| 1 | git-merge-file(1) |
| 2 | ================= |
| 3 | |
| 4 | NAME |
| 5 | ---- |
| 6 | git-merge-file - Run a three-way file merge |
| 7 | |
| 8 | |
| 9 | SYNOPSIS |
| 10 | -------- |
| 11 | [verse] |
| 12 | 'git merge-file' [-L <current-name> [-L <base-name> [-L <other-name>]]] |
| 13 | [--ours|--theirs|--union] [-p|--stdout] [-q|--quiet] [--marker-size=<n>] |
| 14 | [--[no-]diff3] [--object-id] <current> <base> <other> |
| 15 | |
| 16 | |
| 17 | DESCRIPTION |
| 18 | ----------- |
| 19 | Given three files `<current>`, `<base>` and `<other>`, |
| 20 | 'git merge-file' incorporates all changes that lead from `<base>` |
| 21 | to `<other>` into `<current>`. The result ordinarily goes into |
| 22 | `<current>`. 'git merge-file' is useful for combining separate changes |
| 23 | to an original. Suppose `<base>` is the original, and both |
| 24 | `<current>` and `<other>` are modifications of `<base>`, |
| 25 | then 'git merge-file' combines both changes. |
| 26 | |
| 27 | A conflict occurs if both `<current>` and `<other>` have changes |
| 28 | in a common segment of lines. If a conflict is found, 'git merge-file' |
| 29 | normally outputs a warning and brackets the conflict with lines containing |
| 30 | <<<<<<< and >>>>>>> markers. A typical conflict will look like this: |
| 31 | |
| 32 | <<<<<<< A |
| 33 | lines in file A |
| 34 | ======= |
| 35 | lines in file B |
| 36 | >>>>>>> B |
| 37 | |
| 38 | If there are conflicts, the user should edit the result and delete one of |
| 39 | the alternatives. When `--ours`, `--theirs`, or `--union` option is in effect, |
| 40 | however, these conflicts are resolved favouring lines from `<current>`, |
| 41 | lines from `<other>`, or lines from both respectively. The length of the |
| 42 | conflict markers can be given with the `--marker-size` option. |
| 43 | |
| 44 | If `--object-id` is specified, exactly the same behavior occurs, except that |
| 45 | instead of specifying what to merge as files, it is specified as a list of |
| 46 | object IDs referring to blobs. |
| 47 | |
| 48 | The exit value of this program is negative on error, and the number of |
| 49 | conflicts otherwise (truncated to 127 if there are more than that many |
| 50 | conflicts). If the merge was clean, the exit value is 0. |
| 51 | |
| 52 | 'git merge-file' is designed to be a minimal clone of RCS 'merge'; that is, it |
| 53 | implements all of RCS 'merge''s functionality which is needed by |
| 54 | linkgit:git[1]. |
| 55 | |
| 56 | |
| 57 | OPTIONS |
| 58 | ------- |
| 59 | |
| 60 | --object-id:: |
| 61 | Specify the contents to merge as blobs in the current repository instead of |
| 62 | files. In this case, the operation must take place within a valid repository. |
| 63 | + |
| 64 | If the `-p` option is specified, the merged file (including conflicts, if any) |
| 65 | goes to standard output as normal; otherwise, the merged file is written to the |
| 66 | object store and the object ID of its blob is written to standard output. |
| 67 | |
| 68 | -L <label>:: |
| 69 | This option may be given up to three times, and |
| 70 | specifies labels to be used in place of the |
| 71 | corresponding file names in conflict reports. That is, |
| 72 | `git merge-file -L x -L y -L z a b c` generates output that |
| 73 | looks like it came from files x, y and z instead of |
| 74 | from files a, b and c. |
| 75 | |
| 76 | -p:: |
| 77 | Send results to standard output instead of overwriting |
| 78 | `<current>`. |
| 79 | |
| 80 | -q:: |
| 81 | Quiet; do not warn about conflicts. |
| 82 | |
| 83 | --diff3:: |
| 84 | Show conflicts in "diff3" style. |
| 85 | |
| 86 | --zdiff3:: |
| 87 | Show conflicts in "zdiff3" style. |
| 88 | + |
| 89 | The `--diff3` and `--zdiff3` options default to the value of the |
| 90 | `merge.conflictStyle` configuration variable (see linkgit:git-config[1]). |
| 91 | |
| 92 | --ours:: |
| 93 | --theirs:: |
| 94 | --union:: |
| 95 | Instead of leaving conflicts in the file, resolve conflicts |
| 96 | favouring our (or their or both) side of the lines. |
| 97 | |
| 98 | --diff-algorithm={patience|minimal|histogram|myers}:: |
| 99 | Use a different diff algorithm while merging. The current default is "myers", |
| 100 | but selecting more recent algorithm such as "histogram" can help |
| 101 | avoid mismerges that occur due to unimportant matching lines |
| 102 | (such as braces from distinct functions). See also |
| 103 | linkgit:git-diff[1] `--diff-algorithm`. |
| 104 | |
| 105 | EXAMPLES |
| 106 | -------- |
| 107 | |
| 108 | `git merge-file README.my README README.upstream`:: |
| 109 | |
| 110 | combines the changes of README.my and README.upstream since README, |
| 111 | tries to merge them and writes the result into README.my. |
| 112 | |
| 113 | `git merge-file -L a -L b -L c tmp/a123 tmp/b234 tmp/c345`:: |
| 114 | |
| 115 | merges tmp/a123 and tmp/c345 with the base tmp/b234, but uses labels |
| 116 | `a` and `c` instead of `tmp/a123` and `tmp/c345`. |
| 117 | |
| 118 | `git merge-file -p --object-id abc1234 def567 890abcd`:: |
| 119 | |
| 120 | combines the changes of the blob abc1234 and 890abcd since def567, |
| 121 | tries to merge them and writes the result to standard output |
| 122 | |
| 123 | GIT |
| 124 | --- |
| 125 | Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite |