From Linux Man Pages
git-format-patch - Prepare patches for e-mail submission
SYNOPSIS
git-format-patch [-n | -k] [-o <dir> | --stdout] [--attach] [--thread]
[-s | --signoff] [--diff-options] [--start-number <n>]
[--in-reply-to=Message-Id]
<since>[..<until>]
DESCRIPTION
Prepare each commit between <since> and <until> with its patch in one file per commit, formatted to resemble UNIX
mailbox format. If ..<until> is not specified, the head of the current working tree is implied.
The output of this command is convenient for e-mail submission or for use with git-am(1).
Each output file is numbered sequentially from 1, and uses the first line of the commit message (massaged for
pathname safety) as the filename. The names of the output files are printed to standard output, unless the
--stdout option is specified.
If -o is specified, output files are created in <dir>. Otherwise they are created in the current working
directory.
If -n is specified, instead of "[PATCH] Subject", the first line is formatted as "[PATCH n/m] Subject".
If given --thread, git-format-patch will generate In-Reply-To and References headers to make the second and
subsequent patch mails appear as replies to the first mail; this also generates a Message-Id header to reference.
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.
--start-number <n>
Start numbering the patches at <n> instead of 1.
-k|--keep-subject
Do not strip/add [PATCH] from the first line of the commit log message.
-s|--signoff
Add Signed-off-by: line to the commit message, using the committer identity of yourself.
--stdout
Print all commits to the standard output in mbox format, instead of creating a file for each one.
--attach
Create attachments instead of inlining patches.
--thread
Add In-Reply-To and References headers to make the second and subsequent mails appear as replies to the
first. Also generates the Message-Id header to reference.
--in-reply-to=Message-Id
Make the first mail (or all the mails with --no-thread) appear as a reply to the given Message-Id, which
avoids breaking threads to provide a new patch series.
CONFIGURATION
You can specify extra mail header lines to be added to each message in the repository configuration as follows:
headers = "Organization: git-foo0
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 all commits which are in the current branch but not in the origin branch. For each commit a separate
file is created in the current directory.
git-format-patch -M -B origin
The same as the previous one. Additionally, it detects and handles renames and complete rewrites
intelligently to produce a renaming patch. A renaming patch reduces the amount of text output, and generally
makes it easier to review it. Note that the "patch" program does not understand renaming patches, so use it
only when you know the recipient uses git to apply your patch.
RELATED
git-am(1), git-send-email(1)
DOCUMENTATION
Documentation by Junio C Hamano and the git-list <git@vger.kernel.org>.
GIT
Part of the git(7) suite
CATEGORY