Git & GitHub - Viewing History

Commands to view the history of a repository

Viewing the history of a repository is crucial for tracking changes, understanding the evolution of a project, and collaborating with others. This guide explains the commands used to view the history of a Git repository.

Using git log

The git log command displays the commit history of the repository. By default, it shows commits in reverse chronological order.

# View the commit history
$ git log
                

This command outputs a list of commits with their hashes, authors, dates, and messages.

Formatting git log Output

You can customize the output of git log using various options:

# One-line summary for each commit
$ git log --oneline

# Detailed commit history with patches
$ git log -p

# Limit the number of commits displayed
$ git log -n 5

# Display commits for a specific file
$ git log -- filename.txt
                

Using git show

The git show command displays detailed information about a specific commit, including the changes made in that commit.

# Show details of a specific commit
$ git show 
                

Using git diff

The git diff command shows the differences between commits, branches, or the working directory and the staging area.

# Show changes between working directory and staging area
$ git diff

# Show changes between staging area and last commit
$ git diff --cached

# Show changes between two commits
$ git diff  
                

Using git blame

The git blame command shows who made changes to each line of a file and when. This is useful for understanding the history of a file.

# Show blame information for a file
$ git blame filename.txt
                

Using git reflog

The git reflog command shows a log of all the references (HEAD, branches, etc.) that have been updated in the repository, including commits that might not be visible in the normal commit history.

# Show reference log
$ git reflog
                

Summary

This guide covered various commands to view the history of a Git repository, including git log, git show, git diff, git blame, and git reflog. Understanding these commands is essential for tracking changes, debugging issues, and collaborating effectively in Git.