magit-log-mode

magit-log-mode: the commit history graph — git log —oneline —graph —decorate, <CR> on a row opens that commit's detail. Repo-wide or scoped to one file.

On this page

The commit history, as a graph. :magit-log opens the repo-wide view; content comes from git log --oneline --graph --decorate -50.

The headerline names what's being logged, how many commits are shown, and the path filter when there is one: HEAD 50 commits src/main.rs.

Chords

ChordAction
<CR>Show the commit at cursor in magit-revision-mode
grRefresh (re-run git log)
DLog arguments — -a all refs, -n commit count, -A filter by author

q / ]] / [[ / ]f / [f come from magit-core-mode.

<CR> finds the SHA as the first hex-looking token on the row, wherever the graph drawing characters happen to end — so it works on any commit row regardless of how deeply indented the graph is at that point. On a pure connector row (|\, |/ — no commit) it does nothing, which is the right answer: there is no commit there.

File-scoped logs

l in the file dispatch transient (C-c f) opens *magit:log:<repo>:<path>* — the same mode, scoped to one file's history (git log -- <path>). A file with no commits touching it says so rather than leaving a blank buffer, which matters because an untracked or brand-new file is a common and legitimate case.

Reading the graph

  • SHAs are abbreviated and coloured (magit.sha).
  • Ref decorations — (HEAD -> main, origin/main) — get their own colour (magit.ref.decoration).
  • Subjects are left plain: the graph and refs are already visually busy, and colouring the subject too would compete with them for attention on the same line.

Behaviour worth knowing

  • The count, graph, and decoration are hardcoded — -50, --graph, --decorate. magit.log.count and friends read like options but are not registered: :set magit.log.count=100 fails with unknown option. Use D to change them for this view. See magit for the two magit options that are registered.
  • Log arguments aren't interactively configurable either. There is no Log submenu inside C-c g — it's a flat menu, and l just opens this buffer.

See also