Raw
1 git-interpret-trailers(1)
2 =========================
3
4 NAME
5 ----
6 git-interpret-trailers - Add or parse structured information in commit messages
7
8 SYNOPSIS
9 --------
10 [synopsis]
11 git interpret-trailers [--in-place] [--trim-empty]
12 [(--trailer (<key>|<key-alias>)[(=|:)<value>])...]
13 [--parse] [<file>...]
14
15 DESCRIPTION
16 -----------
17 Add or parse _trailer_ lines that look similar to RFC 822 e-mail
18 headers, at the end of the otherwise free-form part of a commit
19 message. For example, in the following commit message
20
21 ------------------------------------------------
22 subject
23
24 Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
25
26 Signed-off-by: Alice <alice@example.com>
27 Signed-off-by: Bob <bob@example.com>
28 ------------------------------------------------
29
30 the last two lines starting with `Signed-off-by` are trailers.
31
32 This command reads commit messages from either the
33 _<file>_ arguments or the standard input if no _<file>_ is specified.
34 If `--parse` is specified, the output consists of the parsed trailers
35 coming from the input, without influencing them with any command line
36 options or configuration variables.
37
38 Otherwise, this command applies `trailer.<key-alias>` configuration
39 variables (which could potentially add new trailers, as well as
40 reposition them), as well as any command line arguments that can
41 override configuration variables (such as `--trailer=...` which could
42 also add new trailers), to each input file. The result is emitted on the
43 standard output.
44
45 This command can also operate on the output of linkgit:git-format-patch[1],
46 which is more elaborate than a plain commit message. Namely, such output
47 includes a commit message (as above), a `---` divider line, and a patch part.
48 For these inputs, the divider and patch parts are not modified by
49 this command and are emitted as is on the output, unless
50 `--no-divider` is specified.
51
52 Some configuration variables control the way the `--trailer` arguments
53 are applied to each input and the way any existing trailer in
54 the input is changed. They also make it possible to
55 automatically add some trailers.
56
57 By default, a `<key>=<value>` or `<key>:<value>` argument given
58 using `--trailer` will be appended after the existing trailers only if
59 the last trailer has a different (_<key>_, _<value>_) pair (or if there
60 is no existing trailer). The _<key>_ and _<value>_ parts will be trimmed
61 to remove starting and trailing whitespace, and the resulting trimmed
62 _<key>_ and _<value>_ will appear in the output like this:
63
64 ------------------------------------------------
65 key: value
66 ------------------------------------------------
67
68 This means that the trimmed _<key>_ and _<value>_ will be separated by
69 "`:`{nbsp}" (one colon followed by one space).
70
71 For convenience, a _<key-alias>_ can be configured to make using `--trailer`
72 shorter to type on the command line. This can be configured using the
73 `trailer.<key-alias>.key` configuration variable. The _<key-alias>_ must be a prefix
74 of the full _<key>_ string, although case sensitivity does not matter. For
75 example, if you have
76
77 ------------------------------------------------
78 trailer.sign.key "Signed-off-by: "
79 ------------------------------------------------
80
81 in your configuration, you only need to specify `--trailer="sign: foo"`
82 on the command line instead of `--trailer="Signed-off-by: foo"`.
83
84 By default the new trailer will appear at the end of all the existing
85 trailers. If there is no existing trailer, the new trailer will appear
86 at the end of the input. A blank line will be added before the new
87 trailer if there isn't one already.
88
89 Existing trailers are extracted from the input by looking for
90 a group of one or more lines that (i) is all trailers, or (ii) contains at
91 least one Git-generated or user-configured trailer and consists of at
92 least 25% trailers.
93 The group must be preceded by one or more empty (or whitespace-only) lines.
94 The group must either be at the end of the input or be the last
95 non-whitespace lines before a line that starts with `---` (followed by a
96 space or the end of the line).
97
98 When reading trailers, there can be no whitespace before or inside the
99 _<key>_, but any number of regular space and tab characters are allowed
100 between the _<key>_ and the separator. There can be whitespaces before,
101 inside or after the _<value>_. The _<value>_ may be split over multiple lines
102 with each subsequent line starting with at least one whitespace, like
103 the "folding" in RFC 822. Example:
104
105 ------------------------------------------------
106 key: This is a very long value, with spaces and
107 newlines in it.
108 ------------------------------------------------
109
110 Note that trailers do not follow (nor are they intended to follow) many of the
111 rules for RFC 822 headers. For example they do not follow the encoding rule.
112
113 OPTIONS
114 -------
115 `--in-place`::
116 `--no-in-place`::
117 Edit the files in place. The default is `--no-in-place`.
118
119 `--trim-empty`::
120 `--no-trim-empty`::
121 If the _<value>_ part of any trailer contains only whitespace,
122 the whole trailer will be removed from the output.
123 This applies to existing trailers as well as new trailers.
124 +
125 The default is `--no-trim-empty`.
126
127 `--trailer=<key>[(=|:)<value>]`::
128 `--no-trailer`::
129 Specify a (_<key>_, _<value>_) pair that should be applied as a
130 trailer to the inputs. See the description of this command. Can
131 be given multiple times.
132 +
133 Use `--no-trailer` to reset the list.
134
135 `--where=<placement>`::
136 `--no-where`::
137 Specify where all new trailers will be added. A setting
138 provided with `--where` overrides the `trailer.where` and any
139 applicable `trailer.<key-alias>.where` configuration variables
140 and applies to all `--trailer` options until the next occurrence of
141 `--where` or `--no-where`. Possible placements are `after`,
142 `before`, `end` or `start`.
143 +
144 Use `--no-where` to clear the effect of any previous use of `--where`,
145 such that the relevant configuration variables are no longer overridden.
146
147 `--if-exists=<action>`::
148 `--no-if-exists`::
149 Specify what action will be performed when there is already at
150 least one trailer with the same _<key>_ in the input. A setting
151 provided with `--if-exists` overrides the `trailer.ifExists` and any
152 applicable `trailer.<key-alias>.ifExists` configuration variables
153 and applies to all `--trailer` options until the next occurrence of
154 `--if-exists` or `--no-if-exists`. Possible actions are `addIfDifferent`,
155 `addIfDifferentNeighbor`, `add`, `replace` and `doNothing`.
156 +
157 Use `--no-if-exists` to clear the effect of any previous use of
158 `--if-exists`, such that the relevant configuration variables are no
159 longer overridden.
160
161 `--if-missing=<action>`::
162 `--no-if-missing`::
163 Specify what action will be performed when there is no other
164 trailer with the same _<key>_ in the input. A setting
165 provided with `--if-missing` overrides the `trailer.ifMissing` and any
166 applicable `trailer.<key-alias>.ifMissing` configuration variables
167 and applies to all `--trailer` options until the next occurrence of
168 `--if-missing` or `--no-if-missing`. Possible actions are
169 `doNothing` or `add`.
170 +
171 Use `--no-if-missing` to clear the effect of any previous use of
172 `--if-missing`, such that the relevant configuration variables are no
173 longer overridden.
174
175 `--only-trailers`::
176 `--no-only-trailers`::
177 Output only the trailers, not any other parts of the
178 input. The default is `--no-only-trailers`.
179
180 `--only-input`::
181 `--no-only-input`::
182 Output only trailers that exist in the input; do not add any
183 from the command-line or by applying `trailer.<key-alias>` configuration
184 variables. The default is `--no-only-input`.
185
186 `--unfold`::
187 `--no-unfold`::
188 If a trailer has a value that runs over multiple lines (aka "folded"),
189 reformat the value into a single line. The default is `--no-unfold`.
190
191 `--parse`::
192 A convenience alias for `--only-trailers --only-input
193 --unfold`. This makes it easier to only see the trailers coming from the
194 input without influencing them with any command line options or
195 configuration variables, while also making the output machine-friendly with
196 `--unfold`.
197 +
198 There is no convenience alias to negate this alias.
199
200 `--divider`::
201 `--no-divider`::
202 Treat `---` as the end of the commit message. This is the default.
203 Use `--no-divider` when you know your input contains just the
204 commit message itself (and not an email or the output of
205 linkgit:git-format-patch[1]).
206
207 CONFIGURATION VARIABLES
208 -----------------------
209
210 include::includes/cmd-config-section-all.adoc[]
211
212 include::config/trailer.adoc[]
213
214 EXAMPLES
215 --------
216
217 * Configure a `sign` trailer with a `Signed-off-by` key, and then
218 add two of these trailers to a commit message file:
219 +
220 ------------
221 $ git config trailer.sign.key "Signed-off-by"
222 $ cat msg.txt
223 subject
224
225 body text
226 $ git interpret-trailers --trailer 'sign: Alice <alice@example.com>' --trailer 'sign: Bob <bob@example.com>' <msg.txt
227 subject
228
229 body text
230
231 Signed-off-by: Alice <alice@example.com>
232 Signed-off-by: Bob <bob@example.com>
233 ------------
234
235 * Use the `--in-place` option to edit a commit message file in place:
236 +
237 ------------
238 $ cat msg.txt
239 subject
240
241 body text
242
243 Signed-off-by: Bob <bob@example.com>
244 $ git interpret-trailers --trailer 'Acked-by: Alice <alice@example.com>' --in-place msg.txt
245 $ cat msg.txt
246 subject
247
248 body text
249
250 Signed-off-by: Bob <bob@example.com>
251 Acked-by: Alice <alice@example.com>
252 ------------
253
254 * Extract the last commit as a patch, and add a `Cc` and a
255 `Reviewed-by` trailer to it:
256 +
257 ------------
258 $ git format-patch -1
259 0001-foo.patch
260 $ git interpret-trailers --trailer 'Cc: Alice <alice@example.com>' --trailer 'Reviewed-by: Bob <bob@example.com>' 0001-foo.patch >0001-bar.patch
261 ------------
262
263 * Configure a `sign` trailer with a command to automatically add a
264 "`Signed-off-by:`{nbsp}" with the author information only if there is no
265 "`Signed-off-by:`{nbsp}" already, and show how it works:
266 +
267 ------------
268 $ cat msg1.txt
269 subject
270
271 body text
272 $ git config trailer.sign.key "Signed-off-by: "
273 $ git config trailer.sign.ifmissing add
274 $ git config trailer.sign.ifexists doNothing
275 $ git config trailer.sign.cmd 'echo "$(git config user.name) <$(git config user.email)>"'
276 $ git interpret-trailers --trailer sign <msg1.txt
277 subject
278
279 body text
280
281 Signed-off-by: Bob <bob@example.com>
282 $ cat msg2.txt
283 subject
284
285 body text
286
287 Signed-off-by: Alice <alice@example.com>
288 $ git interpret-trailers --trailer sign <msg2.txt
289 subject
290
291 body text
292
293 Signed-off-by: Alice <alice@example.com>
294 ------------
295
296 * Configure a `fix` trailer with a key that contains a `#` and no
297 space after this character, and show how it works:
298 +
299 ------------
300 $ git config trailer.separators ":#"
301 $ git config trailer.fix.key "Fix #"
302 $ echo "subject" | git interpret-trailers --trailer fix=42
303 subject
304
305 Fix #42
306 ------------
307
308 * Configure a `help` trailer with a cmd use a script `glog-find-author`
309 which search specified author identity from git log in git repository
310 and show how it works:
311 +
312 ------------
313 $ cat ~/bin/glog-find-author
314 #!/bin/sh
315 test -n "$1" && git log --author="$1" --pretty="%an <%ae>" -1 || true
316 $ cat msg.txt
317 subject
318
319 body text
320 $ git config trailer.help.key "Helped-by: "
321 $ git config trailer.help.ifExists "addIfDifferentNeighbor"
322 $ git config trailer.help.cmd "~/bin/glog-find-author"
323 $ git interpret-trailers --trailer="help:Junio" --trailer="help:Couder" <msg.txt
324 subject
325
326 body text
327
328 Helped-by: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
329 Helped-by: Christian Couder <christian.couder@gmail.com>
330 ------------
331
332 * Configure a `ref` trailer with a cmd use a script `glog-grep`
333 to grep last relevant commit from git log in the git repository
334 and show how it works:
335 +
336 ------------
337 $ cat ~/bin/glog-grep
338 #!/bin/sh
339 test -n "$1" && git log --grep "$1" --pretty=reference -1 || true
340 $ cat msg.txt
341 subject
342
343 body text
344 $ git config trailer.ref.key "Reference-to: "
345 $ git config trailer.ref.ifExists "replace"
346 $ git config trailer.ref.cmd "~/bin/glog-grep"
347 $ git interpret-trailers --trailer="ref:Add copyright notices." <msg.txt
348 subject
349
350 body text
351
352 Reference-to: 8bc9a0c769 (Add copyright notices., 2005-04-07)
353 ------------
354
355 * Configure a `see` trailer with a command to show the subject of a
356 commit that is related, and show how it works:
357 +
358 ------------
359 $ cat msg.txt
360 subject
361
362 body text
363
364 see: HEAD~2
365 $ cat ~/bin/glog-ref
366 #!/bin/sh
367 git log -1 --oneline --format="%h (%s)" --abbrev-commit --abbrev=14
368 $ git config trailer.see.key "See-also: "
369 $ git config trailer.see.ifExists "replace"
370 $ git config trailer.see.ifMissing "doNothing"
371 $ git config trailer.see.cmd "glog-ref"
372 $ git interpret-trailers --trailer=see <msg.txt
373 subject
374
375 body text
376
377 See-also: fe3187489d69c4 (subject of related commit)
378 ------------
379
380 * Configure a commit template with some trailers with empty values
381 (using sed to show and keep the trailing spaces at the end of the
382 trailers), then configure a commit-msg hook that uses
383 git-interpret-trailers(1) to remove trailers with empty values and to
384 add a `git-version` trailer:
385 +
386 ------------
387 $ cat temp.txt
388 ***subject***
389
390 ***message***
391
392 Fixes: Z
393 Cc: Z
394 Reviewed-by: Z
395 Signed-off-by: Z
396 $ sed -e 's/ Z$/ /' temp.txt > commit_template.txt
397 $ git config commit.template commit_template.txt
398 $ cat .git/hooks/commit-msg
399 #!/bin/sh
400 git interpret-trailers --trim-empty --trailer "git-version: \$(git describe)" "\$1" > "\$1.new"
401 mv "\$1.new" "\$1"
402 $ chmod +x .git/hooks/commit-msg
403 ------------
404
405 SEE ALSO
406 --------
407 linkgit:git-commit[1], linkgit:git-format-patch[1], linkgit:git-config[1]
408
409 GIT
410 ---
411 Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite