Linus Arver <linusa@xxxxxxxxxx> writes: > Aside: interestingly, there appears to be a "--no-rebase" option that > means "--rebase=false" (see cd67e4d46b (Teach 'git pull' about --rebase, > 2007-11-28)): > > --no-rebase > This is shorthand for --rebase=false. > ... > How about adding something like this instead as the very first paragraph > for this flag? > > Supplying "--rebase" defaults to "--rebase=true". Running git-pull > without arguments implies "--rebase=false", unless relevant > configuration variables have been set otherwise. Phrase nit. $ git pull origin does run the command with arguments. What you mean is "running git-pull without any --rebase arguments implies --no-rebase", but that is saying "not giving --rebase=<any> and not giving --rebase means not rebasing", which makes my head spin. "--no-rebase" as a command line option does have use to defeat configured pull.rebase that is not set to "false", and allowing "pull.rebase" to be set to "false" does have use to defeat settings for the same variable made by lower-precedence configuration file. "--rebase=false" does not have any reason to exist, except for making the repertoire of "--rebase=<kind>" to be complete. So, I am still not sure if saying "'git pull' (no other arguments and no configuration) is equivalent to 'git pull --rebase=false'" adds much value. If --no-rebase and --rebase=false are explained in terms of why these options that specify such an unnatural action (after all, you say "do this" or "do it this way", but do not usually have to say "do not do it that way") need to exist. If I were writing this patch, I would rearrange the existing text like so: * Update the description of "--no-rebase" *NOT* to depend on --rebase=false. Instead move it higher and say - The default for "git pull" is to "merge" the other history into your history, but optionally you can "rebase" your history on top of the other history. - There are configuration variables (pull.rebase and branch.<name>.rebase) that trigger the optional behaviour, and when you set it, your "git pull" would "rebase". - The "--no-rebase" option is to defeat such configuration to tell the command to "merge" for this particular invocation. * Update the description of "--rebase=<kind>" and move the paragraph that begins with "When false" to the end, something like: - `--rebase` alone is equivalent to `--rebase=true`. - When set to 'merges'... - When set to 'interactive'... - See `pull.rebase`, ..., if you want to make `git pull` always rebase your history on top of theirs, instead of merging their history to yours. - `--rebase=false` is synonym to `--no-rebase`.