b4-prep
Prepare and manage a patch series for submission
TLDR
Start a new tracked branch for a series
$ b4 prep -n [topical-branch-name]
Enroll the current branch for b4 management$ b4 prep -e [base-branch]
Seed a new branch from a previously posted series$ b4 prep -F [message-id]
Edit the cover letter in your editor$ b4 prep --edit-cover
Auto-populate To and Cc from maintainers and git history$ b4 prep --auto-to-cc
Run pre-submission checks on the series$ b4 prep --check
SYNOPSIS
b4 prep [options]
DESCRIPTION
b4 prep sets up and maintains a patch series as a dedicated, b4-tracked git branch. After creating or enrolling a branch, you add commits as usual and reorder or amend them with git rebase -i; b4 stores the cover letter and series metadata inside the branch so revisions stay versioned alongside the code.It can build the recipient list automatically from MAINTAINERS files and commit history, validate the series against project conventions, and hand a clean series to b4 send for delivery. Each time you post, b4 records the revision so later submissions are numbered correctly.
PARAMETERS
-n NAME, --new NAME
Create a new b4-tracked branch named NAME for the series.-f POINT, --fork-point POINT
Use POINT as the fork point when creating the new branch.-e [BRANCH], --enroll [BRANCH]
Enroll an existing branch for b4 management, tracking against BRANCH.-F MSGID, --from-thread MSGID
Populate a new branch from a previously posted series.--edit-cover
Open the cover letter in your editor.--show-revision
Show the current tracked revision of the series.--force-revision N
Force the series to revision number N.--auto-to-cc
Collect To and Cc recipients from maintainers and git history.--check
Run b4 and project checks against the series.--cleanup [BRANCH]
Archive and remove a completed prep-tracked branch.
INSTALL
sudo dnf install b4
sudo pacman -S b4
sudo apk add b4
sudo zypper install b4
brew install b4
nix profile install nixpkgs#b4
SEE ALSO
b4(1), b4-send(1), git-rebase(1)