Download and installation
-------------------------
-Unix users: download and install using your package manager.
+Unix users: `download and install using your package manager
+<https://git-scm.com/download/linux>`_.
Microsoft Windows: download `git-for-windows
<https://github.com/git-for-windows/git/releases>`_ or `msysGit
new (untracked) files. To simplify committing in case you just want to
commit everything without reviewing run ``git commit --all`` (or just
``-a``) - the command adds every changed tracked file to the index and
-then commit.
+then commit. To commit a file or files regardless of patches collected
+in the index run ``git commit [--only|-o] -- $FILE...``.
To add hunks of patches to the index use ``git add --patch`` (or just
``-p``). To remove collected files from the index use ``git reset HEAD
To see the diff between the index and the last commit (i.e., collected
patches) use ``git diff --cached``. To see the diff between the
working tree and the index (i.e., uncollected patches) use just ``git
-diff``.
+diff``. To see the diff between the working tree and the last commit
+(i.e., both collected and uncollected patches) run ``git diff HEAD``.
See `WhatIsTheIndex
<https://git.wiki.kernel.org/index.php/WhatIsTheIndex>`_ and
ReReRe
======
-https://git-scm.com/book/en/Git-Tools-Rerere
+Rerere is a mechanism that helps to resolve repeated merge conflicts.
+The most frequent source of recurring merge conflicts are topic
+branches that are merged into mainline and then the merge commits are
+removed; that's often performed to test the topic branches and train
+rerere; merge commits are removed to have clean history and finish a
+topic branch with only one last merge commit.
+Rerere works by remembering the states of tree before and after a
+successful commit. That way rerere can automatically resolve conflicts
+if they appear in the same files.
-Database maintenance
-====================
+Rerere can be used manually with ``git rerere`` command but most often
+it's used automatically. Enable rerere with these commands in a
+working tree::
+
+ $ git config rerere.enabled true
+ $ git config rerere.autoupdate true
+
+You don't need to turn rerere on globally - you don't want rerere in
+bare repositories or repositories without branches; you only need
+rerere in repos where you often perform merges and resolve merge
+conflicts.
-TODO: dangling objects, git gc, git repack.
+See `Rerere <https://git-scm.com/book/en/Git-Tools-Rerere>`_ in The
+Book.
-https://gcc.gnu.org/ml/gcc/2007-12/msg00165.html
-http://vcscompare.blogspot.ru/2008/06/git-repack-parameters.html
+Database maintenance
+====================
+
+Git object database and other files/directories under ``.git`` require
+periodic maintenance and cleanup. For example, commit editing left
+unreferenced objects (dangling objects, in git terminology) and these
+objects should be pruned to avoid collecting cruft in the DB. The
+command ``git gc`` is used for maintenance. Git automatically runs
+``git gc --auto`` as a part of some commands to do quick maintenance.
+Users are recommended to run ``git gc --aggressive`` from time to
+time; ``git help gc`` recommends to run it every few hundred
+changesets; for more intensive projects it should be something like
+once a week and less frequently (biweekly or monthly) for lesser
+active projects.
+
+``git gc --aggressive`` not only removes dangling objects, it also
+repacks object database into indexed and better optimized pack(s); it
+also packs symbolic references (branches and tags). Another way to do
+it is to run ``git repack``.
+
+There is a well-known `message
+<https://gcc.gnu.org/ml/gcc/2007-12/msg00165.html>`_ from Linus
+Torvalds regarding "stupidity" of ``git gc --aggressive``. The message
+can safely be ignored now. It is old and outdated, ``git gc
+--aggressive`` became much better since that time.
+
+For those who still prefer ``git repack`` over ``git gc --aggressive``
+the recommended parameters are ``git repack -a -d -f --depth=20
+--window=250``. See `this detailed experiment
+<http://vcscompare.blogspot.ru/2008/06/git-repack-parameters.html>`_
+for explanation on the effects of these parameters.
+
+From time to time run ``git fsck [--strict]`` to verify integrity of
+the database. ``git fsck`` may produce a list of dangling objects;
+that's not an error, just a reminder to perform regular maintenance.
Tips and tricks
===============
-TODO: sticky options; example: git grep -O.
+Command-line options and arguments
+----------------------------------
+
+`git help cli
+<https://www.kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/gitcli.html>`_
+recommends not to combine short options/flags. Most of the times it
+works: ``git commit -av`` works perfectly, but there are situations
+when it doesn't. E.g., ``git log -p -5`` cannot be combined as ``git
+log -p5``.
-TODO: tricky options; example: git log -p3.
+Some options have arguments, some even have default arguments. In that
+case the argument for such option must be spelled in sticky way:
+``-Oarg``, never ``-O arg`` because for an option that has a default
+argument the latter means "use default value for option ``-O`` and
+pass ``arg`` further to the option parser". For example, ``git grep``
+has an option ``-O`` that passes found files to a program; default
+program for ``-O`` is pager (ususally ``less``), but you can use your
+editor::
+
+ $ git grep -Ovim # but not -O vim
+
+BTW, there is a difference between running ``git grep -O`` and ``git
+grep -Oless`` - in the latter case ``git grep`` passes ``+/pattern``
+option to less.
TODO: bash/zsh completion, bash/zsh prompt.
https://git.kernel.org/cgit/git/git.git/tree/contrib/completion
git on server
=============
-TODO: anonymous access; git over ssh; gitolite; gitweb; cgit; gitlab.
+TODO: anonymous access (``git daemon``); git over ssh; gitolite;
+gitweb; cgit; Kallithea; pagure; gogs and gitea; gitlab.
http://gitolite.com/gitolite/index.html
http://git.zx2c4.com/cgit/
+https://kallithea-scm.org/
+
+https://pagure.io/
+
+http://gogs.io/ and http://gitea.io/
+
+https://about.gitlab.com/
+
+
From Mercurial to git
=====================
projects / git-wiki.git / blobdiff