What's the difference between:
git add .git commit -a
Should I be doing both, or is that redundant?
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2see also (not exact duplicate, though): http://stackoverflow.com/questions/572549/difference-of-git-add-a-and-git-add – CB Bailey Aug 22 '10 at 13:37
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git commit -a means almost[*] the same thing as git add -u && git commit.
It's not the same as git add . as this would add untracked files that aren't being ignored, git add -u only stages changes (including deletions) to already tracked files.
[*] There's a subtle difference if you're not at the root directory of your repository. git add -u stages updates to files in the current directory and below, it's equivalent to git add -u . whereas git commit -a stages and commits changes to all tracked files.
CB Bailey
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2In which direction? i.e. will commit -a become like add -u, or will add -u become like commit -a? – Miles Rout Sep 13 '13 at 06:43
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5@MilesRout: `git add -u` will become like `git commit -a`; you will need to explicitly say `git add -u .` if that is what you mean. – CB Bailey Sep 13 '13 at 06:49
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This is absolutely the same since Git v 2.0 where [`git add .` behaves in a different way.](http://stackoverflow.com/a/16162511/2790048) – Nick Volynkin Jul 24 '15 at 10:57
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git commit -a automatically invokes git add on all files it knows about. You can use git add to select what files to commit. Consult the docs for more info: here
Kasun Siyambalapitiya
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alternative
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14*all files it knows about* is very unclear to me, especially since those were supposedly NOT added – Nikana Reklawyks Oct 09 '12 at 11:30
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@Nikana Reklawyks You have the definition of "add" wrong. Add does not mean the same thing as it does in svn. All it does is update the index. [Sorry for slow response, I don't remember getting a notification for that comment] – alternative May 06 '13 at 23:10
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1@alternative, Still this answer can do better if you add a clarification for "all files it knows about"..... – Pacerier Oct 20 '15 at 10:59
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"all files it knows about" vaguely speaking would be existing files that were modified. Or, NOT new files. – Bernardo Dal Corno Sep 05 '17 at 20:33
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By using the git commit -a switch with the commit command to automatically "add" changes from all known files (i.e. all files that are already listed in the index)
Dilip
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