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Summary: Learn how to use Git commands to show differences between commits, understand changes in your code, and enhance your version control workflow.
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Understanding the differences between commits is crucial for effective version control and collaboration in software development. Git, a widely used version control system, provides several commands to help you inspect changes between commits. This guide will walk you through the key commands and options to show differences between commits in Git.

The git diff Command

The primary command to compare commits in Git is git diff. This command shows the changes between commits, the working directory, and the index (staging area).

Comparing Working Directory with Last Commit
To see the differences between your working directory and the last commit, use:

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Comparing Staging Area with Last Commit
To compare the changes that are staged for the next commit with the last commit, use:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Comparing Working Directory with Staging Area
To see what changes you have made but not yet staged, use:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Comparing Specific Commits

To compare two specific commits, you need to know their commit hashes. Use the following command:

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Replace <commit1> and <commit2> with the actual commit hashes. This command will show you the differences between these two commits.

Using git log with -p Option

Another useful command to see differences between commits is git log with the -p option. This option shows the patch (diff) introduced in each commit:

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You can also limit the number of commits to inspect:

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This command will show the differences for the last two commits.

Summary of Changes

If you want a summary of the changes between commits, you can use the --stat option:

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This command will give you a summary of the changes, including the number of insertions and deletions per file.

Visualizing Diffs

For a more visual representation of differences, you can use graphical Git tools like gitk or integrated development environments (IDEs) that support Git:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Conclusion

By mastering these commands, you can efficiently track and understand the changes in your codebase. This knowledge is essential for maintaining a clean and manageable project history, facilitating better collaboration, and ensuring smooth software development workflows.

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