From: "Julia Evans via GitGitGadget" <gitgitgadget@gmail•com>
To: git@vger•kernel.org
Cc: "D. Ben Knoble" <ben.knoble@gmail•com>,
"Kristoffer Haugsbakk" <kristofferhaugsbakk@fastmail•com>,
"Jean-Noël AVILA" <jn.avila@free•fr>,
"Julia Evans" <julia@jvns•ca>, "Julia Evans" <julia@jvns•ca>
Subject: [PATCH v5 4/5] doc: git-push: clarify "what to push"
Date: Mon, 06 Oct 2025 18:58:50 +0000 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <8e82c508f6104d763fa05b74ebf8316010265ff0.1759777131.git.gitgitgadget@gmail.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <pull.1964.v5.git.1759777131.gitgitgadget@gmail.com>
From: Julia Evans <julia@jvns•ca>
From user feedback: 6 users says they found the "what to push"
paragraphs confusing, for many different reasons, including:
* what does "..." in <refspec>... mean?
* "consult XXX configuration" is hard to parse
* it refers to the `git-config` man page even though the config
information for `git push` is included in this man page under
CONFIGURATION
* the default ("push to a branch with the same name") is what they use
99% of the time, they would have expected it to appear earlier instead
of at the very end
* not understanding what the term "upstream" means in Git
("are branches tracked by some system besides their names?"")
Also, the current explanation of `push.default=simple` ("the
current branch is pushed to the corresponding upstream branch, but
as a safety measure, the push is aborted if the upstream branch
does not have the same name as the local one.") is not accurate:
`push.default=simple` does not always require you to set a corresponding
upstream branch.
Address all of these by
* using a numbered "in order of precedence" list
* giving a more accurate explanation of how `push.default=simple` works
* giving a little bit of context around "upstream branch": it's
something that you may have to set explicitly
* referring to the new UPSTREAM BRANCHES section
The default behaviour is still discussed pretty late but it should be
easier to skim now to get to the relevant information.
In "`git push` may fail if...", I'm intentionally being vague about
what exactly `git push` does, because (as discussed on the mailing list)
the behaviour of `push.default=simple` is very confusing, perhaps broken,
and certainly not worth trying to explain in an introductory context.
`push.default.simple` sometimes requires you to set an upstream and
sometimes doesn't and the exact conditions under which it does/doesn't
are hard to describe.
Signed-off-by: Julia Evans <julia@jvns•ca>
---
Documentation/git-push.adoc | 27 +++++++++++++++------------
1 file changed, 15 insertions(+), 12 deletions(-)
diff --git a/Documentation/git-push.adoc b/Documentation/git-push.adoc
index acdf25e5cd..aa01efcc0a 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-push.adoc
+++ b/Documentation/git-push.adoc
@@ -26,18 +26,20 @@ that isn't already on the remote.
The `<repository>` argument defaults to the upstream for the current branch,
or `origin` if there's no configured upstream.
-When the command line does not specify what to push with `<refspec>...`
-arguments or `--all`, `--mirror`, `--tags` options, the command finds
-the default `<refspec>` by consulting `remote.*.push` configuration,
-and if it is not found, honors `push.default` configuration to decide
-what to push (See linkgit:git-config[1] for the meaning of `push.default`).
-
-When neither the command-line nor the configuration specifies what to
-push, the default behavior is used, which corresponds to the `simple`
-value for `push.default`: the current branch is pushed to the
-corresponding upstream branch, but as a safety measure, the push is
-aborted if the upstream branch does not have the same name as the
-local one.
+To decide which branches, tags, or other refs to push, Git uses
+(in order of precedence):
+
+1. The `<refspec>` argument(s) (for example `main` in `git push origin main`)
+ or the `--all`, `--mirror`, or `--tags` options
+2. The `remote.*.push` configuration for the repository being pushed to
+3. The `push.default` configuration. The default is `push.default=simple`,
+ which will push to a branch with the same name as the current branch.
+ See the <<CONFIGURATION,CONFIGURATION>> section below for more on `push.default`.
+
+`git push` may fail if you haven't set an upstream for the current branch,
+depending on what `push.default` is set to.
+See the <<UPSTREAM-BRANCHES,UPSTREAM BRANCHES>> section below for more
+on how to set and use upstreams.
You can make interesting things happen to a repository
every time you push into it, by setting up 'hooks' there. See
@@ -696,6 +698,7 @@ a `git gc` command on the origin repository.
include::transfer-data-leaks.adoc[]
+[[CONFIGURATION]]
CONFIGURATION
-------------
--
gitgitgadget
next prev parent reply other threads:[~2025-10-06 18:59 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 87+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2025-08-26 20:40 [PATCH 0/4] doc: git-push: clarify DESCRIPTION section & refspec definition Julia Evans via GitGitGadget
2025-08-26 20:40 ` [PATCH 1/4] doc: git-push: update intro Julia Evans via GitGitGadget
2025-08-28 13:53 ` D. Ben Knoble
2025-08-28 16:18 ` Junio C Hamano
2025-08-29 7:20 ` Kristoffer Haugsbakk
2025-08-28 17:47 ` Julia Evans
2025-08-28 19:39 ` D. Ben Knoble
2025-08-26 20:40 ` [PATCH 2/4] doc: git-push: clarify "where to push" Julia Evans via GitGitGadget
2025-08-27 0:05 ` Junio C Hamano
2025-08-26 20:40 ` [PATCH 3/4] doc: git-push: clarify "what " Julia Evans via GitGitGadget
2025-08-26 23:57 ` Junio C Hamano
2025-08-27 13:52 ` Julia Evans
2025-08-28 14:25 ` D. Ben Knoble
2025-08-26 20:40 ` [PATCH 4/4] doc: git-push: rewrite refspec specification Julia Evans via GitGitGadget
2025-08-26 23:34 ` Junio C Hamano
2025-08-27 13:10 ` Julia Evans
2025-08-28 19:28 ` D. Ben Knoble
2025-09-12 18:55 ` [PATCH v2 0/4] doc: git-push: clarify DESCRIPTION section & refspec definition Julia Evans via GitGitGadget
2025-09-12 18:55 ` [PATCH v2 1/4] doc: git-push: clarify intro Julia Evans via GitGitGadget
2025-09-12 20:54 ` Junio C Hamano
2025-09-15 20:00 ` Julia Evans
2025-09-16 1:44 ` Junio C Hamano
2025-09-16 18:46 ` Julia Evans
2025-09-16 20:38 ` Ben Knoble
2025-09-16 21:59 ` Junio C Hamano
2025-09-17 18:42 ` Junio C Hamano
2025-09-18 14:20 ` Julia Evans
2025-09-12 18:55 ` [PATCH v2 2/4] doc: add an UPSTREAM BRANCHES section to pull/push/fetch Julia Evans via GitGitGadget
2025-09-12 21:17 ` Junio C Hamano
2025-09-15 20:19 ` Julia Evans
2025-09-15 21:48 ` Junio C Hamano
2025-09-15 23:09 ` Julia Evans
2025-09-16 5:25 ` Junio C Hamano
2025-09-16 5:33 ` Junio C Hamano
2025-09-16 5:39 ` Junio C Hamano
2025-09-18 21:02 ` Julia Evans
2025-09-12 18:55 ` [PATCH v2 3/4] doc: git-push: clarify "where to push" Julia Evans via GitGitGadget
2025-09-12 21:18 ` Junio C Hamano
2025-09-12 21:19 ` Junio C Hamano
2025-09-15 20:52 ` Julia Evans
2025-09-12 18:55 ` [PATCH v2 4/4] doc: git-push: clarify "what " Julia Evans via GitGitGadget
2025-09-23 17:44 ` [PATCH v3 0/4] doc: git-push: clarify DESCRIPTION section Julia Evans via GitGitGadget
2025-09-23 17:44 ` [PATCH v3 1/4] doc: git-push: clarify intro Julia Evans via GitGitGadget
2025-09-23 17:44 ` [PATCH v3 2/4] doc: add an UPSTREAM BRANCHES section to pull/push/fetch Julia Evans via GitGitGadget
2025-09-24 19:51 ` Junio C Hamano
2025-09-30 19:20 ` Julia Evans
2025-09-23 17:44 ` [PATCH v3 3/4] doc: git-push: clarify "where to push" Julia Evans via GitGitGadget
2025-09-23 17:44 ` [PATCH v3 4/4] doc: git-push: clarify "what " Julia Evans via GitGitGadget
2025-09-24 20:01 ` Junio C Hamano
2025-09-25 20:50 ` Julia Evans
2025-09-25 21:15 ` Junio C Hamano
2025-09-25 22:34 ` Julia Evans
2025-09-26 1:27 ` Junio C Hamano
2025-09-26 15:29 ` Junio C Hamano
2025-09-26 17:31 ` Julia Evans
2025-09-26 19:03 ` Junio C Hamano
2025-09-26 22:27 ` Julia Evans
2025-09-26 23:07 ` Junio C Hamano
2025-09-28 21:38 ` D. Ben Knoble
2025-09-23 17:56 ` [PATCH v3 0/4] doc: git-push: clarify DESCRIPTION section D. Ben Knoble
2025-09-30 19:58 ` [PATCH v4 0/5] " Julia Evans via GitGitGadget
2025-09-30 19:58 ` [PATCH v4 1/5] doc: git-push: clarify intro Julia Evans via GitGitGadget
2025-09-30 19:58 ` [PATCH v4 2/5] doc: add an UPSTREAM BRANCHES section to pull/push/fetch Julia Evans via GitGitGadget
2025-09-30 23:39 ` Junio C Hamano
2025-10-03 18:23 ` Julia Evans
2025-10-03 19:12 ` Junio C Hamano
2025-10-01 17:30 ` Jean-Noël AVILA
2025-10-03 17:54 ` Julia Evans
2025-09-30 19:58 ` [PATCH v4 3/5] doc: git-push: clarify "where to push" Julia Evans via GitGitGadget
2025-09-30 19:58 ` [PATCH v4 4/5] doc: git-push: clarify "what " Julia Evans via GitGitGadget
2025-09-30 21:01 ` Junio C Hamano
2025-10-01 17:36 ` Jean-Noël AVILA
2025-09-30 19:58 ` [PATCH v4 5/5] doc: git-push: Add explanation of `git push origin main` Julia Evans via GitGitGadget
2025-10-01 22:29 ` D. Ben Knoble
2025-10-03 17:58 ` Julia Evans
2025-10-01 22:28 ` [PATCH v4 0/5] doc: git-push: clarify DESCRIPTION section D. Ben Knoble
2025-10-06 18:58 ` [PATCH v5 " Julia Evans via GitGitGadget
2025-10-06 18:58 ` [PATCH v5 1/5] doc: git-push: clarify intro Julia Evans via GitGitGadget
2025-10-06 18:58 ` [PATCH v5 2/5] doc: add an UPSTREAM BRANCHES section to pull/push/fetch Julia Evans via GitGitGadget
2025-10-07 12:23 ` Kristoffer Haugsbakk
2025-10-07 13:35 ` Julia Evans
2025-10-07 18:35 ` D. Ben Knoble
2025-10-06 18:58 ` [PATCH v5 3/5] doc: git-push: clarify "where to push" Julia Evans via GitGitGadget
2025-10-06 18:58 ` Julia Evans via GitGitGadget [this message]
2025-10-06 18:58 ` [PATCH v5 5/5] doc: git-push: Add explanation of `git push origin main` Julia Evans via GitGitGadget
2025-10-06 21:53 ` [PATCH v5 0/5] doc: git-push: clarify DESCRIPTION section D. Ben Knoble
2025-10-06 22:07 ` Junio C Hamano
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