GIT-PKGS(1)

📦 version 0.21.0, in nixpkgs unstable

🎀 GIT-PKGS-REPLACE 🎀

okay bestie so you're looking at git-pkgs(1) — the Git Pkgs Manual, section 1, the whole git-pkgs family — and this specific page is all about one lil command that goes by git-pkgs-replace. yes it's giving very "the name is longer than the command" energy. 💅

✨ NAME ✨

git-pkgs-replace — redirect a dependency to a local path, a git ref, or a version. that's it, that's the whole vibe. you're pointing a dep somewhere else for downstream testing, and honestly? iconic. 🦋

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

git-pkgs replace  [version] [flags]

note the double space after replace — that's canon, we do not touch it, we do not "fix" it. 😌

💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

so the whole point, fr fr: you redirect a dependency to an alternative source so you can do downstream testing. like, you want to test your thing against a fork or a local checkout before it goes out into the world. main character energy for your dependency graph, lowkey.

here's how you pick your flavor of redirect:

  • use --path when you've got a local checkout and you want the dep to point right at it 🫶
  • use --git with an optional --ref when your source lives in a git repo — --ref is the branch/tag/revision, so yes you can absolutely point it at fix-branch and live your truth 🌈
  • or just pass a version and it falls through to the package manager's add operation. no cap, it just hands it off.

Examples — these are straight from the source, bestie, copy them exactly:

git-pkgs replace github.com/acme/lib --path ../lib
git-pkgs replace lodash --git https://github.com/fork/lodash --ref fix-branch
git-pkgs replace lodash 4.17.21
git-pkgs replace github.com/acme/lib --drop

see how the --ref fix-branch wrapped onto a new line up there? yeah. in the real page it's one line, and that's what I wrote for you. you're welcome. 💜

✨ OPTIONS ✨

here's every single flag, no skips, no "oops I forgot one", we don't do that here.

  • --drop [default false] — remove an existing replacement. it's the undo button, the "never mind", the anti-redirect. 💀
  • --dry-run [default false] — show what would be run or edited without actually executing it. perfect for when you're feeling brave but like, not that brave. 🙈
  • -e, --ecosystem="" — filter to a specific ecosystem. default is empty string, so it doesn't filter by default.
  • -x, --extra=[] — extra arguments to pass to the package manager. an empty list by default, so you're passing nothing unless you say so. 🍓
  • --git="" — redirect the dependency to a git repository. empty by default.
  • -h, --help [default false] — help for replace. the classic. 👑
  • -m, --manager="" — override the detected package manager, and heads up: this takes precedence over -e. so if you set both, -m wins. periodt. ⭐
  • --path="" — redirect the dependency to a local path. empty by default.
  • --ref="" — the git branch, tag, or revision for --git. it's the buddy of --git, so use them together, iykyk. 🧚
  • -t, --timeout=5m0s — timeout for the replace operation. defaults to 5m0s — that's five minutes, zero seconds, in case the Go duration format was giving you a moment. 💅

🦋 OPTIONS INHERITED FROM PARENT COMMANDS 🦋

these aren't even this command's flags, they're handed down from the parent, and yes we're listing all of them because we are thorough and we ate. 🔥

  • --color="auto" — when to colorize output. the valid values are auto, always, and never. default is auto.
  • --include-submodules [default false] — include git submodules when scanning for manifests. off by default, so submodules stay in their lane unless invited.
  • -p, --pager [default false] — use pager for output. off by default.
  • -q, --quiet [default false] — suppress non-essential output. the "shhh" flag, honestly so real. 🤫

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

  • git-pkgs(1) — go say hi to the parent, bestie, it raised this whole family. 🫶

💜 HISTORY 💜

generated on 28-Oct-2026 by spf13/cobra, fully auto, no human hands. so if anything's weird, blame the generator, not me. 😭 (jk, the generator is serving.)

ngl, the biggest thing to remember: --path for local, --git + --ref for git, a bare version to hand off to the package manager, and --drop when you want it gone. everything else is seasoning. 🎀

okay and finally, the cute sign-off you were promised: this page comes from git-pkgs in the Oct 2026 edition, and yep the whole thing is dated October 2026 — same month and year as that HISTORY line, which honestly is a slay. see you in the group chat, bestie 💖✨

📦 where this page comes from