Git Log Command Explained with Options and Examples

In the previous blogs, we explored the basics of commits and how to amend them.
Now, it’s time to dive deeper into one of the most useful commands in Git — the git log command.

The git log command allows you to see the history of all commits in your repository, along with details like commit hash, author, date, and message.

Basic Git Log Command

git log

This command shows you the full commit history:

commit abc123...
Author: Gaurav Sharma <gaurav@example.com>
Date:   Sat Aug 31 12:00:00 2025 +0530

    Added user module

To exit the log pager, press q on your keyboard.

Disable Pager for Git Log

By default, git log opens in a pager (separate page view). If you want the log to appear directly in the terminal, disable the pager:

git config --global pager.log false

Now git log outputs directly in your terminal.

One-Line Log View

For a concise history:

git log --oneline

Example output:

abc123 Added user module
def456 Login feature completed
ghi789 First commit

Reverse Order of Commits

If you prefer to see the oldest commit at the top:

git log --oneline --reverse

Show Limited Number of Commits

To show only the last 2 commits:

git log -2

Output:

abc123 Commit without staging
def456 Added untracked file

Log for a Specific File

To see commits related to a single file:

git log first.txt

Or in one-line format:

git log --oneline first.txt

Pretty Format Logs

You can customize log output using the --pretty option:

git log --pretty=format:"%h %an %ar %s"

Example output:

abc123 Gaurav  2 days ago  Added user module
def456 Gaurav  5 days ago  Commit without staging

Here:

%h → Short commit hash
%an → Author name
%ar → Time ago
%s → Commit message

Coloring the Output

You can also apply colors:

git log --pretty=format:"%Cgreen%an%Creset %s"

This prints the author’s name in green.

Filtering Commits by Time

Show commits since a specific date:

git log --since="7 days ago"

Show commits before a specific date:

git log --before="2025-08-01"

Show commits between dates:

git log --after="2025-08-01" --before="2025-08-15"

Summary

In this blog, we learned:

How to view commit history using git log.
How to disable the pager for logs.
Options like --oneline, --reverse, and limiting commits.
Viewing commit history for a specific file.
Formatting logs with --pretty.
Adding colors and filtering commits by date.

In the next blog, we’ll continue exploring more advanced Git log features.

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