Searching commits

[Sebastian2852]

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Is there a way to search the commit history of a github repo?

[ashmeet07]

Yes, there are two primary ways to search the commit history of a GitHub repository: using the GitHub web interface for quick, message-based searches and using the Git command line for powerful, detailed filtering.

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1. Searching Commits on GitHub (Web Interface) 🌐

This is the easiest way to search through commit messages directly in your browser.

1. Navigate to the Repository: Go to the main page of the GitHub repository you want to search.
2. Go to the Commits Page: Click the "Commits" link near the top of the file view (e.g., "750 commits").
3. Use the Search Bar: At the top of the commit list, you'll see a search bar labeled "Search commits...".
4. Enter your Search Term: Type your keyword or phrase (e.g., fix styling bug or update config) and press Enter.

GitHub will filter the history, showing only commits whose message contains your term.

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2. Advanced Searching with Git Log (Command Line) 💻

For deeper, more complex searches that check authors, dates, or the actual code changes, use the git log command in your local copy of the repository.

Goal	Command	Description
Search Commit Message	git log --grep="keyword"	Finds commits where the message contains the keyword.
Search Code Changes (Pickaxe)	git log -S "specific_code_line"	Finds commits that add or remove an exact string in the code (the Git "pickaxe" option).
Search Code Changes (Regex)	git log -G "regex_pattern"	Finds commits where a line that was added or removed matches the regex pattern.
Search by Author	git log --author="Name"	Filters commits made by a specific author.
Search by File/Folder	git log -- "path/to/file"	Filters commits that modified the specified file or folder.

[Jones-6199]

Yes ✅, you can search a GitHub repo’s commit history in a few ways depending on whatever you’re looking for.