6 git-format-patch - Prepare patches for e-mail submission
12 'git format-patch' [-k] [-o <dir> | --stdout] [--thread]
13 [--attach[=<boundary>] | --inline[=<boundary>] |
15 [-s | --signoff] [<common diff options>]
16 [-n | --numbered | -N | --no-numbered]
17 [--start-number <n>] [--numbered-files]
18 [--in-reply-to=Message-Id] [--suffix=.<sfx>]
19 [--ignore-if-in-upstream]
20 [--subject-prefix=Subject-Prefix]
23 [ <since> | <revision range> ]
28 Prepare each commit with its patch in
29 one file per commit, formatted to resemble UNIX mailbox format.
30 The output of this command is convenient for e-mail submission or
31 for use with 'git-am'.
33 There are two ways to specify which commits to operate on.
35 1. A single commit, <since>, specifies that the commits leading
36 to the tip of the current branch that are not in the history
37 that leads to the <since> to be output.
39 2. Generic <revision range> expression (see "SPECIFYING
40 REVISIONS" section in linkgit:git-rev-parse[1]) means the
41 commits in the specified range.
43 A single commit, when interpreted as a <revision range>
44 expression, means "everything that leads to that commit", but
45 if you write 'git format-patch <commit>', the previous rule
46 applies to that command line and you do not get "everything
47 since the beginning of the time". If you want to format
48 everything since project inception to one commit, say "git
49 format-patch \--root <commit>" to make it clear that it is the
50 latter case. If you want to format a single commit, you can do
51 this with "git format-patch -1 <commit>".
53 By default, each output file is numbered sequentially from 1, and uses the
54 first line of the commit message (massaged for pathname safety) as
55 the filename. With the --numbered-files option, the output file names
56 will only be numbers, without the first line of the commit appended.
57 The names of the output files are printed to standard
58 output, unless the --stdout option is specified.
60 If -o is specified, output files are created in <dir>. Otherwise
61 they are created in the current working directory.
63 By default, the subject of a single patch is "[PATCH] First Line" and
64 the subject when multiple patches are output is "[PATCH n/m] First
65 Line". To force 1/1 to be added for a single patch, use -n. To omit
66 patch numbers from the subject, use -N
68 If given --thread, 'git-format-patch' will generate In-Reply-To and
69 References headers to make the second and subsequent patch mails appear
70 as replies to the first mail; this also generates a Message-Id header to
76 include::diff-options.txt[]
79 Limits the number of patches to prepare.
82 --output-directory <dir>::
83 Use <dir> to store the resulting files, instead of the
84 current working directory.
88 Name output in '[PATCH n/m]' format, even with a single patch.
92 Name output in '[PATCH]' format.
95 Start numbering the patches at <n> instead of 1.
98 Output file names will be a simple number sequence
99 without the default first line of the commit appended.
100 Mutually exclusive with the --stdout option.
104 Do not strip/add '[PATCH]' from the first line of the
109 Add `Signed-off-by:` line to the commit message, using
110 the committer identity of yourself.
113 Print all commits to the standard output in mbox format,
114 instead of creating a file for each one.
116 --attach[=<boundary>]::
117 Create multipart/mixed attachment, the first part of
118 which is the commit message and the patch itself in the
119 second part, with "Content-Disposition: attachment".
122 Disable the creation of an attachment, overriding the
123 configuration setting.
125 --inline[=<boundary>]::
126 Create multipart/mixed attachment, the first part of
127 which is the commit message and the patch itself in the
128 second part, with "Content-Disposition: inline".
131 Add In-Reply-To and References headers to make the second and
132 subsequent mails appear as replies to the first. Also generates
133 the Message-Id header to reference.
135 The optional <style> argument can be either `shallow` or `deep`.
136 'Shallow' threading makes every mail a reply to the head of the
137 series, where the head is chosen from the cover letter, the
138 `\--in-reply-to`, and the first patch mail, in this order. 'Deep'
139 threading makes every mail a reply to the previous one. If not
140 specified, defaults to the 'format.thread' configuration, or `shallow`
143 --in-reply-to=Message-Id::
144 Make the first mail (or all the mails with --no-thread) appear as a
145 reply to the given Message-Id, which avoids breaking threads to
146 provide a new patch series.
148 --ignore-if-in-upstream::
149 Do not include a patch that matches a commit in
150 <until>..<since>. This will examine all patches reachable
151 from <since> but not from <until> and compare them with the
152 patches being generated, and any patch that matches is
155 --subject-prefix=<Subject-Prefix>::
156 Instead of the standard '[PATCH]' prefix in the subject
157 line, instead use '[<Subject-Prefix>]'. This
158 allows for useful naming of a patch series, and can be
159 combined with the --numbered option.
162 Add a "Cc:" header to the email headers. This is in addition
163 to any configured headers, and may be used multiple times.
166 In addition to the patches, generate a cover letter file
167 containing the shortlog and the overall diffstat. You can
168 fill in a description in the file before sending it out.
171 Instead of using `.patch` as the suffix for generated
172 filenames, use specified suffix. A common alternative is
175 Note that you would need to include the leading dot `.` if you
176 want a filename like `0001-description-of-my-change.patch`, and
177 the first letter does not have to be a dot. Leaving it empty would
181 Don't output contents of changes in binary files, just take note
182 that they differ. Note that this disable the patch to be properly
183 applied. By default the contents of changes in those files are
184 encoded in the patch.
188 You can specify extra mail header lines to be added to each message
189 in the repository configuration, new defaults for the subject prefix
190 and file suffix, control attachements, and number patches when outputting
195 headers = "Organization: git-foo\n"
196 subjectprefix = CHANGE
200 attach [ = mime-boundary-string ]
207 * Extract commits between revisions R1 and R2, and apply them on top of
208 the current branch using 'git-am' to cherry-pick them:
211 $ git format-patch -k --stdout R1..R2 | git am -3 -k
214 * Extract all commits which are in the current branch but not in the
218 $ git format-patch origin
221 For each commit a separate file is created in the current directory.
223 * Extract all commits that lead to 'origin' since the inception of the
227 $ git format-patch --root origin
230 * The same as the previous one:
233 $ git format-patch -M -B origin
236 Additionally, it detects and handles renames and complete rewrites
237 intelligently to produce a renaming patch. A renaming patch reduces
238 the amount of text output, and generally makes it easier to review it.
239 Note that the "patch" program does not understand renaming patches, so
240 use it only when you know the recipient uses git to apply your patch.
242 * Extract three topmost commits from the current branch and format them
243 as e-mailable patches:
246 $ git format-patch -3
251 linkgit:git-am[1], linkgit:git-send-email[1]
256 Written by Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
260 Documentation by Junio C Hamano and the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>.
264 Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite
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