How do I show the git branch with colours in Bash prompt?

Question

I am using this guide to show the branch name in gnome terminal (Ubuntu 15.10) when working in a git repository. Based on the above I now have the below in my ~/.bashrc file:

# uncomment for a colored prompt, if the terminal has the capability; turned
# off by default to not distract the user: the focus in a terminal window
# should be on the output of commands, not on the prompt
#force_color_prompt=yes 

...

# Add git branch if its present to PS1
parse_git_branch() {
 git branch 2> /dev/null | sed -e '/^[^*]/d' -e 's/* \(.*\)/(\1)/'
}
if [ "$color_prompt" = yes ]; then
 PS1='${debian_chroot:+($debian_chroot)}\[\033[01;32m\]\u@\h\[\033[00m\]:\[\033[01;34m\]\w\[\033[01;31m\]$(parse_git_branch)\[\033[00m\]\$ '
else
 PS1='${debian_chroot:+($debian_chroot)}\u@\h:\w$(parse_git_branch)\$ '
fi
unset color_prompt force_color_prompt

As a result I now get:

so it works. But why has the coloring of my user@host been removed? And I would also expect that the branch name should be colored. Before it looked like this:

UPDATE: I have now tried this guide instead:

https://coderwall.com/p/fasnya/add-git-branch-name-to-bash-prompt

adding this to .bashrc:

parse_git_branch() {
     git branch 2> /dev/null | sed -e '/^[^*]/d' -e 's/* \(.*\)/ (\1)/'
}
export PS1="\u@\h \[\033[32m\]\w\[\033[33m\]\$(parse_git_branch)\[\033[00m\] $ "

and that works:

Notice in .bashrc I also have this (default):

# uncomment for a colored prompt, if the terminal has the capability; turned
# off by default to not distract the user: the focus in a terminal window
# should be on the output of commands, not on the prompt
#force_color_prompt=yes

I have yet to find the reason why that snippet gives the correct result and the other version does not. Any input on this?

Here is the version of my .bashrc that has the old snippet enabled that does not work:

http://pastebin.com/M8kjEiH3

Solution 1

This snippet:

# Add git branch if its present to PS1

parse_git_branch() {
 git branch 2> /dev/null | sed -e '/^[^*]/d' -e 's/* \(.*\)/(\1)/'
}
if [ "$color_prompt" = yes ]; then
 PS1='${debian_chroot:+($debian_chroot)}\[\033[01;32m\]\u@\h\[\033[00m\]:\[\033[01;34m\]\w\[\033[01;31m\]$(parse_git_branch)\[\033[00m\]\$ '
else
 PS1='${debian_chroot:+($debian_chroot)}\u@\h:\w$(parse_git_branch)\$ '
fi

Is meant to replace the default prompt definition:

if [ "$color_prompt" = yes ]; then
    PS1='${debian_chroot:+($debian_chroot)}\[\033[01;32m\]\u@\h\[\033[00m\]:\[\033[01;34m\]\w\[\033[00m\]\$ '
else
    PS1='${debian_chroot:+($debian_chroot)}\u@\h:\w\$ '
fi

Which ends with:

unset color_prompt force_color_prompt

The .bashrc you posted shows you're adding it after the default prompt definition and unset color_prompt force_color_prompt (line #64).

Either replace the default prompt definition with the snippet or leave your ~/.bashrc as it is and comment the default prompt definition along with unset color_prompt force_color_prompt on line #64:

---

So part of your .bashrc could look like

parse_git_branch() {
 git branch 2> /dev/null | sed -e '/^[^*]/d' -e 's/* \(.*\)/(\1)/'
}
if [ "$color_prompt" = yes ]; then
 PS1='${debian_chroot:+($debian_chroot)}\[\033[01;32m\]\u@\h\[\033[00m\]:\[\033[01;34m\]\w\[\033[01;31m\] $(parse_git_branch)\[\033[00m\]\$ '
else
 PS1='${debian_chroot:+($debian_chroot)}\u@\h:\w$(parse_git_branch)\$ '
fi
# THE SIX LINES BELOW are the default prompt and the unset (which were in the original .bashrc)
#if [ "$color_prompt" = yes ]; then
#    PS1='${debian_chroot:+($debian_chroot)}\[\033[01;32m\]\u@\h\[\033[00m\]:\[\033[01;34m\]\w\[\033[00m\]\$ '
#else
#    PS1='${debian_chroot:+($debian_chroot)}\u@\h:\w\$ '
#fi
#unset color_prompt force_color_prompt

Solution 2

Ubuntu: Show your branch name on your terminal

Add these lines in your ~/.bashrc file

# Show git branch name
force_color_prompt=yes
color_prompt=yes
parse_git_branch() {
 git branch 2> /dev/null | sed -e '/^[^*]/d' -e 's/* \(.*\)/(\1)/'
}
if [ "$color_prompt" = yes ]; then
 PS1='${debian_chroot:+($debian_chroot)}\[\033[01;32m\]\u@\h\[\033[00m\]:\[\033[01;34m\]\w\[\033[01;31m\]$(parse_git_branch)\[\033[00m\]\$ '
else
 PS1='${debian_chroot:+($debian_chroot)}\u@\h:\w$(parse_git_branch)\$ '
fi
unset color_prompt force_color_prompt

Reload the .bashrc file with this command:

$ source ~/.bashrc

Solution 3

For now, I followed this https://gist.github.com/eliotsykes/47516b877f5a4f7cd52f and working, liking it so far, though I'm planning to customize it further.

In Terminal

mkdir ~/.bash

Copy the raw git-prompt.sh file from git contrib in to the ~/.bash directory: https://github.com/git/git/blob/master/contrib/completion/git-prompt.sh

Inside ~/.bashrc or ~/.bash_profile (choose the file where you normally put any bash customizations/setup), add the lines:

source ~/.bash/git-prompt.sh # Show git branch name at command prompt
export GIT_PS1_SHOWCOLORHINTS=true # Option for git-prompt.sh to show branch name in color

# Terminal Prompt:
# Include git branch, use PROMPT_COMMAND (not PS1) to get color output (see git-prompt.sh for more)
export PROMPT_COMMAND='__git_ps1 "\w" "\n\\\$ "' # Git branch (relies on git-prompt.sh)

As long as you're inside a git repo, your Bash prompt should now show the current git branch in color signifying if its got uncommitted changes.

Solution 4

Quick hack:

1. Adding this to ~/.bashrc:

parse_git_branch() {
     git branch 2> /dev/null | sed -e '/^[^*]/d' -e 's/* \(.*\)/(\1)/'
}

export PS1="\u@\h \[\e[32m\]\w \[\e[91m\]\$(parse_git_branch)\[\e[00m\]$ "

2. Restart the terminal, or source ~/.bashrc:

More detail: https://medium.com/@thucnc/how-to-show-current-git-branch-with-colors-in-bash-prompt-380d05a24745

Solution 5

Append the lines below to ~/.bashrc:

export GIT_PS1_SHOWDIRTYSTATE=true
export GIT_PS1_SHOWUNTRACKEDFILES=true

export PS1='\[\033[32m\]\u@\h\[\033[00m\]:\[\033[34m\]\w\[\033[31m\]$(__git_ps1)\[\033[00m\]\$ '

View more solutions

Comments

[muru]

Was force_color_prompt uncommented before?

[u123]

Yes I have tried with both uncommented and commented same result. The guide posted above says its should be commented out.

[muru]

Can you post your complete .bashrc? IIRC the default .bashrc doesn't enable colour prompts, so you have to change it to show colours. It depends on what you changed.

[muru]

Your new snippet has colour codes in them (the \[\033[32m\] and similar parts) without any checks. The old snippet checks if colour prompts are enabled before using them, and if they're not enabled, well.

[u123]

As far as I can see the old snippet also has that when it evals to true. And I did try with 'force_color_prompt=yes' enabled/disabled. I made sure to restart gnome-terminal after each change.

[muru]

That's why I asked you to show the rest of the .bashrc.

[muru]

Have a look at line 64, which should tell you why uncommenting force_color_prompt didn't help.

[u123]

I have added a link to a pastebin of the bashrc file containing the version of the old snippet that does not work.

[kos]

@u123 The .bashrc you just posted confirms my theory, you're setting the prompt after unset color_prompt force_color_prompt. Remove line 64 and it'll work.

[u123]

Thanks that works. I never touched this part of my .bashrc file. Assumed that the old snippet would work without having to modify other parts of the bashrc file. I will stick with the new snippet since it works with a default .bashrc file - no need for removing line 64.

[muru]

@u123 don't worry about the default .bashrc too much. If you mess up, you can always get the original from /etc/skel/.bashrc.

[jjjjjj]

How can I add this only if the current directory is a git repo? I tried an if/else based on whether or not the contents of $git_parse_branch() were empty, but this didn't work

[djvg]

For anyone wondering about the color codes and other magic symbols...

[Player1]

Thank you! I love it when deploying.

[CervEd]

I'd recommend using git-prompt.sh instead. Nevertheless, there's no need to use git branch and pipe to sed. Just use git describe --contains --all HEAD

[u123]

Verified the above and you are correct. I will stick with new version of snippet since it works without having to modify the default parts of the bashrc file.

[Avinash Raj]

it fails to add color to the branch name.

[kos]

@AvinashRaj Test it with a copy of the default ~/.bashrc in /etc/skel/.bashrc, you might have something interfering in your ~/.bashrc.

[Adil Abbasi]

un-comment force_color_prompt=yes (line # 48) if the colors are not visible.

[Elazar]

Faster: git symbolic-ref --short HEAD 2> /dev/null

[Niket Pathak]

To color your branch according to its status, you can use the native git-prompt script provided by git itself.

[user2018197]

With this method, if you are using any python virtual environment, keep in mind that this won't display the virtual environment name in the terminal.

[Denis Stephanov]

Hello, I tried it and it works only where I switch superuser, can you tell me how to enable always?

[cbloss793]

This worked for me on 18.04!

[Bishwas Mishra]

Thanks. Using: Ubuntu 18.04.1 LTS

[call0fcode]

It worked also for me on elementaryOS 0.4 Loki. As simple as open my ~/.bashrc with the command sudo nano ~/.bashrc, copy your code at the end of the file, save it, exit and reload the ~/.bashrc with the code you pasted above. Thanks a lot ;)

[BeeGee]

Works on Redhat 6.8!

[warkentien2]

This worked and kept the colors! (Ubuntu 18.04)

[miguelmorin]

This should be the accepted answer, as it's clear, concise, and does the job, and it works on other platforms too.

[Piotr Żak]

Wokred on ubuntu 19.04

[fanny]

works on ubuntu 18.04

[Manuel Abascal]

I'm using Ubuntu 18.04.3 LTS & Terminator console and it works like a charm!

[Grávuj Miklós Henrich]

Works on Ubuntu 18.04.3 LTS

[Shantanu Tomar]

Worked for me in Ubuntu 19.10

[nilon]

How could I change the color and/or length of the git branch name that shows?

[Divyesh Prajapati]

Working in 18.04

[Santiago]

Works well for me and also shows the conda environment, when it's not the default one or when I go from another env into the default one.

[Riyafa Abdul Hameed]

Created a video to show the use of the git-prompt script created by git itself youtu.be/6DczjqG9HbA

[Emanuel Lindström]

Works fine for Ubuntu 20.04 on WSL2. Thanks!

[michal]

On Ubuntu 20.10 working correctly ;)

[Danilo Roascio]

The following at the end of ~/.bashrc simply appends to the distribution's default color prompt export PROMPT_COMMAND='__git_ps1 "'${PS1%???}'" "\n\\\$ "'

[Ajit Panigrahi]

I had this in my centOS & RHEL VMs and worked there, but for Ubuntu this didn't update on switching the current directory. Had to follow this for setting and unsetting values

[Robert Benson]

You should not need to use sudo to modify your own login file

[Javier]

Worked perfectly on 20.04 LTS

[Albert Hidalgo]

Worked on Ubuntu 20.04.2 LTS (WSL)

[igor]

I am not an expert, but managed to simplify parse method: git branch --show-current 2> /dev/null | sed -e 's/\(.*\)/ (\1)/'. Does anyone see any issues with this?

[igor]

Indeed, git branch --show-current 2> /dev/null | sed -e 's/\(.*\)/ (\1)/' works for me.

[suhailvs]

do i need to comment line unset color_prompt force_color_prompt or not?

[Abdes]

Worked perfectly on Debian GNU/Linux 9.13

[Rajan]

Please always try to provide the full answer even if you you are trying to improve someone else's answer. :)

[Oli]

I think it's visually apparent from the question that this probably isn't the case here, but it may apply to others.

[pintu]

Its working perfectly on ubuntu20.04 LTS

[infiniteLearner]

Awesome, working!!!!

[Admin]

@nilon To change the color of the branch name, replace 01;31m in the square brackets before $(parse_git_branch) with 33m, which is much more pleasent for the eyes, especially when using the shell with purple background. List of colors here: cyberciti.biz/faq/…

[Admin]

@Jakob Note that 01;33m is for yellow even though your link says it's brown