 <p>The <a href="http://stackoverflow.com/a/21954767/1728537">first answer</a> is not completely correct. In the context of <code>git-add</code>, the <code>:/</code> cannot be a revision. It is a <em>pathspec</em>. See <a href="http://stackoverflow.com/a/22049939/1728537">my answer</a> to the related question "<a href="http://stackoverflow.com/questions/22047909/what-does-git-add-a-do">What does &quot;git add -A :/&quot; do?</a>".</p> <p><em>pathspec</em> is defined in <a href="https://www.kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/gitglossary.html" rel="nofollow">gitglossary(7)</a>.</p>