git-show
Show git object (commit, tag, blob)
TLDR
Show information about the latest commit (hash, message, changes, and other metadata)
Show information about a specific commit, tag, or branch (such as HEAD for the latest commit)
Show only the list of added, renamed, or deleted files
Show information about the 3rd commit from the HEAD of a branch
Show a commit's message in a single line, suppressing the diff output
Show only statistics (added/removed characters) about the changed files
Show a simplified list of all files changed in a commit (modified, added, and deleted)
Show the contents of a file as it was at a given revision (e.g. branch, tag, or commit)
SYNOPSIS
git show [options] [object...]
PARAMETERS
-p, --patch
Generate patch (default for commits)
-s, --no-patch
Suppress diff output
--stat
Show diffstat instead of full patch
--numstat
Show number of added/removed lines
--name-only
Show only names of changed files
--name-status
Show names with status (A/D/M)
--pretty[=format], --format[=format]
Pretty-print commit headers
--oneline
One line per commit
-n num, --max-count=num
Limit to first num commits
--abbrev-commit
Use short commit hashes
--graph
ASCII graph of history
--color[=when]
Enable colored output
--notes[=ref]
Show notes for object
-t, --tree
Show tree only, no objects
--raw
Raw diff output format
DESCRIPTION
git show displays the contents of Git objects such as commits, trees, blobs, or tags. For commits, it shows the commit metadata (author, date, message) followed by a unified diff of changes by default. Trees list directory contents, blobs show raw file data, and tags display tag messages and pointed objects.
Without arguments, it shows the latest commit on the current branch. Specify a revision like HEAD~1 or a hash to view others. It's ideal for quick inspections during development, debugging changes, or reviewing pull requests.
Output can be customized with options for stats only (--stat), no diffs (-s), custom formats (--pretty), or decorations (--graph). Supports piping to grep or less for filtering. Unlike git log, it focuses on one object; unlike git diff, it includes commit info. Handles annotated tags fully, including signatures if present.
Common workflow: git show --stat for change summaries, git show <commit>:<path> for historical file versions.
CAVEATS
Interprets objects with formatting; use git cat-file for raw dumps. Diffs assume text files; binaries shown as-is.
EXAMPLES
git show HEAD - Latest commit with diff
git show --stat abc123 - Stats for commit
git show v1.0 - Tag details
git show HEAD:README.md - File at HEAD
OBJECT PATHS
Use commit:path for historical files, e.g., git show main:src/main.c
HISTORY
Introduced in Git 0.99 (2005) by Linus Torvalds as core porcelain command; evolved with formatting options in Git 1.0+ for better usability.
SEE ALSO
git log(1), git diff(1), git cat-file(1), git rev-list(1)
