483bc4f045
Following what appears to be the predominant style, format
names of commands and commandlines both as `teletype text`.
While we're at it, add articles ("a" and "the") in some
places, italicize the name of the command in the manual page
synopsis line, and add a comma or two where it seems appropriate.
Signed-off-by: Jonathan Nieder <jrnieder@uchicago.edu>
Signed-off-by: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
528 lines
16 KiB
Plaintext
528 lines
16 KiB
Plaintext
gitattributes(5)
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================
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NAME
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----
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gitattributes - defining attributes per path
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SYNOPSIS
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--------
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$GIT_DIR/info/attributes, gitattributes
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DESCRIPTION
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-----------
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A `gitattributes` file is a simple text file that gives
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`attributes` to pathnames.
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Each line in `gitattributes` file is of form:
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glob attr1 attr2 ...
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That is, a glob pattern followed by an attributes list,
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separated by whitespaces. When the glob pattern matches the
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path in question, the attributes listed on the line are given to
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the path.
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Each attribute can be in one of these states for a given path:
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Set::
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The path has the attribute with special value "true";
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this is specified by listing only the name of the
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attribute in the attribute list.
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Unset::
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The path has the attribute with special value "false";
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this is specified by listing the name of the attribute
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prefixed with a dash `-` in the attribute list.
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Set to a value::
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The path has the attribute with specified string value;
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this is specified by listing the name of the attribute
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followed by an equal sign `=` and its value in the
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attribute list.
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Unspecified::
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No glob pattern matches the path, and nothing says if
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the path has or does not have the attribute, the
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attribute for the path is said to be Unspecified.
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When more than one glob pattern matches the path, a later line
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overrides an earlier line. This overriding is done per
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attribute.
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When deciding what attributes are assigned to a path, git
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consults `$GIT_DIR/info/attributes` file (which has the highest
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precedence), `.gitattributes` file in the same directory as the
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path in question, and its parent directories (the further the
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directory that contains `.gitattributes` is from the path in
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question, the lower its precedence).
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If you wish to affect only a single repository (i.e., to assign
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attributes to files that are particular to one user's workflow), then
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attributes should be placed in the `$GIT_DIR/info/attributes` file.
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Attributes which should be version-controlled and distributed to other
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repositories (i.e., attributes of interest to all users) should go into
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`.gitattributes` files.
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Sometimes you would need to override an setting of an attribute
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for a path to `unspecified` state. This can be done by listing
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the name of the attribute prefixed with an exclamation point `!`.
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EFFECTS
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-------
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Certain operations by git can be influenced by assigning
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particular attributes to a path. Currently, the following
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operations are attributes-aware.
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Checking-out and checking-in
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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These attributes affect how the contents stored in the
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repository are copied to the working tree files when commands
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such as `git-checkout` and `git-merge` run. They also affect how
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git stores the contents you prepare in the working tree in the
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repository upon `git-add` and `git-commit`.
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`crlf`
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^^^^^^
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This attribute controls the line-ending convention.
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Set::
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Setting the `crlf` attribute on a path is meant to mark
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the path as a "text" file. 'core.autocrlf' conversion
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takes place without guessing the content type by
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inspection.
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Unset::
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Unsetting the `crlf` attribute on a path is meant to
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mark the path as a "binary" file. The path never goes
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through line endings conversion upon checkin/checkout.
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Unspecified::
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Unspecified `crlf` attribute tells git to apply the
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`core.autocrlf` conversion when the file content looks
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like text.
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Set to string value "input"::
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This is similar to setting the attribute to `true`, but
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also forces git to act as if `core.autocrlf` is set to
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`input` for the path.
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Any other value set to `crlf` attribute is ignored and git acts
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as if the attribute is left unspecified.
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The `core.autocrlf` conversion
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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If the configuration variable `core.autocrlf` is false, no
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conversion is done.
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When `core.autocrlf` is true, it means that the platform wants
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CRLF line endings for files in the working tree, and you want to
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convert them back to the normal LF line endings when checking
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in to the repository.
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When `core.autocrlf` is set to "input", line endings are
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converted to LF upon checkin, but there is no conversion done
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upon checkout.
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If `core.safecrlf` is set to "true" or "warn", git verifies if
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the conversion is reversible for the current setting of
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`core.autocrlf`. For "true", git rejects irreversible
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conversions; for "warn", git only prints a warning but accepts
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an irreversible conversion. The safety triggers to prevent such
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a conversion done to the files in the work tree, but there are a
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few exceptions. Even though...
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- `git-add` itself does not touch the files in the work tree, the
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next checkout would, so the safety triggers;
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- `git-apply` to update a text file with a patch does touch the files
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in the work tree, but the operation is about text files and CRLF
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conversion is about fixing the line ending inconsistencies, so the
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safety does not trigger;
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- `git-diff` itself does not touch the files in the work tree, it is
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often run to inspect the changes you intend to next `git-add`. To
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catch potential problems early, safety triggers.
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`ident`
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^^^^^^^
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When the attribute `ident` is set to a path, git replaces
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`$Id$` in the blob object with `$Id:`, followed by
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40-character hexadecimal blob object name, followed by a dollar
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sign `$` upon checkout. Any byte sequence that begins with
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`$Id:` and ends with `$` in the worktree file is replaced
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with `$Id$` upon check-in.
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`filter`
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^^^^^^^^
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A `filter` attribute can be set to a string value that names a
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filter driver specified in the configuration.
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A filter driver consists of a `clean` command and a `smudge`
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command, either of which can be left unspecified. Upon
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checkout, when the `smudge` command is specified, the command is
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fed the blob object from its standard input, and its standard
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output is used to update the worktree file. Similarly, the
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`clean` command is used to convert the contents of worktree file
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upon checkin.
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A missing filter driver definition in the config is not an error
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but makes the filter a no-op passthru.
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The content filtering is done to massage the content into a
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shape that is more convenient for the platform, filesystem, and
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the user to use. The key phrase here is "more convenient" and not
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"turning something unusable into usable". In other words, the
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intent is that if someone unsets the filter driver definition,
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or does not have the appropriate filter program, the project
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should still be usable.
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Interaction between checkin/checkout attributes
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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In the check-in codepath, the worktree file is first converted
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with `filter` driver (if specified and corresponding driver
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defined), then the result is processed with `ident` (if
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specified), and then finally with `crlf` (again, if specified
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and applicable).
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In the check-out codepath, the blob content is first converted
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with `crlf`, and then `ident` and fed to `filter`.
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Generating diff text
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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The attribute `diff` affects if `git-diff` generates textual
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patch for the path or just says `Binary files differ`. It also
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can affect what line is shown on the hunk header `@@ -k,l +n,m @@`
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line.
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Set::
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A path to which the `diff` attribute is set is treated
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as text, even when they contain byte values that
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normally never appear in text files, such as NUL.
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Unset::
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A path to which the `diff` attribute is unset will
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generate `Binary files differ`.
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Unspecified::
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A path to which the `diff` attribute is unspecified
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first gets its contents inspected, and if it looks like
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text, it is treated as text. Otherwise it would
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generate `Binary files differ`.
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String::
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Diff is shown using the specified custom diff driver.
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The driver program is given its input using the same
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calling convention as used for GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF
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program. This name is also used for custom hunk header
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selection.
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Defining a custom diff driver
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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The definition of a diff driver is done in `gitconfig`, not
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`gitattributes` file, so strictly speaking this manual page is a
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wrong place to talk about it. However...
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To define a custom diff driver `jcdiff`, add a section to your
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`$GIT_DIR/config` file (or `$HOME/.gitconfig` file) like this:
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----------------------------------------------------------------
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[diff "jcdiff"]
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command = j-c-diff
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----------------------------------------------------------------
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When git needs to show you a diff for the path with `diff`
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attribute set to `jcdiff`, it calls the command you specified
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with the above configuration, i.e. `j-c-diff`, with 7
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parameters, just like `GIT_EXTERNAL_DIFF` program is called.
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See linkgit:git[1] for details.
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Defining a custom hunk-header
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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Each group of changes (called "hunk") in the textual diff output
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is prefixed with a line of the form:
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@@ -k,l +n,m @@ TEXT
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The text is called 'hunk header', and by default a line that
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begins with an alphabet, an underscore or a dollar sign is used,
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which matches what GNU `diff -p` output uses. This default
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selection however is not suited for some contents, and you can
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use customized pattern to make a selection.
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First in .gitattributes, you would assign the `diff` attribute
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for paths.
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------------------------
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*.tex diff=tex
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------------------------
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Then, you would define "diff.tex.funcname" configuration to
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specify a regular expression that matches a line that you would
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want to appear as the hunk header, like this:
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------------------------
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[diff "tex"]
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funcname = "^\\(\\\\\\(sub\\)*section{.*\\)$"
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------------------------
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Note. A single level of backslashes are eaten by the
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configuration file parser, so you would need to double the
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backslashes; the pattern above picks a line that begins with a
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backslash, and zero or more occurrences of `sub` followed by
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`section` followed by open brace, to the end of line.
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There are a few built-in patterns to make this easier, and `tex`
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is one of them, so you do not have to write the above in your
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configuration file (you still need to enable this with the
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attribute mechanism, via `.gitattributes`). Another built-in
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pattern is defined for `java` that defines a pattern suitable
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for program text in Java language.
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Performing a three-way merge
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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The attribute `merge` affects how three versions of a file is
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merged when a file-level merge is necessary during `git merge`,
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and other programs such as `git revert` and `git cherry-pick`.
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Set::
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Built-in 3-way merge driver is used to merge the
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contents in a way similar to `merge` command of `RCS`
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suite. This is suitable for ordinary text files.
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Unset::
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Take the version from the current branch as the
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tentative merge result, and declare that the merge has
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conflicts. This is suitable for binary files that does
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not have a well-defined merge semantics.
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Unspecified::
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By default, this uses the same built-in 3-way merge
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driver as is the case the `merge` attribute is set.
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However, `merge.default` configuration variable can name
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different merge driver to be used for paths to which the
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`merge` attribute is unspecified.
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String::
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3-way merge is performed using the specified custom
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merge driver. The built-in 3-way merge driver can be
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explicitly specified by asking for "text" driver; the
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built-in "take the current branch" driver can be
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requested with "binary".
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Built-in merge drivers
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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There are a few built-in low-level merge drivers defined that
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can be asked for via the `merge` attribute.
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text::
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Usual 3-way file level merge for text files. Conflicted
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regions are marked with conflict markers `<<<<<<<`,
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`=======` and `>>>>>>>`. The version from your branch
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appears before the `=======` marker, and the version
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from the merged branch appears after the `=======`
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marker.
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binary::
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Keep the version from your branch in the work tree, but
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leave the path in the conflicted state for the user to
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sort out.
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union::
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Run 3-way file level merge for text files, but take
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lines from both versions, instead of leaving conflict
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markers. This tends to leave the added lines in the
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resulting file in random order and the user should
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verify the result. Do not use this if you do not
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understand the implications.
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Defining a custom merge driver
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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The definition of a merge driver is done in the `.git/config`
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file, not in the `gitattributes` file, so strictly speaking this
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manual page is a wrong place to talk about it. However...
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To define a custom merge driver `filfre`, add a section to your
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`$GIT_DIR/config` file (or `$HOME/.gitconfig` file) like this:
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----------------------------------------------------------------
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[merge "filfre"]
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name = feel-free merge driver
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driver = filfre %O %A %B
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recursive = binary
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----------------------------------------------------------------
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The `merge.*.name` variable gives the driver a human-readable
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name.
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The `merge.*.driver` variable's value is used to construct a
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command to run to merge ancestor's version (`%O`), current
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version (`%A`) and the other branches' version (`%B`). These
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three tokens are replaced with the names of temporary files that
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hold the contents of these versions when the command line is
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built.
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The merge driver is expected to leave the result of the merge in
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the file named with `%A` by overwriting it, and exit with zero
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status if it managed to merge them cleanly, or non-zero if there
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were conflicts.
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The `merge.*.recursive` variable specifies what other merge
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driver to use when the merge driver is called for an internal
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merge between common ancestors, when there are more than one.
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When left unspecified, the driver itself is used for both
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internal merge and the final merge.
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Checking whitespace errors
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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`whitespace`
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^^^^^^^^^^^^
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The `core.whitespace` configuration variable allows you to define what
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`diff` and `apply` should consider whitespace errors for all paths in
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the project (See linkgit:git-config[1]). This attribute gives you finer
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control per path.
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Set::
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Notice all types of potential whitespace errors known to git.
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Unset::
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Do not notice anything as error.
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Unspecified::
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Use the value of `core.whitespace` configuration variable to
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decide what to notice as error.
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String::
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Specify a comma separate list of common whitespace problems to
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notice in the same format as `core.whitespace` configuration
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variable.
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EXAMPLE
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-------
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If you have these three `gitattributes` file:
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----------------------------------------------------------------
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(in $GIT_DIR/info/attributes)
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a* foo !bar -baz
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(in .gitattributes)
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abc foo bar baz
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(in t/.gitattributes)
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ab* merge=filfre
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abc -foo -bar
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*.c frotz
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----------------------------------------------------------------
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the attributes given to path `t/abc` are computed as follows:
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1. By examining `t/.gitattributes` (which is in the same
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directory as the path in question), git finds that the first
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line matches. `merge` attribute is set. It also finds that
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the second line matches, and attributes `foo` and `bar`
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are unset.
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2. Then it examines `.gitattributes` (which is in the parent
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directory), and finds that the first line matches, but
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`t/.gitattributes` file already decided how `merge`, `foo`
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and `bar` attributes should be given to this path, so it
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leaves `foo` and `bar` unset. Attribute `baz` is set.
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3. Finally it examines `$GIT_DIR/info/attributes`. This file
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is used to override the in-tree settings. The first line is
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a match, and `foo` is set, `bar` is reverted to unspecified
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state, and `baz` is unset.
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As the result, the attributes assignment to `t/abc` becomes:
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----------------------------------------------------------------
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foo set to true
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bar unspecified
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baz set to false
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merge set to string value "filfre"
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frotz unspecified
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----------------------------------------------------------------
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Creating an archive
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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`export-ignore`
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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Files and directories with the attribute `export-ignore` won't be added to
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archive files.
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`export-subst`
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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If the attribute `export-subst` is set for a file then git will expand
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several placeholders when adding this file to an archive. The
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expansion depends on the availability of a commit ID, i.e., if
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`git-archive` has been given a tree instead of a commit or a
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tag then no replacement will be done. The placeholders are the same
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as those for the option `--pretty=format:` of linkgit:git-log[1],
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except that they need to be wrapped like this: `$Format:PLACEHOLDERS$`
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in the file. E.g. the string `$Format:%H$` will be replaced by the
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commit hash.
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GIT
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---
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Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite
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