Advanced Git configuration

Last updated April 13, 2013.

Aliases

git aliases are a powerful way to streamline your most frequent git operations. Read a basic tutorial here. Git Immersion also has a section for aliases.

• git diffup: Create full patch, interdiff.txt, and commit log in one shot for sandbox patches.

  Applies to:

  • Larger or more complex core patches, which are developed and improved in a sandbox branch.

  Assumptions:

  • You won't push commits upstream before you create a patch for a d.o issue.
  • You want to combine and enforce best practices:
    1. Obviously, providing interdiffs for others.
    2. Doing atomic and clean commits.
    3. Writing proper commit messages.
       (The shortlog can be copied 1:1 into an issue comment.)
  • Your local branch foo tracks the upstream mysandbox/foo branch.

    To configure/enforce this for existing branches:
    

    git branch --set-upstream foo mysandbox/foo

  Alias:
  

  git config --global alias.diffup '!git log --oneline --reverse @{u}... && git diff 8.x... > $1 && git diff @{u} > interdiff.txt && echo'

  Explanation:

  1. Outputs the commit messages of all new commits that haven't pushed to upstream yet to the console/stdout. (ready to be copied 1:1 into an issue comment)
  2. Creates a patch file containing all changes from the current branch since it diverged from 8.x.
  3. Creates an interdiff between (old) upstream and the current local branch.

  Usage:

  1. $ git diffup effort.topic.patch
     
     creates:
     • ./effort.topic.patch
     • ./interdiff.txt

     and shows the log; e.g.:
     

     e20b52b Copied ConfigTest into Drupal\Core\...
7f20970 Added generic ConfigThingie with ab...
6b92dac Renamed ConfigThingie::load() into ...
  2. After updating the d.o issue, push your local changes into the upstream sandbox branch.

• git rmbranch: Delete and prune a branch locally + remotely.

  Applies to:

  • Heavy branch users.

  Assumptions:

  • You (and no one else) needs the specified branch anymore.

  Alias:
  

  git config --global alias.rmbranch '!git branch -d $1 && git push origin --delete'

  Explanation:

  1. Deletes the local branch of the given name.
  2. If successful, deletes the remote branch of the given name.

  Usage:

  1. $ git rmbranch myfeature-sun

  Benefits:

  • Due to the appearance of "branch" in the alias, your shell might autocomplete branch names.