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1 Commit Limiting
2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3
4 Besides specifying a range of commits that should be listed using the
5 special notations explained in the description, additional commit
6 limiting may be applied.
7
8 Using more options generally further limits the output (e.g.
9 `--since=<date1>` limits to commits newer than `<date1>`, and using it
10 with `--grep=<pattern>` further limits to commits whose log message
11 has a line that matches `<pattern>`), unless otherwise noted.
12
13 Note that these are applied before commit
14 ordering and formatting options, such as `--reverse`.
15
16 -<number>::
17 -n <number>::
18 --max-count=<number>::
19 Limit the number of commits to output.
20
21 --skip=<number>::
22 Skip 'number' commits before starting to show the commit output.
23
24 --since=<date>::
25 --after=<date>::
26 Show commits more recent than a specific date.
27
28 --since-as-filter=<date>::
29 Show all commits more recent than a specific date. This visits
30 all commits in the range, rather than stopping at the first commit which
31 is older than a specific date.
32
33 --until=<date>::
34 --before=<date>::
35 Show commits older than a specific date.
36
37 ifdef::git-rev-list[]
38 --max-age=<timestamp>::
39 --min-age=<timestamp>::
40 Limit the commits output to specified time range.
41 endif::git-rev-list[]
42
43 --author=<pattern>::
44 --committer=<pattern>::
45 Limit the commits output to ones with author/committer
46 header lines that match the specified pattern (regular
47 expression). With more than one `--author=<pattern>`,
48 commits whose author matches any of the given patterns are
49 chosen (similarly for multiple `--committer=<pattern>`).
50
51 --grep-reflog=<pattern>::
52 Limit the commits output to ones with reflog entries that
53 match the specified pattern (regular expression). With
54 more than one `--grep-reflog`, commits whose reflog message
55 matches any of the given patterns are chosen. It is an
56 error to use this option unless `--walk-reflogs` is in use.
57
58 --grep=<pattern>::
59 Limit the commits output to ones with log message that
60 matches the specified pattern (regular expression). With
61 more than one `--grep=<pattern>`, commits whose message
62 matches any of the given patterns are chosen (but see
63 `--all-match`).
64 ifndef::git-rev-list[]
65 +
66 When `--notes` is in effect, the message from the notes is
67 matched as if it were part of the log message.
68 endif::git-rev-list[]
69
70 --all-match::
71 Limit the commits output to ones that match all given `--grep`,
72 instead of ones that match at least one.
73
74 --invert-grep::
75 Limit the commits output to ones with log message that do not
76 match the pattern specified with `--grep=<pattern>`.
77
78 -i::
79 --regexp-ignore-case::
80 Match the regular expression limiting patterns without regard to letter
81 case.
82
83 --basic-regexp::
84 Consider the limiting patterns to be basic regular expressions;
85 this is the default.
86
87 -E::
88 --extended-regexp::
89 Consider the limiting patterns to be extended regular expressions
90 instead of the default basic regular expressions.
91
92 -F::
93 --fixed-strings::
94 Consider the limiting patterns to be fixed strings (don't interpret
95 pattern as a regular expression).
96
97 -P::
98 --perl-regexp::
99 Consider the limiting patterns to be Perl-compatible regular
100 expressions.
101 +
102 Support for these types of regular expressions is an optional
103 compile-time dependency. If Git wasn't compiled with support for them
104 providing this option will cause it to die.
105
106 --remove-empty::
107 Stop when a given path disappears from the tree.
108
109 --merges::
110 Print only merge commits. This is exactly the same as `--min-parents=2`.
111
112 --no-merges::
113 Do not print commits with more than one parent. This is
114 exactly the same as `--max-parents=1`.
115
116 --min-parents=<number>::
117 --max-parents=<number>::
118 --no-min-parents::
119 --no-max-parents::
120 Show only commits which have at least (or at most) that many parent
121 commits. In particular, `--max-parents=1` is the same as `--no-merges`,
122 `--min-parents=2` is the same as `--merges`. `--max-parents=0`
123 gives all root commits and `--min-parents=3` all octopus merges.
124 +
125 `--no-min-parents` and `--no-max-parents` reset these limits (to no limit)
126 again. Equivalent forms are `--min-parents=0` (any commit has 0 or more
127 parents) and `--max-parents=-1` (negative numbers denote no upper limit).
128
129 --first-parent::
130 When finding commits to include, follow only the first
131 parent commit upon seeing a merge commit. This option
132 can give a better overview when viewing the evolution of
133 a particular topic branch, because merges into a topic
134 branch tend to be only about adjusting to updated upstream
135 from time to time, and this option allows you to ignore
136 the individual commits brought in to your history by such
137 a merge.
138 ifdef::git-log[]
139 +
140 This option also changes default diff format for merge commits
141 to `first-parent`, see `--diff-merges=first-parent` for details.
142 endif::git-log[]
143
144 --exclude-first-parent-only::
145 When finding commits to exclude (with a '{caret}'), follow only
146 the first parent commit upon seeing a merge commit.
147 This can be used to find the set of changes in a topic branch
148 from the point where it diverged from the remote branch, given
149 that arbitrary merges can be valid topic branch changes.
150
151 --not::
152 Reverses the meaning of the '{caret}' prefix (or lack thereof)
153 for all following revision specifiers, up to the next `--not`.
154
155 --all::
156 Pretend as if all the refs in `refs/`, along with `HEAD`, are
157 listed on the command line as '<commit>'.
158
159 --branches[=<pattern>]::
160 Pretend as if all the refs in `refs/heads` are listed
161 on the command line as '<commit>'. If '<pattern>' is given, limit
162 branches to ones matching given shell glob. If pattern lacks '?',
163 '{asterisk}', or '[', '/{asterisk}' at the end is implied.
164
165 --tags[=<pattern>]::
166 Pretend as if all the refs in `refs/tags` are listed
167 on the command line as '<commit>'. If '<pattern>' is given, limit
168 tags to ones matching given shell glob. If pattern lacks '?', '{asterisk}',
169 or '[', '/{asterisk}' at the end is implied.
170
171 --remotes[=<pattern>]::
172 Pretend as if all the refs in `refs/remotes` are listed
173 on the command line as '<commit>'. If '<pattern>' is given, limit
174 remote-tracking branches to ones matching given shell glob.
175 If pattern lacks '?', '{asterisk}', or '[', '/{asterisk}' at the end is implied.
176
177 --glob=<glob-pattern>::
178 Pretend as if all the refs matching shell glob '<glob-pattern>'
179 are listed on the command line as '<commit>'. Leading 'refs/',
180 is automatically prepended if missing. If pattern lacks '?', '{asterisk}',
181 or '[', '/{asterisk}' at the end is implied.
182
183 --exclude=<glob-pattern>::
184
185 Do not include refs matching '<glob-pattern>' that the next `--all`,
186 `--branches`, `--tags`, `--remotes`, or `--glob` would otherwise
187 consider. Repetitions of this option accumulate exclusion patterns
188 up to the next `--all`, `--branches`, `--tags`, `--remotes`, or
189 `--glob` option (other options or arguments do not clear
190 accumulated patterns).
191 +
192 The patterns given should not begin with `refs/heads`, `refs/tags`, or
193 `refs/remotes` when applied to `--branches`, `--tags`, or `--remotes`,
194 respectively, and they must begin with `refs/` when applied to `--glob`
195 or `--all`. If a trailing '/{asterisk}' is intended, it must be given
196 explicitly.
197
198 --exclude-hidden=[receive|uploadpack]::
199 Do not include refs that would be hidden by `git-receive-pack` or
200 `git-upload-pack` by consulting the appropriate `receive.hideRefs` or
201 `uploadpack.hideRefs` configuration along with `transfer.hideRefs` (see
202 linkgit:git-config[1]). This option affects the next pseudo-ref option
203 `--all` or `--glob` and is cleared after processing them.
204
205 --reflog::
206 Pretend as if all objects mentioned by reflogs are listed on the
207 command line as `<commit>`.
208
209 --alternate-refs::
210 Pretend as if all objects mentioned as ref tips of alternate
211 repositories were listed on the command line. An alternate
212 repository is any repository whose object directory is specified
213 in `objects/info/alternates`. The set of included objects may
214 be modified by `core.alternateRefsCommand`, etc. See
215 linkgit:git-config[1].
216
217 --single-worktree::
218 By default, all working trees will be examined by the
219 following options when there are more than one (see
220 linkgit:git-worktree[1]): `--all`, `--reflog` and
221 `--indexed-objects`.
222 This option forces them to examine the current working tree
223 only.
224
225 --ignore-missing::
226 Upon seeing an invalid object name in the input, pretend as if
227 the bad input was not given.
228
229 ifndef::git-rev-list[]
230 --bisect::
231 Pretend as if the bad bisection ref `refs/bisect/bad`
232 was listed and as if it was followed by `--not` and the good
233 bisection refs `refs/bisect/good-*` on the command
234 line.
235 endif::git-rev-list[]
236
237 --stdin::
238 In addition to the '<commit>' listed on the command
239 line, read them from the standard input. If a `--` separator is
240 seen, stop reading commits and start reading paths to limit the
241 result.
242
243 ifdef::git-rev-list[]
244 --quiet::
245 Don't print anything to standard output. This form
246 is primarily meant to allow the caller to
247 test the exit status to see if a range of objects is fully
248 connected (or not). It is faster than redirecting stdout
249 to `/dev/null` as the output does not have to be formatted.
250
251 --disk-usage::
252 --disk-usage=human::
253 Suppress normal output; instead, print the sum of the bytes used
254 for on-disk storage by the selected commits or objects. This is
255 equivalent to piping the output into `git cat-file
256 --batch-check='%(objectsize:disk)'`, except that it runs much
257 faster (especially with `--use-bitmap-index`). See the `CAVEATS`
258 section in linkgit:git-cat-file[1] for the limitations of what
259 "on-disk storage" means.
260 With the optional value `human`, on-disk storage size is shown
261 in human-readable string(e.g. 12.24 Kib, 3.50 Mib).
262 endif::git-rev-list[]
263
264 --cherry-mark::
265 Like `--cherry-pick` (see below) but mark equivalent commits
266 with `=` rather than omitting them, and inequivalent ones with `+`.
267
268 --cherry-pick::
269 Omit any commit that introduces the same change as
270 another commit on the ``other side'' when the set of
271 commits are limited with symmetric difference.
272 +
273 For example, if you have two branches, `A` and `B`, a usual way
274 to list all commits on only one side of them is with
275 `--left-right` (see the example below in the description of
276 the `--left-right` option). However, it shows the commits that were
277 cherry-picked from the other branch (for example, ``3rd on b'' may be
278 cherry-picked from branch A). With this option, such pairs of commits are
279 excluded from the output.
280
281 --left-only::
282 --right-only::
283 List only commits on the respective side of a symmetric difference,
284 i.e. only those which would be marked `<` resp. `>` by
285 `--left-right`.
286 +
287 For example, `--cherry-pick --right-only A...B` omits those
288 commits from `B` which are in `A` or are patch-equivalent to a commit in
289 `A`. In other words, this lists the `+` commits from `git cherry A B`.
290 More precisely, `--cherry-pick --right-only --no-merges` gives the exact
291 list.
292
293 --cherry::
294 A synonym for `--right-only --cherry-mark --no-merges`; useful to
295 limit the output to the commits on our side and mark those that
296 have been applied to the other side of a forked history with
297 `git log --cherry upstream...mybranch`, similar to
298 `git cherry upstream mybranch`.
299
300 -g::
301 --walk-reflogs::
302 Instead of walking the commit ancestry chain, walk
303 reflog entries from the most recent one to older ones.
304 When this option is used you cannot specify commits to
305 exclude (that is, '{caret}commit', 'commit1..commit2',
306 and 'commit1\...commit2' notations cannot be used).
307 +
308 With `--pretty` format other than `oneline` and `reference` (for obvious reasons),
309 this causes the output to have two extra lines of information
310 taken from the reflog. The reflog designator in the output may be shown
311 as `ref@{Nth}` (where `Nth` is the reverse-chronological index in the
312 reflog) or as `ref@{timestamp}` (with the timestamp for that entry),
313 depending on a few rules:
314 +
315 --
316 1. If the starting point is specified as `ref@{Nth}`, show the index
317 format.
318 +
319 2. If the starting point was specified as `ref@{now}`, show the
320 timestamp format.
321 +
322 3. If neither was used, but `--date` was given on the command line, show
323 the timestamp in the format requested by `--date`.
324 +
325 4. Otherwise, show the index format.
326 --
327 +
328 Under `--pretty=oneline`, the commit message is
329 prefixed with this information on the same line.
330 This option cannot be combined with `--reverse`.
331 See also linkgit:git-reflog[1].
332 +
333 Under `--pretty=reference`, this information will not be shown at all.
334
335 --merge::
336 After a failed merge, show refs that touch files having a
337 conflict and don't exist on all heads to merge.
338
339 --boundary::
340 Output excluded boundary commits. Boundary commits are
341 prefixed with `-`.
342
343 ifdef::git-rev-list[]
344 --use-bitmap-index::
345
346 Try to speed up the traversal using the pack bitmap index (if
347 one is available). Note that when traversing with `--objects`,
348 trees and blobs will not have their associated path printed.
349
350 --progress=<header>::
351 Show progress reports on stderr as objects are considered. The
352 `<header>` text will be printed with each progress update.
353 endif::git-rev-list[]
354
355 History Simplification
356 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
357
358 Sometimes you are only interested in parts of the history, for example the
359 commits modifying a particular <path>. But there are two parts of
360 'History Simplification', one part is selecting the commits and the other
361 is how to do it, as there are various strategies to simplify the history.
362
363 The following options select the commits to be shown:
364
365 <paths>::
366 Commits modifying the given <paths> are selected.
367
368 --simplify-by-decoration::
369 Commits that are referred by some branch or tag are selected.
370
371 Note that extra commits can be shown to give a meaningful history.
372
373 The following options affect the way the simplification is performed:
374
375 Default mode::
376 Simplifies the history to the simplest history explaining the
377 final state of the tree. Simplest because it prunes some side
378 branches if the end result is the same (i.e. merging branches
379 with the same content)
380
381 --show-pulls::
382 Include all commits from the default mode, but also any merge
383 commits that are not TREESAME to the first parent but are
384 TREESAME to a later parent. This mode is helpful for showing
385 the merge commits that "first introduced" a change to a branch.
386
387 --full-history::
388 Same as the default mode, but does not prune some history.
389
390 --dense::
391 Only the selected commits are shown, plus some to have a
392 meaningful history.
393
394 --sparse::
395 All commits in the simplified history are shown.
396
397 --simplify-merges::
398 Additional option to `--full-history` to remove some needless
399 merges from the resulting history, as there are no selected
400 commits contributing to this merge.
401
402 --ancestry-path[=<commit>]::
403 When given a range of commits to display (e.g. 'commit1..commit2'
404 or 'commit2 {caret}commit1'), only display commits in that range
405 that are ancestors of <commit>, descendants of <commit>, or
406 <commit> itself. If no commit is specified, use 'commit1' (the
407 excluded part of the range) as <commit>. Can be passed multiple
408 times; if so, a commit is included if it is any of the commits
409 given or if it is an ancestor or descendant of one of them.
410
411 A more detailed explanation follows.
412
413 Suppose you specified `foo` as the <paths>. We shall call commits
414 that modify `foo` !TREESAME, and the rest TREESAME. (In a diff
415 filtered for `foo`, they look different and equal, respectively.)
416
417 In the following, we will always refer to the same example history to
418 illustrate the differences between simplification settings. We assume
419 that you are filtering for a file `foo` in this commit graph:
420 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
421 .-A---M---N---O---P---Q
422 / / / / / /
423 I B C D E Y
424 \ / / / / /
425 `-------------' X
426 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
427 The horizontal line of history A---Q is taken to be the first parent of
428 each merge. The commits are:
429
430 * `I` is the initial commit, in which `foo` exists with contents
431 ``asdf'', and a file `quux` exists with contents ``quux''. Initial
432 commits are compared to an empty tree, so `I` is !TREESAME.
433
434 * In `A`, `foo` contains just ``foo''.
435
436 * `B` contains the same change as `A`. Its merge `M` is trivial and
437 hence TREESAME to all parents.
438
439 * `C` does not change `foo`, but its merge `N` changes it to ``foobar'',
440 so it is not TREESAME to any parent.
441
442 * `D` sets `foo` to ``baz''. Its merge `O` combines the strings from
443 `N` and `D` to ``foobarbaz''; i.e., it is not TREESAME to any parent.
444
445 * `E` changes `quux` to ``xyzzy'', and its merge `P` combines the
446 strings to ``quux xyzzy''. `P` is TREESAME to `O`, but not to `E`.
447
448 * `X` is an independent root commit that added a new file `side`, and `Y`
449 modified it. `Y` is TREESAME to `X`. Its merge `Q` added `side` to `P`, and
450 `Q` is TREESAME to `P`, but not to `Y`.
451
452 `rev-list` walks backwards through history, including or excluding
453 commits based on whether `--full-history` and/or parent rewriting
454 (via `--parents` or `--children`) are used. The following settings
455 are available.
456
457 Default mode::
458 Commits are included if they are not TREESAME to any parent
459 (though this can be changed, see `--sparse` below). If the
460 commit was a merge, and it was TREESAME to one parent, follow
461 only that parent. (Even if there are several TREESAME
462 parents, follow only one of them.) Otherwise, follow all
463 parents.
464 +
465 This results in:
466 +
467 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
468 .-A---N---O
469 / / /
470 I---------D
471 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
472 +
473 Note how the rule to only follow the TREESAME parent, if one is
474 available, removed `B` from consideration entirely. `C` was
475 considered via `N`, but is TREESAME. Root commits are compared to an
476 empty tree, so `I` is !TREESAME.
477 +
478 Parent/child relations are only visible with `--parents`, but that does
479 not affect the commits selected in default mode, so we have shown the
480 parent lines.
481
482 --full-history without parent rewriting::
483 This mode differs from the default in one point: always follow
484 all parents of a merge, even if it is TREESAME to one of them.
485 Even if more than one side of the merge has commits that are
486 included, this does not imply that the merge itself is! In
487 the example, we get
488 +
489 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
490 I A B N D O P Q
491 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
492 +
493 `M` was excluded because it is TREESAME to both parents. `E`,
494 `C` and `B` were all walked, but only `B` was !TREESAME, so the others
495 do not appear.
496 +
497 Note that without parent rewriting, it is not really possible to talk
498 about the parent/child relationships between the commits, so we show
499 them disconnected.
500
501 --full-history with parent rewriting::
502 Ordinary commits are only included if they are !TREESAME
503 (though this can be changed, see `--sparse` below).
504 +
505 Merges are always included. However, their parent list is rewritten:
506 Along each parent, prune away commits that are not included
507 themselves. This results in
508 +
509 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
510 .-A---M---N---O---P---Q
511 / / / / /
512 I B / D /
513 \ / / / /
514 `-------------'
515 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
516 +
517 Compare to `--full-history` without rewriting above. Note that `E`
518 was pruned away because it is TREESAME, but the parent list of P was
519 rewritten to contain `E`'s parent `I`. The same happened for `C` and
520 `N`, and `X`, `Y` and `Q`.
521
522 In addition to the above settings, you can change whether TREESAME
523 affects inclusion:
524
525 --dense::
526 Commits that are walked are included if they are not TREESAME
527 to any parent.
528
529 --sparse::
530 All commits that are walked are included.
531 +
532 Note that without `--full-history`, this still simplifies merges: if
533 one of the parents is TREESAME, we follow only that one, so the other
534 sides of the merge are never walked.
535
536 --simplify-merges::
537 First, build a history graph in the same way that
538 `--full-history` with parent rewriting does (see above).
539 +
540 Then simplify each commit `C` to its replacement `C'` in the final
541 history according to the following rules:
542 +
543 --
544 * Set `C'` to `C`.
545 +
546 * Replace each parent `P` of `C'` with its simplification `P'`. In
547 the process, drop parents that are ancestors of other parents or that are
548 root commits TREESAME to an empty tree, and remove duplicates, but take care
549 to never drop all parents that we are TREESAME to.
550 +
551 * If after this parent rewriting, `C'` is a root or merge commit (has
552 zero or >1 parents), a boundary commit, or !TREESAME, it remains.
553 Otherwise, it is replaced with its only parent.
554 --
555 +
556 The effect of this is best shown by way of comparing to
557 `--full-history` with parent rewriting. The example turns into:
558 +
559 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
560 .-A---M---N---O
561 / / /
562 I B D
563 \ / /
564 `---------'
565 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
566 +
567 Note the major differences in `N`, `P`, and `Q` over `--full-history`:
568 +
569 --
570 * `N`'s parent list had `I` removed, because it is an ancestor of the
571 other parent `M`. Still, `N` remained because it is !TREESAME.
572 +
573 * `P`'s parent list similarly had `I` removed. `P` was then
574 removed completely, because it had one parent and is TREESAME.
575 +
576 * `Q`'s parent list had `Y` simplified to `X`. `X` was then removed, because it
577 was a TREESAME root. `Q` was then removed completely, because it had one
578 parent and is TREESAME.
579 --
580
581 There is another simplification mode available:
582
583 --ancestry-path[=<commit>]::
584 Limit the displayed commits to those which are an ancestor of
585 <commit>, or which are a descendant of <commit>, or are <commit>
586 itself.
587 +
588 As an example use case, consider the following commit history:
589 +
590 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
591 D---E-------F
592 / \ \
593 B---C---G---H---I---J
594 / \
595 A-------K---------------L--M
596 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
597 +
598 A regular 'D..M' computes the set of commits that are ancestors of `M`,
599 but excludes the ones that are ancestors of `D`. This is useful to see
600 what happened to the history leading to `M` since `D`, in the sense
601 that ``what does `M` have that did not exist in `D`''. The result in this
602 example would be all the commits, except `A` and `B` (and `D` itself,
603 of course).
604 +
605 When we want to find out what commits in `M` are contaminated with the
606 bug introduced by `D` and need fixing, however, we might want to view
607 only the subset of 'D..M' that are actually descendants of `D`, i.e.
608 excluding `C` and `K`. This is exactly what the `--ancestry-path`
609 option does. Applied to the 'D..M' range, it results in:
610 +
611 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
612 E-------F
613 \ \
614 G---H---I---J
615 \
616 L--M
617 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
618 +
619 We can also use `--ancestry-path=D` instead of `--ancestry-path` which
620 means the same thing when applied to the 'D..M' range but is just more
621 explicit.
622 +
623 If we instead are interested in a given topic within this range, and all
624 commits affected by that topic, we may only want to view the subset of
625 `D..M` which contain that topic in their ancestry path. So, using
626 `--ancestry-path=H D..M` for example would result in:
627 +
628 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
629 E
630 \
631 G---H---I---J
632 \
633 L--M
634 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
635 +
636 Whereas `--ancestry-path=K D..M` would result in
637 +
638 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
639 K---------------L--M
640 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
641
642 Before discussing another option, `--show-pulls`, we need to
643 create a new example history.
644
645 A common problem users face when looking at simplified history is that a
646 commit they know changed a file somehow does not appear in the file's
647 simplified history. Let's demonstrate a new example and show how options
648 such as `--full-history` and `--simplify-merges` works in that case:
649
650 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
651 .-A---M-----C--N---O---P
652 / / \ \ \/ / /
653 I B \ R-'`-Z' /
654 \ / \/ /
655 \ / /\ /
656 `---X--' `---Y--'
657 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
658
659 For this example, suppose `I` created `file.txt` which was modified by
660 `A`, `B`, and `X` in different ways. The single-parent commits `C`, `Z`,
661 and `Y` do not change `file.txt`. The merge commit `M` was created by
662 resolving the merge conflict to include both changes from `A` and `B`
663 and hence is not TREESAME to either. The merge commit `R`, however, was
664 created by ignoring the contents of `file.txt` at `M` and taking only
665 the contents of `file.txt` at `X`. Hence, `R` is TREESAME to `X` but not
666 `M`. Finally, the natural merge resolution to create `N` is to take the
667 contents of `file.txt` at `R`, so `N` is TREESAME to `R` but not `C`.
668 The merge commits `O` and `P` are TREESAME to their first parents, but
669 not to their second parents, `Z` and `Y` respectively.
670
671 When using the default mode, `N` and `R` both have a TREESAME parent, so
672 those edges are walked and the others are ignored. The resulting history
673 graph is:
674
675 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
676 I---X
677 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
678
679 When using `--full-history`, Git walks every edge. This will discover
680 the commits `A` and `B` and the merge `M`, but also will reveal the
681 merge commits `O` and `P`. With parent rewriting, the resulting graph is:
682
683 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
684 .-A---M--------N---O---P
685 / / \ \ \/ / /
686 I B \ R-'`--' /
687 \ / \/ /
688 \ / /\ /
689 `---X--' `------'
690 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
691
692 Here, the merge commits `O` and `P` contribute extra noise, as they did
693 not actually contribute a change to `file.txt`. They only merged a topic
694 that was based on an older version of `file.txt`. This is a common
695 issue in repositories using a workflow where many contributors work in
696 parallel and merge their topic branches along a single trunk: many
697 unrelated merges appear in the `--full-history` results.
698
699 When using the `--simplify-merges` option, the commits `O` and `P`
700 disappear from the results. This is because the rewritten second parents
701 of `O` and `P` are reachable from their first parents. Those edges are
702 removed and then the commits look like single-parent commits that are
703 TREESAME to their parent. This also happens to the commit `N`, resulting
704 in a history view as follows:
705
706 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
707 .-A---M--.
708 / / \
709 I B R
710 \ / /
711 \ / /
712 `---X--'
713 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
714
715 In this view, we see all of the important single-parent changes from
716 `A`, `B`, and `X`. We also see the carefully-resolved merge `M` and the
717 not-so-carefully-resolved merge `R`. This is usually enough information
718 to determine why the commits `A` and `B` "disappeared" from history in
719 the default view. However, there are a few issues with this approach.
720
721 The first issue is performance. Unlike any previous option, the
722 `--simplify-merges` option requires walking the entire commit history
723 before returning a single result. This can make the option difficult to
724 use for very large repositories.
725
726 The second issue is one of auditing. When many contributors are working
727 on the same repository, it is important which merge commits introduced
728 a change into an important branch. The problematic merge `R` above is
729 not likely to be the merge commit that was used to merge into an
730 important branch. Instead, the merge `N` was used to merge `R` and `X`
731 into the important branch. This commit may have information about why
732 the change `X` came to override the changes from `A` and `B` in its
733 commit message.
734
735 --show-pulls::
736 In addition to the commits shown in the default history, show
737 each merge commit that is not TREESAME to its first parent but
738 is TREESAME to a later parent.
739 +
740 When a merge commit is included by `--show-pulls`, the merge is
741 treated as if it "pulled" the change from another branch. When using
742 `--show-pulls` on this example (and no other options) the resulting
743 graph is:
744 +
745 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
746 I---X---R---N
747 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
748 +
749 Here, the merge commits `R` and `N` are included because they pulled
750 the commits `X` and `R` into the base branch, respectively. These
751 merges are the reason the commits `A` and `B` do not appear in the
752 default history.
753 +
754 When `--show-pulls` is paired with `--simplify-merges`, the
755 graph includes all of the necessary information:
756 +
757 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
758 .-A---M--. N
759 / / \ /
760 I B R
761 \ / /
762 \ / /
763 `---X--'
764 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
765 +
766 Notice that since `M` is reachable from `R`, the edge from `N` to `M`
767 was simplified away. However, `N` still appears in the history as an
768 important commit because it "pulled" the change `R` into the main
769 branch.
770
771 The `--simplify-by-decoration` option allows you to view only the
772 big picture of the topology of the history, by omitting commits
773 that are not referenced by tags. Commits are marked as !TREESAME
774 (in other words, kept after history simplification rules described
775 above) if (1) they are referenced by tags, or (2) they change the
776 contents of the paths given on the command line. All other
777 commits are marked as TREESAME (subject to be simplified away).
778
779 ifndef::git-shortlog[]
780 ifdef::git-rev-list[]
781 Bisection Helpers
782 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
783
784 --bisect::
785 Limit output to the one commit object which is roughly halfway between
786 included and excluded commits. Note that the bad bisection ref
787 `refs/bisect/bad` is added to the included commits (if it
788 exists) and the good bisection refs `refs/bisect/good-*` are
789 added to the excluded commits (if they exist). Thus, supposing there
790 are no refs in `refs/bisect/`, if
791 +
792 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
793 $ git rev-list --bisect foo ^bar ^baz
794 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
795 +
796 outputs 'midpoint', the output of the two commands
797 +
798 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
799 $ git rev-list foo ^midpoint
800 $ git rev-list midpoint ^bar ^baz
801 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
802 +
803 would be of roughly the same length. Finding the change which
804 introduces a regression is thus reduced to a binary search: repeatedly
805 generate and test new 'midpoint's until the commit chain is of length
806 one.
807
808 --bisect-vars::
809 This calculates the same as `--bisect`, except that refs in
810 `refs/bisect/` are not used, and except that this outputs
811 text ready to be eval'ed by the shell. These lines will assign the
812 name of the midpoint revision to the variable `bisect_rev`, and the
813 expected number of commits to be tested after `bisect_rev` is tested
814 to `bisect_nr`, the expected number of commits to be tested if
815 `bisect_rev` turns out to be good to `bisect_good`, the expected
816 number of commits to be tested if `bisect_rev` turns out to be bad to
817 `bisect_bad`, and the number of commits we are bisecting right now to
818 `bisect_all`.
819
820 --bisect-all::
821 This outputs all the commit objects between the included and excluded
822 commits, ordered by their distance to the included and excluded
823 commits. Refs in `refs/bisect/` are not used. The farthest
824 from them is displayed first. (This is the only one displayed by
825 `--bisect`.)
826 +
827 This is useful because it makes it easy to choose a good commit to
828 test when you want to avoid to test some of them for some reason (they
829 may not compile for example).
830 +
831 This option can be used along with `--bisect-vars`, in this case,
832 after all the sorted commit objects, there will be the same text as if
833 `--bisect-vars` had been used alone.
834 endif::git-rev-list[]
835 endif::git-shortlog[]
836
837 ifndef::git-shortlog[]
838 Commit Ordering
839 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
840
841 By default, the commits are shown in reverse chronological order.
842
843 --date-order::
844 Show no parents before all of its children are shown, but
845 otherwise show commits in the commit timestamp order.
846
847 --author-date-order::
848 Show no parents before all of its children are shown, but
849 otherwise show commits in the author timestamp order.
850
851 --topo-order::
852 Show no parents before all of its children are shown, and
853 avoid showing commits on multiple lines of history
854 intermixed.
855 +
856 For example, in a commit history like this:
857 +
858 ----------------------------------------------------------------
859
860 ---1----2----4----7
861 \ \
862 3----5----6----8---
863
864 ----------------------------------------------------------------
865 +
866 where the numbers denote the order of commit timestamps, `git
867 rev-list` and friends with `--date-order` show the commits in the
868 timestamp order: 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1.
869 +
870 With `--topo-order`, they would show 8 6 5 3 7 4 2 1 (or 8 7 4 2 6 5
871 3 1); some older commits are shown before newer ones in order to
872 avoid showing the commits from two parallel development track mixed
873 together.
874
875 --reverse::
876 Output the commits chosen to be shown (see Commit Limiting
877 section above) in reverse order. Cannot be combined with
878 `--walk-reflogs`.
879 endif::git-shortlog[]
880
881 ifndef::git-shortlog[]
882 Object Traversal
883 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
884
885 These options are mostly targeted for packing of Git repositories.
886
887 ifdef::git-rev-list[]
888 --objects::
889 Print the object IDs of any object referenced by the listed
890 commits. `--objects foo ^bar` thus means ``send me
891 all object IDs which I need to download if I have the commit
892 object _bar_ but not _foo_''.
893
894 --in-commit-order::
895 Print tree and blob ids in order of the commits. The tree
896 and blob ids are printed after they are first referenced
897 by a commit.
898
899 --objects-edge::
900 Similar to `--objects`, but also print the IDs of excluded
901 commits prefixed with a ``-'' character. This is used by
902 linkgit:git-pack-objects[1] to build a ``thin'' pack, which records
903 objects in deltified form based on objects contained in these
904 excluded commits to reduce network traffic.
905
906 --objects-edge-aggressive::
907 Similar to `--objects-edge`, but it tries harder to find excluded
908 commits at the cost of increased time. This is used instead of
909 `--objects-edge` to build ``thin'' packs for shallow repositories.
910
911 --indexed-objects::
912 Pretend as if all trees and blobs used by the index are listed
913 on the command line. Note that you probably want to use
914 `--objects`, too.
915
916 --unpacked::
917 Only useful with `--objects`; print the object IDs that are not
918 in packs.
919
920 --object-names::
921 Only useful with `--objects`; print the names of the object IDs
922 that are found. This is the default behavior.
923
924 --no-object-names::
925 Only useful with `--objects`; does not print the names of the object
926 IDs that are found. This inverts `--object-names`. This flag allows
927 the output to be more easily parsed by commands such as
928 linkgit:git-cat-file[1].
929
930 --filter=<filter-spec>::
931 Only useful with one of the `--objects*`; omits objects (usually
932 blobs) from the list of printed objects. The '<filter-spec>'
933 may be one of the following:
934 +
935 The form '--filter=blob:none' omits all blobs.
936 +
937 The form '--filter=blob:limit=<n>[kmg]' omits blobs larger than n bytes
938 or units. n may be zero. The suffixes k, m, and g can be used to name
939 units in KiB, MiB, or GiB. For example, 'blob:limit=1k' is the same
940 as 'blob:limit=1024'.
941 +
942 The form '--filter=object:type=(tag|commit|tree|blob)' omits all objects
943 which are not of the requested type.
944 +
945 The form '--filter=sparse:oid=<blob-ish>' uses a sparse-checkout
946 specification contained in the blob (or blob-expression) '<blob-ish>'
947 to omit blobs that would not be required for a sparse checkout on
948 the requested refs.
949 +
950 The form '--filter=tree:<depth>' omits all blobs and trees whose depth
951 from the root tree is >= <depth> (minimum depth if an object is located
952 at multiple depths in the commits traversed). <depth>=0 will not include
953 any trees or blobs unless included explicitly in the command-line (or
954 standard input when --stdin is used). <depth>=1 will include only the
955 tree and blobs which are referenced directly by a commit reachable from
956 <commit> or an explicitly-given object. <depth>=2 is like <depth>=1
957 while also including trees and blobs one more level removed from an
958 explicitly-given commit or tree.
959 +
960 Note that the form '--filter=sparse:path=<path>' that wants to read
961 from an arbitrary path on the filesystem has been dropped for security
962 reasons.
963 +
964 Multiple '--filter=' flags can be specified to combine filters. Only
965 objects which are accepted by every filter are included.
966 +
967 The form '--filter=combine:<filter1>+<filter2>+...<filterN>' can also be
968 used to combined several filters, but this is harder than just repeating
969 the '--filter' flag and is usually not necessary. Filters are joined by
970 '{plus}' and individual filters are %-encoded (i.e. URL-encoded).
971 Besides the '{plus}' and '%' characters, the following characters are
972 reserved and also must be encoded: `~!@#$^&*()[]{}\;",<>?`+&#39;&#96;+
973 as well as all characters with ASCII code &lt;= `0x20`, which includes
974 space and newline.
975 +
976 Other arbitrary characters can also be encoded. For instance,
977 'combine:tree:3+blob:none' and 'combine:tree%3A3+blob%3Anone' are
978 equivalent.
979
980 --no-filter::
981 Turn off any previous `--filter=` argument.
982
983 --filter-provided-objects::
984 Filter the list of explicitly provided objects, which would otherwise
985 always be printed even if they did not match any of the filters. Only
986 useful with `--filter=`.
987
988 --filter-print-omitted::
989 Only useful with `--filter=`; prints a list of the objects omitted
990 by the filter. Object IDs are prefixed with a ``~'' character.
991
992 --missing=<missing-action>::
993 A debug option to help with future "partial clone" development.
994 This option specifies how missing objects are handled.
995 +
996 The form '--missing=error' requests that rev-list stop with an error if
997 a missing object is encountered. This is the default action.
998 +
999 The form '--missing=allow-any' will allow object traversal to continue
1000 if a missing object is encountered. Missing objects will silently be
1001 omitted from the results.
1002 +
1003 The form '--missing=allow-promisor' is like 'allow-any', but will only
1004 allow object traversal to continue for EXPECTED promisor missing objects.
1005 Unexpected missing objects will raise an error.
1006 +
1007 The form '--missing=print' is like 'allow-any', but will also print a
1008 list of the missing objects. Object IDs are prefixed with a ``?'' character.
1009
1010 --exclude-promisor-objects::
1011 (For internal use only.) Prefilter object traversal at
1012 promisor boundary. This is used with partial clone. This is
1013 stronger than `--missing=allow-promisor` because it limits the
1014 traversal, rather than just silencing errors about missing
1015 objects.
1016 endif::git-rev-list[]
1017
1018 --no-walk[=(sorted|unsorted)]::
1019 Only show the given commits, but do not traverse their ancestors.
1020 This has no effect if a range is specified. If the argument
1021 `unsorted` is given, the commits are shown in the order they were
1022 given on the command line. Otherwise (if `sorted` or no argument
1023 was given), the commits are shown in reverse chronological order
1024 by commit time.
1025 Cannot be combined with `--graph`.
1026
1027 --do-walk::
1028 Overrides a previous `--no-walk`.
1029 endif::git-shortlog[]
1030
1031 ifndef::git-shortlog[]
1032 Commit Formatting
1033 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1034
1035 ifdef::git-rev-list[]
1036 Using these options, linkgit:git-rev-list[1] will act similar to the
1037 more specialized family of commit log tools: linkgit:git-log[1],
1038 linkgit:git-show[1], and linkgit:git-whatchanged[1]
1039 endif::git-rev-list[]
1040
1041 include::pretty-options.txt[]
1042
1043 --relative-date::
1044 Synonym for `--date=relative`.
1045
1046 --date=<format>::
1047 Only takes effect for dates shown in human-readable format, such
1048 as when using `--pretty`. `log.date` config variable sets a default
1049 value for the log command's `--date` option. By default, dates
1050 are shown in the original time zone (either committer's or
1051 author's). If `-local` is appended to the format (e.g.,
1052 `iso-local`), the user's local time zone is used instead.
1053 +
1054 --
1055 `--date=relative` shows dates relative to the current time,
1056 e.g. ``2 hours ago''. The `-local` option has no effect for
1057 `--date=relative`.
1058
1059 `--date=local` is an alias for `--date=default-local`.
1060
1061 `--date=iso` (or `--date=iso8601`) shows timestamps in a ISO 8601-like format.
1062 The differences to the strict ISO 8601 format are:
1063
1064 - a space instead of the `T` date/time delimiter
1065 - a space between time and time zone
1066 - no colon between hours and minutes of the time zone
1067
1068 `--date=iso-strict` (or `--date=iso8601-strict`) shows timestamps in strict
1069 ISO 8601 format.
1070
1071 `--date=rfc` (or `--date=rfc2822`) shows timestamps in RFC 2822
1072 format, often found in email messages.
1073
1074 `--date=short` shows only the date, but not the time, in `YYYY-MM-DD` format.
1075
1076 `--date=raw` shows the date as seconds since the epoch (1970-01-01
1077 00:00:00 UTC), followed by a space, and then the timezone as an offset
1078 from UTC (a `+` or `-` with four digits; the first two are hours, and
1079 the second two are minutes). I.e., as if the timestamp were formatted
1080 with `strftime("%s %z")`).
1081 Note that the `-local` option does not affect the seconds-since-epoch
1082 value (which is always measured in UTC), but does switch the accompanying
1083 timezone value.
1084
1085 `--date=human` shows the timezone if the timezone does not match the
1086 current time-zone, and doesn't print the whole date if that matches
1087 (ie skip printing year for dates that are "this year", but also skip
1088 the whole date itself if it's in the last few days and we can just say
1089 what weekday it was). For older dates the hour and minute is also
1090 omitted.
1091
1092 `--date=unix` shows the date as a Unix epoch timestamp (seconds since
1093 1970). As with `--raw`, this is always in UTC and therefore `-local`
1094 has no effect.
1095
1096 `--date=format:...` feeds the format `...` to your system `strftime`,
1097 except for %s, %z, and %Z, which are handled internally.
1098 Use `--date=format:%c` to show the date in your system locale's
1099 preferred format. See the `strftime` manual for a complete list of
1100 format placeholders. When using `-local`, the correct syntax is
1101 `--date=format-local:...`.
1102
1103 `--date=default` is the default format, and is based on ctime(3)
1104 output. It shows a single line with three-letter day of the week,
1105 three-letter month, day-of-month, hour-minute-seconds in "HH:MM:SS"
1106 format, followed by 4-digit year, plus timezone information, unless
1107 the local time zone is used, e.g. `Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 +0000`.
1108 --
1109
1110 ifdef::git-rev-list[]
1111 --header::
1112 Print the contents of the commit in raw-format; each record is
1113 separated with a NUL character.
1114
1115 --no-commit-header::
1116 Suppress the header line containing "commit" and the object ID printed before
1117 the specified format. This has no effect on the built-in formats; only custom
1118 formats are affected.
1119
1120 --commit-header::
1121 Overrides a previous `--no-commit-header`.
1122 endif::git-rev-list[]
1123
1124 --parents::
1125 Print also the parents of the commit (in the form "commit parent...").
1126 Also enables parent rewriting, see 'History Simplification' above.
1127
1128 --children::
1129 Print also the children of the commit (in the form "commit child...").
1130 Also enables parent rewriting, see 'History Simplification' above.
1131
1132 ifdef::git-rev-list[]
1133 --timestamp::
1134 Print the raw commit timestamp.
1135 endif::git-rev-list[]
1136
1137 --left-right::
1138 Mark which side of a symmetric difference a commit is reachable from.
1139 Commits from the left side are prefixed with `<` and those from
1140 the right with `>`. If combined with `--boundary`, those
1141 commits are prefixed with `-`.
1142 +
1143 For example, if you have this topology:
1144 +
1145 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
1146 y---b---b branch B
1147 / \ /
1148 / .
1149 / / \
1150 o---x---a---a branch A
1151 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
1152 +
1153 you would get an output like this:
1154 +
1155 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
1156 $ git rev-list --left-right --boundary --pretty=oneline A...B
1157
1158 >bbbbbbb... 3rd on b
1159 >bbbbbbb... 2nd on b
1160 <aaaaaaa... 3rd on a
1161 <aaaaaaa... 2nd on a
1162 -yyyyyyy... 1st on b
1163 -xxxxxxx... 1st on a
1164 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
1165
1166 --graph::
1167 Draw a text-based graphical representation of the commit history
1168 on the left hand side of the output. This may cause extra lines
1169 to be printed in between commits, in order for the graph history
1170 to be drawn properly.
1171 Cannot be combined with `--no-walk`.
1172 +
1173 This enables parent rewriting, see 'History Simplification' above.
1174 +
1175 This implies the `--topo-order` option by default, but the
1176 `--date-order` option may also be specified.
1177
1178 --show-linear-break[=<barrier>]::
1179 When --graph is not used, all history branches are flattened
1180 which can make it hard to see that the two consecutive commits
1181 do not belong to a linear branch. This option puts a barrier
1182 in between them in that case. If `<barrier>` is specified, it
1183 is the string that will be shown instead of the default one.
1184
1185 ifdef::git-rev-list[]
1186 --count::
1187 Print a number stating how many commits would have been
1188 listed, and suppress all other output. When used together
1189 with `--left-right`, instead print the counts for left and
1190 right commits, separated by a tab. When used together with
1191 `--cherry-mark`, omit patch equivalent commits from these
1192 counts and print the count for equivalent commits separated
1193 by a tab.
1194 endif::git-rev-list[]
1195 endif::git-shortlog[]