X-Git-Url: https://git.octo.it/?a=blobdiff_plain;f=Documentation%2Fgit-branch.txt;h=d43ef1dec4f27361af1a32983c53aeea15468fe9;hb=HEAD;hp=4cd0cb90ad0f47765dc1a326a343d0619977308f;hpb=7be14b49ac14da65764a115d7cb64c8a72ab5b61;p=git.git

diff --git a/Documentation/git-branch.txt b/Documentation/git-branch.txt
index 4cd0cb90..d43ef1de 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-branch.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git-branch.txt
@@ -3,19 +3,29 @@ git-branch(1)
 
 NAME
 ----
-git-branch - Create a new branch, or remove an old one
+git-branch - List, create, or delete branches.
 
 SYNOPSIS
 --------
-'git-branch' [(-d | -D) <branchname>] | [[-f] <branchname> [<start-point>]]
+[verse]
+'git-branch' [-r]
+'git-branch' [-l] [-f] <branchname> [<start-point>]
+'git-branch' (-d | -D) <branchname>...
 
 DESCRIPTION
 -----------
-If no argument is provided, show available branches and mark current
-branch with star. Otherwise, create a new branch of name <branchname>.
+With no arguments given (or just `-r`) a list of available branches
+will be shown, the current branch will be highlighted with an asterisk.
+
+In its second form, a new branch named <branchname> will be created.
+It will start out with a head equal to the one given as <start-point>.
+If no <start-point> is given, the branch will be created with a head
+equal to that of the currently checked out branch.
+
+With a `-d` or `-D` option, `<branchname>` will be deleted.  You may
+specify more than one branch for deletion.  If the branch currently
+has a ref log then the ref log will also be deleted.
 
-If a starting point is also specified, that will be where the branch is
-created, otherwise it will be created at the current HEAD.
 
 OPTIONS
 -------
@@ -25,41 +35,65 @@ OPTIONS
 -D::
 	Delete a branch irrespective of its index status.
 
+-l::
+	Create the branch's ref log.  This activates recording of
+	all changes to made the branch ref, enabling use of date
+	based sha1 expressions such as "<branchname>@{yesterday}".
+
 -f::
-	Force a reset of <branchname> to <start-point> (or current head).
+	Force the creation of a new branch even if it means deleting
+	a branch that already exists with the same name.
+
+-r::
+	List only the "remote" branches.
 
 <branchname>::
 	The name of the branch to create or delete.
+	The new branch name must pass all checks defined by
+	gitlink:git-check-ref-format[1].  Some of these checks
+	may restrict the characters allowed in a branch name.
 
 <start-point>::
-	Where to create the branch; defaults to HEAD. This
-	option has no meaning with -d and -D.
+	The new branch will be created with a HEAD equal to this.  It may
+	be given as a branch name, a commit-id, or a tag.  If this option
+	is omitted, the current branch is assumed.
+
 
 
 Examples
-~~~~~~~~
+--------
 
-Start development off of a know tag::
+Start development off of a known tag::
 +
 ------------
 $ git clone git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/.../linux-2.6 my2.6
 $ cd my2.6
-$ git branch my2.6.14 v2.6.14 <1>
+$ git branch my2.6.14 v2.6.14   <1>
 $ git checkout my2.6.14
-
-<1> These two steps are the same as "checkout -b my2.6.14 v2.6.14".
 ------------
++
+<1> This step and the next one could be combined into a single step with
+"checkout -b my2.6.14 v2.6.14".
 
 Delete unneeded branch::
 +
 ------------
 $ git clone git://git.kernel.org/.../git.git my.git
 $ cd my.git
-$ git branch -D todo <1>
-
+$ git branch -D todo    <1>
+------------
++
 <1> delete todo branch even if the "master" branch does not have all
 commits from todo branch.
-------------
+
+
+Notes
+-----
+
+If you are creating a branch that you want to immediately checkout, it's
+easier to use the git checkout command with its `-b` option to create
+a branch and check it out with a single command.
+
 
 Author
 ------