2 Title: Collecting information about git
5 Author: Oleg Broytman <phd@phdru.name>
8 Content-Type: text/x-rst
15 This Informational PEP collects information about git. There is, of
16 course, a lot of documentation for git, so the PEP concentrates on
17 more complex issues, topics and scenarios.
19 The plan is to extend the PEP in the future collecting information
20 about equivalence of Mercurial and git scenarios to help migrating
21 Python development from Mercurial to git.
23 The author of the PEP doesn't currently plan to write a Process PEP on
24 migration from Mercurial to git.
30 Git is accompanied with a lot of documentation, both online and
33 Documentation for starters
34 --------------------------
37 <https://www.kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/gittutorial.html>`_,
39 <https://www.kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/gittutorial-2.html>`_.
42 <https://www.kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/user-manual.html>`_.
43 `Everyday GIT With 20 Commands Or So
44 <https://www.kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/everyday.html>`_.
46 <https://www.kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/gitworkflows.html>`_.
49 <http://www-cs-students.stanford.edu/~blynn/gitmagic/index.html>`_,
50 also with a number of translations.
52 Advanced documentation
53 ----------------------
55 `Pro Git <https://git-scm.com/book>`_. The Book about git. Buy it at
56 Amazon or download in PDF, mobi, or ePub form. Has translations to
57 many different languages. Download Russian translation from `GArik
58 <https://github.com/GArik/progit/wiki>`_.
60 `Git Wiki <https://git.wiki.kernel.org/index.php/Main_Page>`_.
65 Git has builtin help: run ``git help TOPIC``. For example, run
66 ``git help git`` or ``git help help``.
72 Download and installation
73 -------------------------
75 Unix users: download and install using your package manager.
77 Microsoft Windows: download `git-for-windows
78 <https://git-for-windows.github.io/>`_.
80 MacOS X: use git installed with `XCode
81 <https://developer.apple.com/xcode/downloads/>`_ or download
83 <http://sourceforge.net/projects/git-osx-installer/files/>`_.
88 This simple code is often appears in documentation, but it is
89 important so let repeat it here::
91 $ git config --global user.name "User Name"
92 $ git config --global user.email user.name@example.org
94 Put your real name and preferred email.
100 Examples of git commands in this PEP use the following approach. It is
101 supposed that you, the user, works with a local repository named
102 ``python`` that has an upstream remote repo named ``origin``. Your
103 local repo has two branches ``v1`` and ``v2``. For most examples the
104 currently checked out branch is ``v2``. That is, it's assumed you did
105 something like that::
107 $ git clone -b v1 http://git.python.org/python.git
109 $ git fetch origin v2:v2
113 Branches and branches
114 =====================
116 Git terminology can be a bit misleading. Take, for example, the term
117 "branch". In git it has two meanings. A branch is a directed chain of
118 commits (possible with merges). And a branch is a label or a pointer
119 assigned to a line of commits. It is important to differentiate when
120 you talk about commits and when about their labels. Chains of commits
121 are unnamed and are usually only lengthening. Labels, on the other
122 hand, can be created, moved, renamed and deleted freely.
125 Remote repository and remote branches
126 =====================================
128 Another example of misleading terminology. A remote repository is
129 really remote, you access it via network (well, a remote repository
130 can be on your local disk, but it's still remote because it's not the
133 Remote branches, on the other hand, are branches (pointers to commits)
134 in your local repository. They are there for git to remember what
135 branches and commits have been pulled from and pushed to what remote
136 repos (you can pull from and push to many remotes).
138 To see the status of remote branches::
142 To see local and remote branches (and tags) pointing to commits run::
146 You never do your own development on remote branches. You create a
147 local branch that has a remote branch as an upstream and do
148 development on that local branch. On push git updates remote branches,
149 and on pull git updates remote branches and fast-forwards, merges or
150 rebases local branches.
152 When you do an initial clone like this::
154 $ git clone -b v1 http://git.python.org/python.git
156 git clones remote repository ``http://git.python.org/python.git`` to
157 directory ``python``, creates remote branches and checks out branch
158 ``v1`` into the working directory.
161 Commit editing and caveats
162 ==========================
164 A warning not to edit published (pushed) commits also appears in
165 documentation but it's also repeated here as it's very important.
167 It is possible to recover from forced push but it's PITA for the
168 entire team. Please avoid it.
170 To see what commits have not been published yet compare the head of the
171 branch with its upstream remote branch::
173 $ git log origin/v2..
174 $ git log origin/v1..v1
176 For every branch that has an upstream remote branch git maintains an
177 alias @{upstream} (short version @{u}), so the commands above can be
183 To see the status of all branches::
187 To compare the status of local branches with a remote repo::
189 $ git remote show origin
191 Read `how to recover from upstream rebase
192 <https://git-scm.com/docs/git-rebase#_recovering_from_upstream_rebase>`_.
193 It is in ``git help rebase``.
195 On the other hand don't be too afraid about commit editing. You can
196 safely edit, remove, reorder, combine and split commits that hasn't
197 been pushed yet. You can even push commits to your own (backup) repo,
198 edit them later and force-push edited commits to replace what has
199 already been pushed. Not a problem until commits are in a public
212 This document has been placed in the public domain.
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