Subject: [PATCH v5 8/9] fetch: document local ref updates with/without --force

From: Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2018 20:10:03 +0000

Refer to the new git-push(1) documentation about when ref updates are
and aren't allowed with and without --force, noting how "git-fetch"
differs from the behavior of "git-push".

Perhaps it would be better to split this all out into a new
gitrefspecs(7) man page, or present this information using tables.

In lieu of that, this is accurate, and fixes a big omission in the
existing refspec docs.

Signed-off-by: Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason <[email-masked]>
---
 Documentation/fetch-options.txt    | 15 +++++++++-----
 Documentation/pull-fetch-param.txt | 32 +++++++++++++++++++++++++-----
 2 files changed, 37 insertions(+), 10 deletions(-)

diff --git a/Documentation/fetch-options.txt b/Documentation/fetch-options.txt
index 8bc36af4b1..fa0a3151b3 100644
--- a/Documentation/fetch-options.txt
+++ b/Documentation/fetch-options.txt
@@ -68,11 +68,16 @@ endif::git-pull[]
 
 -f::
 --force::
-	When 'git fetch' is used with `<rbranch>:<lbranch>`
-	refspec, it refuses to update the local branch
-	`<lbranch>` unless the remote branch `<rbranch>` it
-	fetches is a descendant of `<lbranch>`.  This option
-	overrides that check.
+	When 'git fetch' is used with `<src>:<dst>` refspec it may
+	refuse to update the local branch as discussed
+ifdef::git-pull[]
+	in the `<refspec>` part of the linkgit:git-fetch[1]
+	documentation.
+endif::git-pull[]
+ifndef::git-pull[]
+	in the `<refspec>` part below.
+endif::git-pull[]
+	This option overrides that check.
 
 -k::
 --keep::
diff --git a/Documentation/pull-fetch-param.txt b/Documentation/pull-fetch-param.txt
index f1fb08dc68..ab9617ad01 100644
--- a/Documentation/pull-fetch-param.txt
+++ b/Documentation/pull-fetch-param.txt
@@ -33,11 +33,33 @@ name.
 it requests fetching everything up to the given tag.
 +
 The remote ref that matches <src>
-is fetched, and if <dst> is not an empty string, the local
-ref that matches it is fast-forwarded using <src>.
-If the optional plus `+` is used, the local ref
-is updated even if it does not result in a fast-forward
-update.
+is fetched, and if <dst> is not an empty string, an attempt
+is made to update the local ref that matches it.
++
+Whether that update is allowed without `--force` depends on the ref
+namespace it's being fetched to, the type of object being fetched, and
+whether the update is considered to be a fast-forward. Generally, the
+same rules apply for fetching as when pushing, see the `<refspec>...`
+section of linkgit:git-push[1] for what those are. Exceptions to those
+rules particular to 'git fetch' are noted below.
++
+Unlike when pushing with linkgit:git-push[1], any updates to
+`refs/tags/*` will be accepted without `+` in the refspec (or
+`--force`). The receiving promiscuously considers all tag updates from
+a remote to be forced fetches.
++
+Unlike when pushing with linkgit:git-push[1], any updates outside of
+`refs/{tags,heads}/*` will be accepted without `+` in the refspec (or
+`--force`), whether that's swapping e.g. a tree object for a blob, or
+a commit for another commit that's doesn't have the previous commit as
+an ancestor etc.
++
+As with pushing with linkgit:git-push[1], all of the rules described
+above about what's not allowed as an update can be overridden by
+adding an the optional leading `+` to a refspec (or using `--force`
+command line option). The only exception to this is that no amount of
+forcing will make the `refs/heads/*` namespace accept a non-commit
+object.
 +
 [NOTE]
 When the remote branch you want to fetch is known to
-- 
2.19.0.rc1.350.ge57e33dbd1