git-am

Apply and commit changes following a local patch file

$ git am [path/to/file.patch]

$ curl [[-L|--location]] [https://example.com/file.patch] | git am

$ git am --abort

$ git am --reject [path/to/file.patch]

git am [options] [--] [mbox | Maildir]...

--3way
    Fall back on 3-way merge if patch does not apply cleanly

--apply
    Apply patches without committing (synonym: -3)

--binary
    Read patches from binary stdin

--committer-date-is-author-date
    Use patch author's date as committer date

--empty
    Keep commits with no changes (does not apply to -3)

--ignore-date
    Use current timestamp for author date

--ignore-space-change
    Ignore changes in amount of whitespace (synonym: -w)

--ignore-whitespace
    Ignore whitespace when finding context to apply patch

--interactive
    Run interactively to let user choose hunks

--keep
    Pass -k flag to git patch-id

--keep-cr
    Do not remove \r from lines ending with CRLF

--keep-non-patch
    Pass lines before/after patch through unchanged

--mbox
    Pass --mbox to underlying git am (stdin only)

--merge
    After failing, produce file to edit for merging (synonym: -m)

--no-verify
    Bypass pre-commit and commit-msg hooks

--patch-border
    Detect patch boundaries by @@@ lines

--quoted
    Patches have quoted printable encapsulation

--reject
    Like plain git apply, output rejected hunks separately

--resolv-msg=
    Resolve commit message ambiguities using msg-id

--save-opts[=]
    Save options in .git/info/am_opts file

--scissors
    Strip everything before line matching scissors line

--signoff
    Add Signed-off-by trailer to commit message

--utf8
    Pass --utf8 flag to git mailinfo

--whitespace=
    Detect new or modified lines with specified whitespace errors

-C
    Ensure context lines for correct application

-p
    Remove leading slashes from pathnames

-q
    Be quiet

-u
    Pass -u flag to underlying git mailinfo (discontinued)

--abort
    Restore state before applying patches

--continue
    Resume applying remaining patches after fixing conflicts

--quit
    Abort but keep current index state and manually resolved hunks

--show-current-patch
    Show the current patch being applied

The git am command applies a series of patches from standard input or mailbox files (mbox format) to the current branch. It extracts commit metadata such as author name, email, date, and commit message, then uses git apply to patch the files and git commit to create new commits.

This is particularly useful for integrating changes from email discussions or mailing lists, preserving the original authorship and message history. If a patch fails to apply cleanly, git am pauses, allowing manual resolution of conflicts. Users can then continue with git am --continue, abort with git am --abort, or quit with git am --quit.

Options control application behavior, like using three-way merges for better conflict handling (--3way), ignoring whitespace differences, or trimming quoted text (--scissors). It supports interactive mode for selective hunks and can resolve message ambiguities (--resolv-msg). By default, it verifies commits unless --no-verify is used.

git am is safer than raw patch commands as it integrates fully with Git's history, but requires patches generated by git format-patch for best results.

Requires patches in git-compatible format (e.g., from git format-patch); binary files need --binary; whitespace mismatches can cause failures without appropriate options; no support for directory rename detection; conflicts require manual intervention.

Generate patches with git format-patch, send via email, apply with git am --signoff.

For conflicts: edit files, git add, git am --continue.

git am < /path/to/patches.mbox or git am --signoff to pipe from stdin.

Introduced in Git 1.0.0 (2005) as a core command for applying email patches. Evolved with options like --3way (Git 1.6.1, 2008) for better merges, --interactive (Git 1.7.8, 2010), and state management (--abort/--continue/--quit in Git 1.7.0, 2010). Remains essential for maintainer workflows with public-inbox mailing lists.

git-apply(1), git-format-patch(1), git-cherry-pick(1), git-rebase(1), git-mailinfo(1), patch(1)