Differences between revisions 1 and 12 (spanning 11 versions)

Git

Git is a version control system designed to be used in a distributed ecosystem and primarily interfaced in a terminal (i.e. git(1)).

Compare to CVS.

Contents

Installation

All Linux distributions offer a git package. Most BSD distributions do as well.

On Windows, see the Git for Windows project.

Usage

To begin tracking a directory, run git init. This creates a .git folder to maintain the internal state of the version control system.

Use git status to show the current state in a human-readable format.

Branches

For more information about using branches, see here.

Submodules

To clone a repository that uses submodules, try:

git clone --recurse-submodules git@github.com:example/example.git

Alternatively, submodules can be pulled in a separate step.

git clone git@github.com:example/example.git
cd example
git submodule update --init --recursive

To add a submodule, try:

git submodule add git@github.com:example/subexample

To delete a submodule, try:

git submodule deinit subexample

Patches

To create a patch, try:

git format-patch -1 HEAD

Generally, the HEAD can be omitted.

This creates a patch file that can be applied like:

git apply 0001-Commit-Message-Here.patch

To create a patchset of the last 3 commits, try:

git format-patch -2

This will create a series of patches that are named sequentially like 0001-Commit-1.patch, 0002-Commit-2.patch, and so on.

Note that applying a patch with git apply simply changes local files. It does not create a local commit. Compare to git am, which is meant for applying patches as commits, including metadata embedded into the patchset (i.e., creator, date, etc.).

To create a squashed patch, try:

# Assumes that local work is in a development branch

# Create a temporary branch to house a squashed commit from the development branch
git checkout -b temporary-branch
git merge --squash development-branch
git commit -a -m "Squashed Commit Message"

# Create a patch against the main branch (usually either `master` or `main`)
git format-patch main

# Finally return to main branch delete the temporary branch
git checkout main
git branch -d temporary-branch

Troubleshooting

Fatal error when cloning a remote repository

If git fails to clone a remote repository, possibly with one of the following error messages:

fatal: fetch-pack: invalid index-pack output
...
fatal: early EOF
fatal: index-pack failed

Then try a shallow clone first:

git clone --depth 1 https://example.com/repo.git
git fetch --unshallow
git pull --all

-  ⇤ ← Revision 1 as of 2020-06-11 19:10:12 → 
  Size: 904
  Editor: DominicRicottone
  Comment:
+   ← Revision 12 as of 2025-01-29 15:37:43 → ⇥
  Size: 3084
  Editor: DominicRicottone
  Comment: Patches
-Deletions are marked like this.
+Additions are marked like this.
 Line 3:
-This document covers the setup of a git remote server. For information on using `git` as an end-user, consider instead:
+'''Git''' is a version control system designed to be used in a distributed ecosystem and primarily interfaced in a terminal (i.e. `git(1)`).
 Line 5:
- * [[GitBranches]]
+Compare to [[Cvs|CVS]].
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-== Web Interfaces ==
+== Installation ==
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-=== CGit ===
+All [[Linux]] distributions offer a `git` package. Most [[BSD]] distributions do as well.
 Line 16:
-[[CGitSetup|CGit]] is a very lightweight and resource-efficient solution for viewing git repositories in the web. Fundamentally it is ''only'' a tool for viewing a git repository:
+On [[Windows]], see the [[https://gitforwindows.org/|Git for Windows]] project.
 Line 18:
- * You must maintain a git repository local to the '''CGit''' instance
 * There is no integrated bug or issue tracker
 * Features generally considered mandatory-like authentication, rendering of markdown `README` files, and syntax highlighting-are dependent on filter plugins
+----
-Line 22:
+Line 20:
-Given the lightweight nature and minimal feature set, '''CGit''' is ideal for entirely public projects that handle bug tracking independently of source code hosting, or for hosting private code on an intranet.
+== Usage ==

To begin tracking a directory, run `git init`. This creates a `.git` folder to maintain the internal state of the version control system.

Use `git status` to show the current state in a human-readable format.



=== Branches ===

For more information about using branches, see [[Git/Branches|here]].



=== Submodules ===

To clone a repository that uses submodules, try:

{{{
git clone --recurse-submodules git@github.com:example/example.git
}}}

Alternatively, submodules can be pulled in a separate step.

{{{
git clone git@github.com:example/example.git
cd example
git submodule update --init --recursive
}}}

To add a submodule, try:

{{{
git submodule add git@github.com:example/subexample
}}}

To delete a submodule, try:

{{{
git submodule deinit subexample
}}}



=== Patches ===

To create a patch, try:

{{{
git format-patch -1 HEAD
}}}

Generally, the `HEAD` can be omitted.

This creates a patch file that can be applied like:

{{{
git apply 0001-Commit-Message-Here.patch
}}}

To create a patchset of the last 3 commits, try:

{{{
git format-patch -2
}}}

This will create a series of patches that are named sequentially like `0001-Commit-1.patch`, `0002-Commit-2.patch`, and so on.

Note that applying a patch with `git apply` simply changes local files. It does ''not'' create a local commit. Compare to `git am`, which is meant for applying patches as commits, including metadata embedded into the patchset (i.e., creator, date, etc.).

To create a squashed patch, try:

{{{
# Assumes that local work is in a development branch

# Create a temporary branch to house a squashed commit from the development branch
git checkout -b temporary-branch
git merge --squash development-branch
git commit -a -m "Squashed Commit Message"

# Create a patch against the main branch (usually either `master` or `main`)
git format-patch main

# Finally return to main branch delete the temporary branch
git checkout main
git branch -d temporary-branch
}}}

----



== Troubleshooting ==



=== Fatal error when cloning a remote repository ===

If git fails to clone a remote repository, possibly with one of the following error messages:

{{{
fatal: fetch-pack: invalid index-pack output
...
fatal: early EOF
fatal: index-pack failed
}}}

Then try a '''shallow clone''' first:

{{{
git clone --depth 1 https://example.com/repo.git
git fetch --unshallow
git pull --all
}}}

----



== See also ==

[[https://man.archlinux.org/man/git.1|git(1)]]

[[Git/GitShell|git-shell]]

[[CGit|CGit]]



----
CategoryRicottone

Diff for "Git"

Git