docs/format-patch: mention handling of merges
Format-patch doesn't have a way to format merges in a way that can be applied by git-am (or any other tool), and so it just omits them. However, this may be a surprising implication for users who are not well versed in how the tool works. Let's add a note to the documentation making this more clear. Signed-off-by: Jeff King <peff@peff.net> Signed-off-by: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Jeff King committed
May 1, 2021 at 10:13 UTC
8e0601f568ebf512f2edc606bdbf1a508b3c28a6
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Documentation/git-format-patch.txt
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@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ SYNOPSIS
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DESCRIPTION
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-----------
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-Prepare each commit with its "patch" in
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+Prepare each non-merge commit with its "patch" in
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one "message" per commit, formatted to resemble a UNIX mailbox.
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The output of this command is convenient for e-mail submission or
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for use with 'git am'.
@@ -735,6 +735,14 @@ use it only when you know the recipient uses Git to apply your patch.
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$ git format-patch -3
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------------
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+CAVEATS
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+-------
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+
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+Note that `format-patch` will omit merge commits from the output, even
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+if they are part of the requested range. A simple "patch" does not
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+include enough information for the receiving end to reproduce the same
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+merge commit.
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+
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SEE ALSO
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--------
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linkgit:git-am[1], linkgit:git-send-email[1]