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HTML rendering created 2026-01-16 by Michael Kerrisk, author of The Linux Programming Interface. For details of in-depth Linux/UNIX system programming training courses that I teach, look here. Hosting by jambit GmbH. |
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NAME | SYNOPSIS | DESCRIPTION | COMMANDS | OPTIONS | KNOWN LIMITATIONS | GIT | COLOPHON |
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GIT-REFS(1) Git Manual GIT-REFS(1)
git-refs - Low-level access to refs
git refs migrate --ref-format=<format> [--no-reflog] [--dry-run]
git refs verify [--strict] [--verbose]
git refs list [--count=<count>] [--shell|--perl|--python|--tcl]
[(--sort=<key>)...] [--format=<format>]
[--include-root-refs] [--points-at=<object>]
[--merged[=<object>]] [--no-merged[=<object>]]
[--contains[=<object>]] [--no-contains[=<object>]]
[(--exclude=<pattern>)...] [--start-after=<marker>]
[ --stdin | (<pattern>...)]
git refs exists <ref>
git refs optimize [--all] [--no-prune] [--auto] [--include <pattern>] [--exclude <pattern>]
This command provides low-level access to refs.
migrate
Migrate ref store between different formats.
verify
Verify reference database consistency.
list
List references in the repository with support for filtering,
formatting, and sorting. This subcommand is an alias for
git-for-each-ref(1) and offers identical functionality.
exists
Check whether the given reference exists. Returns an exit code
of 0 if it does, 2 if it is missing, and 1 in case looking up
the reference failed with an error other than the reference
being missing. This does not verify whether the reference
resolves to an actual object.
optimize
Optimizes references to improve repository performance and
reduce disk usage. This subcommand is an alias for
git-pack-refs(1) and offers identical functionality.
The following options are specific to git refs migrate:
--ref-format=<format>
The ref format to migrate the ref store to. Can be one of:
• files for loose files with packed-refs. This is the
default.
• reftable for the reftable format. This format is
experimental and its internals are subject to change.
--dry-run
Perform the migration, but do not modify the repository. The
migrated refs will be written into a separate directory that
can be inspected separately. The name of the directory will be
reported on stdout. This can be used to double check that the
migration works as expected before performing the actual
migration.
--reflog, --no-reflog
Choose between migrating the reflog data to the new backend,
and discarding them. The default is "--reflog", to migrate.
The following options are specific to git refs verify:
--strict
Enable stricter error checking. This will cause warnings to be
reported as errors. See git-fsck(1).
--verbose
When verifying the reference database consistency, be chatty.
The following options are specific to git refs list:
<pattern>...
If one or more <pattern> parameters are given, only refs are
shown that match against at least one pattern, either using
fnmatch(3) or literally, in the latter case matching
completely or from the beginning up to a slash.
--stdin
The list of patterns is read from standard input instead of
from the argument list.
--count=<count>
Stop after showing <count> refs.
--sort=<key>
Sort on the field name <key>. Prefix - to sort in descending
order of the value. When unspecified, refname is used. You may
use the --sort=<key> option multiple times, in which case the
last key becomes the primary key.
--format[=<format>]
A string that interpolates %(fieldname) from a ref being shown
and the object it points at. In addition, the string literal
%% renders as % and %xx - where xx are hex digits - renders as
the character with hex code xx. For example, %00 interpolates
to \0 (NUL), %09 to \t (TAB), and %0a to \n (LF).
When unspecified, <format> defaults to %(objectname) SPC
%(objecttype) TAB %(refname).
--color[=<when>]
Respect any colors specified in the --format option. The
<when_ field must be one of always, never, or auto (if <when>
is absent, behave as if always was given).
--shell, --perl, --python, --tcl
If given, strings that substitute %(fieldname) placeholders
are quoted as string literals suitable for the specified host
language. This is meant to produce a scriptlet that can
directly be "eval"ed.
--points-at=<object>
Only list refs which points at the given object.
--merged[=<object>]
Only list refs whose tips are reachable from the specified
commit (HEAD if not specified).
--no-merged[=<object>]
Only list refs whose tips are not reachable from <object>(HEAD
if not specified).
--contains[=<object>]
Only list refs which contain <object>(HEAD if not specified).
--no-contains[=<object>]
Only list refs which don’t contain <object> (HEAD if not
specified).
--ignore-case
Sorting and filtering refs are case insensitive.
--omit-empty
Do not print a newline after formatted refs where the format
expands to the empty string.
--exclude=<excluded-pattern>
If one or more --exclude options are given, only refs which do
not match any <excluded-pattern> parameters are shown.
Matching is done using the same rules as <pattern> above.
--include-root-refs
List root refs (HEAD and pseudorefs) apart from regular refs.
--start-after=<marker>
Allows paginating the output by skipping references up to and
including the specified marker. When paging, it should be
noted that references may be deleted, modified or added
between invocations. Output will only yield those references
which follow the marker lexicographically. Output begins from
the first reference that would come after the marker
alphabetically. Cannot be used with --sort=<key> or --stdin
options, or the <pattern> argument(s) to limit the refs.
The following options are specific to git refs optimize:
--all
The command by default packs all tags and refs that are
already packed, and leaves other refs alone. This is because
branches are expected to be actively developed and packing
their tips does not help performance. This option causes all
refs to be packed as well, with the exception of hidden refs,
broken refs, and symbolic refs. Useful for a repository with
many branches of historical interests.
--no-prune
The command usually removes loose refs under $GIT_DIR/refs
hierarchy after packing them. This option tells it not to.
--auto
Pack refs as needed depending on the current state of the ref
database. The behavior depends on the ref format used by the
repository and may change in the future.
• "files": Loose references are packed into the packed-refs
file based on the ratio of loose references to the size of
the packed-refs file. The bigger the packed-refs file, the
more loose references need to exist before we repack.
• "reftable": Tables are compacted such that they form a
geometric sequence. For two tables N and N+1, where N+1 is
newer, this maintains the property that N is at least
twice as big as N+1. Only tables that violate this
property are compacted.
--include <pattern>
Pack refs based on a glob(7) pattern. Repetitions of this
option accumulate inclusion patterns. If a ref is both
included in --include and --exclude, --exclude takes
precedence. Using --include will preclude all tags from being
included by default. Symbolic refs and broken refs will never
be packed. When used with --all, it will be a noop. Use
--no-include to clear and reset the list of patterns.
--exclude <pattern>
Do not pack refs matching the given glob(7) pattern.
Repetitions of this option accumulate exclusion patterns. Use
--no-exclude to clear and reset the list of patterns. If a ref
is already packed, including it with --exclude will not unpack
it.
When used with --all, pack only loose refs which do not match
any of the provided --exclude patterns.
When used with --include, refs provided to --include, minus
refs that are provided to --exclude will be packed.
The ref format migration has several known limitations in its
current form:
• It is not possible to migrate repositories that have
worktrees.
• There is no way to block concurrent writes to the repository
during an ongoing migration. Concurrent writes can lead to an
inconsistent migrated state. Users are expected to block
writes on a higher level. If your repository is registered for
scheduled maintenance, it is recommended to unregister it
first with git-maintenance(1).
These limitations may eventually be lifted.
Part of the git(1) suite
This page is part of the git (Git distributed version control
system) project. Information about the project can be found at
⟨http://git-scm.com/⟩. If you have a bug report for this manual
page, see ⟨http://git-scm.com/community⟩. This page was obtained
from the project's upstream Git repository
⟨https://github.com/git/git.git⟩ on 2026-01-16. (At that time,
the date of the most recent commit that was found in the
repository was 2026-01-15.) If you discover any rendering
problems in this HTML version of the page, or you believe there is
a better or more up-to-date source for the page, or you have
corrections or improvements to the information in this COLOPHON
(which is not part of the original manual page), send a mail to
man-pages@man7.org
Git 2.53.0.rc0 2026-01-15 GIT-REFS(1)
Pages that refer to this page: git(1), git-fsck(1)
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HTML rendering created 2026-01-16 by Michael Kerrisk, author of The Linux Programming Interface. For details of in-depth Linux/UNIX system programming training courses that I teach, look here. Hosting by jambit GmbH. |
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