-
Notifications
You must be signed in to change notification settings - Fork 164
/
git-rebase.txt
1304 lines (1066 loc) · 46.5 KB
/
git-rebase.txt
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506
507
508
509
510
511
512
513
514
515
516
517
518
519
520
521
522
523
524
525
526
527
528
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
540
541
542
543
544
545
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553
554
555
556
557
558
559
560
561
562
563
564
565
566
567
568
569
570
571
572
573
574
575
576
577
578
579
580
581
582
583
584
585
586
587
588
589
590
591
592
593
594
595
596
597
598
599
600
601
602
603
604
605
606
607
608
609
610
611
612
613
614
615
616
617
618
619
620
621
622
623
624
625
626
627
628
629
630
631
632
633
634
635
636
637
638
639
640
641
642
643
644
645
646
647
648
649
650
651
652
653
654
655
656
657
658
659
660
661
662
663
664
665
666
667
668
669
670
671
672
673
674
675
676
677
678
679
680
681
682
683
684
685
686
687
688
689
690
691
692
693
694
695
696
697
698
699
700
701
702
703
704
705
706
707
708
709
710
711
712
713
714
715
716
717
718
719
720
721
722
723
724
725
726
727
728
729
730
731
732
733
734
735
736
737
738
739
740
741
742
743
744
745
746
747
748
749
750
751
752
753
754
755
756
757
758
759
760
761
762
763
764
765
766
767
768
769
770
771
772
773
774
775
776
777
778
779
780
781
782
783
784
785
786
787
788
789
790
791
792
793
794
795
796
797
798
799
800
801
802
803
804
805
806
807
808
809
810
811
812
813
814
815
816
817
818
819
820
821
822
823
824
825
826
827
828
829
830
831
832
833
834
835
836
837
838
839
840
841
842
843
844
845
846
847
848
849
850
851
852
853
854
855
856
857
858
859
860
861
862
863
864
865
866
867
868
869
870
871
872
873
874
875
876
877
878
879
880
881
882
883
884
885
886
887
888
889
890
891
892
893
894
895
896
897
898
899
900
901
902
903
904
905
906
907
908
909
910
911
912
913
914
915
916
917
918
919
920
921
922
923
924
925
926
927
928
929
930
931
932
933
934
935
936
937
938
939
940
941
942
943
944
945
946
947
948
949
950
951
952
953
954
955
956
957
958
959
960
961
962
963
964
965
966
967
968
969
970
971
972
973
974
975
976
977
978
979
980
981
982
983
984
985
986
987
988
989
990
991
992
993
994
995
996
997
998
999
1000
git-rebase(1)
=============
NAME
----
git-rebase - Reapply commits on top of another base tip
SYNOPSIS
--------
[verse]
'git rebase' [-i | --interactive] [<options>] [--exec <cmd>]
[--onto <newbase> | --keep-base] [<upstream> [<branch>]]
'git rebase' [-i | --interactive] [<options>] [--exec <cmd>] [--onto <newbase>]
--root [<branch>]
'git rebase' (--continue|--skip|--abort|--quit|--edit-todo|--show-current-patch)
DESCRIPTION
-----------
If `<branch>` is specified, `git rebase` will perform an automatic
`git switch <branch>` before doing anything else. Otherwise
it remains on the current branch.
If `<upstream>` is not specified, the upstream configured in
`branch.<name>.remote` and `branch.<name>.merge` options will be used (see
linkgit:git-config[1] for details) and the `--fork-point` option is
assumed. If you are currently not on any branch or if the current
branch does not have a configured upstream, the rebase will abort.
All changes made by commits in the current branch but that are not
in `<upstream>` are saved to a temporary area. This is the same set
of commits that would be shown by `git log <upstream>..HEAD`; or by
`git log 'fork_point'..HEAD`, if `--fork-point` is active (see the
description on `--fork-point` below); or by `git log HEAD`, if the
`--root` option is specified.
The current branch is reset to `<upstream>` or `<newbase>` if the
`--onto` option was supplied. This has the exact same effect as
`git reset --hard <upstream>` (or `<newbase>`). `ORIG_HEAD` is set
to point at the tip of the branch before the reset.
[NOTE]
`ORIG_HEAD` is not guaranteed to still point to the previous branch tip
at the end of the rebase if other commands that write that pseudo-ref
(e.g. `git reset`) are used during the rebase. The previous branch tip,
however, is accessible using the reflog of the current branch
(i.e. `@{1}`, see linkgit:gitrevisions[7]).
The commits that were previously saved into the temporary area are
then reapplied to the current branch, one by one, in order. Note that
any commits in `HEAD` which introduce the same textual changes as a commit
in `HEAD..<upstream>` are omitted (i.e., a patch already accepted upstream
with a different commit message or timestamp will be skipped).
It is possible that a merge failure will prevent this process from being
completely automatic. You will have to resolve any such merge failure
and run `git rebase --continue`. Another option is to bypass the commit
that caused the merge failure with `git rebase --skip`. To check out the
original `<branch>` and remove the `.git/rebase-apply` working files, use
the command `git rebase --abort` instead.
Assume the following history exists and the current branch is "topic":
------------
A---B---C topic
/
D---E---F---G master
------------
From this point, the result of either of the following commands:
git rebase master
git rebase master topic
would be:
------------
A'--B'--C' topic
/
D---E---F---G master
------------
*NOTE:* The latter form is just a short-hand of `git checkout topic`
followed by `git rebase master`. When rebase exits `topic` will
remain the checked-out branch.
If the upstream branch already contains a change you have made (e.g.,
because you mailed a patch which was applied upstream), then that commit
will be skipped and warnings will be issued (if the 'merge' backend is
used). For example, running `git rebase master` on the following
history (in which `A'` and `A` introduce the same set of changes, but
have different committer information):
------------
A---B---C topic
/
D---E---A'---F master
------------
will result in:
------------
B'---C' topic
/
D---E---A'---F master
------------
Here is how you would transplant a topic branch based on one
branch to another, to pretend that you forked the topic branch
from the latter branch, using `rebase --onto`.
First let's assume your 'topic' is based on branch 'next'.
For example, a feature developed in 'topic' depends on some
functionality which is found in 'next'.
------------
o---o---o---o---o master
\
o---o---o---o---o next
\
o---o---o topic
------------
We want to make 'topic' forked from branch 'master'; for example,
because the functionality on which 'topic' depends was merged into the
more stable 'master' branch. We want our tree to look like this:
------------
o---o---o---o---o master
| \
| o'--o'--o' topic
\
o---o---o---o---o next
------------
We can get this using the following command:
git rebase --onto master next topic
Another example of --onto option is to rebase part of a
branch. If we have the following situation:
------------
H---I---J topicB
/
E---F---G topicA
/
A---B---C---D master
------------
then the command
git rebase --onto master topicA topicB
would result in:
------------
H'--I'--J' topicB
/
| E---F---G topicA
|/
A---B---C---D master
------------
This is useful when topicB does not depend on topicA.
A range of commits could also be removed with rebase. If we have
the following situation:
------------
E---F---G---H---I---J topicA
------------
then the command
git rebase --onto topicA~5 topicA~3 topicA
would result in the removal of commits F and G:
------------
E---H'---I'---J' topicA
------------
This is useful if F and G were flawed in some way, or should not be
part of topicA. Note that the argument to `--onto` and the `<upstream>`
parameter can be any valid commit-ish.
In case of conflict, `git rebase` will stop at the first problematic commit
and leave conflict markers in the tree. You can use `git diff` to locate
the markers (<<<<<<) and make edits to resolve the conflict. For each
file you edit, you need to tell Git that the conflict has been resolved,
typically this would be done with
git add <filename>
After resolving the conflict manually and updating the index with the
desired resolution, you can continue the rebasing process with
git rebase --continue
Alternatively, you can undo the 'git rebase' with
git rebase --abort
MODE OPTIONS
------------
The options in this section cannot be used with any other option,
including not with each other:
--continue::
Restart the rebasing process after having resolved a merge conflict.
--skip::
Restart the rebasing process by skipping the current patch.
--abort::
Abort the rebase operation and reset HEAD to the original
branch. If `<branch>` was provided when the rebase operation was
started, then `HEAD` will be reset to `<branch>`. Otherwise `HEAD`
will be reset to where it was when the rebase operation was
started.
--quit::
Abort the rebase operation but `HEAD` is not reset back to the
original branch. The index and working tree are also left
unchanged as a result. If a temporary stash entry was created
using `--autostash`, it will be saved to the stash list.
--edit-todo::
Edit the todo list during an interactive rebase.
--show-current-patch::
Show the current patch in an interactive rebase or when rebase
is stopped because of conflicts. This is the equivalent of
`git show REBASE_HEAD`.
OPTIONS
-------
--onto <newbase>::
Starting point at which to create the new commits. If the
`--onto` option is not specified, the starting point is
`<upstream>`. May be any valid commit, and not just an
existing branch name.
+
As a special case, you may use "A\...B" as a shortcut for the
merge base of A and B if there is exactly one merge base. You can
leave out at most one of A and B, in which case it defaults to HEAD.
--keep-base::
Set the starting point at which to create the new commits to the
merge base of `<upstream>` and `<branch>`. Running
`git rebase --keep-base <upstream> <branch>` is equivalent to
running
`git rebase --reapply-cherry-picks --no-fork-point --onto <upstream>...<branch> <upstream> <branch>`.
+
This option is useful in the case where one is developing a feature on
top of an upstream branch. While the feature is being worked on, the
upstream branch may advance and it may not be the best idea to keep
rebasing on top of the upstream but to keep the base commit as-is. As
the base commit is unchanged this option implies `--reapply-cherry-picks`
to avoid losing commits.
+
Although both this option and `--fork-point` find the merge base between
`<upstream>` and `<branch>`, this option uses the merge base as the _starting
point_ on which new commits will be created, whereas `--fork-point` uses
the merge base to determine the _set of commits_ which will be rebased.
+
See also INCOMPATIBLE OPTIONS below.
<upstream>::
Upstream branch to compare against. May be any valid commit,
not just an existing branch name. Defaults to the configured
upstream for the current branch.
<branch>::
Working branch; defaults to `HEAD`.
--apply::
Use applying strategies to rebase (calling `git-am`
internally). This option may become a no-op in the future
once the merge backend handles everything the apply one does.
+
See also INCOMPATIBLE OPTIONS below.
--empty=(drop|keep|stop)::
How to handle commits that are not empty to start and are not
clean cherry-picks of any upstream commit, but which become
empty after rebasing (because they contain a subset of already
upstream changes):
+
--
`drop`;;
The commit will be dropped. This is the default behavior.
`keep`;;
The commit will be kept. This option is implied when `--exec` is
specified unless `-i`/`--interactive` is also specified.
`stop`;;
`ask`;;
The rebase will halt when the commit is applied, allowing you to
choose whether to drop it, edit files more, or just commit the empty
changes. This option is implied when `-i`/`--interactive` is
specified. `ask` is a deprecated synonym of `stop`.
--
+
Note that commits which start empty are kept (unless `--no-keep-empty`
is specified), and commits which are clean cherry-picks (as determined
by `git log --cherry-mark ...`) are detected and dropped as a
preliminary step (unless `--reapply-cherry-picks` or `--keep-base` is
passed).
+
See also INCOMPATIBLE OPTIONS below.
--no-keep-empty::
--keep-empty::
Do not keep commits that start empty before the rebase
(i.e. that do not change anything from its parent) in the
result. The default is to keep commits which start empty,
since creating such commits requires passing the `--allow-empty`
override flag to `git commit`, signifying that a user is very
intentionally creating such a commit and thus wants to keep
it.
+
Usage of this flag will probably be rare, since you can get rid of
commits that start empty by just firing up an interactive rebase and
removing the lines corresponding to the commits you don't want. This
flag exists as a convenient shortcut, such as for cases where external
tools generate many empty commits and you want them all removed.
+
For commits which do not start empty but become empty after rebasing,
see the `--empty` flag.
+
See also INCOMPATIBLE OPTIONS below.
--reapply-cherry-picks::
--no-reapply-cherry-picks::
Reapply all clean cherry-picks of any upstream commit instead
of preemptively dropping them. (If these commits then become
empty after rebasing, because they contain a subset of already
upstream changes, the behavior towards them is controlled by
the `--empty` flag.)
+
In the absence of `--keep-base` (or if `--no-reapply-cherry-picks` is
given), these commits will be automatically dropped. Because this
necessitates reading all upstream commits, this can be expensive in
repositories with a large number of upstream commits that need to be
read. When using the 'merge' backend, warnings will be issued for each
dropped commit (unless `--quiet` is given). Advice will also be issued
unless `advice.skippedCherryPicks` is set to false (see
linkgit:git-config[1]).
+
`--reapply-cherry-picks` allows rebase to forgo reading all upstream
commits, potentially improving performance.
+
See also INCOMPATIBLE OPTIONS below.
--allow-empty-message::
No-op. Rebasing commits with an empty message used to fail
and this option would override that behavior, allowing commits
with empty messages to be rebased. Now commits with an empty
message do not cause rebasing to halt.
+
See also INCOMPATIBLE OPTIONS below.
-m::
--merge::
Using merging strategies to rebase (default).
+
Note that a rebase merge works by replaying each commit from the working
branch on top of the `<upstream>` branch. Because of this, when a merge
conflict happens, the side reported as 'ours' is the so-far rebased
series, starting with `<upstream>`, and 'theirs' is the working branch.
In other words, the sides are swapped.
+
See also INCOMPATIBLE OPTIONS below.
-s <strategy>::
--strategy=<strategy>::
Use the given merge strategy, instead of the default `ort`.
This implies `--merge`.
+
Because `git rebase` replays each commit from the working branch
on top of the `<upstream>` branch using the given strategy, using
the `ours` strategy simply empties all patches from the `<branch>`,
which makes little sense.
+
See also INCOMPATIBLE OPTIONS below.
-X <strategy-option>::
--strategy-option=<strategy-option>::
Pass the <strategy-option> through to the merge strategy.
This implies `--merge` and, if no strategy has been
specified, `-s ort`. Note the reversal of 'ours' and
'theirs' as noted above for the `-m` option.
+
See also INCOMPATIBLE OPTIONS below.
include::rerere-options.txt[]
-S[<keyid>]::
--gpg-sign[=<keyid>]::
--no-gpg-sign::
GPG-sign commits. The `keyid` argument is optional and
defaults to the committer identity; if specified, it must be
stuck to the option without a space. `--no-gpg-sign` is useful to
countermand both `commit.gpgSign` configuration variable, and
earlier `--gpg-sign`.
-q::
--quiet::
Be quiet. Implies `--no-stat`.
-v::
--verbose::
Be verbose. Implies `--stat`.
--stat::
Show a diffstat of what changed upstream since the last rebase. The
diffstat is also controlled by the configuration option rebase.stat.
-n::
--no-stat::
Do not show a diffstat as part of the rebase process.
--no-verify::
This option bypasses the pre-rebase hook. See also linkgit:githooks[5].
--verify::
Allows the pre-rebase hook to run, which is the default. This option can
be used to override `--no-verify`. See also linkgit:githooks[5].
-C<n>::
Ensure at least `<n>` lines of surrounding context match before
and after each change. When fewer lines of surrounding
context exist they all must match. By default no context is
ever ignored. Implies `--apply`.
+
See also INCOMPATIBLE OPTIONS below.
--no-ff::
--force-rebase::
-f::
Individually replay all rebased commits instead of fast-forwarding
over the unchanged ones. This ensures that the entire history of
the rebased branch is composed of new commits.
+
You may find this helpful after reverting a topic branch merge, as this option
recreates the topic branch with fresh commits so it can be remerged
successfully without needing to "revert the reversion" (see the
link:howto/revert-a-faulty-merge.html[revert-a-faulty-merge How-To] for
details).
--fork-point::
--no-fork-point::
Use reflog to find a better common ancestor between `<upstream>`
and `<branch>` when calculating which commits have been
introduced by `<branch>`.
+
When `--fork-point` is active, 'fork_point' will be used instead of
`<upstream>` to calculate the set of commits to rebase, where
'fork_point' is the result of `git merge-base --fork-point <upstream>
<branch>` command (see linkgit:git-merge-base[1]). If 'fork_point'
ends up being empty, the `<upstream>` will be used as a fallback.
+
If `<upstream>` or `--keep-base` is given on the command line, then
the default is `--no-fork-point`, otherwise the default is
`--fork-point`. See also `rebase.forkpoint` in linkgit:git-config[1].
+
If your branch was based on `<upstream>` but `<upstream>` was rewound and
your branch contains commits which were dropped, this option can be used
with `--keep-base` in order to drop those commits from your branch.
+
See also INCOMPATIBLE OPTIONS below.
--ignore-whitespace::
Ignore whitespace differences when trying to reconcile
differences. Currently, each backend implements an approximation of
this behavior:
+
apply backend;;
When applying a patch, ignore changes in whitespace in context
lines. Unfortunately, this means that if the "old" lines being
replaced by the patch differ only in whitespace from the existing
file, you will get a merge conflict instead of a successful patch
application.
+
merge backend;;
Treat lines with only whitespace changes as unchanged when merging.
Unfortunately, this means that any patch hunks that were intended
to modify whitespace and nothing else will be dropped, even if the
other side had no changes that conflicted.
--whitespace=<option>::
This flag is passed to the `git apply` program
(see linkgit:git-apply[1]) that applies the patch.
Implies `--apply`.
+
See also INCOMPATIBLE OPTIONS below.
--committer-date-is-author-date::
Instead of using the current time as the committer date, use
the author date of the commit being rebased as the committer
date. This option implies `--force-rebase`.
--ignore-date::
--reset-author-date::
Instead of using the author date of the original commit, use
the current time as the author date of the rebased commit. This
option implies `--force-rebase`.
+
See also INCOMPATIBLE OPTIONS below.
--signoff::
Add a `Signed-off-by` trailer to all the rebased commits. Note
that if `--interactive` is given then only commits marked to be
picked, edited or reworded will have the trailer added.
+
See also INCOMPATIBLE OPTIONS below.
-i::
--interactive::
Make a list of the commits which are about to be rebased. Let the
user edit that list before rebasing. This mode can also be used to
split commits (see SPLITTING COMMITS below).
+
The commit list format can be changed by setting the configuration option
rebase.instructionFormat. A customized instruction format will automatically
have the commit hash prepended to the format.
+
See also INCOMPATIBLE OPTIONS below.
-r::
--rebase-merges[=(rebase-cousins|no-rebase-cousins)]::
--no-rebase-merges::
By default, a rebase will simply drop merge commits from the todo
list, and put the rebased commits into a single, linear branch.
With `--rebase-merges`, the rebase will instead try to preserve
the branching structure within the commits that are to be rebased,
by recreating the merge commits. Any resolved merge conflicts or
manual amendments in these merge commits will have to be
resolved/re-applied manually. `--no-rebase-merges` can be used to
countermand both the `rebase.rebaseMerges` config option and a previous
`--rebase-merges`.
+
When rebasing merges, there are two modes: `rebase-cousins` and
`no-rebase-cousins`. If the mode is not specified, it defaults to
`no-rebase-cousins`. In `no-rebase-cousins` mode, commits which do not have
`<upstream>` as direct ancestor will keep their original branch point, i.e.
commits that would be excluded by linkgit:git-log[1]'s `--ancestry-path`
option will keep their original ancestry by default. In `rebase-cousins` mode,
such commits are instead rebased onto `<upstream>` (or `<onto>`, if
specified).
+
It is currently only possible to recreate the merge commits using the
`ort` merge strategy; different merge strategies can be used only via
explicit `exec git merge -s <strategy> [...]` commands.
+
See also REBASING MERGES and INCOMPATIBLE OPTIONS below.
-x <cmd>::
--exec <cmd>::
Append "exec <cmd>" after each line creating a commit in the
final history. `<cmd>` will be interpreted as one or more shell
commands. Any command that fails will interrupt the rebase,
with exit code 1.
+
You may execute several commands by either using one instance of `--exec`
with several commands:
+
git rebase -i --exec "cmd1 && cmd2 && ..."
+
or by giving more than one `--exec`:
+
git rebase -i --exec "cmd1" --exec "cmd2" --exec ...
+
If `--autosquash` is used, `exec` lines will not be appended for
the intermediate commits, and will only appear at the end of each
squash/fixup series.
+
This uses the `--interactive` machinery internally, but it can be run
without an explicit `--interactive`.
+
See also INCOMPATIBLE OPTIONS below.
--root::
Rebase all commits reachable from `<branch>`, instead of
limiting them with an `<upstream>`. This allows you to rebase
the root commit(s) on a branch.
+
See also INCOMPATIBLE OPTIONS below.
--autosquash::
--no-autosquash::
Automatically squash commits with specially formatted messages into
previous commits being rebased. If a commit message starts with
"squash! ", "fixup! " or "amend! ", the remainder of the subject line
is taken as a commit specifier, which matches a previous commit if it
matches the subject line or the hash of that commit. If no commit
matches fully, matches of the specifier with the start of commit
subjects are considered.
+
In the rebase todo list, the actions of squash, fixup and amend commits are
changed from `pick` to `squash`, `fixup` or `fixup -C`, respectively, and they
are moved right after the commit they modify. The `--interactive` option can
be used to review and edit the todo list before proceeding.
+
The recommended way to create commits with squash markers is by using the
`--squash`, `--fixup`, `--fixup=amend:` or `--fixup=reword:` options of
linkgit:git-commit[1], which take the target commit as an argument and
automatically fill in the subject line of the new commit from that.
+
Setting configuration variable `rebase.autoSquash` to true enables
auto-squashing by default for interactive rebase. The `--no-autosquash`
option can be used to override that setting.
+
See also INCOMPATIBLE OPTIONS below.
--autostash::
--no-autostash::
Automatically create a temporary stash entry before the operation
begins, and apply it after the operation ends. This means
that you can run rebase on a dirty worktree. However, use
with care: the final stash application after a successful
rebase might result in non-trivial conflicts.
--reschedule-failed-exec::
--no-reschedule-failed-exec::
Automatically reschedule `exec` commands that failed. This only makes
sense in interactive mode (or when an `--exec` option was provided).
+
This option applies once a rebase is started. It is preserved for the whole
rebase based on, in order, the command line option provided to the initial `git
rebase`, the `rebase.rescheduleFailedExec` configuration (see
linkgit:git-config[1] or "CONFIGURATION" below), or it defaults to false.
+
Recording this option for the whole rebase is a convenience feature. Otherwise
an explicit `--no-reschedule-failed-exec` at the start would be overridden by
the presence of a `rebase.rescheduleFailedExec=true` configuration when `git
rebase --continue` is invoked. Currently, you cannot pass
`--[no-]reschedule-failed-exec` to `git rebase --continue`.
--update-refs::
--no-update-refs::
Automatically force-update any branches that point to commits that
are being rebased. Any branches that are checked out in a worktree
are not updated in this way.
+
If the configuration variable `rebase.updateRefs` is set, then this option
can be used to override and disable this setting.
+
See also INCOMPATIBLE OPTIONS below.
INCOMPATIBLE OPTIONS
--------------------
The following options:
* --apply
* --whitespace
* -C
are incompatible with the following options:
* --merge
* --strategy
* --strategy-option
* --autosquash
* --rebase-merges
* --interactive
* --exec
* --no-keep-empty
* --empty=
* --[no-]reapply-cherry-picks when used without --keep-base
* --update-refs
* --root when used without --onto
In addition, the following pairs of options are incompatible:
* --keep-base and --onto
* --keep-base and --root
* --fork-point and --root
BEHAVIORAL DIFFERENCES
-----------------------
`git rebase` has two primary backends: 'apply' and 'merge'. (The 'apply'
backend used to be known as the 'am' backend, but the name led to
confusion as it looks like a verb instead of a noun. Also, the 'merge'
backend used to be known as the interactive backend, but it is now
used for non-interactive cases as well. Both were renamed based on
lower-level functionality that underpinned each.) There are some
subtle differences in how these two backends behave:
Empty commits
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The 'apply' backend unfortunately drops intentionally empty commits, i.e.
commits that started empty, though these are rare in practice. It
also drops commits that become empty and has no option for controlling
this behavior.
The 'merge' backend keeps intentionally empty commits by default (though
with `-i` they are marked as empty in the todo list editor, or they can
be dropped automatically with `--no-keep-empty`).
Similar to the apply backend, by default the merge backend drops
commits that become empty unless `-i`/`--interactive` is specified (in
which case it stops and asks the user what to do). The merge backend
also has an `--empty=(drop|keep|stop)` option for changing the behavior
of handling commits that become empty.
Directory rename detection
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Due to the lack of accurate tree information (arising from
constructing fake ancestors with the limited information available in
patches), directory rename detection is disabled in the 'apply' backend.
Disabled directory rename detection means that if one side of history
renames a directory and the other adds new files to the old directory,
then the new files will be left behind in the old directory without
any warning at the time of rebasing that you may want to move these
files into the new directory.
Directory rename detection works with the 'merge' backend to provide you
warnings in such cases.
Context
~~~~~~~
The 'apply' backend works by creating a sequence of patches (by calling
`format-patch` internally), and then applying the patches in sequence
(calling `am` internally). Patches are composed of multiple hunks,
each with line numbers, a context region, and the actual changes. The
line numbers have to be taken with some offset, since the other side
will likely have inserted or deleted lines earlier in the file. The
context region is meant to help find how to adjust the line numbers in
order to apply the changes to the right lines. However, if multiple
areas of the code have the same surrounding lines of context, the
wrong one can be picked. There are real-world cases where this has
caused commits to be reapplied incorrectly with no conflicts reported.
Setting `diff.context` to a larger value may prevent such types of
problems, but increases the chance of spurious conflicts (since it
will require more lines of matching context to apply).
The 'merge' backend works with a full copy of each relevant file,
insulating it from these types of problems.
Labelling of conflicts markers
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When there are content conflicts, the merge machinery tries to
annotate each side's conflict markers with the commits where the
content came from. Since the 'apply' backend drops the original
information about the rebased commits and their parents (and instead
generates new fake commits based off limited information in the
generated patches), those commits cannot be identified; instead it has
to fall back to a commit summary. Also, when `merge.conflictStyle` is
set to `diff3` or `zdiff3`, the 'apply' backend will use "constructed merge
base" to label the content from the merge base, and thus provide no
information about the merge base commit whatsoever.
The 'merge' backend works with the full commits on both sides of history
and thus has no such limitations.
Hooks
~~~~~
The 'apply' backend has not traditionally called the post-commit hook,
while the 'merge' backend has. Both have called the post-checkout hook,
though the 'merge' backend has squelched its output. Further, both
backends only call the post-checkout hook with the starting point
commit of the rebase, not the intermediate commits nor the final
commit. In each case, the calling of these hooks was by accident of
implementation rather than by design (both backends were originally
implemented as shell scripts and happened to invoke other commands
like `git checkout` or `git commit` that would call the hooks). Both
backends should have the same behavior, though it is not entirely
clear which, if any, is correct. We will likely make rebase stop
calling either of these hooks in the future.
Interruptability
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The 'apply' backend has safety problems with an ill-timed interrupt; if
the user presses Ctrl-C at the wrong time to try to abort the rebase,
the rebase can enter a state where it cannot be aborted with a
subsequent `git rebase --abort`. The 'merge' backend does not appear to
suffer from the same shortcoming. (See
https://lore.kernel.org/git/20200207132152.GC2868@szeder.dev/ for
details.)
Commit Rewording
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When a conflict occurs while rebasing, rebase stops and asks the user
to resolve. Since the user may need to make notable changes while
resolving conflicts, after conflicts are resolved and the user has run
`git rebase --continue`, the rebase should open an editor and ask the
user to update the commit message. The 'merge' backend does this, while
the 'apply' backend blindly applies the original commit message.
Miscellaneous differences
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There are a few more behavioral differences that most folks would
probably consider inconsequential but which are mentioned for
completeness:
* Reflog: The two backends will use different wording when describing
the changes made in the reflog, though both will make use of the
word "rebase".
* Progress, informational, and error messages: The two backends
provide slightly different progress and informational messages.
Also, the apply backend writes error messages (such as "Your files
would be overwritten...") to stdout, while the merge backend writes
them to stderr.
* State directories: The two backends keep their state in different
directories under `.git/`
include::merge-strategies.txt[]
NOTES
-----
You should understand the implications of using `git rebase` on a
repository that you share. See also RECOVERING FROM UPSTREAM REBASE
below.
When the rebase is run, it will first execute a `pre-rebase` hook if one
exists. You can use this hook to do sanity checks and reject the rebase
if it isn't appropriate. Please see the template `pre-rebase` hook script
for an example.
Upon completion, `<branch>` will be the current branch.
INTERACTIVE MODE
----------------
Rebasing interactively means that you have a chance to edit the commits
which are rebased. You can reorder the commits, and you can
remove them (weeding out bad or otherwise unwanted patches).
The interactive mode is meant for this type of workflow:
1. have a wonderful idea
2. hack on the code
3. prepare a series for submission
4. submit
where point 2. consists of several instances of
a) regular use
1. finish something worthy of a commit
2. commit
b) independent fixup
1. realize that something does not work
2. fix that
3. commit it
Sometimes the thing fixed in b.2. cannot be amended to the not-quite
perfect commit it fixes, because that commit is buried deeply in a
patch series. That is exactly what interactive rebase is for: use it
after plenty of "a"s and "b"s, by rearranging and editing
commits, and squashing multiple commits into one.
Start it with the last commit you want to retain as-is:
git rebase -i <after-this-commit>
An editor will be fired up with all the commits in your current branch
(ignoring merge commits), which come after the given commit. You can
reorder the commits in this list to your heart's content, and you can
remove them. The list looks more or less like this:
-------------------------------------------
pick deadbee The oneline of this commit
pick fa1afe1 The oneline of the next commit
...
-------------------------------------------
The oneline descriptions are purely for your pleasure; 'git rebase' will
not look at them but at the commit names ("deadbee" and "fa1afe1" in this
example), so do not delete or edit the names.
By replacing the command "pick" with the command "edit", you can tell
`git rebase` to stop after applying that commit, so that you can edit
the files and/or the commit message, amend the commit, and continue
rebasing.
To interrupt the rebase (just like an "edit" command would do, but without
cherry-picking any commit first), use the "break" command.
If you just want to edit the commit message for a commit, replace the
command "pick" with the command "reword".
To drop a commit, replace the command "pick" with "drop", or just
delete the matching line.
If you want to fold two or more commits into one, replace the command
"pick" for the second and subsequent commits with "squash" or "fixup".
If the commits had different authors, the folded commit will be
attributed to the author of the first commit. The suggested commit
message for the folded commit is the concatenation of the first
commit's message with those identified by "squash" commands, omitting the
messages of commits identified by "fixup" commands, unless "fixup -c"
is used. In that case the suggested commit message is only the message
of the "fixup -c" commit, and an editor is opened allowing you to edit
the message. The contents (patch) of the "fixup -c" commit are still
incorporated into the folded commit. If there is more than one "fixup -c"
commit, the message from the final one is used. You can also use
"fixup -C" to get the same behavior as "fixup -c" except without opening
an editor.
`git rebase` will stop when "pick" has been replaced with "edit" or
when a command fails due to merge errors. When you are done editing
and/or resolving conflicts you can continue with `git rebase --continue`.
For example, if you want to reorder the last 5 commits, such that what
was `HEAD~4` becomes the new `HEAD`. To achieve that, you would call
`git rebase` like this:
----------------------
$ git rebase -i HEAD~5
----------------------
And move the first patch to the end of the list.
You might want to recreate merge commits, e.g. if you have a history
like this:
------------------
X
\
A---M---B
/
---o---O---P---Q
------------------
Suppose you want to rebase the side branch starting at "A" to "Q". Make
sure that the current `HEAD` is "B", and call
-----------------------------
$ git rebase -i -r --onto Q O
-----------------------------
Reordering and editing commits usually creates untested intermediate
steps. You may want to check that your history editing did not break
anything by running a test, or at least recompiling at intermediate
points in history by using the "exec" command (shortcut "x"). You may
do so by creating a todo list like this one:
-------------------------------------------
pick deadbee Implement feature XXX
fixup f1a5c00 Fix to feature XXX
exec make
pick c0ffeee The oneline of the next commit
edit deadbab The oneline of the commit after
exec cd subdir; make test
...
-------------------------------------------
The interactive rebase will stop when a command fails (i.e. exits with
non-0 status) to give you an opportunity to fix the problem. You can
continue with `git rebase --continue`.
The "exec" command launches the command in a shell (the default one, usually
/bin/sh), so you can use shell features (like "cd", ">", ";" ...). The command
is run from the root of the working tree.
----------------------------------
$ git rebase -i --exec "make test"
----------------------------------
This command lets you check that intermediate commits are compilable.
The todo list becomes like that:
--------------------
pick 5928aea one
exec make test
pick 04d0fda two
exec make test
pick ba46169 three
exec make test
pick f4593f9 four
exec make test
--------------------
SPLITTING COMMITS
-----------------