> > easy to compare with the original commit and distinguish > > branch-only commits from backports.
You can get limited insights by comparing the ChangeLogs of the master branch with a stable branch. But if what you want is a mechanically verifiable assertion of any kind, I can tell you that none exists. Backporting patches is, ultimately, manual developer work. (This is obvious by the fact that developers who have to maintain 6 or 7 backport branches spend a *lot* of time on that.) You may trust or may not trust this developer work, but there is no mechanical way to prove that you can trust it. Bruno