GIT-WRITE-TREE(1)

💖 GIT-WRITE-TREE(1) 💖

ok so bestie, welcome to the git-write-tree glow-up page, straight out of the git(1) manual. buckle up, this one's short but iconic 🎀

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✨ NAME ✨

git-write-tree — literally makes a tree object out of your current index, no cap 🌳

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

git write-tree [--missing-ok] [--prefix=<prefix>/]

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✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

So what it does: it creates a tree object using your current index, and then prints the name of that brand-new tree object to standard output. that's it. that's the whole vibe 💅

🚨 important: the index has to be in a fully merged state. like, no unfinished merge drama, bestie.

Conceptually (and this is the part that eats, fr fr), git write-tree sync()s the contents of your current index into a whole set of tree files. But here's the thing — if you want that tree to actually match what's really sitting in your directory right now, you needed to have done a git update-index phase before you ran git write-tree. the way that ordering matters 😭 like yes it's giving "i forgot a step" energy if you skip it.

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✨ OPTIONS ✨

• --missing-ok — Normally git write-tree makes sure that the objects referenced by the directory actually exist in the object database. This flag turns that check off. so like, no vibe check on your objects 🙈
• --prefix=<prefix>/ — Writes a tree object that represents a subdirectory, <prefix>. Super useful for writing the tree object for a subproject that lives in that named subdirectory. subdirectory tree for the subproject, we love a nested moment 🦋

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✨ GIT ✨

Part of the git(1) suite, your fave family of commands 👑

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ok that's the whole page, you're welcome 💖 this was written for Git 2.56.0, dated 2026-09-27, and that footer energy is brought to you by the git manual, bestie — go forth and write some trees 🌸🫶