path: root/man/b4.5.rst

B4
==
----------------------------------------------------
Work with code submissions in a public-inbox archive
----------------------------------------------------

:Author:    mricon@kernel.org
:Date:      2022-06-16
:Copyright: The Linux Foundation and contributors
:License:   GPLv2+
:Version:   0.9.0
:Manual section: 5

SYNOPSIS
--------
b4 {mbox,am,shazam,pr,diff,ty,kr} [options]

DESCRIPTION
-----------
This is a helper utility to work with patches and pull requests made
available via a public-inbox archive like lore.kernel.org. It is
written to make it easier to participate in a patch-based workflows,
like those used in the Linux kernel development.

The name "b4" was chosen for ease of typing and because B-4 was the
precursor to Lore and Data in the Star Trek universe.

SUBCOMMANDS
-----------
* *mbox*: Download a thread as an mbox file
* *am*: Create an mbox file that is ready to git-am
* *shazam*: Apply patch series to git repositories
* *pr*: Work with pull requests
* *diff*: Show range-diff style diffs between patch versions
* *ty*: Create templated replies for processed patches and pull requests
* *kr* (EXPERIMENTAL) Operate on patatt-compatible keyrings
* *attest*: (DEPRECATED) Add cryptographic attestation to patches

OPTIONS
-------
-h, --help            show this help message and exit
-d, --debug           Add more debugging info to the output (default: False)
-q, --quiet           Output critical information only (default: False)
-n, --no-interactive  Do not ask any interactive questions (default: False)

SUBCOMMAND OPTIONS
------------------

b4 mbox
~~~~~~~

This command allows retrieving entire threads from a remote public-inbox
instance. The resulting mbox file can then be opened with most MUA
clients for actions like replying to conversations or reviewing patch
submissions.

usage:
  b4 mbox [-h] [-p USEPROJECT] [-m LOCALMBOX] [-C] [-o OUTDIR] [-c] [-n WANTNAME] [-M] [-f] [msgid]

positional arguments:
  msgid                 Message ID to process, or pipe a raw message

options:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  -p USEPROJECT, --use-project USEPROJECT
                        Use a specific project instead of default (linux-mm, linux-hardening, etc)
  -m LOCALMBOX, --use-local-mbox LOCALMBOX
                        Instead of grabbing a thread from lore, process this mbox file (or - for stdin)
  -C, --no-cache
                        Do not use local cache
  -o OUTDIR, --outdir OUTDIR
                        Output into this directory (or use - to output mailbox contents to stdout)
  -c, --check-newer-revisions
                        Check if newer patch revisions exist
  -n WANTNAME, --mbox-name WANTNAME
                        Filename to name the mbox destination
  -M, --save-as-maildir
                        Save as maildir (avoids mbox format ambiguities)
  -f, --filter-dupes
                        When adding messages to existing maildir, filter out duplicates


*Example*: b4 mbox 20200313231252.64999-1-keescook@chromium.org

b4 am
~~~~~

This command allows retrieving threads from a public-inbox instance and
preparing them for applying to a git repository using the "git am"
command. It will automatically perform the following operations:

* pick the latest submitted version of the series (it can check for
  newer threads using ``-c`` as well)
* check DKIM signatures and patatt attestation on all patches and code
  review messages
* collate all submitted code-review trailers (Reviewed-by, Acked-by,
  etc) and put them into the commit message
* add your own Signed-off-by trailer (with ``-s``)
* reroll series from partial updates (e.g. someone submits a v2 of a
  single patch instead of rerolling the entire series)
* guess where in the tree history the patches belong, if the exact
  commit-base is not specified (with ``-g``)
* prepare the tree for a 3-way merge (with ``-3``)
* cherry-pick a subset of patches from a large series (with ``-P``)

usage:
  b4 am [-h] [-p USEPROJECT] [-m LOCALMBOX] [-C] [-o OUTDIR] [-c] [-n WANTNAME] [-M] [-v WANTVER] [-t] [-S] [-T] [-s] [-l] [-P CHERRYPICK] [--cc-trailers] [--no-parent] [--allow-unicode-control-chars] [-Q] [-g] [-b GUESSBRANCH [GUESSBRANCH ...]] [--guess-lookback GUESSDAYS] [-3] [--no-cover] [--no-partial-reroll] [msgid]

positional arguments:
  msgid                 Message ID to process, or pipe a raw message

options:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  -p USEPROJECT, --use-project USEPROJECT
                        Use a specific project instead of default (linux-mm, linux-hardening, etc)
  -m LOCALMBOX, --use-local-mbox LOCALMBOX
                        Instead of grabbing a thread from lore, process this mbox file (or - for stdin)
  -C, --no-cache
                        Do not use local cache
  -o OUTDIR, --outdir OUTDIR
                        Output into this directory (or use - to output mailbox contents to stdout)
  -c, --check-newer-revisions
                        Check if newer patch revisions exist
  -n WANTNAME, --mbox-name WANTNAME
                        Filename to name the mbox destination
  -M, --save-as-maildir
                        Save as maildir (avoids mbox format ambiguities)
  -v WANTVER, --use-version WANTVER
                        Get a specific version of the patch/series
  -t, --apply-cover-trailers
                        Apply trailers sent to the cover letter to all patches
  -S, --sloppy-trailers
                        Apply trailers without email address match checking
  -T, --no-add-trailers
                        Do not add or sort any trailers
  -s, --add-my-sob
                        Add your own signed-off-by to every patch
  -l, --add-link
                        Add a Link: with message-id lookup URL to every patch
  -P CHERRYPICK, --cherry-pick CHERRYPICK
                        Cherry-pick a subset of patches (e.g. "-P 1-2,4,6-", "-P _" to use just the msgid specified, or "-P *globbing*" to match on commit subject)
  --cc-trailers
                        Copy all Cc'd addresses into Cc: trailers
  --no-parent
                        Break thread at the msgid specified and ignore any parent messages
  --allow-unicode-control-chars
                        Allow unicode control characters (very rarely legitimate)
  -Q, --quilt-ready
                        Save patches in a quilt-ready folder
  -g, --guess-base
                        Try to guess the base of the series (if not specified)

  -b GUESSBRANCH [GUESSBRANCH ...], --guess-branch GUESSBRANCH [GUESSBRANCH ...]
                        When guessing base, restrict to this branch (use with -g)

  --guess-lookback GUESSDAYS
                        When guessing base, go back this many days from the patch date (default: 2 weeks)
  -3, --prep-3way
                        Prepare for a 3-way merge (tries to ensure that all index blobs exist by making a fake commit range)
  --no-cover
                        Do not save the cover letter (on by default when using -o -)
  --no-partial-reroll
                        Do not reroll partial series when detected

*Example*: b4 am 20200313231252.64999-1-keescook@chromium.org

b4 shazam
~~~~~~~~~

This is very similar to **b4 am**, but will also apply patches
directly to the current git tree using ``git am``. Alternatively, when
used with ``-H``, it can fetch the patch series into ``FETCH_HEAD`` as
if it were a pull request, so it can be reviewed and merged. In this
case, the cover letter is used as a template for the merge commit.

If you want to automatically invoke git-merge, you can use ``-M``
instead of ``-H``.

usage:
  b4 shazam [-h] [-p USEPROJECT] [-m LOCALMBOX] [-C] [-v WANTVER] [-t] [-S] [-T] [-s] [-l] [-P CHERRYPICK] [--cc-trailers] [--no-parent] [--allow-unicode-control-chars] [-H | -M] [--guess-lookback GUESSDAYS] [msgid]

positional arguments:
  msgid                 Message ID to process, or pipe a raw message

options:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  -p USEPROJECT, --use-project USEPROJECT
                        Use a specific project instead of default (linux-mm, linux-hardening, etc)
  -m LOCALMBOX, --use-local-mbox LOCALMBOX
                        Instead of grabbing a thread from lore, process this mbox file (or - for stdin)
  -C, --no-cache        Do not use local cache
  -v WANTVER, --use-version WANTVER
                        Get a specific version of the patch/series
  -t, --apply-cover-trailers
                        Apply trailers sent to the cover letter to all patches
  -S, --sloppy-trailers
                        Apply trailers without email address match checking
  -T, --no-add-trailers
                        Do not add or sort any trailers
  -s, --add-my-sob      Add your own signed-off-by to every patch
  -l, --add-link        Add a Link: with message-id lookup URL to every patch
  -P CHERRYPICK, --cherry-pick CHERRYPICK
                        Cherry-pick a subset of patches (e.g. "-P 1-2,4,6-", "-P _" to use just the msgid specified, or "-P *globbing*" to match on commit subject)
  --cc-trailers         Copy all Cc'd addresses into Cc: trailers
  --no-parent           Break thread at the msgid specified and ignore any parent messages
  --allow-unicode-control-chars
                        Allow unicode control characters (very rarely legitimate)
  -H, --make-fetch-head
                        Attempt to treat series as a pull request and fetch it into FETCH_HEAD
  -M, --merge
                        Attempt to merge series as if it were a pull request (execs git-merge)
  --guess-lookback GUESSDAYS
                        (use with -H or -M) When guessing base, go back this many days from the patch date (default: 3 weeks)

*Example*: b4 shazam -H 20200313231252.64999-1-keescook@chromium.org

b4 attest
~~~~~~~~~
.. note::

   **This subcommand is deprecated and will be removed in a future
   version of b4.**

   This functionality is now implemented via an auxiliary library called
   "patatt". You may instead install and use patatt directly with the
   same results.

usage:
  b4 attest [-h] patchfile [patchfile ...]

positional arguments:
  patchfile             Patches to attest

*Example*: b4 attest outgoing/\*.patch

b4 pr
~~~~~
This command is for working with pull requests submitted using
``git-request-pull``.

usage:
  command.py pr [-h] [-g GITDIR] [-b BRANCH] [-c] [-e] [-o OUTMBOX] [msgid]

positional arguments:
  msgid                 Message ID to process, or pipe a raw message

optional arguments:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  -g GITDIR, --gitdir GITDIR
                        Operate on this git tree instead of current dir
  -b BRANCH, --branch BRANCH
                        Check out FETCH_HEAD into this branch after fetching
  -c, --check           Check if pull request has already been applied
  -e, --explode         Convert a pull request into an mbox full of patches
  -o OUTMBOX, --output-mbox OUTMBOX
                        Save exploded messages into this mailbox (default: msgid.mbx)
  -l, --retrieve-links  Attempt to retrieve any Link: URLs (use with -e)
  -f MAILFROM, --from-addr MAILFROM
                        Use this From: in exploded messages (use with -e)

*Example*: b4 pr 202003292120.2BDCB41@keescook

b4 ty
~~~~~
usage:
  b4 ty [-h] [-g GITDIR] [-o OUTDIR] [-l] [-t THANK_FOR [THANK_FOR ...]] [-d DISCARD [DISCARD ...]] [-a] [-b BRANCH] [--since SINCE] [-S] [--dry-run]

optional arguments:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  -g GITDIR, --gitdir GITDIR
                        Operate on this git tree instead of current dir
  -o OUTDIR, --outdir OUTDIR
                        Write thanks files into this dir (default=.)
  -l, --list            List pull requests and patch series you have retrieved
  -t THANK_FOR, --thank-for THANK_FOR
                        Generate thankyous for specific entries from -l (e.g.: 1,3-5,7-; or "all")
  -d DISCARD, --discard DISCARD
                        Discard specific messages from -l (e.g.: 1,3-5,7-; or "all")
  -a, --auto            Use the Auto-Thankanator gun to figure out what got applied/merged
  -b BRANCH, --branch BRANCH
                        The branch to check against, instead of current
  --since SINCE         The --since option to use when auto-matching patches (default=1.week)
  -S, --send-email      Send email instead of writing out .thanks files
  --dry-run             Print out emails instead of sending them

.. note::

   To send mails directly using -S, you should have a configured
   [sendemail] section somewhere in your applicable git configuration
   files (global or in-tree).

*Example*: b4 ty -aS --dry-run

b4 diff
~~~~~~~
usage:
  b4 diff [-h] [-g GITDIR] [-p USEPROJECT] [-C] [-v WANTVERS [WANTVERS ...]] [-n] [-o OUTDIFF] [-c] [-m AMBOX AMBOX] [msgid]

positional arguments:
  msgid                 Message ID to process, pipe a raw message, or use -m

optional arguments:

  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  -g GITDIR, --gitdir GITDIR
                        Operate on this git tree instead of current dir
  -p USEPROJECT, --use-project USEPROJECT
                        Use a specific project instead of guessing (linux-mm, linux-hardening, etc)
  -C, --no-cache        Do not use local cache

  -v WANTVERS [WANTVERS ...], --compare-versions WANTVERS [WANTVERS ...]
                        Compare specific versions instead of latest and one before that, e.g. -v 3 5

  -n, --no-diff
                        Do not generate a diff, just show the command to do it

  -o OUTDIFF, --output-diff OUTDIFF
                        Save diff into this file instead of outputting to stdout
  -c, --color
                        Force color output even when writing to file

  -m AMBOX AMBOX, --compare-am-mboxes AMBOX AMBOX
                        Compare two mbx files prepared with "b4 am"

*Example*: b4 diff 20200526205322.23465-1-mic@digikod.net

b4 kr
~~~~~
usage:
  b4 kr [-h] [-p USEPROJECT] [-m LOCALMBOX] [-C] [--show-keys] [msgid]

positional arguments:
  msgid                 Message ID to process, or pipe a raw message

optional arguments:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  -p USEPROJECT, --use-project USEPROJECT
                        Use a specific project instead of guessing (linux-mm, linux-hardening, etc)
  -m LOCALMBOX, --use-local-mbox LOCALMBOX
                        Instead of grabbing a thread from lore, process this mbox file (or - for stdin)
  -C, --no-cache        Do not use local cache
  --show-keys           Show all developer keys from the thread

*Example*: b4 kr --show-keys 20210521184811.617875-1-konstantin@linuxfoundation.org

CONFIGURATION
-------------
B4 configuration is handled via git-config(1), so you can store it in
either the toplevel $HOME/.gitconfig file, or in a per-repository
.git/config file if your workflow changes per project.

Default configuration, with explanations::

   [b4]
      # Where to look up threads by message id
      midmask = https://lore.kernel.org/r/%s
      #
      # When recording Link: trailers, use this mask
      linkmask = https://lore.kernel.org/r/%s
      #
      # When duplicate messages exist, use the following order to decide
      # which list-id is likely to have the least mangled version. Default
      # preference is listed below, in the order of lists most likely to
      # preserve proper DKIM validation. Use shell-style globbing and
      # separate multiple entries with commas. Must end with ,*
      listid-preference = *.feeds.kernel.org,*.linux.dev,*.kernel.org,*
      #
      # Set to "yes" to save maildirs instead of mailboxes
      # This will help avoid mboxo/mboxrd format inconsistencies between
      # public-inbox, python, and git
      save-maildirs = no
      #
      # When processing thread trailers, sort them in this order.
      # Can use shell-globbing and must end with ,*
      # Some sorting orders:
      #trailer-order=link*,fixes*,cc*,reported*,suggested*,original*,co-*,tested*,reviewed*,acked*,signed-off*,*
      #trailer-order = fixes*,reported*,suggested*,original*,co-*,signed-off*,tested*,reviewed*,acked*,cc*,link*,*
      trailer-order = _preserve_
      #
      # Attestation-checking configuration parameters
      # off: do not bother checking attestation
      # check: print an attaboy when attestation is found
      # softfail: print a warning when no attestation found
      # hardfail: exit with an error when no attestation found
      attestation-policy = softfail
      #
      # Perform DKIM attestation?
      attestation-check-dkim = yes
      #
      # When showing attestation check results, do you like "fancy" (color, unicode)
      # or simple markers?
      attestation-checkmarks = fancy
      #
      # How long before we consider attestation to be too old?
      attestation-staleness-days = 30
      #
      # You can point this at a non-default home dir, if you like, or leave out to
      # use the OS default.
      attestation-gnupghome = None
      #
      # If this is not set, we'll use what we find in
      # git-config for gpg.program; and if that's not set,
      # we'll use "gpg" and hope for the best
      gpgbin = None
      #
      # How long to keep downloaded threads in cache (minutes)?
      cache-expire = 10
      # Used when creating summaries for b4 ty, and can be set to a value like
      # thanks-commit-url-mask = https://git.kernel.org/username/c/%.12s
      # See this page for more info on convenient git.kernel.org shorterners:
      # https://korg.wiki.kernel.org/userdoc/git-url-shorterners
      thanks-commit-url-mask = None
      # See thanks-pr-template.example. If not set, a default template will be used.
      thanks-pr-template = None
      # See thanks-am-template.example. If not set, a default template will be used.
      thanks-am-template = None
      # additional flags to pass to "git am" when we run "b4 shazam"
      shazam-am-flags = None
      # additional flags to pass to "git merge" when we run "b4 shazam -M"
      shazam-merge-flags = --signoff
      # Used when preparing merge messages from cover letters. See shazam-merge-template.example
      shazam-merge-template = None
      # Use to exclude certain mail addresses from ever being added to auto-generated mail
      # Separate multiple entries using comma (spaces are ignored), shell-style globbing accepted
      email-exclude = *@codeaurora.org, example@example.com

PROXYING REQUESTS
-----------------
Commands making remote HTTP requests may be configured to use a proxy by
setting the **HTTPS_PROXY** environment variable, as described in
https://docs.python-requests.org/en/latest/user/advanced/#proxies.

SUPPORT
-------
Please email tools@linux.kernel.org with support requests,
or browse the list archive at https://lore.kernel.org/tools.