Documentation / git-push.txton commit push: --follow-tags (c2aba15)
   1git-push(1)
   2===========
   3
   4NAME
   5----
   6git-push - Update remote refs along with associated objects
   7
   8
   9SYNOPSIS
  10--------
  11[verse]
  12'git push' [--all | --mirror | --tags] [--follow-tags] [-n | --dry-run] [--receive-pack=<git-receive-pack>]
  13           [--repo=<repository>] [-f | --force] [--prune] [-v | --verbose] [-u | --set-upstream]
  14           [<repository> [<refspec>...]]
  15
  16DESCRIPTION
  17-----------
  18
  19Updates remote refs using local refs, while sending objects
  20necessary to complete the given refs.
  21
  22You can make interesting things happen to a repository
  23every time you push into it, by setting up 'hooks' there.  See
  24documentation for linkgit:git-receive-pack[1].
  25
  26
  27OPTIONS[[OPTIONS]]
  28------------------
  29<repository>::
  30        The "remote" repository that is destination of a push
  31        operation.  This parameter can be either a URL
  32        (see the section <<URLS,GIT URLS>> below) or the name
  33        of a remote (see the section <<REMOTES,REMOTES>> below).
  34
  35<refspec>...::
  36        The format of a <refspec> parameter is an optional plus
  37        `+`, followed by the source ref <src>, followed
  38        by a colon `:`, followed by the destination ref <dst>.
  39        It is used to specify with what <src> object the <dst> ref
  40        in the remote repository is to be updated.  If not specified,
  41        the behavior of the command is controlled by the `push.default`
  42        configuration variable.
  43+
  44The <src> is often the name of the branch you would want to push, but
  45it can be any arbitrary "SHA-1 expression", such as `master~4` or
  46`HEAD` (see linkgit:gitrevisions[7]).
  47+
  48The <dst> tells which ref on the remote side is updated with this
  49push. Arbitrary expressions cannot be used here, an actual ref must
  50be named. If `:`<dst> is omitted, the same ref as <src> will be
  51updated.
  52+
  53The object referenced by <src> is used to update the <dst> reference
  54on the remote side, but by default this is only allowed if the
  55update can fast-forward <dst>.  By having the optional leading `+`,
  56you can tell git to update the <dst> ref even when the update is not a
  57fast-forward.  This does *not* attempt to merge <src> into <dst>.  See
  58EXAMPLES below for details.
  59+
  60`tag <tag>` means the same as `refs/tags/<tag>:refs/tags/<tag>`.
  61+
  62Pushing an empty <src> allows you to delete the <dst> ref from
  63the remote repository.
  64+
  65The special refspec `:` (or `+:` to allow non-fast-forward updates)
  66directs git to push "matching" branches: for every branch that exists on
  67the local side, the remote side is updated if a branch of the same name
  68already exists on the remote side.  This is the default operation mode
  69if no explicit refspec is found (that is neither on the command line
  70nor in any Push line of the corresponding remotes file---see below) and
  71no `push.default` configuration variable is set.
  72
  73--all::
  74        Instead of naming each ref to push, specifies that all
  75        refs under `refs/heads/` be pushed.
  76
  77--prune::
  78        Remove remote branches that don't have a local counterpart. For example
  79        a remote branch `tmp` will be removed if a local branch with the same
  80        name doesn't exist any more. This also respects refspecs, e.g.
  81        `git push --prune remote refs/heads/*:refs/tmp/*` would
  82        make sure that remote `refs/tmp/foo` will be removed if `refs/heads/foo`
  83        doesn't exist.
  84
  85--mirror::
  86        Instead of naming each ref to push, specifies that all
  87        refs under `refs/` (which includes but is not
  88        limited to `refs/heads/`, `refs/remotes/`, and `refs/tags/`)
  89        be mirrored to the remote repository.  Newly created local
  90        refs will be pushed to the remote end, locally updated refs
  91        will be force updated on the remote end, and deleted refs
  92        will be removed from the remote end.  This is the default
  93        if the configuration option `remote.<remote>.mirror` is
  94        set.
  95
  96-n::
  97--dry-run::
  98        Do everything except actually send the updates.
  99
 100--porcelain::
 101        Produce machine-readable output.  The output status line for each ref
 102        will be tab-separated and sent to stdout instead of stderr.  The full
 103        symbolic names of the refs will be given.
 104
 105--delete::
 106        All listed refs are deleted from the remote repository. This is
 107        the same as prefixing all refs with a colon.
 108
 109--tags::
 110        All refs under `refs/tags` are pushed, in
 111        addition to refspecs explicitly listed on the command
 112        line.
 113
 114--follow-tags::
 115        Push all the refs that would be pushed without this option,
 116        and also push annotated tags in `refs/tags` that are missing
 117        from the remote but are pointing at committish that are
 118        reachable from the refs being pushed.
 119
 120--receive-pack=<git-receive-pack>::
 121--exec=<git-receive-pack>::
 122        Path to the 'git-receive-pack' program on the remote
 123        end.  Sometimes useful when pushing to a remote
 124        repository over ssh, and you do not have the program in
 125        a directory on the default $PATH.
 126
 127-f::
 128--force::
 129        Usually, the command refuses to update a remote ref that is
 130        not an ancestor of the local ref used to overwrite it.
 131        This flag disables the check.  This can cause the
 132        remote repository to lose commits; use it with care.
 133
 134--repo=<repository>::
 135        This option is only relevant if no <repository> argument is
 136        passed in the invocation. In this case, 'git push' derives the
 137        remote name from the current branch: If it tracks a remote
 138        branch, then that remote repository is pushed to. Otherwise,
 139        the name "origin" is used. For this latter case, this option
 140        can be used to override the name "origin". In other words,
 141        the difference between these two commands
 142+
 143--------------------------
 144git push public         #1
 145git push --repo=public  #2
 146--------------------------
 147+
 148is that #1 always pushes to "public" whereas #2 pushes to "public"
 149only if the current branch does not track a remote branch. This is
 150useful if you write an alias or script around 'git push'.
 151
 152-u::
 153--set-upstream::
 154        For every branch that is up to date or successfully pushed, add
 155        upstream (tracking) reference, used by argument-less
 156        linkgit:git-pull[1] and other commands. For more information,
 157        see 'branch.<name>.merge' in linkgit:git-config[1].
 158
 159--thin::
 160--no-thin::
 161        These options are passed to linkgit:git-send-pack[1]. A thin transfer
 162        significantly reduces the amount of sent data when the sender and
 163        receiver share many of the same objects in common. The default is
 164        \--thin.
 165
 166-q::
 167--quiet::
 168        Suppress all output, including the listing of updated refs,
 169        unless an error occurs. Progress is not reported to the standard
 170        error stream.
 171
 172-v::
 173--verbose::
 174        Run verbosely.
 175
 176--progress::
 177        Progress status is reported on the standard error stream
 178        by default when it is attached to a terminal, unless -q
 179        is specified. This flag forces progress status even if the
 180        standard error stream is not directed to a terminal.
 181
 182--recurse-submodules=check|on-demand::
 183        Make sure all submodule commits used by the revisions to be
 184        pushed are available on a remote-tracking branch. If 'check' is
 185        used git will verify that all submodule commits that changed in
 186        the revisions to be pushed are available on at least one remote
 187        of the submodule. If any commits are missing the push will be
 188        aborted and exit with non-zero status. If 'on-demand' is used
 189        all submodules that changed in the revisions to be pushed will
 190        be pushed. If on-demand was not able to push all necessary
 191        revisions it will also be aborted and exit with non-zero status.
 192
 193
 194include::urls-remotes.txt[]
 195
 196OUTPUT
 197------
 198
 199The output of "git push" depends on the transport method used; this
 200section describes the output when pushing over the git protocol (either
 201locally or via ssh).
 202
 203The status of the push is output in tabular form, with each line
 204representing the status of a single ref. Each line is of the form:
 205
 206-------------------------------
 207 <flag> <summary> <from> -> <to> (<reason>)
 208-------------------------------
 209
 210If --porcelain is used, then each line of the output is of the form:
 211
 212-------------------------------
 213 <flag> \t <from>:<to> \t <summary> (<reason>)
 214-------------------------------
 215
 216The status of up-to-date refs is shown only if --porcelain or --verbose
 217option is used.
 218
 219flag::
 220        A single character indicating the status of the ref:
 221(space);; for a successfully pushed fast-forward;
 222`+`;; for a successful forced update;
 223`-`;; for a successfully deleted ref;
 224`*`;; for a successfully pushed new ref;
 225`!`;; for a ref that was rejected or failed to push; and
 226`=`;; for a ref that was up to date and did not need pushing.
 227
 228summary::
 229        For a successfully pushed ref, the summary shows the old and new
 230        values of the ref in a form suitable for using as an argument to
 231        `git log` (this is `<old>..<new>` in most cases, and
 232        `<old>...<new>` for forced non-fast-forward updates).
 233+
 234For a failed update, more details are given:
 235+
 236--
 237rejected::
 238        Git did not try to send the ref at all, typically because it
 239        is not a fast-forward and you did not force the update.
 240
 241remote rejected::
 242        The remote end refused the update.  Usually caused by a hook
 243        on the remote side, or because the remote repository has one
 244        of the following safety options in effect:
 245        `receive.denyCurrentBranch` (for pushes to the checked out
 246        branch), `receive.denyNonFastForwards` (for forced
 247        non-fast-forward updates), `receive.denyDeletes` or
 248        `receive.denyDeleteCurrent`.  See linkgit:git-config[1].
 249
 250remote failure::
 251        The remote end did not report the successful update of the ref,
 252        perhaps because of a temporary error on the remote side, a
 253        break in the network connection, or other transient error.
 254--
 255
 256from::
 257        The name of the local ref being pushed, minus its
 258        `refs/<type>/` prefix. In the case of deletion, the
 259        name of the local ref is omitted.
 260
 261to::
 262        The name of the remote ref being updated, minus its
 263        `refs/<type>/` prefix.
 264
 265reason::
 266        A human-readable explanation. In the case of successfully pushed
 267        refs, no explanation is needed. For a failed ref, the reason for
 268        failure is described.
 269
 270Note about fast-forwards
 271------------------------
 272
 273When an update changes a branch (or more in general, a ref) that used to
 274point at commit A to point at another commit B, it is called a
 275fast-forward update if and only if B is a descendant of A.
 276
 277In a fast-forward update from A to B, the set of commits that the original
 278commit A built on top of is a subset of the commits the new commit B
 279builds on top of.  Hence, it does not lose any history.
 280
 281In contrast, a non-fast-forward update will lose history.  For example,
 282suppose you and somebody else started at the same commit X, and you built
 283a history leading to commit B while the other person built a history
 284leading to commit A.  The history looks like this:
 285
 286----------------
 287
 288      B
 289     /
 290 ---X---A
 291
 292----------------
 293
 294Further suppose that the other person already pushed changes leading to A
 295back to the original repository from which you two obtained the original
 296commit X.
 297
 298The push done by the other person updated the branch that used to point at
 299commit X to point at commit A.  It is a fast-forward.
 300
 301But if you try to push, you will attempt to update the branch (that
 302now points at A) with commit B.  This does _not_ fast-forward.  If you did
 303so, the changes introduced by commit A will be lost, because everybody
 304will now start building on top of B.
 305
 306The command by default does not allow an update that is not a fast-forward
 307to prevent such loss of history.
 308
 309If you do not want to lose your work (history from X to B) nor the work by
 310the other person (history from X to A), you would need to first fetch the
 311history from the repository, create a history that contains changes done
 312by both parties, and push the result back.
 313
 314You can perform "git pull", resolve potential conflicts, and "git push"
 315the result.  A "git pull" will create a merge commit C between commits A
 316and B.
 317
 318----------------
 319
 320      B---C
 321     /   /
 322 ---X---A
 323
 324----------------
 325
 326Updating A with the resulting merge commit will fast-forward and your
 327push will be accepted.
 328
 329Alternatively, you can rebase your change between X and B on top of A,
 330with "git pull --rebase", and push the result back.  The rebase will
 331create a new commit D that builds the change between X and B on top of
 332A.
 333
 334----------------
 335
 336      B   D
 337     /   /
 338 ---X---A
 339
 340----------------
 341
 342Again, updating A with this commit will fast-forward and your push will be
 343accepted.
 344
 345There is another common situation where you may encounter non-fast-forward
 346rejection when you try to push, and it is possible even when you are
 347pushing into a repository nobody else pushes into. After you push commit
 348A yourself (in the first picture in this section), replace it with "git
 349commit --amend" to produce commit B, and you try to push it out, because
 350forgot that you have pushed A out already. In such a case, and only if
 351you are certain that nobody in the meantime fetched your earlier commit A
 352(and started building on top of it), you can run "git push --force" to
 353overwrite it. In other words, "git push --force" is a method reserved for
 354a case where you do mean to lose history.
 355
 356
 357Examples
 358--------
 359
 360`git push`::
 361        Works like `git push <remote>`, where <remote> is the
 362        current branch's remote (or `origin`, if no remote is
 363        configured for the current branch).
 364
 365`git push origin`::
 366        Without additional configuration, works like
 367        `git push origin :`.
 368+
 369The default behavior of this command when no <refspec> is given can be
 370configured by setting the `push` option of the remote, or the `push.default`
 371configuration variable.
 372+
 373For example, to default to pushing only the current branch to `origin`
 374use `git config remote.origin.push HEAD`.  Any valid <refspec> (like
 375the ones in the examples below) can be configured as the default for
 376`git push origin`.
 377
 378`git push origin :`::
 379        Push "matching" branches to `origin`. See
 380        <refspec> in the <<OPTIONS,OPTIONS>> section above for a
 381        description of "matching" branches.
 382
 383`git push origin master`::
 384        Find a ref that matches `master` in the source repository
 385        (most likely, it would find `refs/heads/master`), and update
 386        the same ref (e.g. `refs/heads/master`) in `origin` repository
 387        with it.  If `master` did not exist remotely, it would be
 388        created.
 389
 390`git push origin HEAD`::
 391        A handy way to push the current branch to the same name on the
 392        remote.
 393
 394`git push mothership master:satellite/master dev:satellite/dev`::
 395        Use the source ref that matches `master` (e.g. `refs/heads/master`)
 396        to update the ref that matches `satellite/master` (most probably
 397        `refs/remotes/satellite/master`) in the `mothership` repository;
 398        do the same for `dev` and `satellite/dev`.
 399+
 400This is to emulate `git fetch` run on the `mothership` using `git
 401push` that is run in the opposite direction in order to integrate
 402the work done on `satellite`, and is often necessary when you can
 403only make connection in one way (i.e. satellite can ssh into
 404mothership but mothership cannot initiate connection to satellite
 405because the latter is behind a firewall or does not run sshd).
 406+
 407After running this `git push` on the `satellite` machine, you would
 408ssh into the `mothership` and run `git merge` there to complete the
 409emulation of `git pull` that were run on `mothership` to pull changes
 410made on `satellite`.
 411
 412`git push origin HEAD:master`::
 413        Push the current branch to the remote ref matching `master` in the
 414        `origin` repository. This form is convenient to push the current
 415        branch without thinking about its local name.
 416
 417`git push origin master:refs/heads/experimental`::
 418        Create the branch `experimental` in the `origin` repository
 419        by copying the current `master` branch.  This form is only
 420        needed to create a new branch or tag in the remote repository when
 421        the local name and the remote name are different; otherwise,
 422        the ref name on its own will work.
 423
 424`git push origin :experimental`::
 425        Find a ref that matches `experimental` in the `origin` repository
 426        (e.g. `refs/heads/experimental`), and delete it.
 427
 428`git push origin +dev:master`::
 429        Update the origin repository's master branch with the dev branch,
 430        allowing non-fast-forward updates.  *This can leave unreferenced
 431        commits dangling in the origin repository.*  Consider the
 432        following situation, where a fast-forward is not possible:
 433+
 434----
 435            o---o---o---A---B  origin/master
 436                     \
 437                      X---Y---Z  dev
 438----
 439+
 440The above command would change the origin repository to
 441+
 442----
 443                      A---B  (unnamed branch)
 444                     /
 445            o---o---o---X---Y---Z  master
 446----
 447+
 448Commits A and B would no longer belong to a branch with a symbolic name,
 449and so would be unreachable.  As such, these commits would be removed by
 450a `git gc` command on the origin repository.
 451
 452GIT
 453---
 454Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite