Format-patch doesn't have a way to format merges in a way that can be applied by git-am (or any other tool), and so it just omits them. However, this may be a surprising implication for users who are not well versed in how the tool works. Let's add a note to the documentation making this more clear. Signed-off-by: Jeff King <peff@xxxxxxxx> --- This is a re-work of the patch from: https://lore.kernel.org/git/YDQ5YIeXGiR5nvLH@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx/ taking into account Junio's suggestion (and also rebased on top of 28e29ee38b, which touches the same intro paragraph). Documentation/git-format-patch.txt | 10 +++++++++- 1 file changed, 9 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/Documentation/git-format-patch.txt b/Documentation/git-format-patch.txt index 911da181a1..fe2f69d36e 100644 --- a/Documentation/git-format-patch.txt +++ b/Documentation/git-format-patch.txt @@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ SYNOPSIS DESCRIPTION ----------- -Prepare each commit with its "patch" in +Prepare each non-merge commit with its "patch" in one "message" per commit, formatted to resemble a UNIX mailbox. The output of this command is convenient for e-mail submission or for use with 'git am'. @@ -740,6 +740,14 @@ use it only when you know the recipient uses Git to apply your patch. $ git format-patch -3 ------------ +CAVEATS +------- + +Note that `format-patch` will omit merge commits from the output, even +if they are part of the requested range. A simple "patch" does not +include enough information for the receiving end to reproduce the same +merge commit. + SEE ALSO -------- linkgit:git-am[1], linkgit:git-send-email[1] -- 2.31.1.875.g5dccece0aa
