There are some git commands that require double dashes rather than single ones. For example
git reset --hard
Why is is that some commands require a single dash and others a double dash in git?
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1Double dashes are standard for long options. – ziu May 06 '14 at 14:04
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possible duplicate of [Difference between "git checkout
" and "git checkout -- – random May 23 '14 at 12:32"](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/6561142/difference-between-git-checkout-filename-and-git-checkout-filename) -
@random not a duplicate of ***that question***, though possibly of a different one. This question asks about the difference between short and long option flags. The question you linked to is about the double-dash that's used to separate non-path arguments from path arguments. – May 23 '14 at 20:30
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1Probably a better match with: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/17320511/git-difference-on-parameter-one-dash-and-two-dashes or http://stackoverflow.com/questions/20168989/putting-and-before-switches-in-git-commands/ @cup – random May 23 '14 at 23:03
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Options with -- are so called "long options". They are compatible to the GNU getopt() function. Check the function's manual for more information about the option syntax: http://www.gnu.org/software/libc/manual/html_node/Argument-Syntax.html
hek2mgl
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Quote from Wikipedia:
In Unix-like systems, the ASCII hyphen-minus is commonly used to specify options. The character is usually followed by one or more letters. Two hyphen-minus characters ( -- ) often indicate that the remaining arguments should not be treated as options, which is useful for example if a file name itself begins with a hyphen, or if further arguments are meant for an inner command. Double hyphen-minuses are also sometimes used to prefix "long options" where more descriptive option names are used. This is a common feature of GNU software. Wikipedia
I hope that explains it!
masked_m0nkey
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