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Git Log
The command git log displays commit logs in reverse chronological order by default. This command is useful as it helps in tracking and understanding the history of a project, who made a change and when.
Usage
1. View Commit History − The command git log displays commit logs in reverse chronological order, which means, the latest commits are listed first.
Each commit entry contains:
A unique identifier for the commit Commit hash.
Author of the commit.
Date and time of the commit.
The commit message.
2. Filter Commits − Commit history can be filtered using different options, such as:
--author=<name> − Commits that are done by the given specific author only, is shown.
--since or --until − Commits made before or after a certain date, is shown.
3. Compact Output − Often the default output of git log is long and in detail, but their are various ways to make them compact.
--oneline − Each commit is shown in a single line with commit hash and the commit message.
--graph − Shows the detailed and graphical representation of the commit history. This is useful in visualizing the branches and merges.
4. Show Commit Differences − The difference (diffs) for each commit can also be seen, using the option --patch / -p
5. Number of Commits Limited − Number of commits can be limited using the -n option. A number can be specified for the value n.
6. Search Commits by Messages − Commits can be searched using the --grep option. This searches for commits that contain specific words or phrases in the commit messages.
7. View Commits for a Specific File − Commit history for a specific file can also be viewed. You just need to specify the <file-path> at the end of the git log command.
Syntax
The command git log has the following syntax:
git log
It displays commits that may be accessed through parent links from the given commit(s), but not from commits that are prefixed with the symbol ^.
git log feature-branch master ^bugfix-branch
The command means list all the commits which are reachable from feature-branch or master, but not from bugfix-branch.
By removing any commits that are accessible from bugfix-branch, it effectively displays the commits that are unique to feature-branch and master.
In the Git language, <commit1>..<commit2> is a shortcut for ^<commit1> <commit2>.
It means that commits that may be accessed through <commit2> but not <commit1> will be included in the list.
These commands, for example, are interchangeable:
git log feature-branch..master git log master ^feature-branch
List commits reachable from master but not from feature-branch is what both commands really mean.
Git computes the symmetric difference between two sets of commits, thus this format <commit1>..<commit2> is especially helpful for merges.
It is similar to employing a more direct set difference operation using this notation.
It can be used, for instance, to identify differences between two divergent branches.
git log branch1 branch2 --not $(git merge-base --all branch1 branch2) git log branch1...branch2
The symmetric difference between commits accessible from branches 1 and 2 is produced by both commands.
Using parameters from the git-rev-list and git-diff commands, this command allows options that modify what is shown and how changes introduced by each commit are displayed.
Options
The following options are available with git log:
Formatting Options
Following options control how commit log will be displayed:
1. --oneline − Each commit is displayed in a single line, containing the commit hash and message.
git log --oneline
2. --pretty=<format> − Output format can be chosen, which may include, oneline, short, medium, full, fuller, and format:<custom>.
There are some placeholders for custom format, which are as follows:
%H − Commit hash
%h − Abbreviated commit hash
%an − Author name
%ae − Author email
%ar − Author date, relative
%s − Commit message
git log --pretty=short git log --pretty=format:"%h - %an, %ar : %s"
3. --graph − An ASCII graph of branch and merge history can be seen.
git log --graph
4. --decorate[=short|full|auto|no] − Reference names can be seen next to commit hashes, using this option.
It defaults to auto based on terminal output, determines how ref names like refs/heads/, refs/tags/, and refs/remotes/ are shown alongside commit information.
git log --decorate
5. --no-decorate − Reference names can not be seen next to commit hashes, using this option.
git log --no-decorate
6. --stat − Summary of changes introduced by each commit.
git log --stat
Filtering Options
Following options can be used to filter the commit log:
1. --author=<pattern> − Commits that are done by the given author only, is shown.
git log --author="John Doe"
2. --grp=<pattern> − Searches commit messages for a particular pattern.
git log --grep="fixed"
3. --since=<date> and --until=<date> − Commits that are most recent or older than the specified date, can be shown.
git log --since="2015-01-01" --until="2015-01-02"
4. --after=<date> and --before=<date> − Similar to the previuos one, but the syntax is used differently.
git log --after="2015-01-01" --before="2015-01-05"
5. --all − Commit history of all the branches can be seen.
git log --all
Limiting Options
Following options can be used to limit the commit log:
1. -n <n> − Number of commits can be limited using the -n option. A number can be specified for the value n.
git log -n=5
2. -p − The difference (diffs) for each commit can also be seen, using the option --patch / -p.
git log -p
3. --max-count=<number> − This is another way to limit the number of commits.
git log --max-count=5
4. --skip=<number> − Skips the specified number of commits.
git log --skip=5
5. --reverse − Reverses the order of the commits.
git log --reverse
Miscellaneous Options
Some other miscellaneous options are as follows:
1. --follow − Even if a file is renamed, the --follow option in git log keeps track of its history, but it is only useful for following a single file.
git log --follow
2. --decorate-refs=<pattern> − Decorate references by matching them with the given pattern.
git log --decorate-refs="refs/heads/*"
3. --decorate-refs-exclude=<pattern> − Exclude references by matching them with the given pattern.
git log --decorate-refs-exclude="refs/heads/*"
4. --name-only − Only show the names of the files that are changed in each commit.
git log --name-only
5. --name-status − Only show the status of the files that are changed in each commit, such as added, modified, or deleted.
git log --name-status
6. -S<string> − Searches for such commits where the given string was either added or removed.
git log -S"fixed"
7. --clear-decorations − The --clear-decorations option in the Git log command expands decoration to include all references by default and resets any prior --decorate-refs or --decorate-refs-exclude settings.
git log --clear-decorations
8. --source − The ref name used on the command line to reach each commit is printed by the --source option in the git log command.
git log --source
Combination of Options
The above mentioned options can be combined with git log command, such as git log --all --name-only, git log --oneline --max-count=5, etc.
The options given above allow you to customize git log to suit your specific needs, whether you are searching for specific changes, analyzing the history of a branch, or tracking down the issues and fixes.