SYNOPSIS

git replace [-f]  
git replace [-f] --edit 
git replace [-f] --graft  […​]
git replace [-f] --convert-graft-file
git replace -d …​
git replace [--format=] [-l []]






DESCRIPTION






Adds a replace reference in refs/replace/ namespace.






The name of the replace reference is the SHA-1 of the object that is
replaced. The content of the replace reference is the SHA-1 of the
replacement object.






The replaced object and the replacement object must be of the same type.
This restriction can be bypassed using -f.






Unless -f is given, the replace reference must not yet exist.






There is no other restriction on the replaced and replacement objects.
Merge commits can be replaced by non-merge commits and vice versa.






Replacement references will be used by default by all Git commands
except those doing reachability traversal (prune, pack transfer and
fsck).






It is possible to disable the use of replacement references for any
command using the --no-replace-objects option just after git.






For example if commit foo has been replaced by commit bar:








$ git --no-replace-objects cat-file commit foo








shows information about commit foo, while:








$ git cat-file commit foo








shows information about commit bar.






The GIT_NO_REPLACE_OBJECTS environment variable can be set to
achieve the same effect as the --no-replace-objects option.










OPTIONS








-f


--force




If an existing replace ref for the same object exists, it will
be overwritten (instead of failing).




-d


--delete




Delete existing replace refs for the given objects.




--edit 



Edit an object’s content interactively. The existing content
for  is pretty-printed into a temporary file, an
editor is launched on the file, and the result is parsed to
create a new object of the same type as . A
replacement ref is then created to replace  with the
newly created object. See git-var(1) for details about
how the editor will be chosen.



--raw




When editing, provide the raw object contents rather than
pretty-printed ones. Currently this only affects trees, which
will be shown in their binary form. This is harder to work with,
but can help when repairing a tree that is so corrupted it
cannot be pretty-printed. Note that you may need to configure
your editor to cleanly read and write binary data.




--graft  […​]




Create a graft commit. A new commit is created with the same
content as  except that its parents will be
[…​] instead of 's parents. A replacement ref
is then created to replace  with the newly created
commit. Use --convert-graft-file to convert a
$GIT_DIR/info/grafts file and use replace refs instead.




--convert-graft-file




Creates graft commits for all entries in $GIT_DIR/info/grafts
and deletes that file upon success. The purpose is to help users
with transitioning off of the now-deprecated graft file.




-l 


--list 




List replace refs for objects that match the given pattern (or
all if no pattern is given).
Typing "git replace" without arguments, also lists all replace
refs.




--format=




When listing, use the specified , which can be one of
short, medium and long. When omitted, the format
defaults to short.










FORMATS






The following formats are available:






    

  • 

    short:

    

    • 

  • 

    medium:
 → 
    

    • 

  • 

    long:
 () →  ()
    

    • 











CREATING REPLACEMENT OBJECTS






git-hash-object(1), git-rebase(1), and
git-filter-repo, among other git commands, can be used to
create replacement objects from existing objects. The --edit option
can also be used with git replace to create a replacement object by
editing an existing object.






If you want to replace many blobs, trees or commits that are part of a
string of commits, you may just want to create a replacement string of
commits and then only replace the commit at the tip of the target
string of commits with the commit at the tip of the replacement string
of commits.










BUGS






Comparing blobs or trees that have been replaced with those that
replace them will not work properly. And using git reset --hard to
go back to a replaced commit will move the branch to the replacement
commit instead of the replaced commit.






There may be other problems when using git rev-list related to
pending objects.










SEE ALSO






git-hash-object(1)
git-rebase(1)
git-tag(1)
git-branch(1)
git-commit(1)
git-var(1)
git(1)
git-filter-repo










GIT






Part of the git(1) suite