The scope and utility of the GIT_CONFIG variable was drastically reduced by dc87183189 (Only use GIT_CONFIG in "git config", not other programs, 2008-06-30). But the documentation in git-config(1) predates that, which makes it rather misleading. These days it is really just another way to say "--file". So let's say that, and explicitly make it clear that it does not impact other Git commands (like GIT_CONFIG_SYSTEM, etc, would). I also bumped it to the bottom of the list of variables, and warned people off of using it. We don't have any plans for deprecation at this point, but there's little point in encouraging people to use it by putting it at the top of the list. Signed-off-by: Jeff King <peff@xxxxxxxx> --- I'm taking a more opinionated stance on "nobody should actually use this thing", but I think it's merited. It really is useless, and if not for the history, I'd argue against somebody trying to introduce such a thing now. :) Documentation/git-config.txt | 11 ++++++----- 1 file changed, 6 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-) diff --git a/Documentation/git-config.txt b/Documentation/git-config.txt index 193fef2867..30186812a8 100644 --- a/Documentation/git-config.txt +++ b/Documentation/git-config.txt @@ -341,11 +341,6 @@ can specify any filename you want. ENVIRONMENT ----------- -GIT_CONFIG:: - Take the configuration from the given file instead of .git/config. - Using the "--global" option forces this to ~/.gitconfig. Using the - "--system" option forces this to $(prefix)/etc/gitconfig. - GIT_CONFIG_GLOBAL:: GIT_CONFIG_SYSTEM:: Take the configuration from the given files instead from global or @@ -373,6 +368,12 @@ This is useful for cases where you want to spawn multiple git commands with a common configuration but cannot depend on a configuration file, for example when writing scripts. +GIT_CONFIG:: + If no `--file` option is provided to `git config`, use the file + given by `GIT_CONFIG` as if it were provided via `--file`. This + variable has no effect on other Git commands, and is mostly for + historical compatibility; there is generally no reason to use it + instead of the `--file` option. [[EXAMPLES]] EXAMPLES -- 2.32.0.689.gbb74d99cdd
