Git Changes

An intuitive way to list changes between Git commits

Overview

Git Changes is a powerful yet simple command-line utility that helps developers understand what changed between Git commits. Whether you're preparing for a deployment, reviewing code changes, or debugging production issues, Git Changes provides a clear, formatted overview of commits and file changes with an intuitive interface.

Why?

As developers, we frequently need to understand what changed between different points in our Git history. Common scenarios include:

• Preparing release notes for a deployment
• Investigating when and why a change was introduced
• Reviewing changes in specific parts of the codebase
• Understanding what will be deployed to production

While Git provides powerful tools like git diff and git log, they often require:

• Remembering complex command arguments
• Manual combination of multiple commands
• Mental mapping between commit hashes and dates
• Extra effort to filter and format output

Git Changes solves these problems by providing:

• Simple, memorable commands
• Clear, formatted output
• Interactive commit selection
• Smart date-based filtering
• Directory-specific views

Features

• Interactive Commit Picker: Select commits visually with fuzzy search and preview
• Smart Date References: View changes from the last N days with simple commands
• Directory Filtering: Focus on changes in specific parts of your codebase
• Commit History Overview: See all commits with author and timestamp
• Changed Files List: Quickly identify which files were modified
• Flexible References: Use commit hashes, branch names, or relative references

Installation

1. Clone the Repository:

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/git-changes.git
cd git-changes

2. Run the Installation Script: The simplest way to install is to run the provided installation script:

./bin/install_alias.sh

This will set up a Git alias to run the script with command alias git changes.

Alternatively, you can set up the alias manually:

git config --global alias.changes '!bash /path/to/git-changes/bin/git-changes.sh'

Usage

After setting up the alias, you can use the following formats:

• Compare Using Commit Range:

git changes abc123 def456

• Interactive Commit Selection:

git changes pick                 # Select from all commits
git changes pick frontend       # Select from commits touching frontend
git changes pick -- frontend backend  # Select from commits touching either directory

• Time-Based Selection:

git changes 5d                  # Show changes in last 5 days
git changes 2days              # Show changes in last 2 days
git changes 1d -- frontend backend  # Show changes in last day in either directory

• Directory Filtering:

git changes abc123 def456 ./src  # Show changes only in src directory
git changes abc123 def456 -- ./src ./lib  # Show changes in multiple directories

Example Output

Changes between hash abc123 -----> def456


List of commits:
abc123 - (2 days ago) Add user authentication - Jane Doe
bcd234 - (2 days ago) Fix login validation - John Smith
cde345 - (3 days ago) Update dependencies - Jane Doe


List of files changed:
src/auth/login.js
src/components/LoginForm.jsx
package.json

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to submit issues or pull requests to enhance Git Changes.

License

This project is licensed under custom terms - see the LICENSE file for details.