Git is a powerful tool for managing and tracking changes in your code. One of the most useful features of Git is the ability to see a list of the files that have been changed in a particular commit or between two commits. In this article, we’ll explore how to use Git to get a list of the changed files, including examples and explanations to help you understand the process.

Understanding the git diff command

The primary command for getting a list of changed files in Git is git diff. This command compares the differences between two commits, or between a commit and the current state of the repository. The basic syntax for the git diff command is as follows:

git diff [options] [ []] [--] […]

The git diff command can take several different options, but the most commonly used options are –name-only and –name-status. These options will only show the names of the changed files, rather than the full diff. For example, to see a list of the changed files between the current state of the repository and the last commit, you would use the following command:

git diff --name-only HEAD^

This command would show a list of the changed files in the last commit, with one file name per line.

You can also specify a range of commits that you want to see the changed files from. For example, you can use the command git diff –name-only HEAD~3..HEAD~1 to see a list of the changed files between the 3rd last commit and the 2nd last commit.

Using git log

Another way to get a list of the changed files in Git is to use the git log command. The git log command shows a log of all the commits in the repository, along with information about each commit such as the author, date, and commit message. To see a list of the changed files for a particular commit, you can use the –name-only option with the git log command. For example, to see a list of the changed files for the last commit, you would use the following command:

git log -1 --name-only --pretty=format:''

This command would show a list of the changed files in the last commit, with one file name per line.

You can also use git log to see a list of changed files between two commits. To do this, you can use the –name-only option along with the –diff-filter option, which allows you to specify the types of changes you want to see. For example, to see a list of the added and modified files between the current state of the repository and the last commit, you would use the following command:

git log --name-only --diff-filter=AM -1

This command shows a list of the added and modified files in the last commit.

Using git show

Another way to get a list of the changed files in Git is to use the git show command. The git show command shows information about a particular commit, including the changes made in the commit. To see a list of the changed files for a particular commit, you can use the –name-only option with the git show command. For example, to see a list of the changed files for the last commit, you would use the following command:

git show --name-only -1

This command would show a list of the changed files in the last commit, with one file name per line.

You can also use git show to see the changed files between two commits, by specifying the commit hash of both commits. For example, to see a list of the changed files between commit hash abc123 and def456, you would use the following command:

git show --name-only abc123..def456

This command would show a list of the changed files between the two specified commits, with one file name per line.

Conclusion

In this article, we’ve looked at how to use Git to get a list of the changed files in a particular commit or between two commits. We’ve explored the git diff, git log and git show commands, and shown how to use different options to get the information you need. By understanding how to use these commands, you’ll be able to more effectively track and manage changes in your code.