How do you squash commits into one patch with git format-patch?

Question

I've got eight commits on a branch that I'd like to email to some people who aren't git enlightened, yet. So far, everything I do either gives me 8 patch files, or starts giving me patch files for every commit in the branch's history, since the beginning of time. I used git rebase --interactive to squash the commits, but now everything I try gives me zillions of patches from the beginning of time. What am I doing wrong?

git format-patch master HEAD  # yields zillions of patches, even though there's only one commit since master

Answer 1

As you already know, a git format-patch -8 HEAD will give you eight patches.

If you want your 8 commits appear as one, and do not mind rewriting the history of your branch (o-o-X-A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H), you could :

git rebase -i
// squash A, B, C, D, E ,F, G into H

or, and it would be a better solution, replay all your 8 commits from X (the commit before your 8 commits) on a new branch

git branch delivery X
git checkout delivery
git merge master
git format-patch HEAD

That way, you only have one commit on the "delivery" branch, and it represent all your last 8 commits

Answer 2

I'd recommend doing this on a throwaway branch as follows. If your commits are in the "newlines" branch and you have switched back to your "master" branch already, this should do the trick:

[adam@mbp2600 example (master)]$ git checkout -b tmpsquash
Switched to a new branch "tmpsquash"

[adam@mbp2600 example (tmpsquash)]$ git merge --squash newlines
Updating 4d2de39..b6768b2
Fast forward
Squash commit -- not updating HEAD
 test.txt |    2 ++
 1 files changed, 2 insertions(+), 0 deletions(-)

[adam@mbp2600 example (tmpsquash)]$ git commit -a -m "My squashed commits"
[tmpsquash]: created 75b0a89: "My squashed commits"
 1 files changed, 2 insertions(+), 0 deletions(-)

[adam@mbp2600 example (tmpsquash)]$ git format-patch master
0001-My-squashed-commits.patch

Hope this helps!

Answer 3

I always use git diff so in your example, something like

git diff master > patch.txt

Answer 4

Just to add one ore solution to the pot: If you use this instead:

git format-patch master --stdout > my_new_patch.diff

Then it will still be 8 patches... but they'll all be in a single patchfile and will apply as one with:

git am < my_new_patch.diff

Answer 5

This is an adaptation of Adam Alexander answer, in case your changes are in master branch. This do the following:

• Creates a new throwaway branch "tmpsquash" from the point we want (look for the SHA key running "git --log" or with gitg. Select the commit you want to be tmpsquash head, the commits that are after that in master will be the squashed commits).
• Merges the changes from master to tmpsquash.
• Commits the squashed changes to tmpsquash.
• Creates the patch with the squashed commits.
• Goes back to master branch

---

laura@rune:~/example (master)$ git branch tmpsquash ba3c498878054e25afc5e22e207d62eb40ff1f38
laura@rune:~/example (master)$ git checkout tmpsquash
Switched to branch 'tmpsquash'
laura@rune:~/example (tmpsquash)$ git merge --squash master
Updating ba3c498..40386b8
Fast-forward
Squash commit -- not updating HEAD

[snip, changed files]

11 files changed, 212 insertions(+), 59 deletions(-)
laura@rune:~/example  (tmpsquash)$ git commit -a -m "My squashed commits"
[test2 6127e5c] My squashed commits
11 files changed, 212 insertions(+), 59 deletions(-)
laura@rune:~/example  (tmpsquash)$ git format-patch master
0001-My-squashed-commits.patch
laura@rune:~/example  (tmpsquash)$ git checkout master
Switched to branch 'master'
laura@rune:~/example  (master)$