Git Log
The SmartGit Log display provides interactive visualization of the Git Log, allowing you to view the structure of the commit history in a repository, and to visualize the changes made to files and directories as commits are added.
Log is invoked from the Query | Log menu option.
Tip
If you make frequent use of the Log, you should consider configuring the Log Window as your default window when using SmartGit in the Preferences.
SmartGit’s Log extends changes to not just your local repository’s commits, but also allows you to use the Working Tree/Index node to operate on local changes which are not yet committed.
The Log display has the following elements:
- The Branches View, allowing you to select which branches should be include in the log display. Toggle a branch to include/exclude as necessary.
- The Graph View, showing a visualization of the commit history and the current HEAD references of the selected branches. You can select one or more commits on the Graph to compare changes between commits.
- The Commit View, showing audit information about who and when a commit was authored, as well as the commit SHA and message.
- The Files View, showing state of the files as at the time of the selected Commit.
- The Changes View, showing differences between commits.
SmartGit’s Log displays the working tree state and the repository’s history as a list of commits, sorted by increasing age, and with a graph on the left side to show the parent-child relationships between the commits.
Controlling the Scope of Files available in the Log Tool
The content displayed in the Log depends on what was selected when the Log command was invoked:
- To view the history of the entire repository (root Log), select the repository in the Repositories View before invoking the Log command.
- To view the history of a directory within the repository, select the directory in the Repositories View before invoking the Log command.
- To view the history of a single file within the repository, select the file in the Files View before invoking the Log command. If the file is not visible in the Files View, either adjust the file table’s filter settings (on its top right), or enter the name of the file in the search field above the file table.
A root Log can be invoked from other places in SmartGit as well:
- In the Branches View (just in the Working Tree window), you can right-click on a branch and select Log to open the Log for the selected branch.
- In the Journal View, you can right-click on a specific commit and invoke Log to open the Log for the current branch, with the selected commit pre-selected in the Log.
Comparing Changes between Commits
- If you select a single commit:
- the Commit View shows the audit and commit message information for the commit.
- the Files view shows the files state as at the selected commit.
- selecting a file will show the changes committed made to this file between this commit and the previous commit, in the Changes View.
- If you select any two commits Graph View:
- When you select a file in the Files View SmartGit will compare these two commits in the Changes View
- The Commit View will show the respective commit audit and message information for both commits.
If the Working Tree/Index node is selected at the top of the commit tree, the Files view shows the files from the index and working tree. Selecting a file will display its index or working tree changes.
Use the checkboxes in the Branches view to control what is displayed in the Graph view. The Recyclable Commits checkbox at the bottom of the Branch view will display all commits no longer accessible from a branch or tag. This can be useful for accessing “lost” commits.
Note
Git does not keep record of the (current) branch as part of a commit. However, when creating merge commits, Git always uses the currently checked out (branch that points to a) commit as first parent and the merged one as second parent. This way it’s possible to find out which commits belong to the same branch (first parent) and which were merged (second parent).
Log Commands
In the Log window, virtually all commands which are available in the context of the Working Tree window are available here:
- Commands which are available from the main menu bar
- Commands available on the context menu when a commit is selected
- Commands available in the Graph view, like local refs or the HEAD-arrow can be modified using drag-and-drop
- Commands which assist with re-writing commits. For details refer to Interactive Rebase
Compare Commits
You can compare two commits in the Graph by selecting both commits (Ctrl-click). The difference from the newer commit compared to the older commit will be displayed in the Files view. By selecting a file you can see detailed change in the Changes view. In a similar way, you can compare the Index against a specific commit.
Tip
When comparing branches you can also invoke Reveal Commit from the context menu of the first branch in the Branches view, then invoke Compare with Selected Commit on the second branch.
Recyclable Commits
In the Branches view, you can toggle Recyclable Commits to get list obsolete heads which are no longer reachable from any ref in git. These unreachable commits may be eligible for permanent deletion (garbage collection).
(Technically, SmartGit will include all commits which are found in the reflogs (.git/logs-files) when determining which commits are Recyclable.)
Skip merge optimization when filtering
By default, SmartGit will “optimize” the display of merge commits when filtering the Log Graph. To skip the merge optimization, in the Preferences, section Low-Level Property you may set log.graph.topoFilter.alwaysIncludeContainingMerges to true. For example, for following unfiltered Graph:
0 : 57d # [b6][*master] commit 6
|\
| \
1 : b52 | # [b5] commit 5
| |
| |
2 : | 8e8 # [b4] commit 4
| /|
|/ |
3 : | fe0 # [b3] commit 3
| |
| |
4 : 722 | # [b2] commit 2
| /
|/
5 : dd2 # [b1] commit 1
Filtering for “commit 1” and “commit 3” will by default give:
0: 57d # [6] [b6][*master] commit 6
|\
| \
1: | fe0 # [6] [b3][b4] commit 3
| /
|/
2: dd2 # [6] [b1][b2][b5]<b4> commit 1
And with log.graph.topoFilter.alwaysIncludeContainingMerges=true it will give:
0 : 57d # [6] [b6][*master] commit 6
|\
| \
1 : | 8e8 # [6] [b4] commit 4
| /|
|/ |
2 : | fe0 # [6] [b3] commit 3
| /
|/
3 : dd2 # [6] [b1][b2][b5] commit 1