1GIT-UPDATE-INDEX(1) Git Manual GIT-UPDATE-INDEX(1)
2
6 git-update-index - Register file contents in the working tree to the
7 index
8
10 git-update-index
11 [--add] [--remove | --force-remove] [--replace]
12 [--refresh] [-q] [--unmerged] [--ignore-missing]
13 [--cacheinfo <mode> <object> <file>]*
14 [--chmod=(+|-)x]
15 [--assume-unchanged | --no-assume-unchanged]
16 [--really-refresh] [--unresolve] [--again | -g]
17 [--info-only] [--index-info]
18 [-z] [--stdin]
19 [--verbose]
20 [--] [<file>]*
21
23 Modifies the index or directory cache. Each file mentioned is updated
24 into the index and any unmerged or needs updating state is cleared.
25 See also git-add(1) for a more user-friendly way to do some of the most
27 common operations on the index.
28 The way "git-update-index" handles files it is told about can be
30 modified using the various options:
31
33 --add
34 If a specified file isn´t in the index already then it´s added.
35 Default behaviour is to ignore new files.
36 --remove
38 If a specified file is in the index but is missing then it´s
39 removed. Default behavior is to ignore removed file.
40 --refresh
42 Looks at the current index and checks to see if merges or updates
43 are needed by checking stat() information.
44 -q
46 Quiet. If --refresh finds that the index needs an update, the
47 default behavior is to error out. This option makes
48 git-update-index continue anyway.
49 --unmerged
51 If --refresh finds unmerged changes in the index, the default
52 behavior is to error out. This option makes git-update-index
53 continue anyway.
54 --ignore-missing
56 Ignores missing files during a --refresh
57 --cacheinfo <mode> <object> <path>
59 Directly insert the specified info into the index.
60 --index-info
62 Read index information from stdin.
63 --chmod=(+|-)x
65 Set the execute permissions on the updated files.
66 --assume-unchanged, --no-assume-unchanged
68 When these flags are specified, the object name recorded for the
69 paths are not updated. Instead, these options sets and unsets the
70 "assume unchanged" bit for the paths. When the "assume unchanged"
71 bit is on, git stops checking the working tree files for possible
72 modifications, so you need to manually unset the bit to tell git
73 when you change the working tree file. This is sometimes helpful
74 when working with a big project on a filesystem that has very slow
75 lstat(2) system call (e.g. cifs).
76 --again, -g
78 Runs git-update-index itself on the paths whose index entries are
79 different from those from the HEAD commit.
80 --unresolve
82 Restores the unmerged or needs updating state of a file during a
83 merge if it was cleared by accident.
84 --info-only
86 Do not create objects in the object database for all <file>
87 arguments that follow this flag; just insert their object IDs into
88 the index.
89 --force-remove
91 Remove the file from the index even when the working directory
92 still has such a file. (Implies --remove.)
93 --replace
95 By default, when a file path exists in the index, git-update-index
96 refuses an attempt to add path/file. Similarly if a file path/file
97 exists, a file path cannot be added. With --replace flag, existing
98 entries that conflicts with the entry being added are automatically
99 removed with warning messages.
100 --stdin
102 Instead of taking list of paths from the command line, read list of
103 paths from the standard input. Paths are separated by LF (i.e. one
104 path per line) by default.
105 --verbose
107 Report what is being added and removed from index.
108 -z
110 Only meaningful with --stdin; paths are separated with NUL
111 character instead of LF.
112 --
114 Do not interpret any more arguments as options.
115 <file>
117 Files to act on. Note that files beginning with . are discarded.
118 This includes ./file and dir/./file. If you don´t want this, then
119 use cleaner names. The same applies to directories ending / and
120 paths with //
121
123 --refresh does not calculate a new sha1 file or bring the index
124 up-to-date for mode/content changes. But what it does do is to
125 "re-match" the stat information of a file with the index, so that you
126 can refresh the index for a file that hasn´t been changed but where the
127 stat entry is out of date.
128 For example, you´d want to do this after doing a "git-read-tree", to
130 link up the stat index details with the proper files.
131
133 --cacheinfo is used to register a file that is not in the current
134 working directory. This is useful for minimum-checkout merging.
135 To pretend you have a file with mode and sha1 at path, say:
137 $ git-update-index --cacheinfo mode sha1 path
141 --info-only is used to register files without placing them in the
143 object database. This is useful for status-only repositories.
144 Both --cacheinfo and --info-only behave similarly: the index is updated
146 but the object database isn´t. --cacheinfo is useful when the object is
147 in the database but the file isn´t available locally. --info-only is
148 useful when the file is available, but you do not wish to update the
149 object database.
150
152 --index-info is a more powerful mechanism that lets you feed multiple
153 entry definitions from the standard input, and designed specifically
154 for scripts. It can take inputs of three formats:
155 1. mode SP sha1 TAB path
158 The first format is what "git-apply --index-info" reports, and used
160 to reconstruct a partial tree that is used for phony merge base
161 tree when falling back on 3-way merge.
162 2. mode SP type SP sha1 TAB path
164 The second format is to stuff git-ls-tree output into the index
166 file.
167 3. mode SP sha1 SP stage TAB path
169 This format is to put higher order stages into the index file and
171 matches git-ls-files --stage output.
172 To place a higher stage entry to the index, the path should first be
173 removed by feeding a mode=0 entry for the path, and then feeding
174 necessary input lines in the third format.
175 For example, starting with this index:
177 $ git ls-files -s
181 100644 8a1218a1024a212bb3db30becd860315f9f3ac52 0 frotz
182 you can feed the following input to --index-info:
184 $ git update-index --index-info
188 0 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000 frotz
189 100644 8a1218a1024a212bb3db30becd860315f9f3ac52 1 frotz
190 100755 8a1218a1024a212bb3db30becd860315f9f3ac52 2 frotz
191 The first line of the input feeds 0 as the mode to remove the path; the
193 SHA1 does not matter as long as it is well formatted. Then the second
194 and third line feeds stage 1 and stage 2 entries for that path. After
195 the above, we would end up with this:
196 $ git ls-files -s
200 100644 8a1218a1024a212bb3db30becd860315f9f3ac52 1 frotz
201 100755 8a1218a1024a212bb3db30becd860315f9f3ac52 2 frotz
202
205 Many operations in git depend on your filesystem to have an efficient
206 lstat(2) implementation, so that st_mtime information for working tree
207 files can be cheaply checked to see if the file contents have changed
208 from the version recorded in the index file. Unfortunately, some
209 filesystems have inefficient lstat(2). If your filesystem is one of
210 them, you can set "assume unchanged" bit to paths you have not changed
211 to cause git not to do this check. Note that setting this bit on a path
212 does not mean git will check the contents of the file to see if it has
213 changed — it makes git to omit any checking and assume it has not
214 changed. When you make changes to working tree files, you have to
215 explicitly tell git about it by dropping "assume unchanged" bit, either
216 before or after you modify them.
217 In order to set "assume unchanged" bit, use --assume-unchanged option.
219 To unset, use --no-assume-unchanged.
220 The command looks at core.ignorestat configuration variable. When this
222 is true, paths updated with git-update-index paths... and paths updated
223 with other git commands that update both index and working tree (e.g.
224 git-apply --index, git-checkout-index -u, and git-read-tree -u) are
225 automatically marked as "assume unchanged". Note that "assume
226 unchanged" bit is not set if git-update-index --refresh finds the
227 working tree file matches the index (use git-update-index
228 --really-refresh if you want to mark them as "assume unchanged").
229
231 To update and refresh only the files already checked out:
232 $ git-checkout-index -n -f -a && git-update-index --ignore-missing --refresh
236 On an inefficient filesystem with core.ignorestat set
239 $ git update-index --really-refresh [1m(1)
242 $ git update-index --no-assume-unchanged foo.c [1m(2)
243 $ git diff --name-only [1m(3)
244 $ edit foo.c
245 $ git diff --name-only [1m(4)
246 M foo.c
247 $ git update-index foo.c [1m(5)
248 $ git diff --name-only [1m(6)
249 $ edit foo.c
250 $ git diff --name-only [1m(7)
251 $ git update-index --no-assume-unchanged foo.c [1m(8)
252 $ git diff --name-only [1m(9)
253 M foo.c
254 1. forces lstat(2) to set "assume unchanged" bits for paths that
257 match index.
258 2. mark the path to be edited.
259 3. this does lstat(2) and finds index matches the path.
260 4. this does lstat(2) and finds index does not match the path.
261 5. registering the new version to index sets "assume unchanged"
262 bit.
263 6. and it is assumed unchanged.
264 7. even after you edit it.
265 8. you can tell about the change after the fact.
266 9. now it checks with lstat(2) and finds it has been changed.
267
269 The command honors core.filemode configuration variable. If your
270 repository is on an filesystem whose executable bits are unreliable,
271 this should be set to false (see git-config(1)). This causes the
272 command to ignore differences in file modes recorded in the index and
273 the file mode on the filesystem if they differ only on executable bit.
274 On such an unfortunate filesystem, you may need to use git-update-index
275 --chmod=.
276 Quite similarly, if core.symlinks configuration variable is set to
278 false (see git-config(1)), symbolic links are checked out as plain
279 files, and this command does not modify a recorded file mode from
280 symbolic link to regular file.
281 The command looks at core.ignorestat configuration variable. See Using
283 "assume unchanged" bit section above.
284
286 git-config(1), git-add(1)
287
289 Written by Linus Torvalds <torvalds@osdl.org>
290
292 Documentation by David Greaves, Junio C Hamano and the git-list
293 <git@vger.kernel.org>.
294
296 Part of the git(7) suite
297Git 1.5.3.3 10/09/2007 GIT-UPDATE-INDEX(1)