narenaryan Git Revision Syntax
Single Commits
| Syntax | Meaning |
|---|---|
abc123 |
SHA prefix (≥4, unambiguous) |
HEAD / @ |
current commit |
HEAD^ |
first parent |
HEAD^2 |
second parent (merge's other side) |
HEAD~N |
walk N steps along first parent |
HEAD~3^2 |
chained: grandparent's merge sibling |
HEAD@{2} |
2 reflog entries ago |
HEAD@{yesterday} / @{2.weeks.ago} |
reflog by time |
@{-1} |
previously checked-out branch |
@{u} / @{push} |
upstream / push target |
tag^{} |
deref annotated tag to commit |
:/fix typo |
newest commit whose msg matches regex |
^N picks parent N of one commit (merge-aware). ~N walks N first-parent steps. Different.
Ranges
| Syntax | Meaning |
|---|---|
A..B |
in B, not A |
A...B |
symmetric diff (either but not both) |
^A B / B --not A |
same as A..B |
A B ^C |
in A or B, not C |
git log origin/main..HEAD # unpushed
git log --left-right main...feature # side-marked
git log HEAD --not release/*
Content-Based Selectors
git log -S"token" # commits where literal token count changed
git log -S"pat" --pickaxe-regex
git log -G"regex" # commits touching any matching line
git log -L :funcName:file.js # evolution of a function
git log -L 10,20:file.js # evolution of line range
-S = added/removed detection; -G = any line touching pattern.
Plumbing
git rev-parse HEAD~3 # resolve to full SHA
git merge-base A B # nearest common ancestor
git name-rev <sha> # which branch/tag contains it
Pitfalls
- Reflog selectors (
@{N},@{time}) are local, expire (~90 days). HEAD^in zsh/PowerShell needs quoting.A..Bis empty if B is an ancestor of A — probably wantB..A.