Git with broken hash generation to generate collisions between object IDs. Don't use this! https://undefinedbehavior.de/posts/commit-vandalism/
Go to file
Jeff King 5827a03545 fetch: use "quick" has_sha1_file for tag following
When we auto-follow tags in a fetch, we look at all of the
tags advertised by the remote and fetch ones where we don't
already have the tag, but we do have the object it peels to.
This involves a lot of calls to has_sha1_file(), some of
which we can reasonably expect to fail. Since 45e8a74
(has_sha1_file: re-check pack directory before giving up,
2013-08-30), this may cause many calls to
reprepare_packed_git(), which is potentially expensive.

This has gone unnoticed for several years because it
requires a fairly unique setup to matter:

  1. You need to have a lot of packs on the client side to
     make reprepare_packed_git() expensive (the most
     expensive part is finding duplicates in an unsorted
     list, which is currently quadratic).

  2. You need a large number of tag refs on the server side
     that are candidates for auto-following (i.e., that the
     client doesn't have). Each one triggers a re-read of
     the pack directory.

  3. Under normal circumstances, the client would
     auto-follow those tags and after one large fetch, (2)
     would no longer be true. But if those tags point to
     history which is disconnected from what the client
     otherwise fetches, then it will never auto-follow, and
     those candidates will impact it on every fetch.

So when all three are true, each fetch pays an extra
O(nr_tags * nr_packs^2) cost, mostly in string comparisons
on the pack names. This was exacerbated by 47bf4b0
(prepare_packed_git_one: refactor duplicate-pack check,
2014-06-30) which uses a slightly more expensive string
check, under the assumption that the duplicate check doesn't
happen very often (and it shouldn't; the real problem here
is how often we are calling reprepare_packed_git()).

This patch teaches fetch to use HAS_SHA1_QUICK to sacrifice
accuracy for speed, in cases where we might be racy with a
simultaneous repack. This is similar to the fix in 0eeb077
(index-pack: avoid excessive re-reading of pack directory,
2015-06-09). As with that case, it's OK for has_sha1_file()
occasionally say "no I don't have it" when we do, because
the worst case is not a corruption, but simply that we may
fail to auto-follow a tag that points to it.

Here are results from the included perf script, which sets
up a situation similar to the one described above:

Test            HEAD^               HEAD
----------------------------------------------------------
5550.4: fetch   11.21(10.42+0.78)   0.08(0.04+0.02) -99.3%

Reported-by: Vegard Nossum <vegard.nossum@oracle.com>
Signed-off-by: Jeff King <peff@peff.net>
Signed-off-by: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
2016-10-14 11:31:32 -07:00
block-sha1
builtin fetch: use "quick" has_sha1_file for tag following 2016-10-14 11:31:32 -07:00
ci travis-ci: build documentation 2016-05-10 11:19:07 -07:00
compat Merge branch 'bw/mingw-avoid-inheriting-fd-to-lockfile' into maint 2016-09-08 21:35:56 -07:00
contrib Merge branch 'js/import-tars-hardlinks' into maint 2016-09-08 21:35:54 -07:00
Documentation Prepare for 2.9.4 2016-09-08 21:37:59 -07:00
ewah
git-gui
gitk-git
gitweb gitweb: escape link body in format_ref_marker 2016-08-01 12:55:40 -07:00
mergetools
perl Merge branch 'lp/typofixes' 2016-05-17 14:38:20 -07:00
po l10n: ko.po: Update Korean translation 2016-06-12 01:25:58 +09:00
ppc
refs Merge branch 'dt/pre-refs-backend' 2016-04-25 15:17:15 -07:00
t fetch: use "quick" has_sha1_file for tag following 2016-10-14 11:31:32 -07:00
templates
vcs-svn vcs-svn: use error_errno() 2016-05-09 12:29:08 -07:00
xdiff Merge branch 'js/ignore-space-at-eol' into maint 2016-08-08 14:21:35 -07:00
.gitattributes .gitattributes: set file type for C files 2016-07-07 14:11:15 -07:00
.gitignore
.mailmap mailmap: use main email address for dturner 2016-07-06 10:57:01 -07:00
.travis.yml Merge branch 'ls/travis-enable-httpd-tests' into maint 2016-08-10 11:55:23 -07:00
abspath.c
aclocal.m4
advice.c
advice.h
alias.c
alloc.c
archive-tar.c archive-tar: convert snprintf to xsnprintf 2016-05-26 10:44:26 -07:00
archive-zip.c
archive.c
archive.h
argv-array.c
argv-array.h
attr.c
attr.h
base85.c
bisect.c Merge branch 'jk/bisect-show-tree' into maint 2016-07-11 10:44:11 -07:00
bisect.h
blob.c
blob.h
branch.c worktree.c: check whether branch is rebased in another worktree 2016-04-22 14:09:38 -07:00
branch.h worktree.c: check whether branch is rebased in another worktree 2016-04-22 14:09:38 -07:00
builtin.h
bulk-checkin.c
bulk-checkin.h
bundle.c
bundle.h
cache-tree.c cache-tree: do not generate empty trees as a result of all i-t-a subentries 2016-07-18 13:45:33 -07:00
cache-tree.h
cache.h fetch: use "quick" has_sha1_file for tag following 2016-10-14 11:31:32 -07:00
check_bindir
check-builtins.sh
check-racy.c check-racy.c: use error_errno() 2016-05-09 12:29:08 -07:00
color.c
color.h Merge branch 'js/color-on-windows-comment' into maint 2016-07-28 11:25:55 -07:00
column.c
column.h
combine-diff.c combine-diff.c: use error_errno() 2016-05-09 12:29:08 -07:00
command-list.txt
commit-slab.h
commit.c commit: use FLEX_ARRAY in struct merge_remote_desc 2016-08-13 19:48:07 -07:00
commit.h commit: use FLEX_ARRAY in struct merge_remote_desc 2016-08-13 19:48:07 -07:00
common-main.c mingw: declare main()'s argv as const 2016-07-06 08:11:47 -07:00
config.c Merge branch 'pc/occurred' into maint 2016-07-06 13:06:43 -07:00
config.mak.in
config.mak.uname config.mak.uname: correct perl path on FreeBSD 2016-07-26 09:43:06 -07:00
configure.ac Merge branch 'ew/autoconf-pthread' into maint 2016-08-10 11:55:21 -07:00
connect.c
connect.h
connected.c connected.c: use error_errno() 2016-05-09 12:29:08 -07:00
connected.h
convert.c convert: unify the "auto" handling of CRLF 2016-07-06 11:53:51 -07:00
convert.h convert: unify the "auto" handling of CRLF 2016-07-06 11:53:51 -07:00
copy.c copy.c: use error_errno() 2016-05-09 12:29:08 -07:00
COPYING
credential-cache--daemon.c Merge branch 'jk/common-main-2.8' into jk/common-main 2016-07-06 10:02:57 -07:00
credential-cache.c add an extra level of indirection to main() 2016-07-01 15:09:10 -07:00
credential-store.c add an extra level of indirection to main() 2016-07-01 15:09:10 -07:00
credential.c
credential.h
csum-file.c
csum-file.h
ctype.c
daemon.c Merge branch 'jk/common-main' into maint 2016-09-08 21:35:51 -07:00
date.c date: add "unix" format 2016-07-27 14:15:51 -07:00
decorate.c
decorate.h
delta.h
diff-delta.c
diff-lib.c
diff-no-index.c diff-no-index.c: use error_errno() 2016-05-09 12:29:08 -07:00
diff.c Merge branch 'jk/diff-do-not-reuse-wtf-needs-cleaning' into maint 2016-08-10 11:55:28 -07:00
diff.h
diffcore-break.c
diffcore-delta.c
diffcore-order.c
diffcore-pickaxe.c diffcore-pickaxe: support case insensitive match on non-ascii 2016-07-01 12:44:57 -07:00
diffcore-rename.c Merge branch 'sg/diff-multiple-identical-renames' into maint 2016-04-29 14:15:55 -07:00
diffcore.h
dir.c Merge branch 'rs/use-strbuf-addbuf' into maint 2016-08-08 14:21:42 -07:00
dir.h Merge branch 'nd/worktree-various-heads' 2016-05-23 14:54:29 -07:00
editor.c editor.c: use error_errno() 2016-05-09 12:29:08 -07:00
entry.c entry.c: use error_errno() 2016-05-09 12:29:08 -07:00
environment.c Merge branch 'js/windows-dotgit' into maint 2016-05-26 13:17:23 -07:00
exec_cmd.c
exec_cmd.h
fast-import.c Merge branch 'jk/common-main-2.8' into jk/common-main 2016-07-06 10:02:57 -07:00
fetch-pack.c fetch-pack: isolate sigpipe in demuxer thread 2016-04-20 13:33:56 -07:00
fetch-pack.h
fmt-merge-msg.h
fsck.c Merge branch 'jc/fsck-nul-in-commit' 2016-05-17 14:38:34 -07:00
fsck.h
generate-cmdlist.sh
gettext.c gettext: add is_utf8_locale() 2016-07-01 12:44:57 -07:00
gettext.h gettext: add is_utf8_locale() 2016-07-01 12:44:57 -07:00
git-add--interactive.perl add--interactive: respect diff.compactionHeuristic 2016-06-16 11:38:58 -07:00
git-archimport.perl
git-bisect.sh
git-compat-util.h Merge branch 'jk/tighten-alloc' into maint 2016-09-08 21:36:00 -07:00
git-cvsexportcommit.perl
git-cvsimport.perl
git-cvsserver.perl typofix: assorted typofixes in comments, documentation and messages 2016-05-06 13:16:37 -07:00
git-difftool--helper.sh difftool: always honor fatal error exit codes 2016-08-15 15:24:05 -07:00
git-difftool.perl difftool: use Git::* functions instead of passing around state 2016-07-28 14:01:55 -07:00
git-filter-branch.sh
git-instaweb.sh
git-merge-octopus.sh
git-merge-one-file.sh
git-merge-resolve.sh
git-mergetool--lib.sh Merge branch 'nf/mergetool-prompt' 2016-05-03 14:08:17 -07:00
git-mergetool.sh Merge branch 'nf/mergetool-prompt' into HEAD 2016-05-18 14:40:07 -07:00
git-p4.py Merge branch 'ao/p4-has-branch-prefix-fix' into maint 2016-07-11 10:44:16 -07:00
git-parse-remote.sh i18n: git-parse-remote.sh: mark strings for translation 2016-04-19 12:07:49 -07:00
git-quiltimport.sh
git-rebase--am.sh rebase: update comment about FreeBSD /bin/sh 2016-06-17 11:04:38 -07:00
git-rebase--interactive.sh Merge branch 'ps/rebase-i-auto-unstash-upon-abort' into maint 2016-07-28 11:25:52 -07:00
git-rebase--merge.sh Merge branch 'em/newer-freebsd-shells-are-fine-with-returns' into maint 2016-07-06 13:06:41 -07:00
git-rebase.sh Merge branch 'jc/commit-tree-ignore-commit-gpgsign' 2016-05-13 13:18:27 -07:00
git-relink.perl
git-remote-testgit.sh
git-request-pull.sh
git-send-email.perl Merge branch 'jd/send-email-to-whom' into HEAD 2016-05-18 14:40:07 -07:00
git-sh-i18n.sh
git-sh-setup.sh Merge branch 'lc/shell-default-value-noexpand' into maint 2016-07-11 10:44:13 -07:00
git-stash.sh always quote shell arguments to test -z/-n 2016-05-14 10:37:29 -07:00
git-submodule.sh Merge branch 'sb/submodule-deinit-all' into maint 2016-08-08 14:21:46 -07:00
git-svn.perl
GIT-VERSION-GEN Git 2.9.3 2016-08-12 09:17:51 -07:00
git-web--browse.sh
git.c common-main: call git_setup_gettext() 2016-07-01 15:09:10 -07:00
git.rc
gpg-interface.c Merge branch 'nd/error-errno' 2016-05-17 14:38:28 -07:00
gpg-interface.h
graph.c pretty: pass graph width to pretty formatting for use in '%>|(N)' 2016-06-16 11:43:36 -07:00
graph.h pretty: pass graph width to pretty formatting for use in '%>|(N)' 2016-06-16 11:43:36 -07:00
grep.c Merge branch 'jc/grep-commandline-vs-configuration' into maint 2016-08-10 11:55:29 -07:00
grep.h Merge branch 'jc/grep-commandline-vs-configuration' into maint 2016-08-10 11:55:29 -07:00
hashmap.c
hashmap.h
help.c t0006: skip "far in the future" test when unsigned long is not long enough 2016-07-15 09:05:53 -07:00
help.h
hex.c
http-backend.c Merge branch 'jk/common-main-2.8' into jk/common-main 2016-07-06 10:02:57 -07:00
http-fetch.c common-main: call git_setup_gettext() 2016-07-01 15:09:10 -07:00
http-push.c Merge branch 'jk/common-main' into maint 2016-09-08 21:35:51 -07:00
http-walker.c
http.c use strbuf_addstr() instead of strbuf_addf() with "%s" 2016-08-05 15:09:25 -07:00
http.h http: support sending custom HTTP headers 2016-04-27 14:02:33 -07:00
ident.c Merge branch 'jk/reset-ident-time-per-commit' into maint 2016-08-12 09:16:56 -07:00
imap-send.c common-main: call git_setup_gettext() 2016-07-01 15:09:10 -07:00
INSTALL
khash.h
kwset.c
kwset.h
levenshtein.c
levenshtein.h
LGPL-2.1
line-log.c Merge branch 'jc/deref-tag' into maint 2016-07-06 13:06:46 -07:00
line-log.h
line-range.c
line-range.h
list-objects.c struct name_entry: use struct object_id instead of unsigned char sha1[20] 2016-04-25 14:23:42 -07:00
list-objects.h
ll-merge.c Merge branch 'jc/ll-merge-internal' 2016-05-17 14:38:32 -07:00
ll-merge.h
lockfile.c
lockfile.h mingw: ensure temporary file handles are not inherited by child processes 2016-08-23 09:09:55 -07:00
log-tree.c pretty: pass graph width to pretty formatting for use in '%>|(N)' 2016-06-16 11:43:36 -07:00
log-tree.h
mailinfo.c Merge branch 'rs/mailinfo-lib' into maint 2016-09-08 21:36:01 -07:00
mailinfo.h
mailmap.c Merge branch 'nd/error-errno' 2016-05-17 14:38:28 -07:00
mailmap.h
Makefile Merge branch 'jk/common-main' into maint 2016-09-08 21:35:51 -07:00
match-trees.c match-trees: convert several leaf functions to use struct object_id 2016-04-25 14:26:29 -07:00
merge-blobs.c
merge-blobs.h
merge-recursive.c Merge branch 'rs/merge-recursive-string-list-init' into maint 2016-09-08 21:35:59 -07:00
merge-recursive.h
merge.c
mergesort.c
mergesort.h
name-hash.c
notes-cache.c
notes-cache.h
notes-merge.c notes-merge: use O_EXCL to avoid overwriting existing files 2016-07-07 14:16:26 -07:00
notes-merge.h
notes-utils.c
notes-utils.h
notes.c struct name_entry: use struct object_id instead of unsigned char sha1[20] 2016-04-25 14:23:42 -07:00
notes.h
object.c
object.h
pack-bitmap-write.c
pack-bitmap.c
pack-bitmap.h
pack-check.c fsck: use streaming interface for large blobs in pack 2016-07-13 09:15:29 -07:00
pack-objects.c
pack-objects.h
pack-revindex.c
pack-revindex.h
pack-write.c
pack.h fsck: use streaming interface for large blobs in pack 2016-07-13 09:15:29 -07:00
pager.c
parse-options-cb.c parse_options: allocate a new array when concatenating 2016-07-06 10:11:08 -07:00
parse-options.c parse-options.c: make OPTION_COUNTUP respect "unspecified" values 2016-05-05 11:52:45 -07:00
parse-options.h parse_options: allocate a new array when concatenating 2016-07-06 10:11:08 -07:00
patch-delta.c
patch-ids.c patch-ids: make commit_patch_id() a public helper function 2016-04-26 10:49:57 -07:00
patch-ids.h patch-ids: make commit_patch_id() a public helper function 2016-04-26 10:49:57 -07:00
path.c Merge branch 'rs/use-strbuf-addbuf' into maint 2016-08-08 14:21:42 -07:00
pathspec.c
pathspec.h
pkt-line.c
pkt-line.h
preload-index.c
pretty.c use strbuf_add_unique_abbrev() for adding short hashes 2016-08-06 10:33:57 -07:00
prio-queue.c
prio-queue.h
progress.c
progress.h
prompt.c
prompt.h
quote.c Merge branch 'nd/icase' into maint 2016-07-28 11:26:03 -07:00
quote.h Merge branch 'nd/icase' into maint 2016-07-28 11:26:03 -07:00
reachable.c reachable.c: use error_errno() 2016-05-09 12:29:08 -07:00
reachable.h
read-cache.c Merge branch 'jc/renormalize-merge-kill-safer-crlf' into maint 2016-09-08 21:35:52 -07:00
README.md README.md: format CLI commands with code syntax 2016-05-31 08:54:24 -07:00
ref-filter.c
ref-filter.h
reflog-walk.c reflog: continue walking the reflog past root commits 2016-06-06 15:06:44 -07:00
reflog-walk.h
refs.c
refs.h refs.h: fix misspelt "occurred" in a comment 2016-06-10 14:53:32 -07:00
RelNotes Prepare for 2.9.4 2016-09-08 21:37:59 -07:00
remote-curl.c Merge branch 'jk/common-main-2.8' into jk/common-main 2016-07-06 10:02:57 -07:00
remote-testsvn.c common-main: call git_extract_argv0_path() 2016-07-01 15:09:10 -07:00
remote.c Merge branch 'jk/push-force-with-lease-creation' into maint 2016-09-08 21:35:53 -07:00
remote.h Merge branch 'jk/push-force-with-lease-creation' into maint 2016-09-08 21:35:53 -07:00
replace_object.c
rerere.c Merge branch 'jc/rerere-multi' 2016-05-23 14:54:38 -07:00
rerere.h Merge branch 'jc/rerere-multi' 2016-04-25 15:17:15 -07:00
resolve-undo.c
resolve-undo.h
revision.c Merge branch 'jc/grep-commandline-vs-configuration' into maint 2016-08-10 11:55:29 -07:00
revision.h
run-command.c Merge branch 'jk/push-client-deadlock-fix' into HEAD 2016-05-18 14:40:06 -07:00
run-command.h Merge branch 'jk/push-client-deadlock-fix' into HEAD 2016-05-18 14:40:06 -07:00
send-pack.c Merge branch 'rs/use-strbuf-addstr' into maint 2016-08-10 11:55:34 -07:00
send-pack.h
sequencer.c use strbuf_addstr() instead of strbuf_addf() with "%s" 2016-08-05 15:09:25 -07:00
sequencer.h
server-info.c server-info.c: use error_errno() 2016-05-09 12:29:08 -07:00
setup.c Merge branch 'jc/xstrfmt-null-with-prec-0' into maint 2016-05-02 14:24:14 -07:00
sh-i18n--envsubst.c add an extra level of indirection to main() 2016-07-01 15:09:10 -07:00
sha1_file.c fetch: use "quick" has_sha1_file for tag following 2016-10-14 11:31:32 -07:00
sha1_name.c Merge branch 'bc/object-id' 2016-05-06 14:45:44 -07:00
sha1-array.c
sha1-array.h
sha1-lookup.c
sha1-lookup.h
shallow.c
shell.c common-main: call git_setup_gettext() 2016-07-01 15:09:10 -07:00
shortlog.h
show-index.c common-main: call git_setup_gettext() 2016-07-01 15:09:10 -07:00
sideband.c Merge branch 'lf/recv-sideband-cleanup' into maint 2016-08-08 14:21:41 -07:00
sideband.h sideband.c: make send_sideband() return void 2016-06-16 11:40:19 -07:00
sigchain.c
sigchain.h
split-index.c typofix: assorted typofixes in comments, documentation and messages 2016-05-06 13:16:37 -07:00
split-index.h
strbuf.c Merge branch 'rs/use-strbuf-addbuf' into maint 2016-08-08 14:21:42 -07:00
strbuf.h Merge branch 'rs/use-strbuf-addbuf' into maint 2016-08-08 14:21:42 -07:00
streaming.c
streaming.h
string-list.c string_list: use string-list API in unsorted_string_list_lookup() 2016-04-25 11:48:27 -07:00
string-list.h
submodule-config.c Merge branch 'rs/submodule-config-code-cleanup' into maint 2016-08-08 14:21:46 -07:00
submodule-config.h
submodule.c Merge branch 'jk/submodule-c-credential' 2016-05-17 14:38:25 -07:00
submodule.h Merge branch 'jk/submodule-c-credential' 2016-05-17 14:38:25 -07:00
symlinks.c symlinks: remove PATH_MAX limitation 2014-07-07 11:22:42 -07:00
tag.c verify-tag: move tag verification code to tag.c 2016-04-22 14:06:46 -07:00
tag.h verify-tag: move tag verification code to tag.c 2016-04-22 14:06:46 -07:00
tar.h
tempfile.c mingw: ensure temporary file handles are not inherited by child processes 2016-08-23 09:09:55 -07:00
tempfile.h mingw: ensure temporary file handles are not inherited by child processes 2016-08-23 09:09:55 -07:00
thread-utils.c
thread-utils.h
trace.c
trace.h
trailer.c
trailer.h
transport-helper.c Merge branch 'nd/error-errno' 2016-05-17 14:38:28 -07:00
transport.c Merge branch 'rs/use-strbuf-add-unique-abbrev' into maint 2016-09-08 21:36:00 -07:00
transport.h
tree-diff.c Merge branch 'jk/avoid-unbounded-alloca' into maint 2016-07-06 13:06:39 -07:00
tree-walk.c tree-walk: convert tree_entry_extract() to use struct object_id 2016-04-25 14:26:28 -07:00
tree-walk.h tree-walk: convert tree_entry_extract() to use struct object_id 2016-04-25 14:26:28 -07:00
tree.c struct name_entry: use struct object_id instead of unsigned char sha1[20] 2016-04-25 14:23:42 -07:00
tree.h
unicode_width.h
unimplemented.sh
unix-socket.c
unix-socket.h
unpack-trees.c unpack-trees: fix English grammar in do-this-before-that messages 2016-06-27 08:29:36 -07:00
unpack-trees.h
update_unicode.sh
upload-pack.c Merge branch 'jk/common-main' into maint 2016-09-08 21:35:51 -07:00
url.c
url.h
urlmatch.c
urlmatch.h
usage.c usage.c: add warning_errno() and error_errno() 2016-05-09 12:29:08 -07:00
userdiff.c
userdiff.h
utf8.c
utf8.h typofix: assorted typofixes in comments, documentation and messages 2016-05-06 13:16:37 -07:00
varint.c
varint.h
version.c
version.h
versioncmp.c
walker.c struct name_entry: use struct object_id instead of unsigned char sha1[20] 2016-04-25 14:23:42 -07:00
walker.h
wildmatch.c typofix: assorted typofixes in comments, documentation and messages 2016-05-06 13:16:37 -07:00
wildmatch.h
worktree.c worktree: use strbuf_add_absolute_path() directly 2016-07-12 15:11:01 -07:00
worktree.h branch: do not rename a branch under bisect or rebase 2016-04-22 14:09:39 -07:00
wrap-for-bin.sh wrap-for-bin.sh: regenerate bin-wrappers when switching branches 2016-05-10 13:23:34 -07:00
wrapper.c Merge branch 'sb/submodule-parallel-fetch' into maint 2016-07-28 11:26:02 -07:00
write_or_die.c write_or_die: remove the unused write_or_whine() function 2016-06-10 10:54:27 -07:00
ws.c
wt-status.c Merge branch 'mm/status-suggest-merge-abort' into maint 2016-08-10 11:55:19 -07:00
wt-status.h wt-status.c: split bisect detection out of wt_status_get_state() 2016-04-22 14:09:39 -07:00
xdiff-interface.c xdiff: don't trim common tail with -W 2016-05-31 13:08:56 -07:00
xdiff-interface.h xdiff: reject files larger than ~1GB 2015-09-28 14:57:23 -07:00
zlib.c

Git - fast, scalable, distributed revision control system

Git is a fast, scalable, distributed revision control system with an unusually rich command set that provides both high-level operations and full access to internals.

Git is an Open Source project covered by the GNU General Public License version 2 (some parts of it are under different licenses, compatible with the GPLv2). It was originally written by Linus Torvalds with help of a group of hackers around the net.

Please read the file INSTALL for installation instructions.

Many Git online resources are accessible from http://git-scm.com/ including full documentation and Git related tools.

See Documentation/gittutorial.txt to get started, then see Documentation/giteveryday.txt for a useful minimum set of commands, and Documentation/git-.txt for documentation of each command. If git has been correctly installed, then the tutorial can also be read with man gittutorial or git help tutorial, and the documentation of each command with man git-<commandname> or git help <commandname>.

CVS users may also want to read Documentation/gitcvs-migration.txt (man gitcvs-migration or git help cvs-migration if git is installed).

The user discussion and development of Git take place on the Git mailing list -- everyone is welcome to post bug reports, feature requests, comments and patches to git@vger.kernel.org (read Documentation/SubmittingPatches for instructions on patch submission). To subscribe to the list, send an email with just "subscribe git" in the body to majordomo@vger.kernel.org. The mailing list archives are available at http://news.gmane.org/gmane.comp.version-control.git/, http://marc.info/?l=git and other archival sites.

The maintainer frequently sends the "What's cooking" reports that list the current status of various development topics to the mailing list. The discussion following them give a good reference for project status, development direction and remaining tasks.

The name "git" was given by Linus Torvalds when he wrote the very first version. He described the tool as "the stupid content tracker" and the name as (depending on your mood):

  • random three-letter combination that is pronounceable, and not actually used by any common UNIX command. The fact that it is a mispronunciation of "get" may or may not be relevant.
  • stupid. contemptible and despicable. simple. Take your pick from the dictionary of slang.
  • "global information tracker": you're in a good mood, and it actually works for you. Angels sing, and a light suddenly fills the room.
  • "goddamn idiotic truckload of sh*t": when it breaks