On Fri, 23 Oct 2026 at 08:41, Patrick Steinhardt [off-list ref] wrote:
On Thu, Oct 22, 2026 at 10:28:49PM +0100, Andy Koppe wrote:
quoted
diff --git a/Documentation/glossary-content.adoc b/Documentation/glossary-content.adoc
index 52301a56dd..b2c582254b 100644
--- a/Documentation/glossary-content.adoc
+++ b/Documentation/glossary-content.adoc
@@ -500,9 +500,10 @@ exclude;;
unusual refs.
[[def_pseudoref]]pseudoref::
- A ref that has different semantics than normal refs. These refs can be
- read via normal Git commands, but cannot be written to by commands like
- linkgit:git-update-ref[1].
+ A name that can be used like a <<def_ref,ref>> to refer to
+ <<def_object,objects>>, but that is not stored in the same way as refs.
+ For example, pseudorefs cannot be written by linkgit:git-update-ref[1]
+ or listed by linkgit:git-for-each-ref[1].
As Junio already mentioned, I think we should retain the information
about different semantics.
I also think that the previous guidance around how pseudorefs can be
used is weakened, because now you only list examples of how they cannot
be used. Previously though we explicitly specified that the only
supported operation is reading the refs directly. So instead of giving
examples of how they cannot be used, I think we should continue to list
the few operations that _are_ possible.
Instead of saying that they are different, I tried to describe how
they are different . But, yep, I struggled a bit with that.
In v2, I have added git-log and git-diff as examples of where
pseudorefs can be used like references.
Thanks,
Andy