git-show-branch

Show a summary of the latest commit on a branch

$ git show-branch [branch_name|ref|commit]

$ git show-branch [branch_name1|ref1|commit1 branch_name2|ref2|commit2 ...]

$ git show-branch --remotes

$ git show-branch --all

$ git show-branch --all --list

$ git show-branch --current [commit|branch_name|ref]

$ git show-branch --sha1-name --current [current|branch_name|ref]

$ git show-branch --more [5] [commit|branch_name|ref] [commit|branch_name|ref] [...]

git show-branch [-a | --all] [-d | --describe] [--more=n] [--topics] [--current] [--independent] [--merge-base] [--no-name] [--sha1-name] [--stdin] [--list] [...]

-a, --all
    Show all branches, even remote ones.

-d, --describe
    Show the description associated with each branch.

--more=
    Show more commits after each branch name.

--topics
    Show only topic branches. Topic branches are assumed to be any branch other than master, develop, next, or pu.

--current
    Mark the current branch with an asterisk (*).

--independent
    Show only branches that are not ancestors of any other listed branch.

--merge-base
    Instead of showing the commit graph, output the merge base(s) of the given commits.

--no-name
    Do not show branch names.

--sha1-name
    Show branch names as SHA1 expressions.

--stdin
    Read branch names from standard input.

--list
    List only the names of the branches, without the graph information.

...
    Limit the branches shown to only those reachable from the given commits. Can specify branch names, commit SHAs, or other commit references.

The `git show-branch` command is a powerful tool for visualizing the relationships between different branches in a Git repository. It displays a list of branches and their commit history in a way that makes it easy to see which branches are ahead of or behind others, and where they diverge. It helps understand complex branch merges or rebases. The output shows which commits are unique to a branch and which commits are shared. This tool is useful for debugging merge conflicts, understanding the branching strategy, and keeping track of development progress. It's especially beneficial in collaborative environments where multiple developers are working on different features concurrently. It supports filtering of the branches shown and can highlight which commits are contained in which branches. By default, it shows all branches, but you can specify a subset of branches to focus on.

The output can be overwhelming with a large number of branches. Consider using filtering options to narrow the scope.

The output consists of branch names followed by commits. A '*' indicates the current branch. '+' symbols in the commit graph indicate commits reachable from a branch, while '-' symbols indicate commits not reachable from a branch. The common commits shared between branches are marked with a space. The merge base is a key point to understand branch divergence.

Show all branches:
git show-branch --all

Show only specific branches:
git show-branch feature/branch1 feature/branch2

Show branches and their descriptions:
git show-branch -d

Find merge base:
git show-branch --merge-base branch1 branch2

git log(1), git branch(1), gitk(1)