# [PATCH] Document GIT_SSH environment variable alongside other variables

2 messages from 2007-08-04 to 2007-08-05. Participants: Shawn O. Pearce, Jakub Narebski.
Thread: https://gitlist.dev/t/9374

## Shawn O. Pearce, 2007-08-04 06:06

Subject: [PATCH] Document GIT_SSH environment variable alongside other variables
Message-ID: <20070804060652.GA28379@spearce.org>
URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/20070804060652.GA28379%40spearce.org

```
The GIT_SSH environment variable has survived for quite a while
without being documented, but has been mentioned on list and on
my day-job repositories can only be accessed via magic supplied
through the wonderous hack that is GIT_SSH.

Advertising it alongside other "low level magic" such as GIT_PAGER
and GIT_MERGE_VERBOSITY will certainly help others who need to
spread their own pixie dust to make things work.

Signed-off-by: Shawn O. Pearce <spearce@spearce.org>
---
 Documentation/git.txt |   16 ++++++++++++++++
 1 files changed, 16 insertions(+), 0 deletions(-)

diff --git a/Documentation/git.txt b/Documentation/git.txt
index 4c4d174..18f8b6a 100644
--- a/Documentation/git.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git.txt
@@ -421,6 +421,22 @@ other
 	to an empty string or to the value "cat", git will not launch
 	a pager.
 
+'GIT_SSH'::
+	If this environment variable is set then gitlink:git-fetch[1]
+	and gitlink:git-push[1] will use this command instead
+	of `ssh` when they need to connect to a remote system.
+	The 'GIT_SSH' command will be given exactly two arguments:
+	the 'username@host' (or just 'host') from the URL and the
+	shell command to execute on that remote system.
++
+To pass options to the program that you want to list in GIT_SSH
+you will need to wrap the program and options into a shell script,
+then set GIT_SSH to refer to the shell script.
++
+Usually it is easier to configure any desired options through your
+personal `.ssh/config` file.  Please consult your ssh documentation
+for further details.
+
 'GIT_FLUSH'::
 	If this environment variable is set to "1", then commands such
 	as git-blame (in incremental mode), git-rev-list, git-log,
-- 
1.5.3.rc3.941.gaac97

```

## Jakub Narebski, 2007-08-05 22:16

Subject: Re: [PATCH] Document GIT_SSH environment variable alongside other variables
Message-ID: <200708060016.40829.jnareb@gmail.com>
URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/200708060016.40829.jnareb%40gmail.com
In-Reply-To: <20070804060652.GA28379@spearce.org>

```
Shawn O. Pearce wrote:

> The GIT_SSH environment variable has survived for quite a while
> without being documented, but has been mentioned on list and on
> my day-job repositories can only be accessed via magic supplied
> through the wonderous hack that is GIT_SSH.

Thanks a lot.

By the way, I plan on documenting existing environmental variables used 
by git better (for after 1.5.3). First, separate "Environmental 
variables" section in Documentation/git.txt into separate file (similar 
to the config.txt file), named environment.txt. Second, add to the list 
of variables links to variables which are documented in other manpages, 
similarly to how for example GIT_AUTHOR_NAME etc. are described. Then 
add one by one environmental variables which are not documented at all: 
GIT_SSH_PUSH/GIT_SSH_PULL, GIT_CURL_VERBOSITY, GIT_REFLOG_ACTION, 
GIT_GRAFT_FILE and GIT_TEMPLATE_DIR.

-- 
Jakub Narebski
Poland

```