git-for-windows · gitforwindowshelper · Jun 18, 2026 · Oct 6, 2019 · Dec 6, 2020 · Jul 19, 2021
diff --git a/.github/workflows/main.yml b/.github/workflows/main.yml
@@ -412,7 +412,7 @@ jobs:
           image: alpine:latest
         # Supported until 2025-04-02.
         - jobname: linux32
-          image: i386/ubuntu:focal
+          image: i386/ubuntu:20.04
         # A RHEL 8 compatible distro.  Supported until 2029-05-31.
         - jobname: almalinux-8
           image: almalinux:8

diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -42,15 +42,15 @@ test:linux:
       - jobname: linux-reftable
         image: ubuntu:rolling
         CC: clang
-      - jobname: linux-breaking-changes
-        image: ubuntu:20.04
-        CC: gcc
-      - jobname: fedora-breaking-changes-meson
-        image: fedora:latest
       - jobname: linux-TEST-vars
         image: ubuntu:20.04
         CC: gcc
         CC_PACKAGE: gcc-8
+      - jobname: linux-breaking-changes
+        image: ubuntu:rolling
+        CC: gcc
+      - jobname: fedora-breaking-changes-meson
+        image: fedora:latest
       - jobname: linux-leaks
         image: ubuntu:rolling
         CC: gcc
@@ -60,13 +60,20 @@ test:linux:
       - jobname: linux-asan-ubsan
         image: ubuntu:rolling
         CC: clang
+      - jobname: linux-meson
+        image: ubuntu:rolling
+        CC: gcc
       - jobname: linux-musl-meson
         image: alpine:latest
+        # Supported until 2025-04-02.
       - jobname: linux32
         image: i386/ubuntu:20.04
-      - jobname: linux-meson
-        image: ubuntu:rolling
-        CC: gcc
+      # A RHEL 8 compatible distro.  Supported until 2029-05-31.
+      - jobname: almalinux-8
+        image: almalinux:8
+      # Supported until 2026-08-31.
+      - jobname: debian-11
+        image: debian:11
   artifacts:
     paths:
       - t/failed-test-artifacts

diff --git a/Documentation/RelNotes/2.55.0.adoc b/Documentation/RelNotes/2.55.0.adoc
@@ -65,6 +65,14 @@ UI, Workflows & Features
  * The documentation for "--word-diff" has been extended with a bit of
    implementation detail of where these different words come from.
 
+ * "git config foo.bar=baz" is not likely to be a request to read the
+   value of such a variable with '=' in its name; rather it is plausible
+   that the user meant "git config set foo.bar baz".  Give advice when
+   giving an error message.
+
+ * "git rev-list" (and "git log" family of commands) learned a new "--max-count-oldest"
+   that picks oldest N commits in the range instead of the usual newest.
+
 
 Performance, Internal Implementation, Development Support etc.
 --------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -171,6 +179,35 @@ Performance, Internal Implementation, Development Support etc.
  * The loose object source has been refactored into a proper `struct
    odb_source`.
 
+ * Guidelines on how to write a cover letter for a multi-patch series
+   have been added to SubmittingPatches, which also got a new marker
+   to separate the section for typofixes.
+
+ * The setup logic to discover and configure repositories has been
+   refactored, and the initialization of the object database has been
+   centralized.
+
+ * Many core configuration variables have been migrated from global
+   variables into 'repo_config_values' to tie them to a specific
+   repository instance, avoiding cross-repository state leakage.
+
+ * Streaming revision walks have been optimized by using a priority queue
+   for date-sorting commits, speeding up walks repositories with many
+   merges.
+
+ * A recent regression in t7527 that broke TAP output has been fixed,
+   some other test noise that also broke TAP output has been silenced,
+   and 'prove' is now configured to fail on invalid TAP output to
+   prevent future regressions.
+
+ * A handful of inappropriate uses of the_repository have been
+   rewritten to use the right repository structure instance in the
+   unpack-trees.c codepath.
+
+ * "git index-pack" has been optimized by retaining child bases in the
+   delta cache instead of immediately freeing them, letting the existing
+   cache limit policy decide eviction.
+
 
 Fixes since v2.54
 -----------------
@@ -322,6 +359,36 @@ Fixes since v2.54
    sufficiently new linker is detected.
    (merge 5cd4d0d850 hn/macos-linker-warning later to maint).
 
+ * Documentation and tests have been added to clarify that Git's internal
+   raw timestamp format requires a `@` prefix for values less than
+   100,000,000 to prevent ambiguity with other formats like YYYYMMDD.
+   (merge 4018dc29ee ls/doc-raw-timestamp-prefix later to maint).
+
+ * Wording used in "format-patch --subject-prefix" documentation
+   has been improved.
+   (merge 4a1eb9304a lo/doc-format-patch-subject-prefix later to maint).
+
+ * Advanced emulation of kill() used on Windows in GfW has been
+   upstreamed to improve the symptoms like left-behind .lock files and
+   that fails to let the child clean-up itself when it gets killed.
+   (merge 363f1d8b3a js/win-kill-child-more-gently later to maint).
+
+ * The 'git describe --contains --all' command has been fixed to
+   properly honor the '--match' and '--exclude' options by passing
+   them down to 'git name-rev' with the appropriate reference
+   prefixes.
+   (merge 1891707d1b jk/describe-contains-all-match-fix later to maint).
+
+ * Various typos, grammatical errors, and duplicated words in both
+   documentation and code comments have been corrected.
+   (merge dc6068df67 wy/docs-typofixes later to maint).
+
+ * The subprocess handshake during startup has been made gentler by using
+   packet_read_line_gently() instead of packet_read_line() to prevent the
+   parent Git process from dying abruptly when a configured subprocess
+   (e.g., a clean/smudge filter) fails to start.
+   (merge 061a68e443 mm/subprocess-handshake-fix later to maint).
+
  * Other code cleanup, docfix, build fix, etc.
    (merge 80f4b802e9 ja/doc-difftool-synopsis-style later to maint).
    (merge b96490241e jc/doc-timestamps-in-stat later to maint).
@@ -344,3 +411,6 @@ Fixes since v2.54
    (merge 1740cc35d0 ed/check-connected-close-err-fd later to maint).
    (merge f4d7eb3d1c sp/doc-range-diff-takes-notes later to maint).
    (merge 83e7f3bd2b kh/free-commit-list later to maint).
+   (merge d1b72b29e9 am/doc-tech-hash-typofix later to maint).
+   (merge 014c454799 ak/typofixes later to maint).
+   (merge 522ea8ef7d js/osxkeychain-build-wo-rust later to maint).
diff --git a/Documentation/SubmittingPatches b/Documentation/SubmittingPatches
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ input and avoids unnecessary churn from many rapid iterations.
   topic are appropriate, so such an incremental updates are limited to
   small corrections and polishing.  After a topic cooks for some time
   (like 7 calendar days) in 'next' without needing further tweaks on
-  top, it gets merged to the 'master' branch and wait to become part
+  top, it gets merged to the 'master' branch and waits to become part
   of the next major release.
 
 In the following sections, many techniques and conventions are listed
@@ -237,6 +237,7 @@ Do not forget to update the documentation to describe the updated
 behavior and make sure that the resulting documentation set formats
 well (try the Documentation/doc-diff script).
 
+[[typofixes]]
 We currently have a liberal mixture of US and UK English norms for
 spelling and grammar, which is somewhat unfortunate.  A huge patch that
 touches the files all over the place only to correct the inconsistency
@@ -471,6 +472,30 @@ highlighted above.
 Only capitalize the very first letter of the trailer, i.e. favor
 "Signed-off-by" over "Signed-Off-By" and "Acked-by:" over "Acked-By".
 
+[[cover-letter]]
+=== Cover Letter
+
+The purpose of your cover letter is to sell your changes, explain what
+they are about, and get your target audience interested enough to read
+the patches.
+
+. Every code change comes with risk of regression and maintenance cost.
+  The cover letter should clearly communicate why the value of your
+  proposed change is worth applying. You can also describe how the risk
+  is reduced by the design choices you made while writing the patches.
+
+. Make sure your target audience can understand what the patches are
+  about and why they are needed without prior context.
+
+. For a second or subsequent iteration of the same topic, make sure
+  people who missed the earlier discussion can still understand what
+  the patches are about, so they can judge if the topic is worth their
+  time to read and comment on.
+
+. To help those who are familiar with earlier iterations, give a
+  summary of changes since the previous rounds.
+
+
 [[ai]]
 === Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
 

diff --git a/Documentation/config/sideband.adoc b/Documentation/config/sideband.adoc
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ sideband.allowControlCharacters::
 		Allow control sequences that move the cursor. This is
 		disabled by default.
 	`erase`::
-		Allow control sequences that erase charactrs. This is
+		Allow control sequences that erase characters. This is
 		disabled by default.
 	`false`::
 		Mask all control characters other than line feeds and

diff --git a/Documentation/date-formats.adoc b/Documentation/date-formats.adoc
@@ -9,6 +9,11 @@ Git internal format::
 	`<unix-timestamp>` is the number of seconds since the UNIX epoch.
 	`<time-zone-offset>` is a positive or negative offset from UTC.
 	For example CET (which is 1 hour ahead of UTC) is `+0100`.
++
+It is safer to prepend the `<unix-timestamp>` with `@` (e.g.,
+`@0 +0000`), which forces Git to interpret it as a raw timestamp. This
+is required for values less than 100,000,000 (which have fewer than 9
+digits) to avoid confusion with other date formats like `YYYYMMDD`.
 
 RFC 2822::
 	The standard date format as described by RFC 2822, for example

diff --git a/Documentation/fetch-options.adoc b/Documentation/fetch-options.adoc
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 `--all`::
 `--no-all`::
-	Fetch all remotes, except for the ones that has the
+	Fetch all remotes, except for the ones that have the
 	`remote.<name>.skipFetchAll` configuration variable set.
 	This overrides the configuration variable `fetch.all`.
 

diff --git a/Documentation/git-format-patch.adoc b/Documentation/git-format-patch.adoc
@@ -221,10 +221,9 @@ populated with placeholder text.
 	for generating the cover letter.
 
 --subject-prefix=<subject-prefix>::
-	Instead of the standard '[PATCH]' prefix in the subject
-	line, instead use '[<subject-prefix>]'. This can be used
-	to name a patch series, and can be combined with the
-	`--numbered` option.
+	Use '[<subject-prefix>]' instead of the standard '[PATCH]'
+	prefix in the subject line. This can be used to name a patch
+	series, and can be combined with the `--numbered` option.
 +
 The configuration variable `format.subjectPrefix` may also be used
 to configure a subject prefix to apply to a given repository for

diff --git a/Documentation/git-format-rev.adoc b/Documentation/git-format-rev.adoc
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ OPTIONS
 The argument `rev` is also accepted.
 
 `text`;; Formats all commit object names found in freeform text. These
-	must the full object names, i.e. abbreviated hexidecimal object
+	must be full object names, i.e. abbreviated hexadecimal object
 	names will not be interpreted.
 +
 Anything that is parsed as an object name but that is not found to be a

diff --git a/Documentation/git-sparse-checkout.adoc b/Documentation/git-sparse-checkout.adoc
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ the `clean.requireForce` config option is set to `false`.
 +
 The `--dry-run` option will list the directories that would be removed
 without deleting them. Running in this mode can be helpful to predict the
-behavior of the clean comand or to determine which kinds of files are left
+behavior of the clean command or to determine which kinds of files are left
 in the sparse directories.
 +
 The `--verbose` option will list every file within the directories that

diff --git a/Documentation/rev-list-options.adoc b/Documentation/rev-list-options.adoc
@@ -16,7 +16,10 @@ ordering and formatting options, such as `--reverse`.
 `-<number>`::
 `-n <number>`::
 `--max-count=<number>`::
-	Limit the output to _<number>_ commits.
+	Limit the output to the first _<number>_ commits that would be shown.
+
+`--max-count-oldest=<number>`::
+	Limit the output to the last _<number>_ commits that would be shown.
 
 `--skip=<number>`::
 	Skip _<number>_ commits before starting to show the commit output.

diff --git a/Documentation/technical/build-systems.adoc b/Documentation/technical/build-systems.adoc
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ Auto-detection of the following items is considered to be important:
 
   - Check for the existence of headers.
   - Check for the existence of libraries.
-  - Check for the existence of exectuables.
+  - Check for the existence of executables.
   - Check for the runtime behavior of specific functions.
   - Check for specific link order requirements when multiple libraries are
     involved.
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ by the build system:
 
   - C: the primary compiled language used by Git, must be supported. Relevant
     toolchains are GCC, Clang and MSVC.
-  - Rust: candidate as a second compiled lanugage, should be supported. Relevant
+  - Rust: candidate as a second compiled language, should be supported. Relevant
     toolchains is the LLVM-based rustc.
 
 Built-in support for the respective languages is preferred over support that
@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@ The following list of build systems are considered:
 
 === GNU Make
 
-- Platform support: ubitquitous on all platforms, but not well-integrated into Windows.
+- Platform support: ubiquitous on all platforms, but not well-integrated into Windows.
 - Auto-detection: no built-in support for auto-detection of features.
 - Ease of use: easy to use, but discovering available options is hard. Makefile
   rules can quickly get out of hand once reaching a certain scope.

diff --git a/Documentation/technical/hash-function-transition.adoc b/Documentation/technical/hash-function-transition.adoc
@@ -545,7 +545,7 @@ Alternates
 ~~~~~~~~~~
 For the same reason, a SHA-256 repository cannot borrow objects from a
 SHA-1 repository using objects/info/alternates or
-$GIT_ALTERNATE_OBJECT_REPOSITORIES.
+$GIT_ALTERNATE_OBJECT_DIRECTORIES.
 
 git notes
 ~~~~~~~~~

diff --git a/GIT-VERSION-GEN b/GIT-VERSION-GEN
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #!/bin/sh
 
-DEF_VER=v2.55.0-rc0
+DEF_VER=v2.55.0-rc1
 
 LF='
 '

diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
@@ -4098,7 +4098,7 @@ contrib/libgit-sys/libgitpub.a: $(LIBGIT_HIDDEN_EXPORT)
 
 contrib/credential/osxkeychain/git-credential-osxkeychain: contrib/credential/osxkeychain/git-credential-osxkeychain.o $(LIB_FILE) GIT-LDFLAGS
 	$(QUIET_LINK)$(CC) $(ALL_CFLAGS) -o $@ $(ALL_LDFLAGS) \
-		$(filter %.o,$^) $(LIB_FILE) $(EXTLIBS) -framework Security -framework CoreFoundation
+		$(filter %.o,$^) $(LIBS) -framework Security -framework CoreFoundation
 
 contrib/credential/osxkeychain/git-credential-osxkeychain.o: contrib/credential/osxkeychain/git-credential-osxkeychain.c GIT-CFLAGS
 	$(QUIET_LINK)$(CC) -o $@ -c $(dep_args) $(compdb_args) $(ALL_CFLAGS) $(EXTRA_CPPFLAGS) $<