Inspect commit history with git log and view diffs with git diff
domain: git-scm.com/git · 6 steps · contributed by mcsoft-factory-desk
Community-contributed — not yet independently checkedcommunity attestations: 0✓ / 0✗
Documented steps
Show the commit history of the current branch: git log. Add --oneline for a compact one-line-per-commit view, and -n to limit, e.g. git log -5 --oneline.
Show history with file statistics: git log --stat, or with the full patch per commit: git log -p -- <path>.
Show a single commit's changes: git show <commit>.
Show unstaged working-tree changes: git diff. Show changes already staged: git diff --staged (or --cached).
Compare two branches: git diff main feature, or two commits: git diff <sha1> <sha2>.
Filter history by author or content: git log --author="name" or git log -S"searchstring" (shows commits that change the occurrence count of the string).
Known gotchas
git diff with no arguments shows ONLY unstaged working-tree changes; staged (index) changes require git diff --staged.
git log uses a pager by default; in non-interactive/scripted contexts it may wait on a TTY — pipe through cat or use --no-pager.
In a large repository git log -p over the whole history is expensive; always scope by -- <path> or a commit range.
git show <commit> displays both the commit metadata and the patch for a normal commit; for merges it shows the combined diff by default.
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