How to use the command git fame (with examples)
Git fame is a command-line tool that calculates and pretty-prints the contributions of each contributor to a Git repository. It provides valuable insights into how much each contributor has contributed to the project.
Use case 1: Calculate contributions for the current Git repository
Code:
git fame
Motivation: This use case allows you to quickly calculate the contributions made by each contributor to the current Git repository. It provides a summary of the number of commits, insertions, deletions, and files changed by each contributor.
Explanation: The git fame command without any additional arguments calculates the contributions for the current Git repository.
Example output:
Contributor Commits + - ++ -- Files
Author 1 1234 567 890 123 456 78
Author 2 567 123 456 789 012 34
Use case 2: Exclude files/directories that match the specified regular expression
Code:
git fame --excl "regular_expression"
Motivation: Sometimes, you may want to exclude certain files or directories from the contribution calculations. This becomes useful when you want to focus only on specific parts of the codebase.
Explanation: The --excl flag followed by a regular expression allows you to exclude files or directories that match the specified regular expression from the contribution calculations.
Example output:
Contributor Commits + - ++ -- Files
Author 1 567 123 456 789 012 34
Author 2 345 678 901 234 567 89
Use case 3: Calculate contributions made after the specified date
Code:
git fame --since "3 weeks ago|2021-05-13"
Motivation: This use case is helpful when you want to calculate the contributions made by each contributor after a specific date. It allows you to track recent contributions and analyze the impact of recent changes.
Explanation: The --since flag followed by a date (in relative or absolute format) allows you to calculate the contributions made after the specified date.
Example output:
Contributor Commits + - ++ -- Files
Author 1 345 678 901 234 567 89
Author 2 123 456 789 012 345 67
Use case 4: Display contributions in the specified format
Code:
git fame --format pipe|yaml|json|csv|tsv
Motivation: By default, the contributions are displayed in a tabulated format. However, in some scenarios, you may want to have the contributions in a different format, such as pipe-separated, YAML, JSON, CSV, or TSV. This use case allows you to customize the output format according to your preference.
Explanation: The --format flag followed by the desired format (pipe, yaml, json, csv, or tsv) specifies the output format for the contributions.
Example output (with format as pipe):
Contributor|Commits|+|-|++|--|Files
Author 1|1234|567|890|123|456|78
Author 2|567|123|456|789|012|34
Use case 5: Display contributions per file extension
Code:
git fame --bytype
Motivation: This use case allows you to analyze the contributions by file extension. It provides insights into which file types contributors are primarily working on and how their contributions differ across different file types.
Explanation: The --bytype flag displays the contributions grouped by file extension, showing the number of commits, insertions, deletions, and files changed for each file type.
Example output:
File Extension Commits + - ++ -- Files
.js 1000 500 400 100 50 80
.css 500 200 100 50 30 20
Use case 6: Ignore whitespace changes
Code:
git fame --ignore-whitespace
Motivation: Whitespace changes, such as trailing whitespaces or indentation changes, do not reflect the actual code contributions made by contributors. By using this use case, you can exclude whitespace changes from the contributions calculations to focus on meaningful code changes.
Explanation: The --ignore-whitespace flag tells git fame to ignore whitespace changes when calculating contributions.
Example output:
Contributor Commits + - ++ -- Files
Author 1 800 300 450 100 150 60
Author 2 600 200 350 50 100 50
Use case 7: Detect inter-file line moves and copies
Code:
git fame -C
Motivation: This use case helps identify situations where code changes have been moved or copied from one file to another. It provides insights into how code is being refactored or reused across different files.
Explanation: The -C option tells git fame to detect inter-file line moves and copies when calculating contributions.
Example output:
Contributor Commits + - ++ -- Files
Author 1 450 200 200 50 50 40
Author 2 350 150 150 30 20 30
Use case 8: Detect intra-file line moves and copies
Code:
git fame -M
Motivation: In certain cases, code changes may occur within the same file where lines of code are moved or copied. This use case helps identify such changes and provides insights into how code is being rearranged or duplicated within a file.
Explanation: The -M option tells git fame to detect intra-file line moves and copies when calculating contributions.
Example output:
Contributor Commits + - ++ -- Files
Author 1 250 100 100 20 30 25
Author 2 200 80 80 15 25 20
Conclusion:
The git fame command is a powerful tool for analyzing and visualizing Git repository contributions. With various options and flags, it allows you to customize the calculations and output format according to your specific needs. Whether you want to track recent contributions, exclude certain files, analyze contributions by file type, or detect code moves and copies, git fame provides valuable insights into the contributions made by each contributor.
