git-describe - Linux

Overview

git-describe generates a human-readable description of the current commit in a Git repository. It is designed for describing commits in a user-friendly and informative way, making it useful for error messages, release notes, and more.

Syntax

git describe [options]

Options/Flags

-a: All commits are listed in sequence, with the most recent commit listed first.
-l: Instead of listing only the first tag, list a longer series of tags.
-tags: Search backwards to find the last tag.
-abbrev=<n>: Abbreviate the commit SHA1 hash to the specified number of characters. Default: 7.
-dirty: If the working directory is dirty, include the suffix -dirty.
-always: Always include the long SHA1 hash in the description.
-debug: Print debugging information.

Examples

Get a short commit description with the latest tag:
```
git describe
```
Get a longer commit description with the last 5 tags:
```
git describe -l5
```
Include the full SHA1 hash in the description:
```
git describe --always
```
Abbreviate the SHA1 hash to 10 characters:
```
git describe --abbrev=10
```

Common Issues

No tags found: If no tags are found in the repository, git-describe will fallback to using the commit SHA1 hash.
Multiple tags found: If multiple tags match the current commit, git-describe will use the most recent tag.
Dirty working directory: If the working directory contains uncommitted changes, git-describe may include the suffix -dirty in the description.

Integration

git-describe can be used in conjunction with other Git commands for advanced tasks. For example:

Generate a commit message with the commit description:
```
git commit -m "$(git describe)"
```

Filter log output based on git-describe:

git log --decorate --oneline | grep "$(git describe --abbrev)"

Related Commands

git-tag
git-rev-parse
git-commit