summaryrefslogtreecommitdiff
path: root/Documentation/git-fast-import.txt
diff options
context:
space:
mode:
Diffstat (limited to 'Documentation/git-fast-import.txt')
-rw-r--r--Documentation/git-fast-import.txt130
1 files changed, 107 insertions, 23 deletions
diff --git a/Documentation/git-fast-import.txt b/Documentation/git-fast-import.txt
index c3a2766b20..45101ca957 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-fast-import.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git-fast-import.txt
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ git-fast-import - Backend for fast Git data importers
SYNOPSIS
--------
+[verse]
frontend | 'git fast-import' [options]
DESCRIPTION
@@ -83,7 +84,7 @@ OPTIONS
skips the file if it does not exist.
--relative-marks::
- After specifying --relative-marks= the paths specified
+ After specifying --relative-marks the paths specified
with --import-marks= and --export-marks= are relative
to an internal directory in the current repository.
In git-fast-import this means that the paths are relative
@@ -93,7 +94,7 @@ OPTIONS
--no-relative-marks::
Negates a previous --relative-marks. Allows for combining
relative and non-relative marks by interweaving
- --(no-)-relative-marks= with the --(import|export)-marks=
+ --(no-)-relative-marks with the --(import|export)-marks=
options.
--cat-blob-fd=<fd>::
@@ -101,6 +102,12 @@ OPTIONS
when the `cat-blob` command is encountered in the stream.
The default behaviour is to write to `stdout`.
+--done::
+ Require a `done` command at the end of the stream.
+ This option might be useful for detecting errors that
+ cause the frontend to terminate before it has started to
+ write a stream.
+
--export-pack-edges=<file>::
After creating a packfile, print a line of data to
<file> listing the filename of the packfile and the last
@@ -196,7 +203,8 @@ especially when a higher level language such as Perl, Python or
Ruby is being used.
fast-import is very strict about its input. Where we say SP below we mean
-*exactly* one space. Likewise LF means one (and only one) linefeed.
+*exactly* one space. Likewise LF means one (and only one) linefeed
+and HT one (and only one) horizontal tab.
Supplying additional whitespace characters will cause unexpected
results, such as branch names or file names with leading or trailing
spaces in their name, or early termination of fast-import when it encounters
@@ -329,11 +337,21 @@ and control the current import process. More detailed discussion
standard output. This command is optional and is not needed
to perform an import.
+`done`::
+ Marks the end of the stream. This command is optional
+ unless the `done` feature was requested using the
+ `--done` command line option or `feature done` command.
+
`cat-blob`::
Causes fast-import to print a blob in 'cat-file --batch'
format to the file descriptor set with `--cat-blob-fd` or
`stdout` if unspecified.
+`ls`::
+ Causes fast-import to print a line describing a directory
+ entry in 'ls-tree' format to the file descriptor set with
+ `--cat-blob-fd` or `stdout` if unspecified.
+
`feature`::
Require that fast-import supports the specified feature, or
abort if it does not.
@@ -407,8 +425,8 @@ Here `<name>` is the person's display name (for example
(``cm@example.com''). `LT` and `GT` are the literal less-than (\x3c)
and greater-than (\x3e) symbols. These are required to delimit
the email address from the other fields in the line. Note that
-`<name>` is free-form and may contain any sequence of bytes, except
-`LT` and `LF`. It is typically UTF-8 encoded.
+`<name>` and `<email>` are free-form and may contain any sequence
+of bytes, except `LT`, `GT` and `LF`. `<name>` is typically UTF-8 encoded.
The time of the change is specified by `<when>` using the date format
that was selected by the \--date-format=<fmt> command line option.
@@ -460,9 +478,9 @@ current branch value should be written as:
----
from refs/heads/branch^0
----
-The `{caret}0` suffix is necessary as fast-import does not permit a branch to
+The `^0` suffix is necessary as fast-import does not permit a branch to
start from itself, and the branch is created in memory before the
-`from` command is even read from the input. Adding `{caret}0` will force
+`from` command is even read from the input. Adding `^0` will force
fast-import to resolve the commit through Git's revision parsing library,
rather than its internal branch table, thereby loading in the
existing value of the branch.
@@ -642,9 +660,14 @@ paths for a commit are encouraged to do so.
`notemodify`
^^^^^^^^^^^^
-Included in a `commit` command to add a new note (annotating a given
-commit) or change the content of an existing note. This command has
-two different means of specifying the content of the note.
+Included in a `commit` `<notes_ref>` command to add a new note
+annotating a `<committish>` or change this annotation contents.
+Internally it is similar to filemodify 100644 on `<committish>`
+path (maybe split into subdirectories). It's not advised to
+use any other commands to write to the `<notes_ref>` tree except
+`filedeleteall` to delete all existing notes in this tree.
+This command has two different means of specifying the content
+of the note.
External data format::
The data content for the note was already supplied by a prior
@@ -919,6 +942,55 @@ This command can be used anywhere in the stream that comments are
accepted. In particular, the `cat-blob` command can be used in the
middle of a commit but not in the middle of a `data` command.
+`ls`
+~~~~
+Prints information about the object at a path to a file descriptor
+previously arranged with the `--cat-blob-fd` argument. This allows
+printing a blob from the active commit (with `cat-blob`) or copying a
+blob or tree from a previous commit for use in the current one (with
+`filemodify`).
+
+The `ls` command can be used anywhere in the stream that comments are
+accepted, including the middle of a commit.
+
+Reading from the active commit::
+ This form can only be used in the middle of a `commit`.
+ The path names a directory entry within fast-import's
+ active commit. The path must be quoted in this case.
++
+....
+ 'ls' SP <path> LF
+....
+
+Reading from a named tree::
+ The `<dataref>` can be a mark reference (`:<idnum>`) or the
+ full 40-byte SHA-1 of a Git tag, commit, or tree object,
+ preexisting or waiting to be written.
+ The path is relative to the top level of the tree
+ named by `<dataref>`.
++
+....
+ 'ls' SP <dataref> SP <path> LF
+....
+
+See `filemodify` above for a detailed description of `<path>`.
+
+Output uses the same format as `git ls-tree <tree> -- <path>`:
+
+====
+ <mode> SP ('blob' | 'tree' | 'commit') SP <dataref> HT <path> LF
+====
+
+The <dataref> represents the blob, tree, or commit object at <path>
+and can be used in later 'cat-blob', 'filemodify', or 'ls' commands.
+
+If there is no file or subtree at that path, 'git fast-import' will
+instead report
+
+====
+ missing SP <path> LF
+====
+
`feature`
~~~~~~~~~
Require that fast-import supports the specified feature, or abort if
@@ -940,14 +1012,20 @@ force::
(see OPTIONS, above).
import-marks::
+import-marks-if-exists::
Like --import-marks except in two respects: first, only one
- "feature import-marks" command is allowed per stream;
- second, an --import-marks= command-line option overrides
- any "feature import-marks" command in the stream.
+ "feature import-marks" or "feature import-marks-if-exists"
+ command is allowed per stream; second, an --import-marks=
+ or --import-marks-if-exists command-line option overrides
+ any of these "feature" commands in the stream; third,
+ "feature import-marks-if-exists" like a corresponding
+ command-line option silently skips a nonexistent file.
cat-blob::
- Ignored. Versions of fast-import not supporting the
- "cat-blob" command will exit with a message indicating so.
+ls::
+ Require that the backend support the 'cat-blob' or 'ls' command.
+ Versions of fast-import not supporting the specified command
+ will exit with a message indicating so.
This lets the import error out early with a clear message,
rather than wasting time on the early part of an import
before the unsupported command is detected.
@@ -958,6 +1036,11 @@ notes::
Versions of fast-import not supporting notes will exit
with a message indicating so.
+done::
+ Error out if the stream ends without a 'done' command.
+ Without this feature, errors causing the frontend to end
+ abruptly at a convenient point in the stream can go
+ undetected.
`option`
~~~~~~~~
@@ -987,6 +1070,15 @@ not be passed as option:
* cat-blob-fd
* force
+`done`
+~~~~~~
+If the `done` feature is not in use, treated as if EOF was read.
+This can be used to tell fast-import to finish early.
+
+If the `--done` command line option or `feature done` command is
+in use, the `done` command is mandatory and marks the end of the
+stream.
+
Crash Reports
-------------
If fast-import is supplied invalid input it will terminate with a
@@ -1293,14 +1385,6 @@ operator can use this facility to peek at the objects and refs from an
import in progress, at the cost of some added running time and worse
compression.
-Author
-------
-Written by Shawn O. Pearce <spearce@spearce.org>.
-
-Documentation
---------------
-Documentation by Shawn O. Pearce <spearce@spearce.org>.
-
GIT
---
Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite