git status & git log

git status and git log are the two most-used read-only commands in Git. Status shows the current state of your working directory. Log shows the history of committed snapshots. Run them constantly — they never change anything.

01.git status — Your Working Directory Dashboard

git status shows three zones: (1) Changes staged for commit — green, ready to commit. (2) Changes not staged — modified files Git is tracking but not yet added. (3) Untracked files — files Git sees but ignores until you add them. The short form (-s) is great for a quick one-line overview.

Git's Three Areas

📁

Working Dir

Your files

→ git add

📋

Staging Area

Prepared

→ git commit

🗄️

Repository

.git/ history

02.git log — Reading Project History

git log shows commits newest-first. Each entry shows: the SHA hash (unique ID), author name and email, date and time, and the commit message. Use --oneline for a compact view, --graph to see branch topology, --all to include all branches, and combine them for a powerful repository overview.

Commit Timeline

a1b2c3d

init

b2c3d4e

feat

c3d4e5f

fix

d4e5f6a

HEAD

Commands

commands — click to reveal output

git status

Full working tree status

▼ show output

git status -s

Short compact status (M=modified, ??=untracked)

▼ show output

git log

Full commit history with all details

git log --oneline

Compact one-line-per-commit view

▼ show output

git log --oneline --graph --all

Visual branch graph of entire repository

▼ show output

git log --author="Alice"

Show only commits by a specific person

git log --since="1 week ago"

Show commits from the last week only

KNOWLEDGE CHECK

What does git status show you?

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