How to do a 'git log' in the Windows Git Gui?

smeeb picture smeeb · Sep 10, 2014 · Viewed 11.4k times · Source

I just used the Git Gui to clone a local repo from GitHub, and then I checked out a certain branch. I now want to see the equivalent of doing a git log -50, but can't seem to find anything in the menu options or on the main screen:

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How can I see the commit history/data for the last, say, 50 changes?

Answer

Chris picture Chris · Sep 10, 2014

That GUI isn't just for Windows, it's the standard git-gui that ships with Git.

In any case, git-gui itself doesn't show log information. It's for creating new commits, managing branches, etc. The companion program gitk visualizes the commit graph and also contains git log-like information.

You can launch gitk from git-gui using something like Repository → Visualize master's History in the menu (or, if you prefer, Visualize All Branch History). Alternatively, you can launch it from the command line. I generally want to see all branches, so I use gitk --all.