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The commit graph

The graph is the main view of a repository: every commit, the branches and tags that point at it, and the lines connecting them.

It doesn't load the whole history when you open a repository. It loads the commits just ahead of where you're looking, and more as you scroll, search or jump. That's what keeps it quick on repositories with a million commits or more.

Moving around​

  • Scroll, or use the arrow keys to move the selection one commit at a time.
  • Page Up and Page Down move a page at a time.
  • Home and End go to the newest and oldest commits.

Selecting a commit shows its details on the right: author, committer, message, notes, signature and the files it changed.

Searching​

Press Ctrl+F to search. You can search by commit message, author or SHA. You can also search for a trailer, such as Co-authored-by: Sam or Closes: #12.

Enter goes to the next match and Shift+Enter to the previous one. Matches further back than what's loaded are found too; the graph loads up to them.

Branches and tags​

The sidebar lists local branches, remotes, tags and stashes. Type in Filter branches and tags to narrow the list. Click a branch or tag to jump to its commit.

Two layouts​

The default timeline layout gives each commit two lines: the subject, and the author and date. Compact rows fits one commit per line, so you see more history at once. Switch between them in Settings.

Right-click menus​

Right-click a commit, branch or tag for what you can do with it: check it out, create a branch or tag there, merge, rebase, cherry-pick, revert, reset, or see its reflog. Branches, merges and rebases covers these.