Log & diff

Enhanced log

g log formats history for readability: graph, decorations, and conventional-commit styling so subjects are easier to scan than raw git log defaults.

Everyday commands

g log                        # default limit from config (e.g. 30 commits)
g log -n 50
g log --oneline -n 20
g log --all
g log --no-graph             # disable ASCII graph
g log main..HEAD             # what’s on current branch since it diverged from main
g log -p -1                  # last commit with patch (still enhanced where applicable)

Everything after g log is passed through to git log, so flags you already know keep working.

Read a feature branch before merge

g log origin/main..HEAD
g log --stat origin/main..HEAD

Configuration (~/.config/g/config.toml)

[ui]
log_limit = 30
show_graph = true
date_format = "relative"   # relative | short | iso | rfc
colors = true
icons = true

Enhanced diff

g diff renders unified diffs with the builtin viewer by default: syntax-highlighted stack / split / side-by-side TUI when stdout is a TTY, otherwise inline ANSI. Three modes are available:

• auto / builtin (default) — builtin renderer
• raw — forwards git diff output untouched (no rendering)
• /path/to/executable — pipes git diff stdout through any external pager (any executable on $PATH or an absolute path); falls back to the builtin renderer if the binary isn’t found

Examples

g diff
g diff --staged
g diff HEAD~3
g diff main...feature-branch    # three-dot: merge-base comparison
g diff main feature-branch -- path/to/file.rs
g diff --raw                    # passthrough for this single invocation

Configure the diff mode

[diff]
tool = "auto"               # builtin (TUI if TTY, inline ANSI otherwise)
# tool = "builtin"          # same as "auto"
# tool = "raw"               # forward `git diff` untouched
# tool = "/path/to/my-pager" # any executable on $PATH or absolute path

# Optional:
# tool_args = ["--dark"]      # extra args passed to the external tool
# context_lines = 3           # unified diff context
# layout = "auto"             # auto | stack | split | side (TUI only)
# line_numbers = true
# wrap_lines = false

Related commands

g show

Single commit: header + patch, same diff tooling as g diff.

g show
g show abc1234
g show HEAD~2 --stat

g status

Working tree with icons, grouped sections, and tracking hints.

g status
g status -sb

g branch

Table of branches with last commit, author, date, upstream.

g branch
g branch -vv
g branch squash              # compact all commits on the branch (merge-base vs upstream / mainline)
g branch squash -m "feat: …" --base origin/main

g branch squash is for a single branch and does not restack a registered stack; for that, use g stack squash on the Stacks page.

g compare

Compare two branches without merging—pick a view mode:

g compare                          # current vs default branch
g compare main feature/foo
g compare --stat                   # file-level bars / counts
g compare --commits                # commit subjects only
g compare --diff                   # full diff through configured tool

Troubleshooting

• No colors — check NO_COLOR env; set [ui] colors = true in config.
• Plain diff — [diff].tool points at an executable that isn’t on $PATH; set tool = "auto" or install the binary you pointed at.
• Pager — if output is truncated, configure general.pager in config (see main README).