Git log is an essential command when working with git version control. It allows you to see the history of a repository, including details about each commit like the author, date, and commit message. It lets you know what’s changed, when it changed and by who.

Basic Git Log Example

Using the git log command is simple. Just navigate to your git repo in your terminal window and run ‘git log‘. This will display a list of most recent commits in your repo, starting with the most recent.

$ git log

Git Log Parameters & Options

The git log command has several options that allow us to tailor the information it displays. For instance, you can use it with the –oneline parameter to condense results, or with the –auther paramter to filter results by user.

We can also change the output format:

# show most recent 5 commits on one line, with formatting 
git log -5 --graph --pretty=format:'%C(red)%h%Creset -%C(yellow)%d%Creset %s %C(green)(%cr) %C(yellow)<%an>%Creset'