quilt - tool to manage series of patches

quilt [-h] command [options]

Quilt is a tool to manage large sets of patches by keeping track of the changes each patch makes. Patches can be applied, un-applied, refreshed, etc. The key philosophical concept is that your primary output is patches.

With quilt, all work occurs within a single directory tree. Commands can be be invoqued from anywhere within the source tree. They are of the form quilt cmd similar to CVS commands. They can be abbreviated as long as the specified part of the command is unique. All commands print some help text with quilt cmd -h.

Quilt manages a stack of patches. Patches are applied incrementally on top of the base tree plus all preceding patches. They can be pushed on top of the stack (quilt push), and popped off the stack (quilt pop). Commands are available for querying the contents of the series file (quilt series, see below), the contents of the stack (quilt applied, quilt previous, quilt top), and the patches that are not applied at a particular moment (quilt next, quilt unapplied). By default, most commands apply to the topmost patch on the stack.

Patch files are located in the patches sub-directory of the source tree (see EXAMPLE OF WORKING TREE below). The QUILT_PATCHES environment variable can be used to override this location. The patches directory may contain sub-directories. It may also be a symbolic link instead of a directory.

A file called series contains a list of patch file names that defines the order in which patches are applied. Unless there are means by which series files can be generated automatically, it is usually provided along with a set of patches. In this file, each patch file name is on a separate line. Patch files are identified by pathnames that are relative to the patches directory; patches may be in sub-directories below this directory. Lines in the series file that start with a hash character (#) are ignored. When quilt adds, removes, or renames patches, it automatically updates the series file. Users of quilt can modify series files while some patches are applied, as long as the applied patches remain in their original order.

Different series files can be used to assemble patches in different ways, corresponding for example to different development branches.

Before a patch is applied (or ``pushed on the stack''), copies of all files the patch modifies are saved to the .pc/patch directory. The patch is added to the list of currently applied patches (.pc/applied-patches). Later when a patch is regenerated (quilt refresh), the backup copies in .pc/patch are compared with the current versions of the files in the source tree using GNU diff.

Documentation related to a patch can be put at the beginning of a patch file. Quilt is careful to preserve all text that precedes the actual patch when doing a refresh. (This is limited to patches in unified format; see diff documentation).

The series file is looked up in the root of the source tree, in the patches directory, and in the .pc directory. The first series file that is found is used. This may also be a symbolic link, or a file with multiple hard links. Usually, only one series file is used for a set of patches, so the patches sub-directory is a convenient location.

The .pc directory and its sub-directories cannot be relocated, but it can be a symbolic link. While patches are applied to the source tree, this directory is essential for many operations, including taking patches off the stack (quilt pop), and refreshing patches (quilt refresh). Files in the .pc directory are automatically removed when they are no longer needed, so there is no need to clean up manually.

add [-p patch] {file} ...

Add one or more files to the topmost or named patch. Files must be added to the patch before being modified. Files that are modified by patches already applied on top of the specified patch cannot be added.

-p patch

Patch to add files to.

annotate {file}

Print an annotated listing of the specified file showing which patches modify which lines.

applied [patch]

Print a list of applied patches, or all patches up to and including the specified patch in the file series.

delete [patch | -n]

Remove the specified or topmost patch from the series file. If the patch is applied, quilt will attempt to remove it first. (Only the topmost patch can be removed right now.)

-n

Delete the next patch after topmost, rather than the specified or topmost patch.

diff [-p n] [-u|-U num|-c|-C num] [--combine patch|-z] [-R] [-P patch] [--snapshot] [--diff=utility] [--no-timestamps] [--no-index] [--sort] [--color] [file ...]

Produces a diff of the specified file(s) in the topmost or specified patch. If no files are specified, all files that are modified are included.

-p n

Create a -p n style patch (-p0 or -p1 are supported).

-u, -U num, -c, -C num

Create a unified diff (-u, -U) with num lines of context. Create a context diff (-c, -C) with num lines of context. The number of context lines defaults to 3.

--no-timestamps

Do not include file timestamps in patch headers.

--no-index

Do not output Index: lines.

-z

Write to standard output the changes that have been made relative to the topmost or specified patch.

-R

Create a reverse diff.

-P patch

Create a diff for the specified patch. (Defaults to the topmost patch.)

--combine patch

Create a combined diff for all patches between this patch and the patch specified with -P. A patch name of "-" is equivalent to specifying the first applied patch.

--snapshot

Diff against snapshot (see `quilt snapshot -h').

--diff=utility

Use the specified utility for generating the diff. The utility is invoked with the original and new file name as arguments.

--color[=always|auto|never]

Use syntax coloring.

--sort

Sort files by their name instead of preserving the original order.

edit file ...

Edit the specified file(s) in $EDITOR (vi) after adding it (them) to the topmost patch.

files [-v] [-a] [-l] [--combine patch] [patch]

Print the list of files that the topmost or specified patch changes.

-a

List all files in all applied patches.

-l

Add patch name to output.

-v

Verbose, more user friendly output.

--combine patch

Create a listing for all patches between this patch and the topmost applied patch. A patch name of "-" is equivalent to specifying the first applied patch.

fold [-p strip-level]

Integrate the patch read from standard input into the topmost patch: After making sure that all files modified are part of the topmost patch, the patch is applied with the specified strip level (which defaults to 1).

-p strip-level

The number of pathname components to strip from file names when applying patchfile.

fork [new_name]

Fork the topmost patch. Forking a patch means creating a verbatim copy of it under a new name, and use that new name instead of the original one in the current series. This is useful when a patch has to be modified, but the original version of it should be preserved, e.g. because it is used in another series, or for the history. A typical sequence of commands would be: fork, edit, refresh.

If new_name is missing, the name of the forked patch will be the current patch name, followed by "-2". If the patch name already ends in a dash-and-number, the number is further incremented (e.g., patch.diff, patch-2.diff, patch-3.diff).

graph [--all] [--reduce] [--lines[=num]] [--edge-labels=files] [patch]

Generate a dot(1) directed graph showing the dependencies between applied patches. A patch depends on another patch if both touch the same file or, with the --lines option, if their modifications overlap. Unless otherwise specified, the graph includes all patches that the topmost patch depends on. When a patch name is specified, instead of the topmost patch, create a graph for the specified patch. The graph will include all other patches that this patch depends on, as well as all patches that depend on this patch.

--all

Generate a graph including all applied patches and their dependencies. (Unapplied patches are not included.)

--reduce

Eliminate transitive edges from the graph.

--lines[=num]

Compute dependencies by looking at the lines the patches modify. Unless a different num is specified, two lines of context are included.

--edge-labels=files

Label graph edges with the file names that the adjacent patches modify.

-T ps

Directly produce a PostScript output file.

grep [-h|options] {pattern}

Grep through the source files, recursively, skipping patches and quilt meta-information. If no filename argument is given, the whole source tree is searched. Please see the grep(1) manual page for options.

-h

Print this help. The grep -h option can be passed after a double-dash (--). Search expressions that start with a dash can be passed after a second double-dash (-- --).

header [-a|-r|-e] [--backup] [--strip-diffstat] [--strip-trailing-whitespace] [patch]

Print or change the header of the topmost or specified patch.

-a, -r, -e

Append to (-a) or replace (-r) the exiting patch header, or edit (-e) the header in $EDITOR (vi). If none of these options is given, print the patch header.

--strip-diffstat

Strip diffstat output from the header.

--strip-trailing-whitespace

Strip trailing whitespace at the end of lines of the header.

--backup

Create a backup copy of the old version of a patch as patch~.

import [-f] [-p num] [-n patch] patchfile ...

Import external patches.

-p num

Number of directory levels to strip when applying (default=1)

-n patch

Patch filename to use inside quilt. This option can only be used when importing a single patch.

-f

Overwite/update existing patches.

mail {--mbox file|--send} [--from ...] [--to ...] [--cc ...] [--bcc ...] [--subject ...]

Create mail messages from all patches in the series file, and either store them in a mailbox file, or send them immediately. The editor is opened with a template for the introductory message. Please see the file /usr/share/doc/quilt/README.MAIL for details.

--mbox file

Store all messages in the specified file in mbox format. The mbox can later be sent using formail, for example.

--send

Send the messages directly using /usr/sbin/sendmail.

--from, --subject

The values for the From and Subject headers to use.

--to, --cc, --bcc

Append a recipient to the To, Cc, or Bcc header.

new {patchname}

Create a new patch with the specified file name, and insert it after the topmost patch in the patch series file.

next [patch]

Print the name of the next patch after the specified or topmost patch in the series file.

patches {file}

Print the list of patches that modify the specified file. (Uses a heuristic to determine which files are modified by unapplied patches. Note that this heuristic is much slower than scanning applied patches.)

-v

Verbose, more user friendly output.

pop [-afRqv] [num|patch]

Remove patch(es) from the stack of applied patches. Without options, the topmost patch is removed. When a number is specified, remove the specified number of patches. When a patch name is specified, remove patches until the specified patch end up on top of the stack. Patch names may include the patches/ prefix, which means that filename completion can be used.

-a

Remove all applied patches.

-f

Force remove. The state before the patch(es) were applied will be restored from backup files.

-R

Always verify if the patch removes cleanly; don't rely on timestamp checks.

-q

Quiet operation.

-v

Verbose operation.

previous [patch]

Print the name of the previous patch before the specified or topmost patch in the series file.

push [-afqv] [--leave-rejects] [num|patch]

Apply patch(es) from the series file. Without options, the next patch in the series file is applied. When a number is specified, apply the specified number of patches. When a patch name is specified, apply all patches up to and including the specified patch. Patch names may include the patches/ prefix, which means that filename completion can be used.

-a

Apply all patches in the series file.

-f

Force apply, even if the patch has rejects.

-q

Quiet operation.

-v

Verbose operation.

--leave-rejects

Leave around the reject files patch produced, even if the patch is not actually applied.

--interactive

Allow the patch utility to ask how to deal with conflicts. If this option is not given, the -f option will be passed to the patch program.

--color[=always|auto|never]

Use syntax coloring.

refresh [-p n] [-f] [--no-timestamps] [--no-index] [--diffstat] [--sort] [--backup] [--strip-trailing-whitespace] [patch]

Refreshes the specified patch, or the topmost patch by default. Documentation that comes before the actual patch in the patch file is retained.

It is possible to refresh patches that are not on top. If any patches on top of the patch to refresh modify the same files, the script aborts by default. Patches can still be refreshed with -f. In that case this script will print a warning for each shadowed file, changes by more recent patches will be ignored, and only changes in files that have not been modified by any more recent patches will end up in the specified patch.

-p n

Create a -p n style patch (-p0 or -p1 supported).

-u, -U num, -c, -C num

Create a unified diff (-u, -U) with num lines of context. Create a context diff (-c, -C) with num lines of context. The number of context lines defaults to 3.

--no-timestamps

Do not include file timestamps in patch headers.

--no-index

Do not output Index: lines.

--diffstat

Add a diffstat section to the patch header, or replace the existing diffstat section.

-f

Enforce refreshing of a patch that is not on top.

--backup

Create a backup copy of the old version of a patch as patch~.

--sort

Sort files by their name instead of preserving the original order.

--strip-trailing-whitespace

Strip trailing whitespace at the end of lines.

remove [-p patch] {file} ...

Remove one or more files from the topmost or named patch. Files that are modified by patches on top of the specified patch cannot be removed.

-p patch

Patch to remove files from.

rename [-p patch] new_name

Rename the topmost or named patch.

-p patch

Patch to rename.

series [-v]

Print the names of all patches in the series file.

-v

Verbose, more user friendly output.

setup [-d path-prefix] [-v] {specfile|seriesfile}

Initializes a source tree from an rpm spec file or a quilt series file.

-d

optional path prefix (sub-directory).

-v

verbose debug output.

snapshot [-d]

Take a snapshot of the current working state. After taking the snapshot, the tree can be modified in the usual ways, including pushing and popping patches. A diff against the tree at the moment of the snapshot can be generated with `quilt diff --snapshot'.

-d

Only remove current snapshot.

top

Print the name of the topmost patch on the current stack of applied patches.

unapplied [patch]

Print a list of patches that are not applied, or all patches that follow the specified patch in the series file.

upgrade

Upgrade the meta-data in a working tree from an old version of quilt to the current version. This command is only needed when the quilt meta-data format has changed, and the working tree still contains old-format meta-data. In that case, quilt will request to run `quilt upgrade'.

work/ -+- ...
|- patches/ -+- series
|            |- patch2.diff
|            |- patch1.diff
|            +- ...
+- .pc/ -+- applied-patches
|- patch1.diff/ -+- ...
|- patch2.diff/ -+- ...
+- ...

Please refer to the pdf documentation for an example.

Upon startup, quilt evaluates the file .quiltrc in the user's home directory, or the file specified with the --quiltrc option. This file is a regular bash script. Default options can be passed to any command by defining a QUILT_COMMAND_ARGS variable. For example, QUILT_DIFF_ARGS="--color=auto" causes the output of quilt diff to be syntax colored when writing to a terminal.

In addition to that, quilt recognizes the following variables:

QUILT_DIFF_OPTS

Additional options that quilt shall pass to GNU diff when generating patches. A useful setting for C source code is "-p", which causes GNU diff to show in the resulting patch which function a change is in.

QUILT_PATCH_OPTS

Additional options that quilt shall pass to GNU patch when applying patches. For example, some versions of GNU patch support the "--unified-reject-files" option for generating reject files in unified diff style.

QUILT_PATCHES

The location of patch files, defaulting to "patches".

Quilt started as a series of scripts written by Andrew Morton (patch-scripts). Based on Andrew's ideas, Andreas Gruenbacher completely rewrote the scripts, with the help of several other contributors (see AUTHORS file in the distribution).

This man page was written by Martin Quinson, based on information found in the pdf documentation, and in the help messages of each commands.

The pdf documentation, which should be under /usr/share/doc/quilt/quilt.pdf. Note that some distributors compress this file. zxpdf(1) can be used to display compressed pdf files.

diff(1), patch(1).