Find Commits that Manipulated a Specific String

Introduction

Git is a powerful version control system that allows developers to track changes made to their codebase over time. One of the most useful features of Git is the ability to view the history of changes made to a specific file or even a specific line of code. In this challenge, you will learn how to use Git to find all the commits that manipulated a given string.

Skills Graph

Find Commits that Manipulated a Specific String

As a developer, you may need to find all the commits that modified a specific string in your codebase. For example, you may want to find all the commits that added or removed a specific function name or variable. This can be useful when debugging issues or tracking down the source of a bug.

Suppose you are working on a project hosted on GitHub called git-playground. You want to find all the commits that modified the string "Git Playground" in the README.md file. Here's how you can do it:

1. Navigate to the repository directory:

cd git-playground

2. Use the git log -S command to find all the commits that modified the string "Git Playground" in the README.md file and use the arrow keys to navigate through the list of commits. Press Q to exit the log:

git log -S"Git Playground" README.md

Git will output a list of all the commits that modified the string "Git Playground" in the README.md file:

commit b00b9374a7c549d1af111aa777fdcc868d8a2a01
Author: Hang <[email protected]>
Date:   Wed Apr 26 14:16:00 2023 +0800

    Initial commit

Summary

Using the git log -S command, you can easily find all the commits that modified a specific string in your codebase. This can be useful when debugging issues or tracking down the source of a bug. Remember to use the arrow keys to navigate through the list of commits and press Q to exit the log.