Git Utilities

Helps you do your job

Overview

Python program
Graphviz
Visualization of branches
- ASCII Art
More

This page explains files in my git-utilities repo.

On a Mac:

Get the repo onto your machine using a Git UI or in a Git command line:
```
git clone https://github.com/wilsonmar/git-utilities
```
cd into the repo.
(If you don’t have it already) create a folder on the operating system’s path by copying the git-custom-commands folder from within the Git repository into a folder in your home directory.

Linux people often use /opt/bin, but on a Mac that is a protected area requiring sudo access.

create a folder under your $HOME folder and put that folder within the system path.
```
$HOME/git-custom-commands
```
On a Mac, edit file ~/.bash_profile so the custom command files will be found when they are run on any folder.

PROTIP: git automatically make files available as a subcommand, just like regular executable scripts.
Exit terminal session windows or re-run the Terminal initialization:
```
source ~/.bash_profile
```
cd into the git-custom-commands folder.
Set permissions to execute each file:
```
chmod 555 *
```
Try the git-echo command, created just so we can verify whether we have it working:
```
git echo "hello"
```
You should see response:
```
hello
```
Instead of “hello”, you can type in any phrase.

Python program

A cross-platform Python can be executed.

Graphviz

Seth House did several videos on Git and GitHub, in which he showed use of a utility to create a visualization from the command line. He was nice enough to share it with me.

Install GraphViz using a package manager. On a Mac:
```
brew install graphviz
```
This installs dependencies libtiff, webp, gd
- http://www.graphviz.org/Download_macos.php - graphviz-2.40.1.pkg
- http://www.graphviz.org/Download_windows.php
Save the file from a text editor into folder

Alternately, copy the file graph-dag into that folder from the cloned folder.
Set permissions to execute the file:
```
chmod a+x graph-dag
```
Run the graph-dag that outputs a commit graph using the GraphViz “dot” tool:
```
git graph-dag HEAD~10.. | dot -Tpng > mygraph.png
```
Additionally, look at the other utilities at:

https://git.wiki.kernel.org/index.php/ExampleScripts
- Sorting commits by commit message line count / changed lines ratio
- Copying all changed files from the last N commits
- Setting the timestamps of the files to the commit timestamp of the commit which last touched them

Visualization of branches

git log does a good job of illustrating branches, but GitKraken provides this colorful branch graphics:

git-utilities gitkraken dag 579x279

The master branch is the light-blue line on the left.
The Bug fix branch is the darker-blue line to the right of that.
The develop branch is the purple line to the right of that.

ASCII Art

Make some ASCII art from (part of your) history

A - B - C
  \       \
    D - E - F

This is one of a series on Git and GitHub:

Wilson Mar

Git Utilities

Python program

Graphviz

Visualization of branches

ASCII Art

More

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