diff --git a/documentation/ref-manual/ref-variables.xml b/documentation/ref-manual/ref-variables.xml
index 861be8d2a7..3928a1fa42 100644
--- a/documentation/ref-manual/ref-variables.xml
+++ b/documentation/ref-manual/ref-variables.xml
@@ -896,6 +896,34 @@
             </glossdef>
         </glossentry>
 
+        <glossentry id='var-BUILDHISTORY_COMMIT'><glossterm>BUILDHISTORY_COMMIT</glossterm>
+            <glossdef>
+                <para>
+                    When inheriting the
+                    <link linkend='ref-classes-buildhistory'><filename>buildhistory</filename></link>
+                    class, specifies whether or not to commit the build
+                    history output in a local Git repository.
+                    If set to "1", this local repository will be maintained
+                    automatically by the
+                    <filename>buildhistory</filename>
+                    class and a commit will be created on every
+                    build for changes to each top-level subdirectory of the
+                    build history output (images, packages, and sdk).
+                    If you want to track changes to build history over
+                    time, you should set this value to "1".
+                </para>
+
+                <para>
+                    By default, the <filename>buildhistory</filename> class
+                    does not commit the build history output in a local
+                    Git repository:
+                    <literallayout class='monospaced'>
+     BUILDHISTORY_COMMIT ?= "0"
+                    </literallayout>
+                </para>
+            </glossdef>
+        </glossentry>
+
         <glossentry id='var-BUILDHISTORY_DIR'><glossterm>BUILDHISTORY_DIR</glossterm>
             <glossdef>
                 <para>