The git-commitflow tool is an interactive command-line interface that assists with the Git operations.
Running git-commitflow guides the user through the following interactive steps:
- Prompting the user to add files (
git add). - Displaying differences to ensure accuracy and prevent mistakes before committing (
git diff). - Prompting the user to enter a commit message and then committing the changes (
git commit). - It first attempts to merge using
--ff-only; if the merge fails, it prompts the user to confirm whether to proceed with a rebase using--rebaseand--autostash. Afterward, it commits the changes. - Optional (
-pflag): Pushing updates to the remote repository (git push). The references are only pushed when they have never been pushed before. Thegit-commitflowtool maintains a list of references that have been pushed, preventing multiple pushes of the same reference. This reduces unnecessary pushes.
One significant benefit of the git-commitflow tool is that it enhances the user's awareness and control over their changes before committing. This reduces the likelihood of including unintended files or alterations in commits, promoting a cleaner and more organized version history.
When prompted for a commit message, the user can press the up arrow to quickly access previous messages, utilizing the readline prompt history. Additionally, pressing Ctrl-d will open the Git editor, similar to the behavior when executing git commit -a.
Additionally, the tool simplifies the workflow for adding, committing, and pushing changes, making the overall Git experience more efficient and user-friendly.
- git >= 2.6
- Python and pip
Here is how to install git-commitflow using pip:
pip install --user git-commitflow
The pip command above will install the git-commitflow executable in the directory ~/.local/bin/.
To use the tool within your Git repository, run:
git commitflowThis command will guide you through the following steps interactively:
- Stage untracked files: Prompts you to
git addany untracked files that haven't been staged. - Review changes: Displays a diff of your changes, allowing you to confirm whether you want to proceed with the commit.
- Commit changes: Once you validate your commit message, the tool will finalize the commit.
If you also wish to push the changes, you can use the --push option:
git commitflow --push(The references are pushed only if they have not been pushed previously. The git-commitflow tool keeps track of the references that have been pushed, preventing the same reference from being pushed multiple times. This minimizes redundant pushes.)
This will git add, diff, commit, push your changes to the remote repository after the commit.
usage: git-commitflow [--option] [args]
Readline manager.
options:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
-p, --push Git push after a successful commit
-r, --recursive Apply git-commitflow to all submodules
To enhance your workflow, add the following aliases to your ~/.gitconfig file:
[alias]
ci = commitflow
cip = commitflow --pushWith these aliases, you can conveniently use the commands git ci to commit changes and git cip to commit and push in a single step.
Copyright (c) 2020-2025 James Cherti
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