How to use Git Commands In GIT

The most straightforward way to list Git branches ordered by the most recent commit is by using a combination of Git commands. Here’s a step-by-step guide as:

1. Using for-each-ref and sort

Git’s for-each-ref command allows you to iterate over and display refs (branches, tags, etc.) in a customized format. Combining this with sorting, you can easily list branches by their latest commit date.

Open your terminal and navigate to your repository. Run the following command:

git for-each-ref --sort=-committerdate refs/heads/ --format='%(committerdate:iso8601) %(refname:short)'

Explanation:

• –sort=-committerdate: Sorts the branches by the committer date in descending order.
• refs/heads/: Limits the output to branches (not tags or other refs).
• –format=’%(committerdate:iso8601) %(refname:short)’: Formats the output to show the committer date and branch name.

2. Using branch and log

Alternatively, you can use the git branch and git log commands in combination with some shell scripting:

for branch in $(git branch --format='%(refname:short)'); do
  echo "$(git log -1 --format="%ci" $branch) $branch"
done | sort -r

Explanation:

• git branch –format=’%(refname:short)’: Lists all branch names.
• git log -1 –format=”%ci” $branch: Gets the commit date of the most recent commit in each branch.
• sort -r: Sorts the output in reverse order, so the most recent commit dates come first.

Git is a widely used version control system that helps manage code changes across different branches. Sometimes, you may need to see a list of branches sorted by the most recent commit. This can be useful for understanding the current state of development and prioritizing which branches need attention. This article will guide you through the steps to achieve this using Git commands.