Viewing Changes

git log -p

We have already discussed how to view our commit history using the git log command. However, it is often the case when we may also want to see the exact lines changed in each commit. Such an approach is useful when we want to quickly find a commit which introduces a certain bug to our program.

That’s where the git log command with the -p (stands for patch) flag comes in handy. Here is the full command:

Let’s now run it in the terminal:

I separated each commit with a frame of different colors to enhance visual distinguishability. Since we have detailed information about each commit, all text doesn't fit on the screen, so you can use the arrow keys to scroll up and down.

Note

You can exit pressing the q key.

Here, plusses show added lines, and if we had deleted some lines, they would be shown with minuses (dashes).

git show

The primary purpose of git show is to provide a detailed view of the changes introduced by a particular commit. Here's a basic syntax for the git show command:

Where [commit] is the identifier (hash) of the commit you want to display.

Let’s take a look at the output of the git log -p command, specifically focusing on the second latest commit:

Here are the first few lines of the output for this commit. To use the git show command for this commit, copy its hash and run the following command:

Note

Your commit hash may be different, so be sure to use the correct hash.

Let’s run this command in the terminal:

As you can see, the output is the same as for the git log -p command, but only for one commit.