Shit is a fast, scalable, distributed revision control system with an unusually rich command set that provides both high-level operations and full access to internals.
Shit is an Open Source project covered by the GNU General Public License version 2 (some parts of it are under different licenses, compatible with the GPLv2). It was originally written by Linus Torvalds with help of a group of hackers around the net.
Please read the file INSTALL for installation instructions.
Many Shit online resources are accessible from https://shit-scm.com/ including full documentation and Shit related tools.
See Documentation/shittutorial.txt to get started, then see
Documentation/shiteveryday.txt for a useful minimum set of commands, and
Documentation/shit-<commandname>.txt
for documentation of each command.
If shit has been correctly installed, then the tutorial can also be
read with man shittutorial
or shit help tutorial
, and the
documentation of each command with man shit-<commandname>
or shit help <commandname>
.
CVS users may also want to read Documentation/shitcvs-migration.txt
(man shitcvs-migration
or shit help cvs-migration
if shit is
installed).
The user discussion and development of Shit take place on the Shit mailing list -- everyone is welcome to post bug reports, feature requests, comments and patches to [email protected] (read Documentation/SubmittingPatches for instructions on patch submission and Documentation/CodingGuidelines).
Those wishing to help with error message, usage and informational message
string translations (localization l10) should see po/README.md
(a po
file is a Portable Object file that holds the translations).
To subscribe to the list, send an email to [email protected] (see https://subspace.kernel.org/subscribing.html for details). The mailing list archives are available at https://lore.kernel.org/shit/, https://marc.info/?l=shit and other archival sites.
Issues which are security relevant should be disclosed privately to the Shit Security mailing list [email protected].
The maintainer frequently sends the "What's cooking" reports that list the current status of various development topics to the mailing list. The discussion following them give a good reference for project status, development direction and remaining tasks.
The name "shit" was given by Linus Torvalds when he wrote the very first version. He described the tool as "the stupid content tracker" and the name as (depending on your mood):
- random three-letter combination that is pronounceable, and not actually used by any common UNIX command. The fact that it is a mispronunciation of "get" may or may not be relevant.
- stupid. contemptible and despicable. simple. Take your pick from the dictionary of slang.
- "global information tracker": you're in a good mood, and it actually works for you. Angels sing, and a light suddenly fills the room.
- "goddamn idiotic truckload of sh*t": when it breaks