@@ -195,6 +195,92 @@ reason::
195195 refs, no explanation is needed. For a failed ref, the reason for
196196 failure is described.
197197
198+ Note about fast-forwards
199+ ------------------------
200+
201+ When an update changes a branch (or more in general, a ref) that used to
202+ point at commit A to point at another commit B, it is called a
203+ fast-forward update if and only if B is a descendant of A.
204+
205+ In a fast-forward update from A to B, the set of commits that the original
206+ commit A built on top of is a subset of the commits the new commit B
207+ builds on top of. Hence, it does not lose any history.
208+
209+ In contrast, a non-fast-forward update will lose history. For example,
210+ suppose you and somebody else started at the same commit X, and you built
211+ a history leading to commit B while the other person built a history
212+ leading to commit A. The history looks like this:
213+
214+ ----------------
215+
216+ B
217+ /
218+ ---X---A
219+
220+ ----------------
221+
222+ Further suppose that the other person already pushed changes leading to A
223+ back to the original repository you two obtained the original commit X.
224+
225+ The push done by the other person updated the branch that used to point at
226+ commit X to point at commit A. It is a fast-forward.
227+
228+ But if you try to push, you will attempt to update the branch (that
229+ now points at A) with commit B. This does _not_ fast-forward. If you did
230+ so, the changes introduced by commit A will be lost, because everybody
231+ will now start building on top of B.
232+
233+ The command by default does not allow an update that is not a fast-forward
234+ to prevent such loss of history.
235+
236+ If you do not want to lose your work (history from X to B) nor the work by
237+ the other person (history from X to A), you would need to first fetch the
238+ history from the repository, create a history that contains changes done
239+ by both parties, and push the result back.
240+
241+ You can perform "git pull", resolve potential conflicts, and "git push"
242+ the result. A "git pull" will create a merge commit C between commits A
243+ and B.
244+
245+ ----------------
246+
247+ B---C
248+ / /
249+ ---X---A
250+
251+ ----------------
252+
253+ Updating A with the resulting merge commit will fast-forward and your
254+ push will be accepted.
255+
256+ Alternatively, you can rebase your change between X and B on top of A,
257+ with "git pull --rebase", and push the result back. The rebase will
258+ create a new commit D that builds the change between X and B on top of
259+ A.
260+
261+ ----------------
262+
263+ B D
264+ / /
265+ ---X---A
266+
267+ ----------------
268+
269+ Again, updating A with this commit will fast-forward and your push will be
270+ accepted.
271+
272+ There is another common situation where you may encounter non-fast-forward
273+ rejection when you try to push, and it is possible even when you are
274+ pushing into a repository nobody else pushes into. After you push commit
275+ A yourself (in the first picture in this section), replace it with "git
276+ commit --amend" to produce commit B, and you try to push it out, because
277+ forgot that you have pushed A out already. In such a case, and only if
278+ you are certain that nobody in the meantime fetched your earlier commit A
279+ (and started building on top of it), you can run "git push --force" to
280+ overwrite it. In other words, "git push --force" is a method reserved for
281+ a case where you do mean to lose history.
282+
283+
198284Examples
199285--------
200286
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