How do I see the commit differences between branches in git?

Question

I'm on branch-X and have added a couple more commits on top of it. I want to see all the differences between MASTER and the branch that I am on in terms of commits. I could just do a

git checkout master
git log

and then a

git checkout branch-X
git log

and visually diff these, but I'm hoping for an easier, less error-prone method.

Solution 1

You can get a really nice, visual output of how your branches differ with this

git log --graph --pretty=format:'%Cred%h%Creset -%C(yellow)%d%Creset %s %Cgreen(%cr)%Creset' --abbrev-commit --date=relative master..branch-X

Solution 2

You can easily do that with

git log master..branch-X

That will show you commits that branch-X has but master doesn't.

Solution 3

I think it is matter of choice and context.I prefer to use

git log origin/master..origin/develop --oneline --no-merges

It will display commits in develop which are not in master branch.

If you want to see which files are actually modified use

git diff --stat origin/master..origin/develop --no-merges

If you don't specify arguments it will display the full diff. If you want to see visual diff, install meld on linux, or WinMerge on windows. Make sure they are the default difftools .Then use something like

git difftool -y origin/master..origin/develop --no-merges

In case you want to compare it with current branch. It is more convenient to use HEAD instead of branch name like use:

git fetch
git log origin/master..HEAD --oneline --no-merges

It will show you all the commits, about to be merged

Solution 4

I'd suggest the following to see the difference "in commits". For symmetric difference, repeat the command with inverted args:

git cherry -v master [your branch, or HEAD as default]

Solution 5

If you are on Linux, gitg is way to go to do it very quickly and graphically.

If you insist on command line you can use:

git log --oneline --decorate

To make git log nicer by default, I typically set these global preferences:

git config --global log.decorate true
git config --global log.abbrevCommit true

View more solutions

Comments

[Pablo Fernandez heelhook]

That won't show you differences between branches though which is what is being asked.

[Pablo Fernandez heelhook]

git log --oneline --graph --all --decorate --abbrev-commit will give you a similar output in a shorter/more readable command

[Son of the Wai-Pan]

I like this: git log --all --graph --pretty=format:'%Cred%h%Creset -%C(yellow)%d%Creset %s %Cgreen(%cr)%Creset'

[Shawn Erquhart]

Extremely overcomplicated.

[Dave]

do this: alias diff-branches="git log --graph --pretty=format:'%Cred%h%Creset -%C(yellow)%d%Creset %s %Cgreen(%cr)%Creset' --abbrev-commit --date=relative". Then do this diff-branches master..branch-X. Now it's not complicated.

[avmohan]

git log --oneline --graph --all --decorate is enough, --abbrev-commit is not required, --oneline is short for --pretty=oneline --abbrev-commit

[cp.engr]

@ShawnErquhart, you could alias as Dave suggests, or you could add the alias to your ~/.gitconfig.

[cp.engr]

@Avery, the --all switch in yours shows more than just the difference requested.

[Elliott Slaughter]

Is there an option if both branches contain commits that the other doesn't? Right now, you have to flip the arguments and run it both ways to see commits the other branch doesn't contain.

[Dave]

If you've already switched to branch-X you can use git log master..

[Xavier T.]

@ElliottSlaughter: If you want to find commit that are either in master or branch-X but not both, you can use git log master...branch-X (three dots instead of two). See man gitrevisionsfor more info.

[jterm]

Its really only half the answer. Any commits in master that cause the branches to diverge won't show up

[pkamb]

Also, creating a Pull Request will also show the branch differences.

[Tuffwer]

If commits have been cherry-picked from branch-X to master this won't filter them out. They will still be on the list of commits "In branch-X but not on master" even though they are actually in both..

[Ashutosh Chamoli]

Using double quotes instead of single like below works for me git log --graph --pretty=format:"%Cred%h%Creset -%C(yellow)%d%Creset %s %Cgreen(%cr)%Creset" --abbrev-commit --date=relative master..branch-X

[claudiu.f.marginean]

If you compare a release branch that might have merges. You may like remove the merge commits (that do not add any value) with the help of the param --no-merges like: git log origin/master..HEAD --oneline --no-merges

[ilmirons]

Is this different from git master..branch-X?

[mmaruska]

Sure, "git cherry" is smart: it translates from "commits" into "patches/diffs" and can avoid reporting a "patch" which is on both branches but applied in different order.

[opticyclic]

Instead of using --oneline and piping to cut you can use git log --format='%s'

[noamgot]

Similarly to @Dave 's suggestion - if you're on branch mater then do git log ..branc-X

[abcd]

the --decorate flag is no longer necessary either, as of version 2.13

[Diogo Cardoso]

Outputs the SHA1 of every commit, prefixed with - for commits that have an equivalent in master, and + for commits that do not.

[larsl]

This works especially well with patch-based workflows where commits are often cherry-picked and applied to other branches.

[Peter Out]

Git log shows you what commits are in branch a that are not in branch b. Thus the order in which you supply the branches dictates the output. This is totally different to what git diff does and as such does not answer the question.

[JHBonarius]

THIS!!! THANKS! Else I get "unknown revision or path not in the working tree."

[alper]

Can gitk open in dark-mode?

[Franco Gil]

This only work for Public repos., what if I have a Private repo and the admin does not provide me all the access to response the question? For this current answer is not valid.

[pushkarajthorat]

just invert the colors of the window