git-stage

View documentation for the original command

$ tldr git add

git stage [options]... [--] [pathspec…]

-A, --all
    Stage all changes (new, modified, deleted) in the entire working tree.

-u, --update
    Stage modified and deleted tracked files only (ignores untracked).

--interactive, -i
    Run interactive mode to select files or hunks to stage.

--patch, -p
    Interactively choose hunks of patch to stage.

-n, --dry-run
    Show what would be staged without actually staging.

-v, --verbose
    Report added files verbosely.

-f, --force
    Allow staging otherwise ignored files.

-N, --intent-to-add
    Record intent to add a file without staging its content.

--ignore-missing
    Ignore pathspecs that do not exist.

--chmod=(+|-)x
    Override executable bit when staging.

--renormalize
    Re-scan for line ending normalization.

--sparse
    Allow updating index for sparse-checkout.

git stage adds changes from the working directory to Git's staging area (index), preparing them for the next git commit. Although not an official Git subcommand, it is frequently used as a user-defined alias for git add (e.g., alias gitstage='git add') in shell profiles like .bashrc or .zshrc. Tutorials and GUIs often refer to this action as 'staging'.

The staging area acts as an intermediate step, allowing selective inclusion of changes. Unstage with git restore --staged or git reset. View staged changes via git status or git diff --cached.

Key benefits include building commits incrementally, ignoring whitespace-only changes, or staging specific hunks. For new files, staging records them; for modified, it snapshots current state. Deleted files can be staged with appropriate options. Interactive modes enable precise control, ideal for complex changesets.

Common workflow: edit files, git stage selected ones, review with git status, commit.

Not a standard Git command; equivalent to git add. Does not commit changes—use git commit. May stage unintended files without pathspec; always review with git status.

git stage README.md
Stage single file.

git stage -p
Interactively stage hunks.

git stage -A
Stage all changes.

Add to ~/.bashrc: alias gitstage='git add'
Reload shell or source ~/.bashrc.

Staging via git add core since Git 1.0 (2005, Linus Torvalds). Index concept from early BitKeeper influences. Aliases like 'git stage' popularized in user workflows and tools like GitHub Desktop.

git add(1), git status(1), git commit(1), git reset(1), git diff(1), git restore(1)