--format

Learn custom output with git log --format.

git log --format

git log --format lets you customize how commit information appears in the terminal. Instead of using a predefined layout, you can choose fields such as commit hash, author, and message in your preferred order. This option is especially useful when preparing custom history reports.

git log --format="%h %an %s"

Common Format Placeholders

Each placeholder in Git's custom formats represents different commit information. %H displays the full commit hash, %h the abbreviated hash, %an the author's name, and %s the commit subject. You can combine these placeholders to create single-line or detailed reports.

git log --format="%H | %an | %s"

The order of the placeholders determines the order of the fields in the output.

Exercise Create Custom Commit Output

Assign a command to command that displays the abbreviated hash, author name, and commit subject in that order. Separate the fields with the | character. Print the result.

Show example solution

const command = 'git log --format="%h | %an | %s"';
console.log(command);

Test yourself

Which placeholder displays the commit message in a custom format?
- %an
- %h
- %ad
- %s
Show answer

%s — <code>%s</code> displays the commit subject. <code>%an</code> shows the author's name, while <code>%h</code> shows the abbreviated commit hash.

Display the Author Name

git log --format="%h %an"____

Show answer

git log --format="%h %an"%an

Format Placeholders

%H

Full commit hash
%h

Abbreviated commit hash
%an

Author name
%s

Commit subject

Next lesson: --since --until

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