passwords need not be specified in configuration files
202 or on the command line. If a username has been specified (with
203 `--smtp-user` or a `sendemail.smtpUser`), but no password has been
204 specified (with `--smtp-pass` or `sendemail.smtpPass`), then
205 a password is obtained using 'git-credential'.
207 --smtp-server=<host>::
208 If set, specifies the outgoing SMTP server to use (e.g.
209 `smtp.example.com` or a raw IP address). Alternatively it can
210 specify a full pathname of a sendmail-like program instead;
211 the program must support the `-i` option. Default value can
212 be specified by the `sendemail.smtpServer` configuration
213 option; the built-in default is to search for `sendmail` in
214 `/usr/sbin`, `/usr/lib` and $PATH if such program is
215 available, falling back to `localhost` otherwise.
217 --smtp-server-port=<port>::
218 Specifies a port different from the default port (SMTP
219 servers typically listen to smtp port 25, but may also listen to
220 submission port 587, or the common SSL smtp port 465);
221 symbolic port names (e.g. "submission" instead of 587)
222 are also accepted. The port can also be set with the
223 `sendemail.smtpServerPort` configuration variable.
225 --smtp-server-option=<option>::
226 If set, specifies the outgoing SMTP server option to use.
227 Default value can be specified by the `sendemail.smtpServerOption`
228 configuration option.
230 The --smtp-server-option option must be repeated for each option you want
231 to pass to the server. Likewise, different lines in the configuration files
232 must be used for each option.
235 Legacy alias for '--smtp-encryption ssl'.
237 --smtp-ssl-cert-path::
238 Path to a store of trusted CA certificates for SMTP SSL/TLS
239 certificate validation (either a directory that has been processed
240 by 'c_rehash', or a single file containing one or more PEM format
241 certificates concatenated together: see verify(1) -CAfile and
242 -CApath for more information on these). Set it to an empty string
243 to disable certificate verification. Defaults to the value of the
244 `sendemail.smtpsslcertpath` configuration variable, if set, or the
245 backing SSL library's compiled-in default otherwise (which should
246 be the best choice on most platforms).
249 Username for SMTP-AUTH. Default is the value of `sendemail.smtpUser`;
250 if a username is not specified (with `--smtp-user` or `sendemail.smtpUser`),
251 then authentication is not attempted.
254 Enable (1) or disable (0) debug output. If enabled, SMTP
255 commands and replies will be printed. Useful to debug TLS
256 connection and authentication problems.
259 Some email servers (e.g. smtp.163.com) limit the number emails to be
260 sent per session (connection) and this will lead to a failure when
261 sending many messages. With this option, send-email will disconnect after
262 sending $<num> messages and wait for a few seconds (see --relogin-delay)
263 and reconnect, to work around such a limit. You may want to
264 use some form of credential helper to avoid having to retype
265 your password every time this happens. Defaults to the
266 `sendemail.smtpBatchSize` configuration variable.
268 --relogin-delay=<int>::
269 Waiting $<int> seconds before reconnecting to SMTP server. Used together
270 with --batch-size option. Defaults to the `sendemail.smtpReloginDelay`
271 configuration variable.
277 Specify a command to execute once per patch file which
278 should generate patch file specific "To:" entries.
279 Output of this command must be single email address per line.
280 Default is the value of 'sendemail.tocmd' configuration value.
283 Specify a command to execute once per patch file which
284 should generate patch file specific "Cc:" entries.
285 Output of this command must be single email address per line.
286 Default is the value of `sendemail.ccCmd` configuration value.
288 --[no-]chain-reply-to::
289 If this is set, each email will be sent as a reply to the previous
290 email sent. If disabled with "--no-chain-reply-to", all emails after
291 the first will be sent as replies to the first email sent. When using
292 this, it is recommended that the first file given be an overview of the
293 entire patch series. Disabled by default, but the `sendemail.chainReplyTo`
294 configuration variable can be used to enable it.
296 --identity=<identity>::
297 A configuration identity. When given, causes values in the
298 'sendemail.<identity>' subsection to take precedence over
299 values in the 'sendemail' section. The default identity is
300 the value of `sendemail.identity`.
302 --[no-]signed-off-by-cc::
303 If this is set, add emails found in Signed-off-by: or Cc: lines to the
304 cc list. Default is the value of `sendemail.signedoffbycc` configuration
305 value; if that is unspecified, default to --signed-off-by-cc.
308 If this is set, emails found in Cc: headers in the first patch of
309 the series (typically the cover letter) are added to the cc list
310 for each email set. Default is the value of 'sendemail.cccover'
311 configuration value; if that is unspecified, default to --no-cc-cover.
314 If this is set, emails found in To: headers in the first patch of
315 the series (typically the cover letter) are added to the to list
316 for each email set. Default is the value of 'sendemail.tocover'
317 configuration value; if that is unspecified, default to --no-to-cover.
319 --suppress-cc=<category>::
320 Specify an additional category of recipients to suppress the
324 - 'author' will avoid including the patch author.
325 - 'self' will avoid including the sender.
326 - 'cc' will avoid including anyone mentioned in Cc lines in the patch header
327 except for self (use 'self' for that).
328 - 'bodycc' will avoid including anyone mentioned in Cc lines in the
329 patch body (commit message) except for self (use 'self' for that).
330 - 'sob' will avoid including anyone mentioned in Signed-off-by lines except
331 for self (use 'self' for that).
332 - 'misc-by' will avoid including anyone mentioned in Acked-by,
333 Reviewed-by, Tested-by and other "-by" lines in the patch body,
334 except Signed-off-by (use 'sob' for that).
335 - 'cccmd' will avoid running the --cc-cmd.
336 - 'body' is equivalent to 'sob' + 'bodycc' + 'misc-by'.
337 - 'all' will suppress all auto cc values.
340 Default is the value of `sendemail.suppresscc` configuration value; if
341 that is unspecified, default to 'self' if --suppress-from is
342 specified, as well as 'body' if --no-signed-off-cc is specified.
344 --[no-]suppress-from::
345 If this is set, do not add the From: address to the cc: list.
346 Default is the value of `sendemail.suppressFrom` configuration
347 value; if that is unspecified, default to --no-suppress-from.
350 If this is set, the In-Reply-To and References headers will be
351 added to each email sent. Whether each mail refers to the
352 previous email (`deep` threading per 'git format-patch'
353 wording) or to the first email (`shallow` threading) is
354 governed by "--[no-]chain-reply-to".
356 If disabled with "--no-thread", those headers will not be added
357 (unless specified with --in-reply-to). Default is the value of the
358 `sendemail.thread` configuration value; if that is unspecified,
361 It is up to the user to ensure that no In-Reply-To header already
362 exists when 'git send-email' is asked to add it (especially note that
363 'git format-patch' can be configured to do the threading itself).
364 Failure to do so may not produce the expected result in the
372 Confirm just before sending:
375 - 'always' will always confirm before sending
376 - 'never' will never confirm before sending
377 - 'cc' will confirm before sending when send-email has automatically
378 added addresses from the patch to the Cc list
379 - 'compose' will confirm before sending the first message when using --compose.
380 - 'auto' is equivalent to 'cc' + 'compose'
383 Default is the value of `sendemail.confirm` configuration value; if that
384 is unspecified, default to 'auto' unless any of the suppress options
385 have been specified, in which case default to 'compose'.
388 Do everything except actually send the emails.
390 --[no-]format-patch::
391 When an argument may be understood either as a reference or as a file name,
392 choose to understand it as a format-patch argument (`--format-patch`)
393 or as a file name (`--no-format-patch`). By default, when such a conflict
394 occurs, git send-email will fail.
397 Make git-send-email less verbose. One line per email should be
401 Perform sanity checks on patches.
402 Currently, validation means the following:
405 * Invoke the sendemail-validate hook if present (see linkgit:githooks[5]).
406 * Warn of patches that contain lines longer than
407 998 characters unless a suitable transfer encoding
408 ('auto', 'base64', or 'quoted-printable') is used;
409 this is due to SMTP limits as described by
410 http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc5322.txt.
413 Default is the value of `sendemail.validate`; if this is not set,
414 default to `--validate`.
417 Send emails even if safety checks would prevent it.
424 Instead of the normal operation, dump the shorthand alias names from
425 the configured alias file(s), one per line in alphabetical order. Note,
426 this only includes the alias name and not its expanded email addresses.
427 See 'sendemail.aliasesfile' for more information about aliases.
433 sendemail.aliasesFile::
434 To avoid typing long email addresses, point this to one or more
435 email aliases files. You must also supply `sendemail.aliasFileType`.
437 sendemail.aliasFileType::
438 Format of the file(s) specified in sendemail.aliasesFile. Must be
439 one of 'mutt', 'mailrc', 'pine', 'elm', or 'gnus', or 'sendmail'.
441 What an alias file in each format looks like can be found in
442 the documentation of the email program of the same name. The
443 differences and limitations from the standard formats are
448 * Quoted aliases and quoted addresses are not supported: lines that
449 contain a `"` symbol are ignored.
450 * Redirection to a file (`/path/name`) or pipe (`|command`) is not
452 * File inclusion (`:include: /path/name`) is not supported.
453 * Warnings are printed on the standard error output for any
454 explicitly unsupported constructs, and any other lines that are not
455 recognized by the parser.
458 sendemail.multiEdit::
459 If true (default), a single editor instance will be spawned to edit
460 files you have to edit (patches when `--annotate` is used, and the
461 summary when `--compose` is used). If false, files will be edited one
462 after the other, spawning a new editor each time.
465 Sets the default for whether to confirm before sending. Must be
466 one of 'always', 'never', 'cc', 'compose', or 'auto'. See `--confirm`
467 in the previous section for the meaning of these values.
471 Use gmail as the smtp server
472 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
473 To use 'git send-email' to send your patches through the GMail SMTP server,
474 edit ~/.gitconfig to specify your account settings:
478 smtpServer = smtp.gmail.com
479 smtpUser = yourname@gmail.com
482 If you have multifactor authentication setup on your gmail account, you will
483 need to generate an app-specific password for use with 'git send-email'. Visit
484 https://security.google.com/settings/security/apppasswords to create it.
486 Once your commits are ready to be sent to the mailing list, run the
489 $ git format-patch --cover-letter -M origin/master -o outgoing/
490 $ edit outgoing/0000-*
491 $ git send-email outgoing/*
493 The first time you run it, you will be prompted for your credentials. Enter the
494 app-specific or your regular password as appropriate. If you have credential
495 helper configured (see linkgit:git-credential[1]), the password will be saved in
496 the credential store so you won't have to type it the next time.
498 Note: the following perl modules are required
499 Net::SMTP::SSL, MIME::Base64 and Authen::SASL
503 linkgit:git-format-patch[1], linkgit:git-imap-send[1], mbox(5)
507 Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite