Documentation/git-add.txt - jrn/git - Git at Google

 git-add(1)
 ==========

 NAME
 ----
 git-add - Add file contents to the index

 SYNOPSIS
 --------
 [verse]
 'git add' [-n] [-v] [--force | -f] [--interactive | -i] [--patch | -p]
 	  [--edit | -e] [--[no-]all | --[no-]ignore-removal | [--update | -u]]
 	  [--intent-to-add | -N] [--refresh] [--ignore-errors] [--ignore-missing]
 	  [--] [<pathspec>...]

 DESCRIPTION
 -----------
 This command updates the index using the current content found in
 the working tree, to prepare the content staged for the next commit.
 It typically adds the current content of existing paths as a whole,
 but with some options it can also be used to add content with
 only part of the changes made to the working tree files applied, or
 remove paths that do not exist in the working tree anymore.

 The "index" holds a snapshot of the content of the working tree, and it
 is this snapshot that is taken as the contents of the next commit.  Thus
 after making any changes to the working directory, and before running
 the commit command, you must use the `add` command to add any new or
 modified files to the index.

 This command can be performed multiple times before a commit.  It only
 adds the content of the specified file(s) at the time the add command is
 run; if you want subsequent changes included in the next commit, then
 you must run `git add` again to add the new content to the index.

 The `git status` command can be used to obtain a summary of which
 files have changes that are staged for the next commit.

 The `git add` command will not add ignored files by default.  If any
 ignored files were explicitly specified on the command line, `git add`
 will fail with a list of ignored files.  Ignored files reached by
 directory recursion or filename globbing performed by Git (quote your
 globs before the shell) will be silently ignored.  The 'git add' command can
 be used to add ignored files with the `-f` (force) option.

 Please see linkgit:git-commit[1] for alternative ways to add content to a
 commit.


 OPTIONS
 -------
 <pathspec>...::
 	Files to add content from.  Fileglobs (e.g. `*.c`) can
 	be given to add all matching files.  Also a
 	leading directory name (e.g. `dir` to add `dir/file1`
 	and `dir/file2`) can be given to add all files in the
 	directory, recursively.

 -n::
 --dry-run::
 	Don't actually add the file(s), just show if they exist and/or will
 	be ignored.

 -v::
 --verbose::
         Be verbose.

 -f::
 --force::
 	Allow adding otherwise ignored files.

 -i::
 --interactive::
 	Add modified contents in the working tree interactively to
 	the index. Optional path arguments may be supplied to limit
 	operation to a subset of the working tree. See ``Interactive
 	mode'' for details.

 -p::
 --patch::
 	Interactively choose hunks of patch between the index and the
 	work tree and add them to the index. This gives the user a chance
 	to review the difference before adding modified contents to the
 	index.
 +
 This effectively runs `add --interactive`, but bypasses the
 initial command menu and directly jumps to the `patch` subcommand.
 See ``Interactive mode'' for details.

 -e, \--edit::
 	Open the diff vs. the index in an editor and let the user
 	edit it.  After the editor was closed, adjust the hunk headers
 	and apply the patch to the index.
 +
 The intent of this option is to pick and choose lines of the patch to
 apply, or even to modify the contents of lines to be staged. This can be
 quicker and more flexible than using the interactive hunk selector.
 However, it is easy to confuse oneself and create a patch that does not
 apply to the index. See EDITING PATCHES below.

 -u::
 --update::
 	Update the index just where it already has an entry matching
 	<pathspec>.  This removes as well as modifies index entries to
 	match the working tree, but adds no new files.
 +
 If no <pathspec> is given, the current version of Git defaults to
 "."; in other words, update all tracked files in the current directory
 and its subdirectories. This default will change in a future version
 of Git, hence the form without <pathspec> should not be used.

 -A::
 --all::
 --no-ignore-removal::
 	Update the index not only where the working tree has a file
 	matching <pathspec> but also where the index already has an
 	entry.	This adds, modifies, and removes index entries to
 	match the working tree.
 +
 If no <pathspec> is given, the current version of Git defaults to
 "."; in other words, update all files in the current directory
 and its subdirectories. This default will change in a future version
 of Git, hence the form without <pathspec> should not be used.

 --no-all::
 --ignore-removal::
 	Update the index by adding new files that are unknown to the
 	index and files modified in the working tree, but ignore
 	files that have been removed from the working tree.  This
 	option is a no-op when no <pathspec> is used.
 +
 This option is primarily to help the current users of Git, whose
 "git add <pathspec>..." ignores removed files.  In future versions
 of Git, "git add <pathspec>..." will be a synonym to "git add -A
 <pathspec>..." and "git add --ignore-removal <pathspec>..." will behave like
 today's "git add <pathspec>...", ignoring removed files.

 -N::
 --intent-to-add::
 	Record only the fact that the path will be added later. An entry
 	for the path is placed in the index with no content. This is
 	useful for, among other things, showing the unstaged content of
 	such files with `git diff` and committing them with `git commit
 	-a`.

 --refresh::
 	Don't add the file(s), but only refresh their stat()
 	information in the index.

 --ignore-errors::
 	If some files could not be added because of errors indexing
 	them, do not abort the operation, but continue adding the
 	others. The command shall still exit with non-zero status.
 	The configuration variable `add.ignoreErrors` can be set to
 	true to make this the default behaviour.

 --ignore-missing::
 	This option can only be used together with --dry-run. By using
 	this option the user can check if any of the given files would
 	be ignored, no matter if they are already present in the work
 	tree or not.

 \--::
 	This option can be used to separate command-line options from
 	the list of files, (useful when filenames might be mistaken
 	for command-line options).


 Configuration
 -------------

 The optional configuration variable `core.excludesfile` indicates a path to a
 file containing patterns of file names to exclude from git-add, similar to
 $GIT_DIR/info/exclude.  Patterns in the exclude file are used in addition to
 those in info/exclude.  See linkgit:gitignore[5].


 EXAMPLES
 --------

 * Adds content from all `*.txt` files under `Documentation` directory
 and its subdirectories:
 +
 ------------
 $ git add Documentation/\*.txt
 ------------
 +
 Note that the asterisk `*` is quoted from the shell in this
 example; this lets the command include the files from
 subdirectories of `Documentation/` directory.

 * Considers adding content from all git-*.sh scripts:
 +
 ------------
 $ git add git-*.sh
 ------------
 +
 Because this example lets the shell expand the asterisk (i.e. you are
 listing the files explicitly), it does not consider
 `subdir/git-foo.sh`.

 Interactive mode
 ----------------
 When the command enters the interactive mode, it shows the
 output of the 'status' subcommand, and then goes into its
 interactive command loop.

 The command loop shows the list of subcommands available, and
 gives a prompt "What now> ".  In general, when the prompt ends
 with a single '>', you can pick only one of the choices given
 and type return, like this:

 ------------
     *** Commands ***
       1: status       2: update       3: revert       4: add untracked
       5: patch        6: diff         7: quit         8: help
     What now> 1
 ------------

 You also could say `s` or `sta` or `status` above as long as the
 choice is unique.

 The main command loop has 6 subcommands (plus help and quit).

 status::

    This shows the change between HEAD and index (i.e. what will be
    committed if you say `git commit`), and between index and
    working tree files (i.e. what you could stage further before
    `git commit` using `git add`) for each path.  A sample output
    looks like this:
 +
 ------------
               staged     unstaged path
      1:       binary      nothing foo.png
      2:     +403/-35        +1/-1 git-add--interactive.perl
 ------------
 +
 It shows that foo.png has differences from HEAD (but that is
 binary so line count cannot be shown) and there is no
 difference between indexed copy and the working tree
 version (if the working tree version were also different,
 'binary' would have been shown in place of 'nothing').  The
 other file, git-add{litdd}interactive.perl, has 403 lines added
 and 35 lines deleted if you commit what is in the index, but
 working tree file has further modifications (one addition and
 one deletion).

 update::

    This shows the status information and issues an "Update>>"
    prompt.  When the prompt ends with double '>>', you can
    make more than one selection, concatenated with whitespace or
    comma.  Also you can say ranges.  E.g. "2-5 7,9" to choose
    2,3,4,5,7,9 from the list.  If the second number in a range is
    omitted, all remaining patches are taken.  E.g. "7-" to choose
    7,8,9 from the list.  You can say '*' to choose everything.
 +
 What you chose are then highlighted with '*',
 like this:
 +
 ------------
            staged     unstaged path
   1:       binary      nothing foo.png
 * 2:     +403/-35        +1/-1 git-add--interactive.perl
 ------------
 +
 To remove selection, prefix the input with `-`
 like this:
 +
 ------------
 Update>> -2
 ------------
 +
 After making the selection, answer with an empty line to stage the
 contents of working tree files for selected paths in the index.

 revert::

   This has a very similar UI to 'update', and the staged
   information for selected paths are reverted to that of the
   HEAD version.  Reverting new paths makes them untracked.

 add untracked::

   This has a very similar UI to 'update' and
   'revert', and lets you add untracked paths to the index.

 patch::

   This lets you choose one path out of a 'status' like selection.
   After choosing the path, it presents the diff between the index
   and the working tree file and asks you if you want to stage
   the change of each hunk.  You can select one of the following
   options and type return:

        y - stage this hunk
        n - do not stage this hunk
        q - quit; do not stage this hunk nor any of the remaining ones
        a - stage this hunk and all later hunks in the file
        d - do not stage this hunk nor any of the later hunks in the file
        g - select a hunk to go to
        / - search for a hunk matching the given regex
        j - leave this hunk undecided, see next undecided hunk
        J - leave this hunk undecided, see next hunk
        k - leave this hunk undecided, see previous undecided hunk
        K - leave this hunk undecided, see previous hunk
        s - split the current hunk into smaller hunks
        e - manually edit the current hunk
        ? - print help
 +
 After deciding the fate for all hunks, if there is any hunk
 that was chosen, the index is updated with the selected hunks.
 +
 You can omit having to type return here, by setting the configuration
 variable `interactive.singlekey` to `true`.

 diff::

   This lets you review what will be committed (i.e. between
   HEAD and index).


 EDITING PATCHES
 ---------------

 Invoking `git add -e` or selecting `e` from the interactive hunk
 selector will open a patch in your editor; after the editor exits, the
 result is applied to the index. You are free to make arbitrary changes
 to the patch, but note that some changes may have confusing results, or
 even result in a patch that cannot be applied.  If you want to abort the
 operation entirely (i.e., stage nothing new in the index), simply delete
 all lines of the patch. The list below describes some common things you
 may see in a patch, and which editing operations make sense on them.

 --
 added content::

 Added content is represented by lines beginning with "{plus}". You can
 prevent staging any addition lines by deleting them.

 removed content::

 Removed content is represented by lines beginning with "-". You can
 prevent staging their removal by converting the "-" to a " " (space).

 modified content::

 Modified content is represented by "-" lines (removing the old content)
 followed by "{plus}" lines (adding the replacement content). You can
 prevent staging the modification by converting "-" lines to " ", and
 removing "{plus}" lines. Beware that modifying only half of the pair is
 likely to introduce confusing changes to the index.
 --

 There are also more complex operations that can be performed. But beware
 that because the patch is applied only to the index and not the working
 tree, the working tree will appear to "undo" the change in the index.
 For example, introducing a new line into the index that is in neither
 the HEAD nor the working tree will stage the new line for commit, but
 the line will appear to be reverted in the working tree.

 Avoid using these constructs, or do so with extreme caution.

 --
 removing untouched content::

 Content which does not differ between the index and working tree may be
 shown on context lines, beginning with a " " (space).  You can stage
 context lines for removal by converting the space to a "-". The
 resulting working tree file will appear to re-add the content.

 modifying existing content::

 One can also modify context lines by staging them for removal (by
 converting " " to "-") and adding a "{plus}" line with the new content.
 Similarly, one can modify "{plus}" lines for existing additions or
 modifications. In all cases, the new modification will appear reverted
 in the working tree.

 new content::

 You may also add new content that does not exist in the patch; simply
 add new lines, each starting with "{plus}". The addition will appear
 reverted in the working tree.
 --

 There are also several operations which should be avoided entirely, as
 they will make the patch impossible to apply:

 * adding context (" ") or removal ("-") lines
 * deleting context or removal lines
 * modifying the contents of context or removal lines

 SEE ALSO
 --------
 linkgit:git-status[1]
 linkgit:git-rm[1]
 linkgit:git-reset[1]
 linkgit:git-mv[1]
 linkgit:git-commit[1]
 linkgit:git-update-index[1]

 GIT
 ---
 Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite
	git-add(1)
	==========

	NAME
	----
	git-add - Add file contents to the index

	SYNOPSIS
	--------
	[verse]
	'git add' [-n] [-v] [--force \| -f] [--interactive \| -i] [--patch \| -p]
	[--edit \| -e] [--[no-]all \| --[no-]ignore-removal \| [--update \| -u]]
	[--intent-to-add \| -N] [--refresh] [--ignore-errors] [--ignore-missing]
	[--] [<pathspec>...]

	DESCRIPTION
	-----------
	This command updates the index using the current content found in
	the working tree, to prepare the content staged for the next commit.
	It typically adds the current content of existing paths as a whole,
	but with some options it can also be used to add content with
	only part of the changes made to the working tree files applied, or
	remove paths that do not exist in the working tree anymore.

	The "index" holds a snapshot of the content of the working tree, and it
	is this snapshot that is taken as the contents of the next commit. Thus
	after making any changes to the working directory, and before running
	the commit command, you must use the `add` command to add any new or
	modified files to the index.

	This command can be performed multiple times before a commit. It only
	adds the content of the specified file(s) at the time the add command is
	run; if you want subsequent changes included in the next commit, then
	you must run `git add` again to add the new content to the index.

	The `git status` command can be used to obtain a summary of which
	files have changes that are staged for the next commit.

	The `git add` command will not add ignored files by default. If any
	ignored files were explicitly specified on the command line, `git add`
	will fail with a list of ignored files. Ignored files reached by
	directory recursion or filename globbing performed by Git (quote your
	globs before the shell) will be silently ignored. The 'git add' command can
	be used to add ignored files with the `-f` (force) option.

	Please see linkgit:git-commit[1] for alternative ways to add content to a
	commit.


	OPTIONS
	-------
	<pathspec>...::
	Files to add content from. Fileglobs (e.g. `*.c`) can
	be given to add all matching files. Also a
	leading directory name (e.g. `dir` to add `dir/file1`
	and `dir/file2`) can be given to add all files in the
	directory, recursively.

	-n::
	--dry-run::
	Don't actually add the file(s), just show if they exist and/or will
	be ignored.

	-v::
	--verbose::
	Be verbose.

	-f::
	--force::
	Allow adding otherwise ignored files.

	-i::
	--interactive::
	Add modified contents in the working tree interactively to
	the index. Optional path arguments may be supplied to limit
	operation to a subset of the working tree. See ``Interactive
	mode'' for details.

	-p::
	--patch::
	Interactively choose hunks of patch between the index and the
	work tree and add them to the index. This gives the user a chance
	to review the difference before adding modified contents to the
	index.
	+
	This effectively runs `add --interactive`, but bypasses the
	initial command menu and directly jumps to the `patch` subcommand.
	See ``Interactive mode'' for details.

	-e, \--edit::
	Open the diff vs. the index in an editor and let the user
	edit it. After the editor was closed, adjust the hunk headers
	and apply the patch to the index.
	+
	The intent of this option is to pick and choose lines of the patch to
	apply, or even to modify the contents of lines to be staged. This can be
	quicker and more flexible than using the interactive hunk selector.
	However, it is easy to confuse oneself and create a patch that does not
	apply to the index. See EDITING PATCHES below.

	-u::
	--update::
	Update the index just where it already has an entry matching
	<pathspec>. This removes as well as modifies index entries to
	match the working tree, but adds no new files.
	+
	If no <pathspec> is given, the current version of Git defaults to
	"."; in other words, update all tracked files in the current directory
	and its subdirectories. This default will change in a future version
	of Git, hence the form without <pathspec> should not be used.

	-A::
	--all::
	--no-ignore-removal::
	Update the index not only where the working tree has a file
	matching <pathspec> but also where the index already has an
	entry. This adds, modifies, and removes index entries to
	match the working tree.
	+
	If no <pathspec> is given, the current version of Git defaults to
	"."; in other words, update all files in the current directory
	and its subdirectories. This default will change in a future version
	of Git, hence the form without <pathspec> should not be used.

	--no-all::
	--ignore-removal::
	Update the index by adding new files that are unknown to the
	index and files modified in the working tree, but ignore
	files that have been removed from the working tree. This
	option is a no-op when no <pathspec> is used.
	+
	This option is primarily to help the current users of Git, whose
	"git add <pathspec>..." ignores removed files. In future versions
	of Git, "git add <pathspec>..." will be a synonym to "git add -A
	<pathspec>..." and "git add --ignore-removal <pathspec>..." will behave like
	today's "git add <pathspec>...", ignoring removed files.

	-N::
	--intent-to-add::
	Record only the fact that the path will be added later. An entry
	for the path is placed in the index with no content. This is
	useful for, among other things, showing the unstaged content of
	such files with `git diff` and committing them with `git commit
	-a`.

	--refresh::
	Don't add the file(s), but only refresh their stat()
	information in the index.

	--ignore-errors::
	If some files could not be added because of errors indexing
	them, do not abort the operation, but continue adding the
	others. The command shall still exit with non-zero status.
	The configuration variable `add.ignoreErrors` can be set to
	true to make this the default behaviour.

	--ignore-missing::
	This option can only be used together with --dry-run. By using
	this option the user can check if any of the given files would
	be ignored, no matter if they are already present in the work
	tree or not.

	\--::
	This option can be used to separate command-line options from
	the list of files, (useful when filenames might be mistaken
	for command-line options).


	Configuration
	-------------

	The optional configuration variable `core.excludesfile` indicates a path to a
	file containing patterns of file names to exclude from git-add, similar to
	$GIT_DIR/info/exclude. Patterns in the exclude file are used in addition to
	those in info/exclude. See linkgit:gitignore[5].


	EXAMPLES
	--------

	* Adds content from all `*.txt` files under `Documentation` directory
	and its subdirectories:
	+
	------------
	$ git add Documentation/\*.txt
	------------
	+
	Note that the asterisk `*` is quoted from the shell in this
	example; this lets the command include the files from
	subdirectories of `Documentation/` directory.

	* Considers adding content from all git-*.sh scripts:
	+
	------------
	$ git add git-*.sh
	------------
	+
	Because this example lets the shell expand the asterisk (i.e. you are
	listing the files explicitly), it does not consider
	`subdir/git-foo.sh`.

	Interactive mode
	----------------
	When the command enters the interactive mode, it shows the
	output of the 'status' subcommand, and then goes into its
	interactive command loop.

	The command loop shows the list of subcommands available, and
	gives a prompt "What now> ". In general, when the prompt ends
	with a single '>', you can pick only one of the choices given
	and type return, like this:

	------------
	* Commands *
	1: status 2: update 3: revert 4: add untracked
	5: patch 6: diff 7: quit 8: help
	What now> 1
	------------

	You also could say `s` or `sta` or `status` above as long as the
	choice is unique.

	The main command loop has 6 subcommands (plus help and quit).

	status::

	This shows the change between HEAD and index (i.e. what will be
	committed if you say `git commit`), and between index and
	working tree files (i.e. what you could stage further before
	`git commit` using `git add`) for each path. A sample output
	looks like this:
	+
	------------
	staged unstaged path
	1: binary nothing foo.png
	2: +403/-35 +1/-1 git-add--interactive.perl
	------------
	+
	It shows that foo.png has differences from HEAD (but that is
	binary so line count cannot be shown) and there is no
	difference between indexed copy and the working tree
	version (if the working tree version were also different,
	'binary' would have been shown in place of 'nothing'). The
	other file, git-add{litdd}interactive.perl, has 403 lines added
	and 35 lines deleted if you commit what is in the index, but
	working tree file has further modifications (one addition and
	one deletion).

	update::

	This shows the status information and issues an "Update>>"
	prompt. When the prompt ends with double '>>', you can
	make more than one selection, concatenated with whitespace or
	comma. Also you can say ranges. E.g. "2-5 7,9" to choose
	2,3,4,5,7,9 from the list. If the second number in a range is
	omitted, all remaining patches are taken. E.g. "7-" to choose
	7,8,9 from the list. You can say '*' to choose everything.
	+
	What you chose are then highlighted with '*',
	like this:
	+
	------------
	staged unstaged path
	1: binary nothing foo.png
	* 2: +403/-35 +1/-1 git-add--interactive.perl
	------------
	+
	To remove selection, prefix the input with `-`
	like this:
	+
	------------
	Update>> -2
	------------
	+
	After making the selection, answer with an empty line to stage the
	contents of working tree files for selected paths in the index.

	revert::

	This has a very similar UI to 'update', and the staged
	information for selected paths are reverted to that of the
	HEAD version. Reverting new paths makes them untracked.

	add untracked::

	This has a very similar UI to 'update' and
	'revert', and lets you add untracked paths to the index.

	patch::

	This lets you choose one path out of a 'status' like selection.
	After choosing the path, it presents the diff between the index
	and the working tree file and asks you if you want to stage
	the change of each hunk. You can select one of the following
	options and type return:

	y - stage this hunk
	n - do not stage this hunk
	q - quit; do not stage this hunk nor any of the remaining ones
	a - stage this hunk and all later hunks in the file
	d - do not stage this hunk nor any of the later hunks in the file
	g - select a hunk to go to
	/ - search for a hunk matching the given regex
	j - leave this hunk undecided, see next undecided hunk
	J - leave this hunk undecided, see next hunk
	k - leave this hunk undecided, see previous undecided hunk
	K - leave this hunk undecided, see previous hunk
	s - split the current hunk into smaller hunks
	e - manually edit the current hunk
	? - print help
	+
	After deciding the fate for all hunks, if there is any hunk
	that was chosen, the index is updated with the selected hunks.
	+
	You can omit having to type return here, by setting the configuration
	variable `interactive.singlekey` to `true`.

	diff::

	This lets you review what will be committed (i.e. between
	HEAD and index).


	EDITING PATCHES
	---------------

	Invoking `git add -e` or selecting `e` from the interactive hunk
	selector will open a patch in your editor; after the editor exits, the
	result is applied to the index. You are free to make arbitrary changes
	to the patch, but note that some changes may have confusing results, or
	even result in a patch that cannot be applied. If you want to abort the
	operation entirely (i.e., stage nothing new in the index), simply delete
	all lines of the patch. The list below describes some common things you
	may see in a patch, and which editing operations make sense on them.

	--
	added content::

	Added content is represented by lines beginning with "{plus}". You can
	prevent staging any addition lines by deleting them.

	removed content::

	Removed content is represented by lines beginning with "-". You can
	prevent staging their removal by converting the "-" to a " " (space).

	modified content::

	Modified content is represented by "-" lines (removing the old content)
	followed by "{plus}" lines (adding the replacement content). You can
	prevent staging the modification by converting "-" lines to " ", and
	removing "{plus}" lines. Beware that modifying only half of the pair is
	likely to introduce confusing changes to the index.
	--

	There are also more complex operations that can be performed. But beware
	that because the patch is applied only to the index and not the working
	tree, the working tree will appear to "undo" the change in the index.
	For example, introducing a new line into the index that is in neither
	the HEAD nor the working tree will stage the new line for commit, but
	the line will appear to be reverted in the working tree.

	Avoid using these constructs, or do so with extreme caution.

	--
	removing untouched content::

	Content which does not differ between the index and working tree may be
	shown on context lines, beginning with a " " (space). You can stage
	context lines for removal by converting the space to a "-". The
	resulting working tree file will appear to re-add the content.

	modifying existing content::

	One can also modify context lines by staging them for removal (by
	converting " " to "-") and adding a "{plus}" line with the new content.
	Similarly, one can modify "{plus}" lines for existing additions or
	modifications. In all cases, the new modification will appear reverted
	in the working tree.

	new content::

	You may also add new content that does not exist in the patch; simply
	add new lines, each starting with "{plus}". The addition will appear
	reverted in the working tree.
	--

	There are also several operations which should be avoided entirely, as
	they will make the patch impossible to apply:

	* adding context (" ") or removal ("-") lines
	* deleting context or removal lines
	* modifying the contents of context or removal lines

	SEE ALSO
	--------
	linkgit:git-status[1]
	linkgit:git-rm[1]
	linkgit:git-reset[1]
	linkgit:git-mv[1]
	linkgit:git-commit[1]
	linkgit:git-update-index[1]

	GIT
	---
	Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite