CODEWITHSUNDEEP
gitgit-log
Yarin Gold
Yarin Gold

Reputation: 509

Why can I not see changes made to a specific file?

When I run git log, I can see a commit that I created a few days ago, which contains changes to some file (let's call it x.txt).

However, when I run git log -p x.txt, which should show me the git changes on this file, I can't see the commit in question.

How could this situation be explained?

Upvotes: 1

Views: 556

Answers (1)

VonC
VonC

Reputation: 1323953

git log -p uses actually a git diff option (--patch)

If git log -- x.txt doesn't show at all the expected commit, then it simply means that commit didn't introduced any diff for that file.
A git diff -- x.txt for that commit would be empty.

After extensive discussion, this work (which would mean x.txt was renamed or moved at some point):

git log --follow -M -p -- x.txt

There is another case where git log -p -- x.txt wouldn't include a commit:

That -p option will compare a commit with the previous one for a given file, unless that file was created (in which case, there is no previous commit for that file)

That means a git log -p -- x.txt won't include the first commit, when the file was initially added.
That "diff" would simply be the full content of x.txt.

In the OP Yarin Gold's case, though:

All that with a git version 1.9.3 (Apple Git-50) on OS X (10.9.5).

Upvotes: 2

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