git log

Show the commit history

What it does

git log lists the commits of the current branch from newest to oldest: hash, author, date and message. Long output opens page by page: scroll with the arrow keys, quit with q.

--oneline squeezes each commit into one line with a short hash and the title, -5 (or -n 5) keeps only the last five. --graph draws branches and merges, and --all shows every branch, not just the current one. Together they map the whole repository. Name a file to keep only the commits that changed it.

Syntax

git log
git log --oneline -<number>
git log --graph --oneline --all
git log <file>

Examples

• Show the last five commits, one per line

  git log --oneline -5

  same as: git log --oneline -n 5, git log -5 --oneline, git log -n 5 --oneline

  • log — commit history
  • --oneline — one line per commit
  • -5 — only the last five

• Draw a compact graph of all branches

  git log --graph --oneline --all

  same as: git log --oneline --graph --all, git log --all --graph --oneline, git log --all --oneline --graph

  • --graph — draw the branching
  • --oneline — compact
  • --all — all branches, not just the current one

Related commands

• git show — Show one commit: its message, author and every change in it
• git blame — Find out who last changed each line of a file, and in which commit
• git diff — See exactly what changed in your files, line by line

Practise · All commands