diff --git a/CHANGELOG b/CHANGELOG
index ec018fb3b2..317dc8ad27 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG
+++ b/CHANGELOG
@@ -1,5 +1,9 @@
 git-annex (10.20230408) UNRELEASED; urgency=medium
 
+  * Split out two new commands, git-annex pull and git-annex push.
+    Those plus a git commit are equivilant to git-annex sync.
+    (Note that the new commands default to syncing content, unless
+    annex.synccontent is explicitly set to false.)
   * Many commands now quote filenames that contain unusual characters the
     same way that git does, to avoid exposing control characters to the terminal.
   * Support core.quotePath, which can be set to false to display utf8
diff --git a/CmdLine/GitAnnex.hs b/CmdLine/GitAnnex.hs
index 7c1dec0663..5917606d64 100644
--- a/CmdLine/GitAnnex.hs
+++ b/CmdLine/GitAnnex.hs
@@ -100,6 +100,8 @@ import qualified Command.Ungroup
 import qualified Command.Config
 import qualified Command.Vicfg
 import qualified Command.Sync
+import qualified Command.Pull
+import qualified Command.Push
 import qualified Command.Mirror
 import qualified Command.AddUrl
 import qualified Command.ImportFeed
@@ -145,6 +147,8 @@ cmds testoptparser testrunner mkbenchmarkgenerator = map addGitAnnexCommonOption
 	, Command.Unlock.editcmd
 	, Command.Lock.cmd
 	, Command.Sync.cmd
+	, Command.Pull.cmd
+	, Command.Push.cmd
 	, Command.Mirror.cmd
 	, Command.AddUrl.cmd
 	, Command.ImportFeed.cmd
diff --git a/Command/Pull.hs b/Command/Pull.hs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..396bc14e54
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Command/Pull.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+{- git-annex command
+ -
+ - Copyright 2023 Joey Hess <id@joeyh.name>
+ -
+ - Licensed under the GNU AGPL version 3 or higher.
+ -}
+
+module Command.Pull (cmd) where
+
+import Command
+import Command.Sync hiding (cmd)
+
+cmd :: Command
+cmd = withAnnexOptions [jobsOption, backendOption] $
+	command "pull" SectionCommon 
+		"pull content from remotes"
+		(paramRepeating paramRemote) (seek <--< optParser PullMode)
diff --git a/Command/Push.hs b/Command/Push.hs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..f4bcc651d4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Command/Push.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+{- git-annex command
+ -
+ - Copyright 2023 Joey Hess <id@joeyh.name>
+ -
+ - Licensed under the GNU AGPL version 3 or higher.
+ -}
+
+module Command.Push (cmd) where
+
+import Command
+import Command.Sync hiding (cmd)
+
+cmd :: Command
+cmd = withAnnexOptions [jobsOption, backendOption] $
+	command "push" SectionCommon 
+		"push content to remotes"
+		(paramRepeating paramRemote) (seek <--< optParser PushMode)
diff --git a/Command/Sync.hs b/Command/Sync.hs
index def9bef8fe..c3e3473392 100644
--- a/Command/Sync.hs
+++ b/Command/Sync.hs
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
 
 module Command.Sync (
 	cmd,
+	seek,
 	CurrBranch,
 	mergeConfig,
 	merge,
@@ -23,8 +24,10 @@ module Command.Sync (
 	updateBranch,
 	updateBranches,
 	seekExportContent,
+	optParser,
 	parseUnrelatedHistoriesOption,
 	SyncOptions(..),
+	OperationMode(..),
 ) where
 
 import Command
@@ -73,6 +76,7 @@ import Annex.CurrentBranch
 import Annex.Import
 import Annex.CheckIgnore
 import Types.FileMatcher
+import Types.GitConfig
 import qualified Database.Export as Export
 import Utility.Bloom
 import Utility.OptParse
@@ -88,7 +92,10 @@ cmd :: Command
 cmd = withAnnexOptions [jobsOption, backendOption] $
 	command "sync" SectionCommon 
 		"synchronize local repository with remotes"
-		(paramRepeating paramRemote) (seek <--< optParser)
+		(paramRepeating paramRemote) (seek <--< optParser SyncMode)
+
+data OperationMode = SyncMode | PullMode | PushMode
+	deriving (Eq, Show)
 
 data SyncOptions = SyncOptions
 	{ syncWith :: CmdParams
@@ -106,6 +113,7 @@ data SyncOptions = SyncOptions
 	, keyOptions :: Maybe KeyOptions
 	, resolveMergeOverride :: Bool
 	, allowUnrelatedHistories :: Bool
+	, operationMode :: OperationMode
 	}
 
 instance Default SyncOptions where
@@ -125,10 +133,11 @@ instance Default SyncOptions where
 		, keyOptions = Nothing
 		, resolveMergeOverride = False
 		, allowUnrelatedHistories = False
+		, operationMode = SyncMode
 		}
 
-optParser :: CmdParamsDesc -> Parser SyncOptions
-optParser desc = SyncOptions
+optParser :: OperationMode -> CmdParamsDesc -> Parser SyncOptions
+optParser mode desc = SyncOptions
 	<$> (many $ argument str
 		( metavar desc
 		<> completeRemotes
@@ -136,30 +145,36 @@ optParser desc = SyncOptions
 	<*> switch 
 		( long "only-annex"
 		<> short 'a'
-		<> help "only sync git-annex branch and annexed file contents"
+		<> help "do not operate on git branches"
 		)
 	<*> switch 
 		( long "not-only-annex"
-		<> help "sync git branches as well as annex"
+		<> help "operate on git branches as well as annex"
 		)
-	<*> switch
+	<*> unlesssync False (switch
 		( long "commit"
 		<> help "commit changes to git"
-		)
-	<*> switch
+		))
+	<*> unlesssync True (switch
 		( long "no-commit"
 		<> help "avoid git commit" 
-		)
-	<*> optional (strOption
+		))
+	<*> unlesssync Nothing (optional (strOption
 		( long "message" <> short 'm' <> metavar "MSG"
 		<> help "commit message"
-		))
-	<*> invertableSwitch "pull" True
-		( help "avoid git pulls from remotes" 
-		)
-	<*> invertableSwitch "push" True
-		( help "avoid git pushes to remotes" 
-		)
+		)))
+	<*> case mode of
+		SyncMode -> invertableSwitch "pull" True
+			( help "avoid git pulls from remotes" 
+			)
+		PullMode -> pure True
+		PushMode -> pure False
+	<*> case mode of
+		SyncMode -> invertableSwitch "push" True
+			( help "avoid git pushes to remotes" 
+			)
+		PullMode -> pure False
+		PushMode -> pure True
 	<*> switch 
 		( long "content"
 		<> help "transfer annexed file contents" 
@@ -174,15 +189,24 @@ optParser desc = SyncOptions
 		<> help "transfer contents of annexed files in a given location"
 		<> metavar paramPath
 		))
-	<*> switch
+	<*> unlesssync False (switch
 		( long "cleanup"
 		<> help "remove synced/ branches from previous sync"
-		)
+		))
 	<*> optional parseAllOption
-	<*> invertableSwitch "resolvemerge" True
-		( help "do not automatically resolve merge conflicts"
-		)
-	<*> parseUnrelatedHistoriesOption
+	<*> case mode of
+		PushMode -> pure False
+		_ -> invertableSwitch "resolvemerge" True
+			( help "do not automatically resolve merge conflicts"
+			)
+	<*> case mode of
+		PushMode -> pure False
+		_ -> parseUnrelatedHistoriesOption
+	<*> pure mode
+  where
+	unlesssync v a = case mode of
+		SyncMode -> a
+		_ -> pure v
 
 parseUnrelatedHistoriesOption :: Parser Bool
 parseUnrelatedHistoriesOption = 
@@ -209,6 +233,7 @@ instance DeferredParseClass SyncOptions where
 		<*> pure (keyOptions v)
 		<*> pure (resolveMergeOverride v)
 		<*> pure (allowUnrelatedHistories v)
+		<*> pure (operationMode v)
 
 seek :: SyncOptions -> CommandSeek
 seek o = do
@@ -241,7 +266,7 @@ seek' o = do
 				[ [ commit o ]
 				, [ withbranch (mergeLocal mc o) ]
 				, map (withbranch . pullRemote o mc) gitremotes
-				,  [ mergeAnnex ]
+				, [ mergeAnnex ]
 				]
 			
 			content <- shouldSyncContent o
@@ -794,7 +819,11 @@ seekSyncContent o rs currbranch = do
 		in seekFiltered (const (pure True)) filterer $
 			seekHelper id ww (LsFiles.inRepoOrBranch origbranch) l 
 
-	ww = WarnUnmatchLsFiles "sync"
+	ww = WarnUnmatchLsFiles $
+		case operationMode o of
+			SyncMode -> "sync"
+			PullMode -> "pull"
+			PushMode -> "push"
 
 	gofile bloom mvar _ f k = 
 		go (Right bloom) mvar (AssociatedFile (Just f)) k
@@ -805,7 +834,7 @@ seekSyncContent o rs currbranch = do
 	go ebloom mvar af k = do
 		let ai = OnlyActionOn k (ActionItemKey k)
 		startingNoMessage ai $ do
-			whenM (syncFile ebloom rs af k) $
+			whenM (syncFile o ebloom rs af k) $
 				void $ liftIO $ tryPutMVar mvar ()
 			next $ return True
 
@@ -828,8 +857,8 @@ seekSyncContent o rs currbranch = do
  -
  - Returns True if any file transfers were made.
  -}
-syncFile :: Either (Maybe (Bloom Key)) (Key -> Annex ()) -> [Remote] -> AssociatedFile -> Key -> Annex Bool
-syncFile ebloom rs af k = do
+syncFile :: SyncOptions -> Either (Maybe (Bloom Key)) (Key -> Annex ()) -> [Remote] -> AssociatedFile -> Key -> Annex Bool
+syncFile o ebloom rs af k = do
 	inhere <- inAnnex k
 	locs <- map Remote.uuid <$> Remote.keyPossibilities k
 	let (have, lack) = partition (\r -> Remote.uuid r `elem` locs) rs
@@ -866,7 +895,7 @@ syncFile ebloom rs af k = do
 	return (got || not (null putrs))
   where
 	wantget have inhere = allM id 
-		[ pure (maybe True pullOption o)
+		[ pure (pullOption o)
 		, pure (not $ null have)
 		, pure (not inhere)
 		, wantGet True (Just k) af
@@ -880,7 +909,7 @@ syncFile ebloom rs af k = do
 			next $ return True
 
 	wantput r
-		| pushOption o = Just False = return False
+		| pushOption o == False = return False
 		| Remote.readonly r || remoteAnnexReadOnly (Remote.gitconfig r) = return False
 		| isThirdPartyPopulated r = return False
 		| otherwise = wantGetBy True (Just k) af (Remote.uuid r)
@@ -1011,8 +1040,19 @@ cleanupRemote remote (Just b, _) =
 shouldSyncContent :: SyncOptions -> Annex Bool
 shouldSyncContent o
 	| noContentOption o = pure False
+	-- For git-annex pull and git-annex push, 
+	-- annex.syncontent defaults to True unless set
+	| operationMode o /= SyncMode = annexsynccontent True
 	| contentOption o || not (null (contentOfOption o)) = pure True
-	| otherwise = getGitConfigVal annexSyncContent <||> onlyAnnex o
+	-- For git-annex sync, 
+	-- annex.syncontent defaults to False unless set
+	| otherwise = annexsynccontent False <||> onlyAnnex o
+  where
+	annexsynccontent d = 
+		getGitConfigVal' annexSyncContent >>= \case
+			HasGlobalConfig (Just c) -> return c
+			HasGitConfig (Just c) -> return c
+			_ -> return d
 
 notOnlyAnnex :: SyncOptions -> Annex Bool
 notOnlyAnnex o = not <$> onlyAnnex o
diff --git a/Types/GitConfig.hs b/Types/GitConfig.hs
index ea7388368b..833db43c0f 100644
--- a/Types/GitConfig.hs
+++ b/Types/GitConfig.hs
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ data GitConfig = GitConfig
 	, annexHttpHeadersCommand :: Maybe String
 	, annexAutoCommit :: GlobalConfigurable Bool
 	, annexResolveMerge :: GlobalConfigurable Bool
-	, annexSyncContent :: GlobalConfigurable Bool
+	, annexSyncContent :: GlobalConfigurable (Maybe Bool)
 	, annexSyncOnlyAnnex :: GlobalConfigurable Bool
 	, annexDebug :: Bool
 	, annexDebugFilter :: Maybe String
@@ -181,7 +181,7 @@ extractGitConfig configsource r = GitConfig
 		getmaybebool (annexConfig "autocommit")
 	, annexResolveMerge = configurable True $ 
 		getmaybebool (annexConfig "resolvemerge")
-	, annexSyncContent = configurable False $ 
+	, annexSyncContent = configurablemaybe $ 
 		getmaybebool (annexConfig "synccontent")
 	, annexSyncOnlyAnnex = configurable False $ 
 		getmaybebool (annexConfig "synconlyannex")
@@ -287,6 +287,11 @@ extractGitConfig configsource r = GitConfig
 	configurable _ (Just v) = case configsource of
 		FromGitConfig -> HasGitConfig v
 		FromGlobalConfig -> HasGlobalConfig v
+	
+	configurablemaybe Nothing = DefaultConfig Nothing
+	configurablemaybe (Just v) = case configsource of
+		FromGitConfig -> HasGitConfig (Just v)
+		FromGlobalConfig -> HasGlobalConfig (Just v)
 
 	onemegabyte = 1000000
 	
diff --git a/doc/git-annex-config.mdwn b/doc/git-annex-config.mdwn
index 05e510ee5d..6583cf0739 100644
--- a/doc/git-annex-config.mdwn
+++ b/doc/git-annex-config.mdwn
@@ -74,23 +74,27 @@ looks for these.
 
   Set to false to prevent merge conflicts in the checked out branch
   being automatically resolved by the `git-annex assitant`,
-  `git-annex sync`, `git-annex merge`, and the `git-annex post-receive`
-  hook.
+  `git-annex sync`, `git-annex pull`, ``git-annex merge`, 
+  and the `git-annex post-receive` hook.
    
   This sets a default, which can be overridden by annex.resolvemerge
   in `git config`.
 
 * `annex.synccontent`
 
-  Set to true to make git-annex sync default to syncing annexed content.
+  Set to true to make `git-annex sync` default to transferring
+  annexed content.
+  
+  Set to false to prevent `git-annex pull` and `git-annex` push from
+  transferring annexed content.
   
   This sets a default, which can be overridden by annex.synccontent
   in `git config`.
 
 * `annex.synconlyannex`
 
-  Set to true to make git-annex sync default to only sync the git-annex
-  branch and annexed content.
+  Set to true to make `git-annex sync`, `git-annex pull` and `git-annex
+  push` default to only operate on the git-annex branch and annexed content.
   
   This sets a default, which can be overridden by annex.synconlyannex
   in `git config`.
diff --git a/doc/git-annex-export.mdwn b/doc/git-annex-export.mdwn
index 738e7fbf3c..64770537c0 100644
--- a/doc/git-annex-export.mdwn
+++ b/doc/git-annex-export.mdwn
@@ -52,15 +52,13 @@ paragraph do not apply. Note that dropping content from such a remote is
 not supported. See individual special remotes' documentation for
 details of how to enable such versioning.
 
-The `git annex sync --content` command (and the git-annex assistant)
-can also be used to export a branch to a special remote, 
-updating the special remote whenever the branch is changed.
-To do this, you need to configure "remote.<name>.annex-tracking-branch"
-to tell it what branch to track.
-For example:
+Commands like `git-annex push` can also be used to export a branch to a
+special remote, updating the special remote whenever the branch is changed.
+To do this, you need to configure "remote.<name>.annex-tracking-branch" to
+tell it what branch to track. For example:
 
 	git config remote.myremote.annex-tracking-branch master
-	git annex sync --content
+	git annex push myremote
 
 You can combine using `git annex export` to send changes to a special 
 remote with `git annex import` to fetch changes from a special remote.
@@ -89,7 +87,7 @@ so the overwritten modification is not lost.)
 * `--fast`
 
   This sets up an export of a tree, but avoids any expensive file uploads to
-  the remote. You can later run `git annex sync --content` to upload
+  the remote. You can later run `git annex push` to upload
   the files to the export.
 
 * `--jobs=N` `-JN`
@@ -162,7 +160,7 @@ export`, it will detect the export conflict, and resolve it.
 
 [[git-annex-import]](1)
 
-[[git-annex-sync]](1)
+[[git-annex-push]](1)
 
 [[git-annex-preferred-content]](1)
 
diff --git a/doc/git-annex-merge.mdwn b/doc/git-annex-merge.mdwn
index b8331826b2..507e19ca9c 100644
--- a/doc/git-annex-merge.mdwn
+++ b/doc/git-annex-merge.mdwn
@@ -9,11 +9,11 @@ git annex merge [branch]
 # DESCRIPTION
 
 When run without any parameters, this performs the same merging (and merge
-conflict resolution) that is done by the sync command, but without pushing
-or pulling any data.
+conflict resolution) that is done by the `git-annex pull` and `git-annex sync`
+commands, but without uploading or downloading any data.
 
 When a branch to merge is specified, this merges it, using the same merge
-conflict resolution as the sync command. This is especially useful on
+conflict resolution as the `git-annex pull` command. This is especially useful on
 an adjusted branch, because it applies the same adjustment to the
 branch before merging it.
 
@@ -43,6 +43,8 @@ will not be done.
 
 [[git-annex]](1)
 
+[[git-annex-pull]](1)
+
 [[git-annex-sync]](1)
 
 [[git-annex-adjust]](1)
diff --git a/doc/git-annex-pull.mdwn b/doc/git-annex-pull.mdwn
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c481ae9beb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/git-annex-pull.mdwn
@@ -0,0 +1,143 @@
+# NAME
+
+git-annex pull - pull content from remotes
+
+# SYNOPSIS
+
+git annex pull `[remote ...]`
+
+# DESCRIPTION
+
+This command pulls content from remotes. It downloads
+both git repository content, and the content of annexed files.
+Like `git pull`, it merges changes into the current branch.
+
+You can use `git pull` and `git-annex get` by hand to do the same thing as
+this command, but this command handles several details, including making
+sure that the git-annex branch is fetched from the remote.
+
+Some special remotes contain a tree of files that can be imported,
+and this command can be used to pull from those remotes as
+well as regular git remotes. See [[git-annex-import]](1) for details
+about how those special remotes work. In order for this command to import
+from a special remote, `remote.<name>.annex-tracking-branch` also must
+be configured, and have the same value as the currently checked out branch.
+
+When [[git-annex-adjust]](1) has been used to check out an adjusted branch,
+this command will also pull changes from the parent branch.
+
+When [[git-annex-view]](1) has been used to check out a view branch,
+this command will update the view branch to reflect any changes 
+to the parent branch or metadata.
+  
+Normally this tries to download the content of each annexed file,
+from any remote that it's pulling from that has a copy. 
+To control which files it downloads, configure the preferred
+content of the local repository.It will also drop files from a
+remote that are not preferred content of the remote.
+See [[git-annex-preferred-content]](1).
+
+# OPTIONS
+
+* `[remote]`
+
+  By default this command pulls from all remotes, except for remotes
+  that have `remote.<name>.annex-pull` (or `remote.<name>.annex-sync`) 
+  set to false. 
+
+  By specifying the names of remotes (or remote groups), you can control
+  which ones to pull from.
+
+* `--fast`
+
+  Only pull with the remotes with the lowest annex-cost value configured.
+
+  When a list of remotes (or remote groups) is provided, it picks from
+  amoung those, otherwise it picks from amoung all remotes.
+
+* `--only-annex` `-a`, `--not-only-annex`
+
+  Only pull the git-annex branch and annexed content from remotes,
+  not other git branches.
+
+  The `annex.synconlyannex` configuration can be set to true to make
+  this be the default behavior. To override such a setting, use
+  `--not-only-annex`.
+
+  When this is combined with --no-content, only the git-annex branch
+  will be pulled.
+
+* `--no-content`, `--content`
+
+  Use `--no-content` to avoid downloading (and dropping)
+  the content of annexed files.
+
+  If you often use `--no-content`, you can set the `annex.synccontent`
+  configuration to false to prevent downloading content by default.
+  The `--content` option overrides that configuration.
+
+* `--content-of=path` `-C path`
+
+  Only download (and drop) annexed files in the given path.
+
+  This option can be repeated multiple times with different paths.
+
+* `--all` `-A`
+
+  Usually this command operates on annexed files in the current branch.
+  This option makes it operate on all available versions of all annexed files
+  (when preferred content settings allow).
+
+  Note that preferred content settings that use `include=` or `exclude=`
+  will only match the version of files currently in the work tree, but not
+  past versions of files.
+
+* `--jobs=N` `-JN`
+
+  Enables parallel pulling with up to the specified number of jobs
+  running at once. For example: `-J10`
+
+  Setting this to "cpus" will run one job per CPU core.
+
+  (Note that git pulls are not done in parallel because that tends to be
+  less efficient.)
+
+* `--allow-unrelated-histories`, `--no-allow-unrelated-histories`
+
+  Passed on to `git merge`, to control whether or not to merge
+  histories that do not share a common ancestor.
+
+* `--resolvemerge`, `--no-resolvemerge`
+
+  By default, merge conflicts are automatically handled by this command. 
+  When two conflicting versions of a file have been committed, both will
+  be added  to the tree, under different filenames. For example, file "foo"
+  would be replaced with "foo.variant-A" and "foo.variant-B". (See
+  [[git-annex-resolvemerge]](1) for details.)
+
+  Use `--no-resolvemerge` to disable this automatic merge conflict
+  resolution. It can also be disabled by setting `annex.resolvemerge`
+  to false.
+
+* `--backend`
+
+  Specifies which key-value backend to use when importing from a
+  special remote. 
+
+* Also the [[git-annex-common-options]](1) can be used.
+  
+# SEE ALSO
+
+[[git-annex]](1)
+
+[[git-annex-push]](1)
+
+[[git-annex-sync]](1)
+
+[[git-annex-preferred-content]](1)
+
+# AUTHOR
+
+Joey Hess <id@joeyh.name>
+
+Warning: Automatically converted into a man page by mdwn2man. Edit with care.
diff --git a/doc/git-annex-push.mdwn b/doc/git-annex-push.mdwn
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d0d9079b59
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/git-annex-push.mdwn
@@ -0,0 +1,127 @@
+# NAME
+
+git-annex push - push content to remotes
+
+# SYNOPSIS
+
+git annex push `[remote ...]`
+
+# DESCRIPTION
+
+This command pushes content to remotes. It uploads 
+both git repository content, and the content of annexed files.
+
+You can use `git push` and `git-annex copy` by hand to do the same thing as
+this command, but this command handles several details, including making
+sure that the git-annex branch is pushed to the remote.
+
+When using git-annex, often remotes are not bare repositories, because
+it's helpful to add remotes for nearby machines that you want
+to access the same annexed content. Pushing to a non-bare remote will
+not normally update the remote's current branch with changes from the local
+repository. (Unless the remote is configured with
+receive.denyCurrentBranch=updateInstead.)
+
+To make working with such non-bare remotes easier, this command pushes not only
+local `master` to remote `master`, but also to remote `synced/master` (and
+similar with other branches). When `git-annex pull` (or `git-annex sync`) 
+is later run on the remote, it will merge the `synced/` branches that
+were pushed to it.
+
+Some special remotes allow exporting a tree of files to them,
+and this command can be used to push to those remotes as well
+as regular git remotes. See [[git-annex-export]](1) for details
+about how those special remotes work. In order for this command to export
+to a special remote, `remote.<name>.annex-tracking-branch` also must
+be configured, and have the same value as the currently checked out branch.
+
+When [[git-annex-adjust]](1) has been used to check out an adjusted branch,
+this command will propagate changes that have been made back to the 
+parent branch, without propagating the adjustments. 
+
+Normally this tries to upload the content of each annexed file that is
+in the working tree, to any remote that it's pushing to that does not have
+a copy. To control which files are uploaded to a remote, configure the preferred
+content of the remote. When a file is not the preferred content of a remote,
+or of the local repository, this command will try to drop the file's content.
+See [[git-annex-preferred-content]](1).
+
+# OPTIONS
+
+* `[remote]`
+
+  By default, this command pushes to all remotes, except for remotes 
+  that have `remote.<name>.annex-push` (or `remote.<name>.annex-sync`) 
+  set to false or `remote.<name>.annex-readonly` set to true.
+
+  By specifying the names of remotes (or remote groups), you can control which
+  ones to push to.
+
+* `--fast`
+
+  Only push to the remotes with the lowest annex-cost value configured.
+
+  When a list of remotes (or remote groups) is provided, it picks from
+  amoung those, otherwise it picks from amoung all remotes.
+
+* `--only-annex` `-a`, `--not-only-annex`
+
+  Only pull the git-annex branch and annexed content from remotes,
+  not other git branches.
+
+  The `annex.synconlyannex` configuration can be set to true to make
+  this be the default behavior. To override such a setting, use
+  `--not-only-annex`.
+
+  When this is combined with --no-content, only the git-annex branch
+  will be pulled.
+
+* `--no-content`, `--content`
+
+  Use `--no-content` to avoid uploading (and dropping) the content of annexed
+  files.
+
+  If you often use `--no-content`, you can set the `annex.synccontent`
+  configuration to false to prevent uploading content by default.
+  The `--content` option overrides that configuration.
+
+* `--content-of=path` `-C path`
+
+  Only upload (or drop) annexed files in the given path.
+
+  This option can be repeated multiple times with different paths.
+
+* `--all` `-A`
+
+  Usually this command operates on annexed files in the current branch.
+  This option makes it operate on all available versions of all annexed files
+  (when preferred content settings allow).
+
+  Note that preferred content settings that use `include=` or `exclude=`
+  will only match the version of files currently in the work tree, but not
+  past versions of files.
+
+* `--jobs=N` `-JN`
+
+  Enables parallel pushing with up to the specified number of jobs
+  running at once. For example: `-J10`
+
+  Setting this to "cpus" will run one job per CPU core.
+
+* Also the [[git-annex-common-options]](1) can be used.
+
+# SEE ALSO
+
+[[git-annex]](1)
+
+[[git-annex-pull]](1)
+
+[[git-annex-sync]](1)
+
+[[git-annex-preferred-content]](1)
+
+# AUTHOR
+
+Joey Hess <id@joeyh.name>
+
+Warning: Automatically converted into a man page by mdwn2man. Edit with care.
diff --git a/doc/git-annex-sync.mdwn b/doc/git-annex-sync.mdwn
index 634b110918..cdc97b0206 100644
--- a/doc/git-annex-sync.mdwn
+++ b/doc/git-annex-sync.mdwn
@@ -10,77 +10,29 @@ git annex sync `[remote ...]`
 
 This command synchronizes the local repository with its remotes.
 
-The sync process involves first committing any local changes to files
-that have previously been added to the repository,
-then fetching and merging the current branch and the `git-annex` branch
-from the remote repositories, and finally pushing the changes back to
-those branches on the remote repositories. You can use standard git
-commands to do each of those steps by hand, or if you don't want to
-worry about the details, you can use sync.
+This command first commits any local changes to files that have
+previously been added to the repository. Then it does the equivilant of
+[[git-annex-pull]](1) followed by [[git-annex-push]](1).
 
-The content of annexed objects is not synced by default, but the --content
-option (see below) can make that also be synchronized.
-
-When using git-annex, often remotes are not bare repositories, because
-it's helpful to add remotes for nearby machines that you want
-to access the same annexed content. Syncing with a non-bare remote will
-not normally update the remote's current branch with changes from the local
-repository. (Unless the remote is configured with
-receive.denyCurrentBranch=updateInstead.)
-
-To make working with such non-bare remotes easier, sync pushes not only
-local `master` to remote `master`, but also to remote `synced/master` (and
-similar with other branches). When `git-annex sync` is later run on the
-remote, it will merge the `synced/` branches that the repository has
-received.
-
-Some special remotes contain a tree of files that can be imported
-and/or exported, and syncing with these remotes behaves differently.
-See  [[git-annex-import]](1) and [[git-annex-export]](1) for details
-about how importing and exporting work; syncing with such a remote 
-is essentially an import followed by an export. In many cases,
-importing needs to download content from the remote, and so sync will
-only import when the --content option is used. (And exporting only
-ever happens when --content is used.) The remote's 
-`remote.<name>.annex-tracking-branch` also must be configured, and
-have the same value as the currently checked out branch.
-
-When [[git-annex-adjust]](1) has been used to check out an adjusted branch,
-running sync will propagate changes that have been made back to the 
-parent branch, without propagating the adjustments. When
-[[git-annex-view]](1) has been used to check out a view branch,
-running sync will update the view branch to reflect any changes 
-to the parent branch or metadata.
+However, unlike those commands, this command does not transfer annexed
+content by default. This may change in a future version of git-annex.
 
 # OPTIONS
 
-* `[remote]`
+* `--content`, `--no-content`
 
-  By default, all remotes are synced, except for remotes that have
-  `remote.<name>.annex-sync` set to false. By specifying the names
-  of remotes (or remote groups), you can control which ones to sync with.
+  The --content option causes the content of annexed files
+  to also be pulled and pushed.
 
-* `--fast`
+  The `annex.synccontent` configuration can be set to true to make
+  `--content` be enabled by default.
 
-  Only sync with the remotes with the lowest annex-cost value configured.
+* `--content-of=path` `-C path`
 
-  When a list of remotes (or remote groups) is provided, it picks from
-  amoung those, otherwise it picks from amoung all remotes.
+  This option causes the content of annexed files in the given
+  path to also be pulled and pushed.
 
-* `--only-annex` `-a`, `--not-only-annex`
-
-  Only sync the git-annex branch and annexed content with remotes,
-  not other git branches.
-
-  This avoids pulling and pushing other branches, and it avoids committing
-  any local changes. It's up to you to use regular git commands to do that.
-
-  The `annex.synconlyannex` configuration can be set to true to make
-  this be the default behavior of `git-annex sync`. To override such
-  a setting, use `--not-only-annex`.
-
-  When this is combined with --no-content, only the git-annex branch
-  will be synced.
+  This option can be repeated multiple times with different paths.
 
 * `--commit`, `--no-commit`
 
@@ -94,90 +46,17 @@ to the parent branch or metadata.
 
 * `--pull`, `--no-pull`
 
-  By default, syncing pulls from remotes and imports from some special
-  remotes. Use --no-pull to disable all pulling.
+  Use this option to disable pulling.
 
-  When `remote.<name>.annex-pull` or `remote.<name>.annex-sync`
-  are set to false, pulling is disabled for those remotes, and using
-  `--pull` will not enable it.
+  When `remote.<name>.annex-sync` is set to false, pulling is disabled
+  for that remote, and using `--pull` will not enable it.
 
 * `--push`, `--no-push` 
 
-  By default, syncing pushes changes to remotes and exports to some 
-  special remotes. Use --no-push to disable all pushing.
+  Use this option to disable pushing.
   
-  When `remote.<name>.annex-push` or `remote.<name>.annex-sync` are
-  set to false, or `remote.<name>.annex-readonly` is set to true,
-  pushing is disabled for those remotes, and using `--push` will not enable
-  it.
-
-* `--content`, `--no-content`
-
-  Normally, syncing does not transfer the contents of annexed files.
-  The --content option causes the content of annexed files
-  to also be uploaded and downloaded as necessary, to sync the content
-  between the repository and its remotes.
-
-  The `annex.synccontent` configuration can be set to true to make content
-  be synced by default.
-
-  Normally this tries to get each annexed file that is in the working tree
-  and whose content the local repository does not yet have, from any remote
-  that it's syncing with that has a copy, and then copies each file to
-  every remote that it is syncing with. This behavior can be overridden by
-  configuring the preferred content of repositories. See
-  [[git-annex-preferred-content]](1).
-
-* `--content-of=path` `-C path`
-
-  While --content operates on all annexed files,
-  --content-of allows limiting the transferred files to ones in a given
-  location.
-
-  This option can be repeated multiple times with different paths.
-
-* `--all` `-A`
-
-  This option, when combined with `--content`, makes all available versions
-  of all files be synced, when preferred content settings allow.
-
-  Note that preferred content settings that use `include=` or `exclude=`
-  will only match the version of files currently in the work tree, but not
-  past versions of files.
-
-* `--jobs=N` `-JN`
-
-  Enables parallel syncing with up to the specified number of jobs
-  running at once. For example: `-J10`
-
-  Setting this to "cpus" will run one job per CPU core.
-
-  When there are multiple git remotes, pushes will be made to them in
-  parallel. Pulls are not done in parallel because that tends to be
-  less efficient. When --content is synced, the files are processed
-  in parallel as well.
-
-* `--allow-unrelated-histories`, `--no-allow-unrelated-histories`
-
-  Passed on to `git merge`, to control whether or not to merge
-  histories that do not share a common ancestor.
-
-* `--resolvemerge`, `--no-resolvemerge`
-
-  By default, merge conflicts are automatically handled by sync. When two
-  conflicting versions of a file have been committed, both will be added 
-  to the tree, under different filenames. For example, file "foo" 
-  would be replaced with "foo.variant-A" and "foo.variant-B". (See
-  [[git-annex-resolvemerge]](1) for details.)
-
-  Use `--no-resolvemerge` to disable this automatic merge conflict
-  resolution. It can also be disabled by setting `annex.resolvemerge`
-  to false.
-
-* `--backend`
-
-  Specifies which key-value backend to use when adding files, 
-  or when importing from a special remote. 
+  When `remote.<name>.annex-sync` is set to false, pushing is disabled for
+  that remote, and using `--push` will not enable it.
 
 * `--cleanup`
 
@@ -193,13 +72,18 @@ to the parent branch or metadata.
   around and still has the change in it. Cleaning up the `synced/` branches
   prevents that problem.
 
+* Also all options supported by [[git-annex-pull]](1) and
+  [[git-annex-push]](1) can be used.
+
 * Also the [[git-annex-common-options]](1) can be used.
 
 # SEE ALSO
 
 [[git-annex]](1)
 
-[[git-annex-preferred-content]](1)
+[[git-annex-pull]](1)
+
+[[git-annex-push]](1)
 
 # AUTHOR
 
diff --git a/doc/git-annex.mdwn b/doc/git-annex.mdwn
index 2e94f7d4b1..78427a4ba5 100644
--- a/doc/git-annex.mdwn
+++ b/doc/git-annex.mdwn
@@ -114,6 +114,18 @@ content from the key-value store.
   
   See [[git-annex-lock]](1) for details.
 
+* `pull [remote ...]`
+
+  Pull content from remotes.
+  
+  See [[git-annex-pull]](1) for details.
+
+* `push [remote ...]`
+
+  Push content to remotes.
+  
+  See [[git-annex-push]](1) for details.
+
 * `sync [remote ...]`
 
   Synchronize local repository with remotes.
@@ -706,7 +718,8 @@ content from the key-value store.
 
   Resolves a conflicted merge, by adding both conflicting versions of the
   file to the tree, using variants of their filename. This is done
-  automatically when using `git annex sync` or `git annex merge`.
+  automatically when using `git annex sync` or `git-annex pull`
+  or `git annex merge`.
 
   See [[git-annex-resolvemerge]](1) for details.
 
@@ -1163,8 +1176,8 @@ repository, using [[git-annex-config]]. See its man page for a list.)
 * `annex.resolvemerge`
 
   Set to false to prevent merge conflicts in the checked out branch
-  being automatically resolved by the git-annex assitant,
-  git-annex sync, git-annex merge,
+  being automatically resolved by the `git-annex assitant`,
+  `git-annex sync`, `git-annex pull`, `git-annex merge`,
   and the git-annex post-receive hook.
 
   To configure the behavior in all clones of the repository,
@@ -1172,15 +1185,19 @@ repository, using [[git-annex-config]]. See its man page for a list.)
 
 * `annex.synccontent`
 
-  Set to true to make git-annex sync default to syncing annexed content.
+  Set to true to make `git-annex sync` default to transferring
+  annexed content.
+
+  Set to false to prevent `git-annex pull` and `git-annex push` from
+  transferring annexed content.
 
   To configure the behavior in all clones of the repository,
   this can be set in [[git-annex-config]](1).
 
 * `annex.synconlyannex`
 
-  Set to true to make git-annex sync default to only sincing the git-annex
-  branch and annexed content.
+  Set to true to make git-annex sync, git-annex pull, and git-annex push
+  default to only operating on the git-annex branch and annexed content.
 
   To configure the behavior in all clones of the repository,
   this can be set in [[git-annex-config]](1).
@@ -1352,7 +1369,7 @@ Remotes are configured using these settings in `.git/config`.
 * `remote.<name>.annex-ignore`
 
   If set to `true`, prevents git-annex
-  from storing file contents on this remote by default.
+  from storing annexed file contents on this remote by default.
   (You can still request it be used by the `--from` and `--to` options.)
 
   This is, for example, useful if the remote is located somewhere
@@ -1360,8 +1377,8 @@ Remotes are configured using these settings in `.git/config`.
   Or, it could be used if the network connection between two
   repositories is too slow to be used normally.
 
-  This does not prevent git-annex sync (or the git-annex assistant) from
-  syncing the git repository to the remote.
+  This does not prevent git-annex sync, git-annex pull, git-annex push,
+  or the git-annex assistant from operating on the git repository.
 
 * `remote.<name>.annex-ignore-command`
 
@@ -1371,9 +1388,8 @@ Remotes are configured using these settings in `.git/config`.
 
 * `remote.<name>.annex-sync`
 
-  If set to `false`, prevents git-annex sync (and the git-annex assistant)
-  from syncing with this remote by default. However, `git annex sync <name>`
-  can still be used to sync with the remote.
+  If set to `false`, prevents git-annex sync (and git-annex pull, git-annex
+  sync, and the git-annex assistant) from operating on this remote by default.
 
 * `remote.<name>.annex-sync-command`
 
@@ -1383,13 +1399,14 @@ Remotes are configured using these settings in `.git/config`.
 
 * `remote.<name>.annex-pull`
 
-  If set to `false`, prevents git-annex sync (and the git-annex assistant
-  etc) from ever pulling (or fetching) from the remote.
+  If set to `false`, prevents git-annex sync, git-annex pull,
+  (and the git-annex assistant etc) from ever pulling (or fetching)
+  from the remote.
 
 * `remote.<name>.annex-push`
 
-  If set to `false`, prevents git-annex sync (and the git-annex assistant
-  etc) from ever pushing to the remote.
+  If set to `false`, prevents git-annex sync, git-annex push,
+  (and the git-annex assistant etc) from ever pushing to the remote.
 
 * `remote.<name>.annex-readonly`
 
diff --git a/doc/todo/Having___39__git_annex_sync__39___optionally_add/comment_6_2e0ad0cdb9d813d0fbc514c1642669ca._comment b/doc/todo/Having___39__git_annex_sync__39___optionally_add/comment_6_2e0ad0cdb9d813d0fbc514c1642669ca._comment
index d70ab6ef04..0d29b8139f 100644
--- a/doc/todo/Having___39__git_annex_sync__39___optionally_add/comment_6_2e0ad0cdb9d813d0fbc514c1642669ca._comment
+++ b/doc/todo/Having___39__git_annex_sync__39___optionally_add/comment_6_2e0ad0cdb9d813d0fbc514c1642669ca._comment
@@ -11,4 +11,7 @@ users want it to do more things.
 
 It is not too late to split it up, and eventually deprecating it would be a
 good path to making annex.synccontent default.
+
+Update: Implemented `git-annex pull` and `git-annex push`, although I have
+no plans yet to deprecate `git-annex sync`.
 """]]
diff --git a/doc/walkthrough/syncing.mdwn b/doc/walkthrough/syncing.mdwn
index 2947f7e077..149d6d0d0c 100644
--- a/doc/walkthrough/syncing.mdwn
+++ b/doc/walkthrough/syncing.mdwn
@@ -23,5 +23,10 @@ repository|tips/centralized_git_repository_tutorial]]. See [[sync]] for
 details.
 
 By default `git annex sync` only syncs the metadata about your
-files that is stored in git. It does not sync the contents of files, that
-are managed by git-annex. To do that, you can use `git annex sync --content`
+files that is stored in git. It does not sync the contents of annexed
+files, that are managed by git-annex. To do that, you can use
+`git annex sync --content`
+
+There are also commands `git-annex pull` and `git-annex push` that are like
+`git-annex sync`, but only transfer in one direction, do not commit, and
+operate on the content of annexed files by default.
diff --git a/git-annex.cabal b/git-annex.cabal
index 3c131d0b80..5ca5ad8e60 100644
--- a/git-annex.cabal
+++ b/git-annex.cabal
@@ -770,6 +770,8 @@ Executable git-annex
     Command.PostReceive
     Command.PreCommit
     Command.Proxy
+    Command.Pull
+    Command.Push
     Command.ReKey
     Command.ReadPresentKey
     Command.RecvKey