Jose Angel Munoz

Posted on Sep 28, 2022 • Updated on Oct 4, 2022

What are your git aliases?

#git #beginners #tutorial #productivity

Introduction

I've been requested multiple times about sharing my .gitconfig to copy my aliases.

I use git aliases for two reasons:

To improve productivity.
To remember interesting git commands and learn from them.

My Gitconfig

These are my aliases included in my ~/.gitconfig file for your reference:

[alias]
    a = add .
    aliases = config --get-regexp alias
    alias = ! git config --get-regexp ^alias\\. | sed -e s/^alias.// -e s/\\ /\\ $(printf \"\\043\")--\\>\\ / | column -t -s $(printf \"\\043\") | sort -k 1
    ap = add . -p
    addups = remote add upstream
    bd = branch -d
    bi = bisect
    bl = branch -l
    blr = branch -a
    br = branch -r
    ca = commit -a
    cam = commit -a -m
    ci = commit -m
    cia = commit --author='imjoseangel <anotheremail@example.com>' -m
    cm = commit
    co = checkout
    colast = checkout -
    comments = commit -m 📒Comments
    count = rev-list --count devel
    db = branch -D
    forgetAbout = rm --cached
    formatting = commit -m 💅Formatting
    fp = fetch -p
    grep = grep -F
    laf = fsck --lost-found
    last = log -1 HEAD
    latest = log -5 --pretty --oneline
    ls = ls-files --others --exclude-standard -z
    mend = commit --amend
    nb = checkout -b
    op = gc --prune=now --aggressive
    pdo = push -d origin
    pf = push --force-with-lease
    po = push origin
    pou = push --set-upstream origin
    pr = pull --rebase
    pror = remote prune origin
    prud = pull --rebase upstream devel
    prum = pull --rebase upstream main
    prune = remote update --prune
    ptag = push origin --tags
    ra = rebase --abort
    rc = rebase --continue
    refactor = commit -m 👷Refactor
    remotes = remote -v
    renb = branch -m
    rh = reset --hard
    rhh = reset --hard HEAD
    ri = rebase -i upstream/devel
    rim = rebase -i upstream/main
    rl = reflog
    rp = repack -ad
    s = status -s
    search = rev-list --all
    sh = show
    short = shortlog -sn
    sign = commit --amend --no-edit --signoff
    st = status
    stashes = stash list
    tests = commit --allow empty -m ✅Tests
    tuto = help tutorial
    tuto2 = help tutorial-2
    unstash = stash pop
    vc = clean -dfx
    wow = log --all --graph --decorate --oneline --simplify-by-decoration

Running git alias after adding to the .gitconfig shows the list of all the aliases as a reference list.

To get more info, just run git help <command or alias>. For instance:

git help st
'st' is aliased to 'status'

git help status

There are two aliases I find interesting for beginners:

git tuto
git tuto2

Comments and suggestions with different approaches are always welcomed.

Oldest comments (48)

Michael Beckwith • Sep 29 '22

I mostly just stick with these:

alias gdiff="git difftool"
alias gap="git add -p"

Everything else is longform because I prefer to be familiar with the most common commands in case i'm ever not on a computer that's mine.

Jose Angel Munoz • Sep 29 '22

Thanks @tw2113 I will add them to my list.

Austin Cunningham • Sep 29 '22

dev.to/austincunningham/git-log-pr...

Jose Angel Munoz • Sep 29 '22

Nice one @austincunningham Thanks!

Thomas Bnt ☕ • Sep 29 '22

Good timing this post!

I recreated my WSL space on my Windows 10, and I created some aliases for git and others commands.

aliases ga="git add"
aliases gc="git commit -m $1"
aliases gp="git push"
aliases gpu="git pull"

😄🙌

Jose Angel Munoz • Sep 30 '22

Good ones @thomasbnt Thank you!!!

Juan F Gonzalez • Sep 29 '22

Well, my git alias list is not that long. It's like 8 lines which are for the most used git commands. And I don't have aliases for commands with different flags.
But that's the good thing about it, personalization rules.

Adijat Motunrayo Adeneye • Sep 29 '22

Hello, how do I add my alias

Jose Angel Munoz • Sep 30 '22

Hi @motuncoded , just create a .gitalias file in your home:

cat ~/.gitconfig, and add your list in the [alias] section as shown in the post.

Let me know if it help.

Thank you!

FJones • Sep 29 '22 • Edited

The only one I sometimes configure is git s for status, but even that I usually just type out. One thing I did alias was merging current branch to our integration branch, which lets me easily chain either the push or the push and checkout $currb after it, or waiting for the CI pipeline to start before pushing.

Though I do sometimes think about aliasing m to merge --no-edit and ca to merge --amend --no-edit, because I often forget to add the no-edit param and get annoyed by the need to quit nano.

Jose Angel Munoz • Sep 30 '22

Thanks for your comments @fjones

necrophcodr • Sep 30 '22

I don't believe using aliases is a good idea. I seldom use it even in my shell, but I prefer to leave it out entirely with applications that I might not be the only one using. And Git is definitely not something of which I'm the sole user, so avoiding aliases makes it much easier to remember the full commands as they would be available for my friends and colleagues if I need to help them out, or if I'll be writing documentation on how we're doing certain processes.

In those cases I think using an alias will cause more harm than good, and so I avoid them. The extra keystrokes are not an issue for me, as I'm a slow thinker anyways, haha.

Jose Angel Munoz • Sep 30 '22

I understand @necrophcodr , You can always have them to learn new commands and git options. Thanks for sharing!

olsard • Sep 30 '22

Nice, thanks for sharing.
I would add some of my aliases

no-edit = commit --amend --no-edit
back = reset --soft HEAD~1
back2 = reset --soft HEAD~2
back3 = reset --soft HEAD~3

Jose Angel Munoz • Sep 30 '22

Thanks for sharing you too!!

tPenguinLTG • Sep 30 '22

My aliases are either things I use regularly or things that I find useful on occasion and would otherwise have to look up every time. I've added explanatory comments to some of the less-obvious aliases.

[alias]
    # File changes
    ## gen-ignore <lang>: Outputs a .gitignore file for `lang` from gitignore.io to stdout.
    gen-ignore = "!_gi() { curl -L -s https://www.gitignore.io/api/$@ ;}; _gi"
    ## ignore/hard-ignore: See https://stackoverflow.com/a/13631525
    ignore = update-index --assume-unchanged
    unignore = update-index --no-assume-unchanged
    hard-ignore = update-index --skip-worktree
    hard-unignore = update-index --no-skip-worktree
    ## ls-ignored: Lists files marked with assume-unchanged.
    ls-ignored = !git ls-files -v | grep '^[[:lower:]]' | cut -c 3-
    ## ls-hard-ignored: Lists files marked with skip-worktree.
    ls-hard-ignored = !git ls-files -v | grep -i '^S' | cut -c 3-
    word-diff = diff --word-diff
    char-diff = diff --word-diff --word-diff-regex='([^[:alnum:]]|[^[:space:]])'
    ## drop [stash_args...]: Like `reset HEAD`, but changes are recoverable from the stash reflog. Forwards arguments to `stash push`.
    drop = "!_drop() { git stash push \"$@\" && git stash drop; }; _drop"
    stat = status --short --branch

    # Commits
    ## init-commit: Initializes the repo and creates an empty initial commit.
    init-commit = !git init && git commit --allow-empty -m \"Initial commit\" -m \"This commit intentionally left blank.\"
    amend = commit --amend --no-edit
    fixup = commit --fixup
    squash = commit --squash

    # Log
    graph = log --graph --oneline
    log-yesterday = log --since=yesterday.midnight --oneline

    # Branches
    pulre = pull --rebase
    ## push-new: Pushes the current branch to `origin` with the same name and sets up tracking.
    push-new = push -u origin HEAD
    push-lease = push --force-with-lease
    ## sq [base_branch]: Starts an interactive rebase from the base of the branch relative to `base_branch`
    ##                   (defaults to `master`; can be any ref) without applying changes on top of `base_branch`.
    sq = "!_sq() { git rebase --interactive --autosquash $(git merge-base HEAD ${1:-master}); }; _sq"

push-new can easily be rewritten to accept other remote names as arguments, and sq's default can be changed to use main or pull init.defaultBranch from the Git config instead of master.

I tend not to use too many short forms or have too many aliases because tab completion exists and I don't want to develop non-portable muscle memory.

Jose Angel Munoz • Sep 30 '22

Wow! I will take some from you and adding to my list of learning commands. Thanks!

Michael Z • Sep 30 '22

I have a handful of useful git aliases that help me be more productive:

Jose Angel Munoz • Oct 1 '22

Thanks for sharing @michi

Todd Pressley • Oct 1 '22 • Edited

wow… @tpenguinltg ’s stuff - that’s on a different level entirely (: can’t wait to try some of those!

i use many of the aliases shared by others regularly. one alias in particular saves me a ton of time daily:

#!/bin/bash

alias gmd=“git checkout development && git pull && git checkout - && git merge development”
alias push=“gmd && git push”

stashes any wd changes
checks out development/master/etc
pulls the latest
checks out the previous branch
merges the latest from the main (e.g. development), then lastly

It’s not strictly a git alias, i know, though you could prob make that work 🤷‍♂️ never tried 😉 useful nonetheless IMH

I use it anytime i’m done with a feature and need push and open a PR on main.

great post. inspiring stuff!

tPenguinLTG • Oct 4 '22

Did you know you can shorten your gmd alias to just git pull origin development (assuming origin is the correct remote)? It's not exactly the same since it won't update your local development branch, but it will do the important part and make your current branch up to date with the remote development.

Eric Haynes • Oct 1 '22

Great list! Will definitely add a few of these.

A few more that I like:

# oops, missed a file in prior commit
ca = commit --amend --no-edit
fa = fetch --all --prune
# IMO this option should be the default for force pushing
pf = push --force-with-lease
# thing you do for first push of a branch
pu = push -u origin HEAD
# create a WIP commit without running precommit
wip = commit -m\"WIP\" --no-verify
# "uncommit"
pop = reset HEAD^
# list branches by most recent commit
recent = for-each-ref --sort=-committerdate --count=30 --format='%(refname:short)' refs/heads/

Jose Angel Munoz • Oct 2 '22

Thanks for sharing @ehaynes99 ! I will take note of yours too.

Orlando Brown • Oct 1 '22

Sorry to be a Party Pooper!!
But why not use ZSH with the Oh ZSH add-on and it's various plugins. ohmyz.sh/

Even posted on Dev.to
dev.to/0xkoji/do-you-know-oh-my-zs...

Uchechukwu Obasi • Oct 1 '22

Great aliases you've got!
I have just one git alias at the moment and that is:

[alias]
    ## sign your commit message
    csm = commit -s -m

This comes very handy especially if you contribute to open source projects frequently.

Jose Angel Munoz • Oct 2 '22 • Edited

Thanks @thisisobate ! Added to my list

Jose Angel Munoz • Oct 2 '22

Nice ones also @ginomempin . Thanks for sharing!

View full discussion (52 comments)

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What are your git aliases?

Introduction

My Gitconfig

Oldest comments (48)

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