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NAME
git-update-index - Register file contents in the working tree to the index
SYNOPSIS
git update-index
[--add] [--remove | --force-remove] [--replace]
[--refresh] [-q] [--unmerged] [--ignore-missing]
[(--cacheinfo <mode>,<object>,<file>)...]
[--chmod=(+|-)x]
[--[no-]assume-unchanged]
[--[no-]skip-worktree]
[--[no-]ignore-skip-worktree-entries]
[--[no-]fsmonitor-valid]
[--ignore-submodules]
[--[no-]split-index]
[--[no-|test-|force-]untracked-cache]
[--[no-]fsmonitor]
[--really-refresh] [--unresolve] [--again | -g]
[--info-only] [--index-info]
[-z] [--stdin] [--index-version <n>]
[--verbose]
[--] [<file>...]
DESCRIPTION
Modifies the index. 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 files.
--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.
--ignore-submodules
Do not try to update submodules. This option is only respected when passed before
--refresh.
--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>, --cacheinfo <mode> <object> <path>
Directly insert the specified info into the index. For backward compatibility, you can
also give these three arguments as three separate parameters, but new users are
encouraged to use a single-parameter form.
--index-info
Read index information from stdin.
--chmod=(+|-)x
Set the execute permissions on the updated files.
--[no-]assume-unchanged
When this flag is specified, the object names recorded for the paths are not updated.
Instead, this option sets/unsets the "assume unchanged" bit for the paths. When the
"assume unchanged" bit is on, the user promises not to change the file and allows Git
to assume that the working tree file matches what is recorded in the index. If you
want to change the working tree file, you need to unset the bit to tell Git. This is
sometimes helpful when working with a big project on a filesystem that has a very slow
lstat(2) system call (e.g. cifs).
Git will fail (gracefully) in case it needs to modify this file in the index e.g. when
merging in a commit; thus, in case the assumed-untracked file is changed upstream, you
will need to handle the situation manually.
--really-refresh
Like --refresh, but checks stat information unconditionally, without regard to the
"assume unchanged" setting.
--[no-]skip-worktree
When one of these flags is specified, the object names recorded for the paths are not
updated. Instead, these options set and unset the "skip-worktree" bit for the paths.
See section "Skip-worktree bit" below for more information.
--[no-]ignore-skip-worktree-entries
Do not remove skip-worktree (AKA "index-only") entries even when the --remove option
was specified.
--[no-]fsmonitor-valid
When one of these flags is specified, the object names recorded for the paths are not
updated. Instead, these options set and unset the "fsmonitor valid" bit for the paths.
See section "File System Monitor" below for more information.
-g, --again
Runs git update-index itself on the paths whose index entries are different from those
of 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 conflict with the entry being added are
automatically removed with warning messages.
--stdin
Instead of taking a list of paths from the command line, read a 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 the index.
--index-version <n>
Write the resulting index out in the named on-disk format version. Supported versions
are 2, 3, and 4. The current default version is 2 or 3, depending on whether extra
features are used, such as git add -N. With --verbose, also report the version the
index file uses before and after this command.
Version 4 performs a simple pathname compression that reduces index size by 30%-50% on
large repositories, which results in faster load time. Git supports it since version
1.8.0, released in October 2012, and support for it was added to libgit2 in 2016 and
to JGit in 2020. Older versions of this manual page called it "relatively young", but
it should be considered mature technology these days.
--show-index-version
Report the index format version used by the on-disk index file. See --index-version
above.
-z
Only meaningful with --stdin or --index-info; paths are separated with NUL character
instead of LF.
--split-index, --no-split-index
Enable or disable split index mode. If split-index mode is already enabled and
--split-index is given again, all changes in $GIT_DIR/index are pushed back to the
shared index file.
These options take effect whatever the value of the core.splitIndex configuration
variable (see git-config(1)). But a warning is emitted when the change goes against
the configured value, as the configured value will take effect next time the index is
read and this will remove the intended effect of the option.
--untracked-cache, --no-untracked-cache
Enable or disable untracked cache feature. Please use --test-untracked-cache before
enabling it.
These options take effect whatever the value of the core.untrackedCache configuration
variable (see git-config(1)). But a warning is emitted when the change goes against
the configured value, as the configured value will take effect next time the index is
read and this will remove the intended effect of the option.
--test-untracked-cache
Only perform tests on the working directory to make sure untracked cache can be used.
You have to manually enable untracked cache using --untracked-cache or
--force-untracked-cache or the core.untrackedCache configuration variable afterwards
if you really want to use it. If a test fails the exit code is 1 and a message
explains what is not working as needed, otherwise the exit code is 0 and OK is
printed.
--force-untracked-cache
Same as --untracked-cache. Provided for backwards compatibility with older versions of
Git where --untracked-cache used to imply --test-untracked-cache but this option would
enable the extension unconditionally.
--fsmonitor, --no-fsmonitor
Enable or disable files system monitor feature. These options take effect whatever the
value of the core.fsmonitor configuration variable (see git-config(1)). But a warning
is emitted when the change goes against the configured value, as the configured value
will take effect next time the index is read and this will remove the intended effect
of the option.
--
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 at path with mode and sha1, say:
$ git update-index --add --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 type SP sha1 TAB path
This format is to stuff git ls-tree output into the index.
2. 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.
3. mode SP sha1 TAB path
This format is no longer produced by any Git command, but is and will continue to be
supported by update-index --index-info.
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 SHA-1 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. To see which files have the "assume unchanged" bit set, use git
ls-files -v (see git-ls-files(1)).
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").
Sometimes users confuse the assume-unchanged bit with the skip-worktree bit. See the final
paragraph in the "Skip-worktree bit" section below for an explanation of the differences.
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.
SKIP-WORKTREE BIT
Skip-worktree bit can be defined in one (long) sentence: Tell git to avoid writing the
file to the working directory when reasonably possible, and treat the file as unchanged
when it is not present in the working directory.
Note that not all git commands will pay attention to this bit, and some only partially
support it.
The update-index flags and the read-tree capabilities relating to the skip-worktree bit
predated the introduction of the git-sparse-checkout(1) command, which provides a much
easier way to configure and handle the skip-worktree bits. If you want to reduce your
working tree to only deal with a subset of the files in the repository, we strongly
encourage the use of git-sparse-checkout(1) in preference to the low-level update-index
and read-tree primitives.
The primary purpose of the skip-worktree bit is to enable sparse checkouts, i.e. to have
working directories with only a subset of paths present. When the skip-worktree bit is
set, Git commands (such as switch, pull, merge) will avoid writing these files. However,
these commands will sometimes write these files anyway in important cases such as
conflicts during a merge or rebase. Git commands will also avoid treating the lack of such
files as an intentional deletion; for example git add -u will not stage a deletion for
these files and git commit -a will not make a commit deleting them either.
Although this bit looks similar to assume-unchanged bit, its goal is different. The
assume-unchanged bit is for leaving the file in the working tree but having Git omit
checking it for changes and presuming that the file has not been changed (though if it can
determine without stat’ing the file that it has changed, it is free to record the
changes). skip-worktree tells Git to ignore the absence of the file, avoid updating it
when possible with commands that normally update much of the working directory (e.g.
checkout, switch, pull, etc.), and not have its absence be recorded in commits. Note that
in sparse checkouts (setup by git sparse-checkout or by configuring core.sparseCheckout to
true), if a file is marked as skip-worktree in the index but is found in the working tree,
Git will clear the skip-worktree bit for that file.
SPLIT INDEX
This mode is designed for repositories with very large indexes, and aims at reducing the
time it takes to repeatedly write these indexes.
In this mode, the index is split into two files, $GIT_DIR/index and
$GIT_DIR/sharedindex.<SHA-1>. Changes are accumulated in $GIT_DIR/index, the split index,
while the shared index file contains all index entries and stays unchanged.
All changes in the split index are pushed back to the shared index file when the number of
entries in the split index reaches a level specified by the splitIndex.maxPercentChange
config variable (see git-config(1)).
Each time a new shared index file is created, the old shared index files are deleted if
their modification time is older than what is specified by the
splitIndex.sharedIndexExpire config variable (see git-config(1)).
To avoid deleting a shared index file that is still used, its modification time is updated
to the current time every time a new split index based on the shared index file is either
created or read from.
UNTRACKED CACHE
This cache is meant to speed up commands that involve determining untracked files such as
git status.
This feature works by recording the mtime of the working tree directories and then
omitting reading directories and stat calls against files in those directories whose mtime
hasn’t changed. For this to work the underlying operating system and file system must
change the st_mtime field of directories if files in the directory are added, modified or
deleted.
You can test whether the filesystem supports that with the --test-untracked-cache option.
The --untracked-cache option used to implicitly perform that test in older versions of
Git, but that’s no longer the case.
If you want to enable (or disable) this feature, it is easier to use the
core.untrackedCache configuration variable (see git-config(1)) than using the
--untracked-cache option to git update-index in each repository, especially if you want to
do so across all repositories you use, because you can set the configuration variable to
true (or false) in your $HOME/.gitconfig just once and have it affect all repositories you
touch.
When the core.untrackedCache configuration variable is changed, the untracked cache is
added to or removed from the index the next time a command reads the index; while when
--[no-|force-]untracked-cache are used, the untracked cache is immediately added to or
removed from the index.
Before 2.17, the untracked cache had a bug where replacing a directory with a symlink to
another directory could cause it to incorrectly show files tracked by git as untracked.
See the "status: add a failing test showing a core.untrackedCache bug" commit to git.git.
A workaround for that is (and this might work for other undiscovered bugs in the future):
$ git -c core.untrackedCache=false status
This bug has also been shown to affect non-symlink cases of replacing a directory with a
file when it comes to the internal structures of the untracked cache, but no case has been
reported where this resulted in wrong "git status" output.
There are also cases where existing indexes written by git versions before 2.17 will
reference directories that don’t exist anymore, potentially causing many "could not open
directory" warnings to be printed on "git status". These are new warnings for existing
issues that were previously silently discarded.
As with the bug described above the solution is to one-off do a "git status" run with
core.untrackedCache=false to flush out the leftover bad data.
FILE SYSTEM MONITOR
This feature is intended to speed up git operations for repos that have large working
directories.
It enables git to work together with a file system monitor (see git-fsmonitor--daemon(1)
and the "fsmonitor-watchman" section of githooks(5)) that can inform it as to what files
have been modified. This enables git to avoid having to lstat() every file to find
modified files.
When used in conjunction with the untracked cache, it can further improve performance by
avoiding the cost of scanning the entire working directory looking for new files.
If you want to enable (or disable) this feature, it is easier to use the core.fsmonitor
configuration variable (see git-config(1)) than using the --fsmonitor option to git
update-index in each repository, especially if you want to do so across all repositories
you use, because you can set the configuration variable in your $HOME/.gitconfig just once
and have it affect all repositories you touch.
When the core.fsmonitor configuration variable is changed, the file system monitor is
added to or removed from the index the next time a command reads the index. When
--[no-]fsmonitor are used, the file system monitor is immediately added to or removed from
the index.
CONFIGURATION
The command honors core.filemode configuration variable. If your repository is on a
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.
The command also looks at core.trustctime configuration variable. It can be useful when
the inode change time is regularly modified by something outside Git (file system crawlers
and backup systems use ctime for marking files processed) (see git-config(1)).
The untracked cache extension can be enabled by the core.untrackedCache configuration
variable (see git-config(1)).
NOTES
Users often try to use the assume-unchanged and skip-worktree bits to tell Git to ignore
changes to files that are tracked. This does not work as expected, since Git may still
check working tree files against the index when performing certain operations. In general,
Git does not provide a way to ignore changes to tracked files, so alternate solutions are
recommended.
For example, if the file you want to change is some sort of config file, the repository
can include a sample config file that can then be copied into the ignored name and
modified. The repository can even include a script to treat the sample file as a template,
modifying and copying it automatically.
SEE ALSO
git-config(1), git-add(1), git-ls-files(1)
GIT
Part of the git(1) suite