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1 <repository>::
2 The "remote" repository that is the source of a fetch
3 or pull operation. This parameter can be either a URL
4 (see the section <<URLS,GIT URLS>> below) or the name
5 of a remote (see the section <<REMOTES,REMOTES>> below).
7 ifndef::git-pull[]
8 <group>::
9 A name referring to a list of repositories as the value
10 of remotes.<group> in the configuration file.
11 (See linkgit:git-config[1]).
12 endif::git-pull[]
14 <refspec>::
15 Specifies which refs to fetch and which local refs to update.
16 When no <refspec>s appear on the command line, the refs to fetch
17 are read from `remote.<repository>.fetch` variables instead
18 ifndef::git-pull[]
19 (see <<CRTB,CONFIGURED REMOTE-TRACKING BRANCHES>> below).
20 endif::git-pull[]
21 ifdef::git-pull[]
22 (see the section "CONFIGURED REMOTE-TRACKING BRANCHES"
23 in linkgit:git-fetch[1]).
24 endif::git-pull[]
25 +
26 The format of a <refspec> parameter is an optional plus
27 `+`, followed by the source <src>, followed
28 by a colon `:`, followed by the destination ref <dst>.
29 The colon can be omitted when <dst> is empty. <src> is
30 typically a ref, but it can also be a fully spelled hex object
31 name.
32 +
33 A <refspec> may contain a `*` in its <src> to indicate a simple pattern
34 match. Such a refspec functions like a glob that matches any ref with the
35 same prefix. A pattern <refspec> must have a `*` in both the <src> and
36 <dst>. It will map refs to the destination by replacing the `*` with the
37 contents matched from the source.
38 +
39 If a refspec is prefixed by `^`, it will be interpreted as a negative
40 refspec. Rather than specifying which refs to fetch or which local refs to
41 update, such a refspec will instead specify refs to exclude. A ref will be
42 considered to match if it matches at least one positive refspec, and does
43 not match any negative refspec. Negative refspecs can be useful to restrict
44 the scope of a pattern refspec so that it will not include specific refs.
45 Negative refspecs can themselves be pattern refspecs. However, they may only
46 contain a <src> and do not specify a <dst>. Fully spelled out hex object
47 names are also not supported.
48 +
49 `tag <tag>` means the same as `refs/tags/<tag>:refs/tags/<tag>`;
50 it requests fetching everything up to the given tag.
51 +
52 The remote ref that matches <src>
53 is fetched, and if <dst> is not an empty string, an attempt
54 is made to update the local ref that matches it.
55 +
56 Whether that update is allowed without `--force` depends on the ref
57 namespace it's being fetched to, the type of object being fetched, and
58 whether the update is considered to be a fast-forward. Generally, the
59 same rules apply for fetching as when pushing, see the `<refspec>...`
60 section of linkgit:git-push[1] for what those are. Exceptions to those
61 rules particular to 'git fetch' are noted below.
62 +
63 Until Git version 2.20, and unlike when pushing with
64 linkgit:git-push[1], any updates to `refs/tags/*` would be accepted
65 without `+` in the refspec (or `--force`). When fetching, we promiscuously
66 considered all tag updates from a remote to be forced fetches. Since
67 Git version 2.20, fetching to update `refs/tags/*` works the same way
68 as when pushing. I.e. any updates will be rejected without `+` in the
69 refspec (or `--force`).
70 +
71 Unlike when pushing with linkgit:git-push[1], any updates outside of
72 `refs/{tags,heads}/*` will be accepted without `+` in the refspec (or
73 `--force`), whether that's swapping e.g. a tree object for a blob, or
74 a commit for another commit that doesn't have the previous commit as
75 an ancestor etc.
76 +
77 Unlike when pushing with linkgit:git-push[1], there is no
78 configuration which'll amend these rules, and nothing like a
79 `pre-fetch` hook analogous to the `pre-receive` hook.
80 +
81 As with pushing with linkgit:git-push[1], all of the rules described
82 above about what's not allowed as an update can be overridden by
83 adding an optional leading `+` to a refspec (or using the `--force`
84 command line option). The only exception to this is that no amount of
85 forcing will make the `refs/heads/*` namespace accept a non-commit
86 object.
87 +
88 [NOTE]
89 When the remote branch you want to fetch is known to
90 be rewound and rebased regularly, it is expected that
91 its new tip will not be a descendant of its previous tip
92 (as stored in your remote-tracking branch the last time
93 you fetched). You would want
94 to use the `+` sign to indicate non-fast-forward updates
95 will be needed for such branches. There is no way to
96 determine or declare that a branch will be made available
97 in a repository with this behavior; the pulling user simply
98 must know this is the expected usage pattern for a branch.
99 ifdef::git-pull[]
100 +
101 [NOTE]
102 There is a difference between listing multiple <refspec>
103 directly on 'git pull' command line and having multiple
104 `remote.<repository>.fetch` entries in your configuration
105 for a <repository> and running a
106 'git pull' command without any explicit <refspec> parameters.
107 <refspec>s listed explicitly on the command line are always
108 merged into the current branch after fetching. In other words,
109 if you list more than one remote ref, 'git pull' will create
110 an Octopus merge. On the other hand, if you do not list any
111 explicit <refspec> parameter on the command line, 'git pull'
112 will fetch all the <refspec>s it finds in the
113 `remote.<repository>.fetch` configuration and merge
114 only the first <refspec> found into the current branch.
115 This is because making an
116 Octopus from remote refs is rarely done, while keeping track
117 of multiple remote heads in one-go by fetching more than one
118 is often useful.
119 endif::git-pull[]