GIT-UPDATE-INDEX(1) Git Manual GIT-UPDATE-INDEX(1)NAMEgit-update-index - Register file contents in the working tree to the
index
SYNOPSISgit-update-index
[--add] [--remove | --force-remove] [--replace]
[--refresh] [-q] [--unmerged] [--ignore-missing]
[--cacheinfo <mode> <object> <file>]*
[--chmod=(+|-)x]
[--assume-unchanged | --no-assume-unchanged]
[--really-refresh] [--unresolve] [--again | -g]
[--info-only] [--index-info]
[-z] [--stdin]
[--verbose]
[--] [<file>]*
DESCRIPTION
Modifies the index or directory cache. Each file mentioned is updated
into the index and any unmerged or needs updating state is cleared.
See also git-add(1) for a more user-friendly way to do some of the most
common operations on the index.
The way "git-update-index" handles files it is told about can be
modified using the various options:
OPTIONS--add If a specified file isn't in the index already then it's added.
Default behaviour is to ignore new files.
--remove
If a specified file is in the index but is missing then it's
removed. Default behavior is to ignore removed file.
--refresh
Looks at the current index and checks to see if merges or
updates are needed by checking stat() information.
-q Quiet. If --refresh finds that the index needs an update, the
default behavior is to error out. This option makes
git-update-index continue anyway.
--unmerged
If --refresh finds unmerged changes in the index, the default
behavior is to error out. This option makes git-update-index
continue anyway.
--ignore-missing
Ignores missing files during a --refresh
--cacheinfo <mode> <object> <path>
Directly insert the specified info into the index.
--index-info
Read index information from stdin.
--chmod=(+|-)x
Set the execute permissions on the updated files.
--assume-unchanged, --no-assume-unchanged
When these flags are specified, the object name recorded for the
paths are not updated. Instead, these options sets and unsets
the "assume unchanged" bit for the paths. When the "assume
unchanged" bit is on, git stops checking the working tree files
for possible modifications, so you need to manually unset the
bit to tell git when you change the working tree file. This is
sometimes helpful when working with a big project on a
filesystem that has very slow lstat(2) system call (e.g. cifs).
--again, -g
Runs git-update-index itself on the paths whose index entries
are different from those from the HEAD commit.
--unresolve
Restores the unmerged or needs updating state of a file during a
merge if it was cleared by accident.
--info-only
Do not create objects in the object database for all <file>
arguments that follow this flag; just insert their object IDs
into the index.
--force-remove
Remove the file from the index even when the working directory
still has such a file. (Implies --remove.)
--replace
By default, when a file path exists in the index,
git-update-index refuses an attempt to add path/file. Similarly
if a file path/file exists, a file path cannot be added. With
--replace flag, existing entries that conflicts with the entry
being added are automatically removed with warning messages.
--stdin
Instead of taking list of paths from the command line, read list
of paths from the standard input. Paths are separated by LF
(i.e. one path per line) by default.
--verbose
Report what is being added and removed from index.
-z Only meaningful with --stdin; paths are separated with NUL
character instead of LF.
-- Do not interpret any more arguments as options.
<file> Files to act on. Note that files beginning with . are discarded.
This includes ./file and dir/./file. If you don't want this,
then use cleaner names. The same applies to directories ending /
and paths with //
USING --REFRESH
--refresh does not calculate a new sha1 file or bring the index
up-to-date for mode/content changes. But what it does do is to
"re-match" the stat information of a file with the index, so that you
can refresh the index for a file that hasn't been changed but where the
stat entry is out of date.
For example, you'd want to do this after doing a "git-read-tree", to
link up the stat index details with the proper files.
USING --CACHEINFO OR --INFO-ONLY
--cacheinfo is used to register a file that is not in the current
working directory. This is useful for minimum-checkout merging.
To pretend you have a file with mode and sha1 at path, say:
$ git-update-index--cacheinfo mode sha1 path
--info-only is used to register files without placing them in the
object database. This is useful for status-only repositories.
Both --cacheinfo and --info-only behave similarly: the index is updated
but the object database isn't. --cacheinfo is useful when the object is
in the database but the file isn't available locally. --info-only is
useful when the file is available, but you do not wish to update the
object database.
USING --INDEX-INFO
--index-info is a more powerful mechanism that lets you feed multiple
entry definitions from the standard input, and designed specifically
for scripts. It can take inputs of three formats:
1. mode SP sha1 TAB path
The first format is what "git-apply --index-info" reports, and used
to reconstruct a partial tree that is used for phony merge base tree
when falling back on 3-way merge.
2. mode SP type SP sha1 TAB path
The second format is to stuff git-ls-tree output into the index
file.
3. mode SP sha1 SP stage TAB path
This format is to put higher order stages into the index file and
matches git-ls-files --stage output.
To place a higher stage entry to the index, the path should first be
removed by feeding a mode=0 entry for the path, and then feeding
necessary input lines in the third format.
For example, starting with this index:
$ git ls-files -s
100644 8a1218a1024a212bb3db30becd860315f9f3ac52 0 frotz
you can feed the following input to --index-info:
$ git update-index --index-info
0 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000 frotz
100644 8a1218a1024a212bb3db30becd860315f9f3ac52 1 frotz
100755 8a1218a1024a212bb3db30becd860315f9f3ac52 2 frotz
The first line of the input feeds 0 as the mode to remove the path;
the SHA1 does not matter as long as it is well formatted. Then the
second and third line feeds stage 1 and stage 2 entries for that
path. After the above, we would end up with this:
$ git ls-files -s
100644 8a1218a1024a212bb3db30becd860315f9f3ac52 1 frotz
100755 8a1218a1024a212bb3db30becd860315f9f3ac52 2 frotz
USING “ASSUME UNCHANGED” BIT
Many operations in git depend on your filesystem to have an efficient
lstat(2) implementation, so that st_mtime information for working tree
files can be cheaply checked to see if the file contents have changed
from the version recorded in the index file. Unfortunately, some
filesystems have inefficient lstat(2). If your filesystem is one of
them, you can set "assume unchanged" bit to paths you have not changed
to cause git not to do this check. Note that setting this bit on a path
does not mean git will check the contents of the file to see if it has
changed — it makes git to omit any checking and assume it has not
changed. When you make changes to working tree files, you have to
explicitly tell git about it by dropping "assume unchanged" bit, either
before or after you modify them.
In order to set "assume unchanged" bit, use --assume-unchanged option.
To unset, use --no-assume-unchanged.
The command looks at core.ignorestat configuration variable. When this
is true, paths updated with git-update-index paths... and paths updated
with other git commands that update both index and working tree (e.g.
git-apply --index, git-checkout-index -u, and git-read-tree -u) are
automatically marked as "assume unchanged". Note that "assume
unchanged" bit is not set if git-update-index--refresh finds the
working tree file matches the index (use git-update-index--really-refresh if you want to mark them as "assume unchanged").
EXAMPLES
To update and refresh only the files already checked out:
$ git-checkout-index -n -f -a && git-update-index--ignore-missing --refresh
On an inefficient filesystem with core.ignorestat set
$ git update-index --really-refresh (1)
$ git update-index --no-assume-unchanged foo.c (2)
$ git diff --name-only (3)
$ edit foo.c
$ git diff --name-only (4)
M foo.c
$ git update-index foo.c (5)
$ git diff --name-only (6)
$ edit foo.c
$ git diff --name-only (7)
$ git update-index --no-assume-unchanged foo.c (8)
$ git diff --name-only (9)
M foo.c
1. forces lstat(2) to set "assume unchanged" bits for paths that
match index.
2. mark the path to be edited.
3. this does lstat(2) and finds index matches the path.
4. this does lstat(2) and finds index does not match the path.
5. registering the new version to index sets "assume unchanged"
bit.
6. and it is assumed unchanged.
7. even after you edit it.
8. you can tell about the change after the fact.
9. now it checks with lstat(2) and finds it has been changed.
CONFIGURATION
The command honors core.filemode configuration variable. If your
repository is on an filesystem whose executable bits are unreliable,
this should be set to false (see git-config(1)). This causes the
command to ignore differences in file modes recorded in the index and
the file mode on the filesystem if they differ only on executable bit.
On such an unfortunate filesystem, you may need to use git-update-index
--chmod=.
Quite similarly, if core.symlinks configuration variable is set to
false (see git-config(1)), symbolic links are checked out as plain
files, and this command does not modify a recorded file mode from
symbolic link to regular file.
The command looks at core.ignorestat configuration variable. See Using
"assume unchanged" bit section above.
SEE ALSOgit-config(1), git-add(1)AUTHOR
Written by Linus Torvalds <torvalds@osdl.org>
DOCUMENTATION
Documentation by David Greaves, Junio C Hamano and the git-list
<git@vger.kernel.org>.
GIT
Part of the git(7) suite
Git 1.5.5.2 10/21/2008 GIT-UPDATE-INDEX(1)
