path: root/man1/git-mergetool.1

'\" t
.\"     Title: git-mergetool
.\"    Author: [FIXME: author] [see http://www.docbook.org/tdg5/en/html/author]
.\" Generator: DocBook XSL Stylesheets vsnapshot <http://docbook.sf.net/>
.\"      Date: 2024-04-12
.\"    Manual: Git Manual
.\"    Source: Git 2.44.0.591.g8f7582d995
.\"  Language: English
.\"
.TH "GIT\-MERGETOOL" "1" "2024\-04\-12" "Git 2\&.44\&.0\&.591\&.g8f7582" "Git Manual"
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.SH "NAME"
git-mergetool \- Run merge conflict resolution tools to resolve merge conflicts
.SH "SYNOPSIS"
.sp
.nf
\fIgit mergetool\fR [\-\-tool=<tool>] [\-y | \-\-[no\-]prompt] [<file>\&...]
.fi
.sp
.SH "DESCRIPTION"
.sp
Use \fBgit mergetool\fR to run one of several merge utilities to resolve merge conflicts\&. It is typically run after \fIgit merge\fR\&.
.sp
If one or more <file> parameters are given, the merge tool program will be run to resolve differences in each file (skipping those without conflicts)\&. Specifying a directory will include all unresolved files in that path\&. If no <file> names are specified, \fIgit mergetool\fR will run the merge tool program on every file with merge conflicts\&.
.SH "OPTIONS"
.PP
\-t <tool>, \-\-tool=<tool>
.RS 4
Use the merge resolution program specified by <tool>\&. Valid values include emerge, gvimdiff, kdiff3, meld, vimdiff, and tortoisemerge\&. Run
\fBgit mergetool \-\-tool\-help\fR
for the list of valid <tool> settings\&.
.sp
If a merge resolution program is not specified,
\fIgit mergetool\fR
will use the configuration variable
\fBmerge\&.tool\fR\&. If the configuration variable
\fBmerge\&.tool\fR
is not set,
\fIgit mergetool\fR
will pick a suitable default\&.
.sp
You can explicitly provide a full path to the tool by setting the configuration variable
\fBmergetool\&.<tool>\&.path\fR\&. For example, you can configure the absolute path to kdiff3 by setting
\fBmergetool\&.kdiff3\&.path\fR\&. Otherwise,
\fIgit mergetool\fR
assumes the tool is available in PATH\&.
.sp
Instead of running one of the known merge tool programs,
\fIgit mergetool\fR
can be customized to run an alternative program by specifying the command line to invoke in a configuration variable
\fBmergetool\&.<tool>\&.cmd\fR\&.
.sp
When
\fIgit mergetool\fR
is invoked with this tool (either through the
\fB\-t\fR
or
\fB\-\-tool\fR
option or the
\fBmerge\&.tool\fR
configuration variable), the configured command line will be invoked with
\fB$BASE\fR
set to the name of a temporary file containing the common base for the merge, if available;
\fB$LOCAL\fR
set to the name of a temporary file containing the contents of the file on the current branch;
\fB$REMOTE\fR
set to the name of a temporary file containing the contents of the file to be merged, and
\fB$MERGED\fR
set to the name of the file to which the merge tool should write the result of the merge resolution\&.
.sp
If the custom merge tool correctly indicates the success of a merge resolution with its exit code, then the configuration variable
\fBmergetool\&.<tool>\&.trustExitCode\fR
can be set to
\fBtrue\fR\&. Otherwise,
\fIgit mergetool\fR
will prompt the user to indicate the success of the resolution after the custom tool has exited\&.
.RE
.PP
\-\-tool\-help
.RS 4
Print a list of merge tools that may be used with
\fB\-\-tool\fR\&.
.RE
.PP
\-y, \-\-no\-prompt
.RS 4
Don\(cqt prompt before each invocation of the merge resolution program\&. This is the default if the merge resolution program is explicitly specified with the
\fB\-\-tool\fR
option or with the
\fBmerge\&.tool\fR
configuration variable\&.
.RE
.PP
\-\-prompt
.RS 4
Prompt before each invocation of the merge resolution program to give the user a chance to skip the path\&.
.RE
.PP
\-g, \-\-gui
.RS 4
When
\fIgit\-mergetool\fR
is invoked with the
\fB\-g\fR
or
\fB\-\-gui\fR
option, the default merge tool will be read from the configured
\fBmerge\&.guitool\fR
variable instead of
\fBmerge\&.tool\fR\&. If
\fBmerge\&.guitool\fR
is not set, we will fallback to the tool configured under
\fBmerge\&.tool\fR\&. This may be autoselected using the configuration variable
\fBmergetool\&.guiDefault\fR\&.
.RE
.PP
\-\-no\-gui
.RS 4
This overrides a previous
\fB\-g\fR
or
\fB\-\-gui\fR
setting or
\fBmergetool\&.guiDefault\fR
configuration and reads the default merge tool from the configured
\fBmerge\&.tool\fR
variable\&.
.RE
.PP
\-O<orderfile>
.RS 4
Process files in the order specified in the <orderfile>, which has one shell glob pattern per line\&. This overrides the
\fBdiff\&.orderFile\fR
configuration variable (see
\fBgit-config\fR(1))\&. To cancel
\fBdiff\&.orderFile\fR, use
\fB\-O/dev/null\fR\&.
.RE
.SH "CONFIGURATION"
.sp
Everything below this line in this section is selectively included from the \fBgit-config\fR(1) documentation\&. The content is the same as what\(cqs found there:
.PP
mergetool\&.<tool>\&.path
.RS 4
Override the path for the given tool\&. This is useful in case your tool is not in the PATH\&.
.RE
.PP
mergetool\&.<tool>\&.cmd
.RS 4
Specify the command to invoke the specified merge tool\&. The specified command is evaluated in shell with the following variables available:
\fIBASE\fR
is the name of a temporary file containing the common base of the files to be merged, if available;
\fILOCAL\fR
is the name of a temporary file containing the contents of the file on the current branch;
\fIREMOTE\fR
is the name of a temporary file containing the contents of the file from the branch being merged;
\fIMERGED\fR
contains the name of the file to which the merge tool should write the results of a successful merge\&.
.RE
.PP
mergetool\&.<tool>\&.hideResolved
.RS 4
Allows the user to override the global
\fBmergetool\&.hideResolved\fR
value for a specific tool\&. See
\fBmergetool\&.hideResolved\fR
for the full description\&.
.RE
.PP
mergetool\&.<tool>\&.trustExitCode
.RS 4
For a custom merge command, specify whether the exit code of the merge command can be used to determine whether the merge was successful\&. If this is not set to true then the merge target file timestamp is checked, and the merge is assumed to have been successful if the file has been updated; otherwise, the user is prompted to indicate the success of the merge\&.
.RE
.PP
mergetool\&.meld\&.hasOutput
.RS 4
Older versions of
\fBmeld\fR
do not support the
\fB\-\-output\fR
option\&. Git will attempt to detect whether
\fBmeld\fR
supports
\fB\-\-output\fR
by inspecting the output of
\fBmeld \-\-help\fR\&. Configuring
\fBmergetool\&.meld\&.hasOutput\fR
will make Git skip these checks and use the configured value instead\&. Setting
\fBmergetool\&.meld\&.hasOutput\fR
to
\fBtrue\fR
tells Git to unconditionally use the
\fB\-\-output\fR
option, and
\fBfalse\fR
avoids using
\fB\-\-output\fR\&.
.RE
.PP
mergetool\&.meld\&.useAutoMerge
.RS 4
When the
\fB\-\-auto\-merge\fR
is given, meld will merge all non\-conflicting parts automatically, highlight the conflicting parts, and wait for user decision\&. Setting
\fBmergetool\&.meld\&.useAutoMerge\fR
to
\fBtrue\fR
tells Git to unconditionally use the
\fB\-\-auto\-merge\fR
option with
\fBmeld\fR\&. Setting this value to
\fBauto\fR
makes git detect whether
\fB\-\-auto\-merge\fR
is supported and will only use
\fB\-\-auto\-merge\fR
when available\&. A value of
\fBfalse\fR
avoids using
\fB\-\-auto\-merge\fR
altogether, and is the default value\&.
.RE
.PP
mergetool\&.<vimdiff variant>\&.layout
.RS 4
Configure the split window layout for vimdiff\(cqs
\fB<variant>\fR, which is any of
\fBvimdiff\fR,
\fBnvimdiff\fR,
\fBgvimdiff\fR\&. Upon launching
\fBgit mergetool\fR
with
\fB\-\-tool=<variant>\fR
(or without
\fB\-\-tool\fR
if
\fBmerge\&.tool\fR
is configured as
\fB<variant>\fR), Git will consult
\fBmergetool\&.<variant>\&.layout\fR
to determine the tool\(cqs layout\&. If the variant\-specific configuration is not available,
\fBvimdiff\fR\*(Aqs is used as fallback\&. If that too is not available, a default layout with 4 windows will be used\&. To configure the layout, see the
\fBBACKEND SPECIFIC HINTS\fR
section\&.
.RE
.PP
mergetool\&.hideResolved
.RS 4
During a merge, Git will automatically resolve as many conflicts as possible and write the
\fIMERGED\fR
file containing conflict markers around any conflicts that it cannot resolve;
\fILOCAL\fR
and
\fIREMOTE\fR
normally represent the versions of the file from before Git\(cqs conflict resolution\&. This flag causes
\fILOCAL\fR
and
\fIREMOTE\fR
to be overwritten so that only the unresolved conflicts are presented to the merge tool\&. Can be configured per\-tool via the
\fBmergetool\&.<tool>\&.hideResolved\fR
configuration variable\&. Defaults to
\fBfalse\fR\&.
.RE
.PP
mergetool\&.keepBackup
.RS 4
After performing a merge, the original file with conflict markers can be saved as a file with a
\fB\&.orig\fR
extension\&. If this variable is set to
\fBfalse\fR
then this file is not preserved\&. Defaults to
\fBtrue\fR
(i\&.e\&. keep the backup files)\&.
.RE
.PP
mergetool\&.keepTemporaries
.RS 4
When invoking a custom merge tool, Git uses a set of temporary files to pass to the tool\&. If the tool returns an error and this variable is set to
\fBtrue\fR, then these temporary files will be preserved; otherwise, they will be removed after the tool has exited\&. Defaults to
\fBfalse\fR\&.
.RE
.PP
mergetool\&.writeToTemp
.RS 4
Git writes temporary
\fIBASE\fR,
\fILOCAL\fR, and
\fIREMOTE\fR
versions of conflicting files in the worktree by default\&. Git will attempt to use a temporary directory for these files when set
\fBtrue\fR\&. Defaults to
\fBfalse\fR\&.
.RE
.PP
mergetool\&.prompt
.RS 4
Prompt before each invocation of the merge resolution program\&.
.RE
.PP
mergetool\&.guiDefault
.RS 4
Set
\fBtrue\fR
to use the
\fBmerge\&.guitool\fR
by default (equivalent to specifying the
\fB\-\-gui\fR
argument), or
\fBauto\fR
to select
\fBmerge\&.guitool\fR
or
\fBmerge\&.tool\fR
depending on the presence of a
\fBDISPLAY\fR
environment variable value\&. The default is
\fBfalse\fR, where the
\fB\-\-gui\fR
argument must be provided explicitly for the
\fBmerge\&.guitool\fR
to be used\&.
.RE
.SH "TEMPORARY FILES"
.sp
\fBgit mergetool\fR creates \fB*\&.orig\fR backup files while resolving merges\&. These are safe to remove once a file has been merged and its \fBgit mergetool\fR session has completed\&.
.sp
Setting the \fBmergetool\&.keepBackup\fR configuration variable to \fBfalse\fR causes \fBgit mergetool\fR to automatically remove the backup files as files are successfully merged\&.
.SH "BACKEND SPECIFIC HINTS"
.SS "vimdiff"
.sp
.it 1 an-trap
.nr an-no-space-flag 1
.nr an-break-flag 1
.br
.ps +1
\fBDescription\fR
.RS 4
.sp
When specifying \fB\-\-tool=vimdiff\fR in \fBgit mergetool\fR Git will open Vim with a 4 windows layout distributed in the following way:
.sp
.if n \{\
.RS 4
.\}
.nf
\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-
|             |           |              |
|   LOCAL     |   BASE    |   REMOTE     |
|             |           |              |
\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-
|                                        |
|                MERGED                  |
|                                        |
\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-
.fi
.if n \{\
.RE
.\}
.sp
\fBLOCAL\fR, \fBBASE\fR and \fBREMOTE\fR are read\-only buffers showing the contents of the conflicting file in specific commits ("commit you are merging into", "common ancestor commit" and "commit you are merging from" respectively)
.sp
\fBMERGED\fR is a writable buffer where you have to resolve the conflicts (using the other read\-only buffers as a reference)\&. Once you are done, save and exit Vim as usual (\fB:wq\fR) or, if you want to abort, exit using \fB:cq\fR\&.
.RE
.sp
.it 1 an-trap
.nr an-no-space-flag 1
.nr an-break-flag 1
.br
.ps +1
\fBLayout configuration\fR
.RS 4
.sp
You can change the windows layout used by Vim by setting configuration variable \fBmergetool\&.vimdiff\&.layout\fR which accepts a string where the following separators have special meaning:
.sp
.RS 4
.ie n \{\
\h'-04'\(bu\h'+03'\c
.\}
.el \{\
.sp -1
.IP \(bu 2.3
.\}
\fB+\fR
is used to "open a new tab"
.RE
.sp
.RS 4
.ie n \{\
\h'-04'\(bu\h'+03'\c
.\}
.el \{\
.sp -1
.IP \(bu 2.3
.\}
\fB,\fR
is used to "open a new vertical split"
.RE
.sp
.RS 4
.ie n \{\
\h'-04'\(bu\h'+03'\c
.\}
.el \{\
.sp -1
.IP \(bu 2.3
.\}
\fB/\fR
is used to "open a new horizontal split"
.RE
.sp
.RS 4
.ie n \{\
\h'-04'\(bu\h'+03'\c
.\}
.el \{\
.sp -1
.IP \(bu 2.3
.\}
\fB@\fR
is used to indicate the file containing the final version after solving the conflicts\&. If not present,
\fBMERGED\fR
will be used by default\&.
.RE
.sp
The precedence of the operators is as follows (you can use parentheses to change it):
.sp
.if n \{\
.RS 4
.\}
.nf
`@` > `+` > `/` > `,`
.fi
.if n \{\
.RE
.\}
.sp
Let\(cqs see some examples to understand how it works:
.sp
.RS 4
.ie n \{\
\h'-04'\(bu\h'+03'\c
.\}
.el \{\
.sp -1
.IP \(bu 2.3
.\}
\fBlayout = "(LOCAL,BASE,REMOTE)/MERGED"\fR
.sp
This is exactly the same as the default layout we have already seen\&.
.sp
Note that
\fB/\fR
has precedence over
\fB,\fR
and thus the parenthesis are not needed in this case\&. The next layout definition is equivalent:
.sp
.if n \{\
.RS 4
.\}
.nf
layout = "LOCAL,BASE,REMOTE / MERGED"
.fi
.if n \{\
.RE
.\}
.RE
.sp
.RS 4
.ie n \{\
\h'-04'\(bu\h'+03'\c
.\}
.el \{\
.sp -1
.IP \(bu 2.3
.\}
\fBlayout = "LOCAL,MERGED,REMOTE"\fR
.sp
If, for some reason, we are not interested in the
\fBBASE\fR
buffer\&.
.sp
.if n \{\
.RS 4
.\}
.nf
\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-
|             |           |              |
|             |           |              |
|   LOCAL     |   MERGED  |   REMOTE     |
|             |           |              |
|             |           |              |
\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-
.fi
.if n \{\
.RE
.\}
.RE
.sp
.RS 4
.ie n \{\
\h'-04'\(bu\h'+03'\c
.\}
.el \{\
.sp -1
.IP \(bu 2.3
.\}
\fBlayout = "MERGED"\fR
.sp
Only the
\fBMERGED\fR
buffer will be shown\&. Note, however, that all the other ones are still loaded in vim, and you can access them with the "buffers" command\&.
.sp
.if n \{\
.RS 4
.\}
.nf
\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-
|                                        |
|                                        |
|                 MERGED                 |
|                                        |
|                                        |
\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-
.fi
.if n \{\
.RE
.\}
.RE
.sp
.RS 4
.ie n \{\
\h'-04'\(bu\h'+03'\c
.\}
.el \{\
.sp -1
.IP \(bu 2.3
.\}
\fBlayout = "@LOCAL,REMOTE"\fR
.sp
When
\fBMERGED\fR
is not present in the layout, you must "mark" one of the buffers with an asterisk\&. That will become the buffer you need to edit and save after resolving the conflicts\&.
.sp
.if n \{\
.RS 4
.\}
.nf
\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-
|                   |                    |
|                   |                    |
|                   |                    |
|     LOCAL         |    REMOTE          |
|                   |                    |
|                   |                    |
|                   |                    |
\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-
.fi
.if n \{\
.RE
.\}
.RE
.sp
.RS 4
.ie n \{\
\h'-04'\(bu\h'+03'\c
.\}
.el \{\
.sp -1
.IP \(bu 2.3
.\}
\fBlayout = "LOCAL,BASE,REMOTE / MERGED + BASE,LOCAL + BASE,REMOTE"\fR
.sp
Three tabs will open: the first one is a copy of the default layout, while the other two only show the differences between (\fBBASE\fR
and
\fBLOCAL\fR) and (\fBBASE\fR
and
\fBREMOTE\fR) respectively\&.
.sp
.if n \{\
.RS 4
.\}
.nf
\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-
| <TAB #1> |  TAB #2  |  TAB #3  |       |
\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-
|             |           |              |
|   LOCAL     |   BASE    |   REMOTE     |
|             |           |              |
\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-
|                                        |
|                MERGED                  |
|                                        |
\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-
.fi
.if n \{\
.RE
.\}
.sp
.if n \{\
.RS 4
.\}
.nf
\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-
|  TAB #1  | <TAB #2> |  TAB #3  |       |
\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-
|                   |                    |
|                   |                    |
|                   |                    |
|     BASE          |    LOCAL           |
|                   |                    |
|                   |                    |
|                   |                    |
\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-
.fi
.if n \{\
.RE
.\}
.sp
.if n \{\
.RS 4
.\}
.nf
\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-
|  TAB #1  |  TAB #2  | <TAB #3> |       |
\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-
|                   |                    |
|                   |                    |
|                   |                    |
|     BASE          |    REMOTE          |
|                   |                    |
|                   |                    |
|                   |                    |
\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-
.fi
.if n \{\
.RE
.\}
.RE
.sp
.RS 4
.ie n \{\
\h'-04'\(bu\h'+03'\c
.\}
.el \{\
.sp -1
.IP \(bu 2.3
.\}
\fBlayout = "LOCAL,BASE,REMOTE / MERGED + BASE,LOCAL + BASE,REMOTE + (LOCAL/BASE/REMOTE),MERGED"\fR
.sp
Same as the previous example, but adds a fourth tab with the same information as the first tab, with a different layout\&.
.sp
.if n \{\
.RS 4
.\}
.nf
\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-
|  TAB #1  |  TAB #2  |  TAB #3  | <TAB #4> |
\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-
|       LOCAL         |                     |
|\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-|                     |
|       BASE          |        MERGED       |
|\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-|                     |
|       REMOTE        |                     |
\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-
.fi
.if n \{\
.RE
.\}
.sp
Note how in the third tab definition we need to use parentheses to make
\fB,\fR
have precedence over
\fB/\fR\&.
.RE
.RE
.sp
.it 1 an-trap
.nr an-no-space-flag 1
.nr an-break-flag 1
.br
.ps +1
\fBVariants\fR
.RS 4
.sp
Instead of \fB\-\-tool=vimdiff\fR, you can also use one of these other variants:
.sp
.RS 4
.ie n \{\
\h'-04'\(bu\h'+03'\c
.\}
.el \{\
.sp -1
.IP \(bu 2.3
.\}
\fB\-\-tool=gvimdiff\fR, to open gVim instead of Vim\&.
.RE
.sp
.RS 4
.ie n \{\
\h'-04'\(bu\h'+03'\c
.\}
.el \{\
.sp -1
.IP \(bu 2.3
.\}
\fB\-\-tool=nvimdiff\fR, to open Neovim instead of Vim\&.
.RE
.sp
When using these variants, in order to specify a custom layout you will have to set configuration variables \fBmergetool\&.gvimdiff\&.layout\fR and \fBmergetool\&.nvimdiff\&.layout\fR instead of \fBmergetool\&.vimdiff\&.layout\fR (though the latter will be used as fallback if the variant\-specific one is not set)\&.
.sp
In addition, for backwards compatibility with previous Git versions, you can also append \fB1\fR, \fB2\fR or \fB3\fR to either \fBvimdiff\fR or any of the variants (ex: \fBvimdiff3\fR, \fBnvimdiff1\fR, etc\&...) to use a predefined layout\&. In other words, using \fB\-\-tool=[g,n,]vimdiffx\fR is the same as using \fB\-\-tool=[g,n,]vimdiff\fR and setting configuration variable \fBmergetool\&.[g,n,]vimdiff\&.layout\fR to\&...
.sp
.RS 4
.ie n \{\
\h'-04'\(bu\h'+03'\c
.\}
.el \{\
.sp -1
.IP \(bu 2.3
.\}
\fBx=1\fR:
\fB"@LOCAL, REMOTE"\fR
.RE
.sp
.RS 4
.ie n \{\
\h'-04'\(bu\h'+03'\c
.\}
.el \{\
.sp -1
.IP \(bu 2.3
.\}
\fBx=2\fR:
\fB"LOCAL, MERGED, REMOTE"\fR
.RE
.sp
.RS 4
.ie n \{\
\h'-04'\(bu\h'+03'\c
.\}
.el \{\
.sp -1
.IP \(bu 2.3
.\}
\fBx=3\fR:
\fB"MERGED"\fR
.RE
.sp
Example: using \fB\-\-tool=gvimdiff2\fR will open \fBgvim\fR with three columns (LOCAL, MERGED and REMOTE)\&.
.RE
.SH "GIT"
.sp
Part of the \fBgit\fR(1) suite