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[PATCH v2] doc: use `man git` to teach users how to navigate the docs

From
Julia Evans via GitGitGadget <gitgitgadget@gmail.com>
Date
Oct 6, 2026, 20:06 UTC
Message-ID
<pull.2242.v2.git.1791317163584.gitgitgadget@gmail.com>
In-Reply-To
<pull.2242.git.1790627574093.gitgitgadget@gmail.com>
From: Julia Evans <julia@jvns.ca>

Many existing users of Git don't know how Git's documentation is structured, and a lot of folks have expressed frustration that `man git` doesn't make it easy to find out how to get help with using Git.

Explain how Git's help system works in `man git` (`git push -h` gives a short help, `git push --help` is the full docs), since it's a slightly unusual approach.

Remove the references to gittutorial and giteveryday since they're unlikely to help new users learn Git. Currently they feel very aspirational (it would be nice to have a tutorial and a guide to everyday Git commands!), but we should give users a realistic view of what the documentation actually provides.

Mention `git help` instead of `giteveryday` for now, which does a better job of giving an overview of everyday commands.

Also mention `git help --guides` and `git help --user-interfaces`, since those parts of the documentation are useful and hard to discover.

Do not mention `git help --developer-interfaces` since it's not relevant to users.

Signed-off-by: Julia Evans <julia@jvns.ca>
---
    [doc] Use man git to teach users how to navigate the docs
    
    Changes in v2:
    
     * mention the git help push form too
     * mention you can get HTML docs with git help --web push at the end to
       advertise git help's great features, and remove
       https://git.github.io/htmldocs/git.html since
       https://git-scm.com/docs has a nicer view and 3 different options is
       a lot.
     * some minor wording changes
     * fix commit message style (doc: not [doc])
Published-As: https://github.com/gitgitgadget/git/releases/tag/pr-2242%2Fjvns%2Fupdate-git-v2
Fetch-It-Via: git fetch https://github.com/gitgitgadget/git pr-2242/jvns/update-git-v2
Pull-Request: https://github.com/gitgitgadget/git/pull/2242
Range-diff vs v1:
 1:  5da3881760 ! 1:  18f373a8f3 [doc] Use `man git` to teach users how to navigate the docs
     @@ Metadata
      Author: Julia Evans <julia@jvns.ca>
      
       ## Commit message ##
     -    [doc] Use `man git` to teach users how to navigate the docs
     +    doc: use `man git` to teach users how to navigate the docs
      
          Many existing users of Git don't know how Git's documentation is
          structured, and a lot of folks have expressed frustration that `man git`
     @@ Documentation/git.adoc: Git is a fast, scalable, distributed revision control sy
      -commands.  The link:user-manual.html[Git User's Manual] has a more
      -in-depth introduction.  See linkgit:gitdatamodel[7] if you want to
      -learn about the data model and important terminology.
     --
     ++There are two ways to get help with any Git subcommand (replace "push"
     ++with the command you want help with):
     + 
      -After you mastered the basic concepts, you can come back to this
      -page to learn what commands Git offers.  You can learn more about
      -individual Git commands with "git help command".  linkgit:gitcli[7]
      -manual page gives you an overview of the command-line command syntax.
     -+There are two ways to get help on any Git subcommand (replace "push"
     -+with the command you want help with):
     -+
      +- `git push -h` for a short help
     -+- `git push --help` for the full documentation
     -+
     ++- `git push --help` or `git help push` for the full documentation
     + 
     +-A formatted and hyperlinked copy of the latest Git documentation
     +-can be viewed at https://git.github.io/htmldocs/git.html
     +-or https://git-scm.com/docs.
      +There are also guides explaining Git's concepts and more:
     -+
     + 
      +- `git help` shows the most frequently used Git subcommands
      +- `git help --guides` lists Git's concept guides
      +- `git help --user-interfaces` lists guides for various
      +  special files you can use to change Git's behaviour
     ++
     ++You can view an HTML version of the documentation with `git help --web`
     ++(for example `git help --web push`) or at https://git-scm.com/docs.
       
     - A formatted and hyperlinked copy of the latest Git documentation
     - can be viewed at https://git.github.io/htmldocs/git.html
     + OPTIONS
     + -------
 Documentation/git.adoc | 24 ++++++++++++------------
 1 file changed, 12 insertions(+), 12 deletions(-)
diff --git a/Documentation/git.adoc b/Documentation/git.adoc
index 6f0075f918..6dfb829a7e 100644
--- a/Documentation/git.adoc
+++ b/Documentation/git.adoc
@@ -22,21 +22,21 @@ Git 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.
 
-See linkgit:gittutorial[7] to get started, then see
-linkgit:giteveryday[7] for a useful minimum set of
-commands.  The link:user-manual.html[Git User's Manual] has a more
-in-depth introduction.  See linkgit:gitdatamodel[7] if you want to
-learn about the data model and important terminology.
+There are two ways to get help with any Git subcommand (replace "push"
+with the command you want help with):
 
-After you mastered the basic concepts, you can come back to this
-page to learn what commands Git offers.  You can learn more about
-individual Git commands with "git help command".  linkgit:gitcli[7]
-manual page gives you an overview of the command-line command syntax.
+- `git push -h` for a short help
+- `git push --help` or `git help push` for the full documentation
 
-A formatted and hyperlinked copy of the latest Git documentation
-can be viewed at https://git.github.io/htmldocs/git.html
-or https://git-scm.com/docs.
+There are also guides explaining Git's concepts and more:
 
+- `git help` shows the most frequently used Git subcommands
+- `git help --guides` lists Git's concept guides
+- `git help --user-interfaces` lists guides for various
+  special files you can use to change Git's behaviour
+
+You can view an HTML version of the documentation with `git help --web`
+(for example `git help --web push`) or at https://git-scm.com/docs.
 
 OPTIONS
 -------

base-commit: 0f8e75abebff0877cae681a3d5ff31ac47f54220
-- 
gitgitgadget
Previous: Junio C HamanoNext: D. Ben Knoble
Message 8 of 17 in “[doc] Use `man git` to teach users how to navigate the docs”
  1. [doc] Use `man git` to teach users how to navigate the docsJulia Evans via GitGitGadget, Sep 28, 2026
  2. Ben KnobleSep 28, 2026
  3. Junio C HamanoSep 29, 2026
  4. Julia EvansSep 29, 2026
  5. Junio C HamanoSep 29, 2026
  6. Julia EvansSep 29, 2026
  7. Junio C HamanoSep 29, 2026
  8. doc: use `man git` to teach users how to navigate the docsJulia Evans via GitGitGadget, Oct 6, 2026
  9. D. Ben KnobleOct 6, 2026
  10. Kristoffer HaugsbakkOct 7, 2026
  11. Julia EvansOct 7, 2026
  12. Junio C HamanoOct 7, 2026
  13. Julia EvansOct 7, 2026
  14. Junio C HamanoOct 7, 2026
  15. Junio C HamanoOct 7, 2026
  16. Julia EvansOct 7, 2026
  17. Junio C HamanoOct 7, 2026

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