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Git Commit References¶

Common Syntax¶

HEAD: Current commit
HEAD^ or HEAD~1: Previous commit
HEAD^^ or HEAD~2: Two commits back
HEAD^^^ or HEAD~3: Three commits back
HEAD^2: Second parent of a merge commit

Usage Examples¶

Git Log¶

# Last 3 commits
git log HEAD~3..HEAD

# Show commits between two points
git log HEAD~5..HEAD~2

# Graph view of last 4 commits
git log --graph HEAD~4..HEAD

Git Rebase¶

# Interactive rebase of last 3 commits
git rebase -i HEAD~3

# Rebase onto specific commit
git rebase -i HEAD~5

Git Show¶

# Show previous commit
git show HEAD^

# Show second parent of merge commit
git show HEAD^2

# Show three commits ago
git show HEAD~3

Git Diff¶

# Changes between current and previous
git diff HEAD^

# Changes between two ancestors
git diff HEAD~2 HEAD

# Changes in specific file from 2 commits ago
git diff HEAD^^ path/to/file

Important Notes¶

^ vs ~: Both count back commits but behave differently on merge commits
^ follows first parent in merges
~ follows history linearly
Multiple ^ can be chained: ^^^^ = 4 commits back
Combine with numbers: ~5 = 5 commits back
Works with commit hashes too: abc123^