gsho / gitalias

Git alias commands for faster easier version control

Git Alias

This project provides many git alias commands that you can use as you like.

Contents:

• Introduction
• Examples
• Customization
• Purpose
• More ideas
• Contributing
• Thanks

To see the complete code, view these files:

• gitalias.txt
• gitalias-for-topic-branches.txt

Introduction

We use Git version control every day. We like to make it faster, easier, and better.

We create Git alias items to help us, such as:

• Shortcuts such as s for status.
• Improvements such as optimize to prune and repack using recommended settings.
• Visualizations such as graphviz to show logs and charts using third-party tools.
• Topic branch flows such as topic-start to create a new topic branch using master.
• For links to many more ideas and git alias files, see the end of this file.

Install

This is simply a text file. Copy what you like.

1. See the file gitalias.txt.

2. Copy/paste anything you like into your own .gitconfig file.

Examples

Shortcuts:

a = add
b = branch
c = commit

Shortcuts with options:

ap = add --patch
be = branch --edit-description
ci = commit --interactive

Plurals:

branches = branch -a
stashes = stash list

Log:

log-graph = log --graph --all  --decorate --oneline
log-standup = !git log --since yesterday --author $(git config user.email) --pretty=short

Workflow:

get = !git pull --rebase && git submodule update --init --recursive
put = !git commit --all --message="$1" && git push

Topics:

topic-start  = "!f(){ b=$1; git checkout master; git fetch; git rebase; git checkout -b "$b" master; };f"
topic-finish = "!f(){ b=$(git branch-name); git checkout master; git branch -d "$b"; git push origin ":$b"; };f"

Grep:

grep-group =  grep --break --heading --line-number
grep-all = !"git rev-list --all | xargs git grep '$1'"

Name:

branch-name = rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD
upstream-name = !git for-each-ref --format='%(upstream:short)' $(git symbolic-ref -q HEAD)

Combine:

ours   = !"f() { git checkout --ours $@ && git add $@; }; f"
theirs = !"f() { git checkout --theirs $@ && git add $@; }; f"

Publish:

publish = "!git push -u origin $(git branch-name)"
unpublish = "!git push origin :$(git branch-name)"

Optimize:

pruner = !git prune --expire=now; git reflog expire --expire-unreachable=now --rewrite --all
repacker = !git repack -a -d -f --depth=300 --window=300 --window-memory=1g

Customization

You can customize any of the file items by editing the file as you like.

You can also customize any of the file items by adding your own item later in your own gitconfig file.

Alias

To include our aliases then customize "git l" with your own definition:

[include]
   path = ~/.gitconfig.d/gitalias.txt
   path = ~/.gitconfig.d/gitalias-for-topic-branches.txt

[alias]
   l = log --graph --oneline

Format

To use better pretty formatting:

[format]
  pretty = "%H %ci %ce %ae %d %s"

Status

To use terse status messages:

[alias]
  s = status -sb

Log

To use log summaries:

[alias]
  l = log --graph --oneline

Purpose

We are creating this alias list because we type these commands many times daily, and we want the commands to be fast and also accurate.

We often work on teams, across many companies and organizations, and using multiple shells. We want to count on a set of aliases. For shorter commands, such as s for status, fast speed is nice. For longer commands, such as repacker, accurate settings are important.

More ideas

More ideas for git improvements:

• If you want to alias the git command, then use your shell, such as alias g=git.
• If you want history views, see git-recall
• If you use oh-my-zsh, then you may like the git plugin
• If you use vim then see Fugitive
• If you use emacs then see Magit
• If you use git shell scripting then see SCM Breeze
• If you use node then see git-alias

For more git config ideas, and for credit for many of the aliases here, please see these excelent resources:

• https://git.wiki.kernel.org/index.php/Aliases
• http://web.archive.org/web/20100911013406/http://stackoverflow.com/questions/267761/what-does-your-gitconfig-contain
• http://web.archive.org/web/20111114085847/http://superuser.com/questions/169695/what-are-your-favorite-git-aliases
• http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1309430/how-to-embed-bash-script-directly-inside-a-git-alias
• http://code.joejag.com/2013/everyday-git-aliases/
• http://blog.apiaxle.com/post/handy-git-tips-to-stop-you-getting-fired/
• https://ochronus.com/git-tips-from-the-trenches/
• http://mislav.uniqpath.com/2010/07/git-tips/
• https://github.com/WuTheFWasThat/dotfiles/blob/master/.gitconfig
• https://gist.github.com/felipesabino/6391408
• Human Git Aliases

Contributing

We welcome people contributing, such as creating pull requests, or creating issue reports, or tweeting ideas to us.

• We're aiming to have new kinds of pull requests open for a week to encourage comments.

We want this project to be a good starting point for teams.

• We're aiming for consensus and practicality.

• We want ease of use, ease of composability, and ease of understanding.

• We use the Git documentation guidelines for our coding format.

• We like meaningful comments and practical examples to help novices.

We prefer this git commit message format:

• Subject
  • Start with an imperative verb, such as "Add", "Remove", "Fix", "Upgrade", etc.
  • Capitalize the line, for example "Add" not "add".
  • Limit the line to 50 characters.
  • End the line without a period.
  • Use a blank line after the subject to separate the subject from the body.
• Body
  • Wrap the body at 72 characters.
  • Use the body to explain what and why vs. how.
  • For commits with more than one author, add "Author: Alice [email protected]".
  • For commits that refer to a URL, add "URL: https://example.com".
  • For commits that refer to a tracker, use the complete URL, not just a number or code.
• For more info see How to write a git commit message.

Thanks

Thanks to all the contributors, including all the creators of the projects mentioned above.

Thanks to these people for extra help:

• Joel Parker Henderson
• Bill Lazar
• Joe Nelson
• Oleg Broytman
• Scott Lindsay
• baudtack
• Ruben Verborgh
• Rob Kennedy
• Corey Haines
• Mislav Marohnić
• Gary Bernhardt
• Joe Nelson
• Rob Miller
• Michal Jarosz
• Nick Palmer
• Michael Mior