git-format-patch(1)
===================

NAME
----
git-format-patch - Prepare patches for e-mail submission.


SYNOPSIS
--------
'git-format-patch' [-n | -k] [-o <dir> | --stdout] [-s] [-c] [--mbox] [--diff-options] <his> [<mine>]

DESCRIPTION
-----------
Prepare each commit with its patch since <mine> head forked from
<his> head, one file per patch, for e-mail submission.  Each
output file is numbered sequentially from 1, and uses the first
line of the commit message (massaged for pathname safety) as the
filename.

When -o is specified, output files are created in that
directory; otherwise in the current working directory.

When -n is specified, instead of "[PATCH] Subject", the first
line is formatted as "[PATCH N/M] Subject", unless you have only
one patch.

When --mbox is specified, the output is formatted to resemble
UNIX mailbox format, and can be concatenated together for
processing with applymbox.


OPTIONS
-------
-o|--output-directory <dir>::
	Use <dir> to store the resulting files, instead of the
	current working directory.

-n|--numbered::
	Name output in '[PATCH n/m]' format.

-k|--keep-subject::
	Do not strip/add '[PATCH]' from the first line of the
	commit log message.

-a|--author, -d|--date::
	Output From: and Date: headers for commits made by
	yourself as well.  Usually these are output only for
	commits made by people other than yourself.

-s|--signoff::
	Add `Signed-off-by:` line to the commit message, using
	the committer identity of yourself.

-c|--check::
        Display suspicious lines in the patch.  The definition
        of 'suspicious lines' is currently the lines that has
        trailing whitespaces, and the lines whose indentation
        has a SP character immediately followed by a TAB
        character.

-m|--mbox::
	Format the output files for closer to mbox format by
	adding a phony Unix "From " line, so they can be
	concatenated together and fed to `git-applymbox`.
	Implies --author and --date.

--stdout::
	This flag generates the mbox formatted output to the
	standard output, instead of saving them into a file per
	patch and implies --mbox.


EXAMPLES
--------

git-format-patch -k --stdout R1..R2 | git-am -3 -k::
	Extract commits between revisions R1 and R2, and apply
	them on top of the current branch using `git-am` to
	cherry-pick them.

git-format-patch origin::
	Extract commits the current branch accumulated since it
	pulled from origin the last time in a patch form for
	e-mail submission.


See Also
--------
gitlink:git-am[1], gitlink:git-send-email


Author
------
Written by Junio C Hamano <junkio@cox.net>

Documentation
--------------
Documentation by Junio C Hamano and the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>.

GIT
---
Part of the gitlink:git[7] suite