What is a Commit?
A commit acts like a save point in your project history.
It captures the current state of your files along with a message that explains what was changed.
If needed, you can always roll back to an earlier commit.
Some important commit commands:
- git commit -m "message" — Create a commit with a message describing the changes you’ve stag
- git commit -a -m "message" — Commit all modified and deleted tracked files directly, skipping the staging step
- git log — View the history of commits in your repository
Commit with a Message using -m
To save the changes you’ve staged, use the git commit -m command followed by a short, descriptive message:
Example
git commit -m "Initial release of Hello World!"
Output:
sql
[master (root-commit) 221ec6e] Initial release of Hello World!
3 files changed, 26 insertions(+)
create mode 100644 README.md
create mode 100644 bluestyle.css
create mode 100644 index.html
Commit All Changes Without Staging (-a)
If you only want to commit changes to files Git is already tracking, you can skip the staging step by using:
git commit -a -m "Your commit message"
This command automatically stages all modified and deleted tracked files before committing them.
Note: It does not include new/untracked files—you still need to add those manually with git add.
Example
git commit -a -m "Update README formatting"
[master abc1234] Update README formatting
1 file changed, 2 insertions(+)
What happens if you try to commit a new file with -a?
If you run:
git commit -a -m "Try to commit new file"
And you have a new (untracked) file like index.html, Git will respond with something like:
vbnet
On branch master
No commits yet
Untracked files:
(use "git add ..." to include in what will be committed)
index.html
nothing added to commit but untracked files present (use "git add" to track)
Explanation:
The -a flag only stages and commits changes to files that are already tracked by Git.
It does not include new, untracked files.
To commit a new file, you first need to add it to the staging area:
git add index.html
git commit -m "Add new file"
Write Multi-line Commit Messages
If you run git commit without -m, Git opens your default editor so you can write a detailed commit message:
git commit
Write a short summary on the first line (keep it under 50 characters), then leave a blank line before adding more details.
Commit Message Best Practices
Keep the first line short (≤ 50 characters)
Use imperative mood (e.g., Add feature instead of Added feature)
Leave a blank line between summary and details
Explain why the change was made, not just what changed
Other Useful Commit Options
- Create an empty commit (no changes):
- Re-use the last commit message (without opening editor):
git commit --no-edit
- Amend the last commit, keeping its message:
git commit --amend --no-edit
Troubleshooting Common Commit Mistakes
- Forgot to stage a file?
Just add it and commit again, or add it and amend:
git add forgotten-file.txt
git commit --amend
- Typo in your commit message?
Update the last message:
git commit --amend -m "Corrected message"
- Committed the wrong files?
Undo the last commit, but keep changes staged:
git reset --soft HEAD~1
View Commit History
See full commit history:
git log
Example output:
pgsql
commit 09f4acd3f8836b7f6fc44ad9e012f82faf861803 (HEAD -> master)
Author: w3schools-test
Date: Fri Mar 26 09:35:54 2021 +0100
Updated index.html with a new line
commit 221ec6e10aeedbfd02b85264087cd9adc18e4b26
Author: w3schools-test
Date: Fri Mar 26 09:13:07 2021 +0100
First release of Hello World!
Shorter Commit Log
Show each commit on a single line:
git log --oneline
Example:
pgsql
09f4acd Updated index.html with a new line
221ec6e First release of Hello World!
See What Changed in Each Commit
Show files changed and stats:
git log --stat
Example:
pgsql
commit 09f4acd3f8836b7f6fc44ad9e012f82faf861803 (HEAD -> master)
Author: w3schools-test
Date: Fri Mar 26 09:35:54 2021 +0100
Updated index.html with a new line
index.html | 1 +
1 file changed, 1 insertion(+)
