Git synopsis

Placeholders are spelled in lowercase and enclosed in angle brackets:

• <file>
   --sort=<key>
   --abbrev[=<n>]

• If a placeholder has multiple words, they are separated by dashes:

  ```bash
  <new-branch-name>
    --template=<template-directory>
   ```
  

Possibility of multiple occurrences is indicated by three dots:

• <file>...
   (One or more of <file>.)

Optional parts are enclosed in square brackets:

• [<file>...]
   (Zero or more of <file>.)
   
   --exec-path[=<path>]
   (Option with an optional argument.  Note that the "=" is inside the
   brackets.)
   
   [<patch>...]
   (Zero or more of <patch>.  Note that the dots are inside, not
   outside the brackets.)

Multiple alternatives are indicated with vertical bars:

•  [-q | --quiet]
   [--utf8 | --no-utf8]

• Use spacing around ”|” token(s), but not immediately after opening or before closing a [] or () pair:

  • Do: [-q | --quiet]
  • Don’t: [-q|--quiet]

• Don’t use spacing around ”|” tokens when they’re used to separate the alternate arguments of an option:

  • Do: --track[=(direct|inherit)]
  • Don’t: --track[=(direct | inherit)]

Parentheses are used for grouping:

• 	[(<rev> | <range>)...]

  • (Any number of either <rev> or <range>. Parens are needed to make it clear that ”…” pertains to both <rev> and <range>.)

• ``` bash
    [(-p <parent>)...]
  

  - (Any number of option -p, each with one `<parent>` argument.)
  

•   git remote set-head <name> (-a | -d | <branch>)

   - (One and only one of "`-a`", "`-d`" or "`<branch>`" _must_ (no square brackets) be provided.)
  

• And a somewhat more contrived example:

    --diff-filter=[(A|C|D|M|R|T|U|X|B)...[*]]
  

   - Here "=" is outside the brackets, because "--diff-filter=" is a valid usage.  "*" has its own pair of brackets, because it can (optionally) be specified only when one or more of the letters is also provided.