Re: [PATCH] branch: advice using git-help(1) instead of man(1)

From: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Date: Nov 28, 2025, 16:40 UTC
Message-ID: <xmqq345yjejo.fsf@gitster.g>
In-Reply-To: <advice_git-help.64@msgid.xyz>

kristofferhaugsbakk@fastmail.com writes:

Show 6 quoted lines

> From: Kristoffer Haugsbakk <code@khaugsbakk.name>
>
> 8fbd903e (branch: advise about ref syntax rules, 2024-03-05) added
> an advice about checking git-check-ref-format(1) for the ref syntax
> rules. The advice uses man(1). It’s better to use Git’s own git-help(1)
> instead of an external command.

Substatiate "better" a bit better? If there were a universal help facility, we wouldn't have had to invent our own, and that would have been even better, but since we do not live in such an ideal world, we cater to people who live in a man-less land by having our own.

In other words, "An external command" is not the issue. Some people living in a man-less land is.

    ... for the ref syntax rules and refers to the man(1) command,
    which may not be available on some platforms.  Refer to 'git
    help' instead.

> Also change to using single quotes (') to quote the command since that
> is more conventional.

Yup. We haven't added markdown or asciidoc interpreter to our advise() machinery ;-)