GitHub Commit Operations Skill

This skill provides operations for viewing and analyzing commits in GitHub repositories, including commit history, diffs, and commit details.

Available Operations

1. List Commits

View commit history for a repository or specific branch.

2. View Commit Details

Get detailed information about a specific commit.

3. Compare Commits

Compare differences between commits, branches, or tags.

4. Search Commits

Search for commits by message, author, or other criteria.

Usage Examples

List Commits

List recent commits in repository:

gh api repos/owner/repo-name/commits --jq '.[] | {sha: .sha[0:7], message: .commit.message, author: .commit.author.name, date: .commit.author.date}'

List commits with gh CLI:

cd repo-name
git log --oneline -20

List commits for specific branch:

gh api repos/owner/repo-name/commits?sha=branch-name --jq '.[] | "\(.sha[0:7]) \(.commit.message)"'

List commits with author:

gh api repos/owner/repo-name/commits --jq '.[] | "\(.commit.author.name): \(.commit.message)"'

List commits in date range:

gh api "repos/owner/repo-name/commits?since=2025-01-01T00:00:00Z&until=2025-12-31T23:59:59Z" --jq '.[] | "\(.commit.author.date) \(.commit.message)"'

List commits with pagination:

# First page (default 30 items)
gh api repos/owner/repo-name/commits

# Specific page
gh api repos/owner/repo-name/commits?page=2&per_page=50

Filter by author:

gh api repos/owner/repo-name/commits?author=username --jq '.[] | "\(.sha[0:7]) \(.commit.message)"'

Filter by path:

gh api repos/owner/repo-name/commits?path=src/main.js --jq '.[] | "\(.sha[0:7]) \(.commit.message)"'

View Commit Details

View specific commit:

gh api repos/owner/repo-name/commits/abc123def --jq '{
  sha: .sha,
  message: .commit.message,
  author: .commit.author.name,
  date: .commit.author.date,
  stats: .stats,
  files: [.files[].filename]
}'

View commit in terminal (if repo is cloned):

cd repo-name
git show abc123def

View commit files changed:

gh api repos/owner/repo-name/commits/abc123def --jq '.files[] | {filename, status, additions, deletions, patch}'

View commit stats:

gh api repos/owner/repo-name/commits/abc123def --jq '.stats'
# Returns: { additions, deletions, total }

View commit parents:

gh api repos/owner/repo-name/commits/abc123def --jq '.parents[] | .sha'

View commit signature:

gh api repos/owner/repo-name/commits/abc123def --jq '.commit.verification'

Compare Commits

Compare two commits:

gh api repos/owner/repo-name/compare/abc123...def456 --jq '{
  ahead_by: .ahead_by,
  behind_by: .behind_by,
  total_commits: .total_commits,
  files_changed: [.files[].filename]
}'

Compare branches:

gh api repos/owner/repo-name/compare/main...feature-branch --jq '.commits[] | "\(.commit.message)"'

Compare with base:

gh api repos/owner/repo-name/compare/main...HEAD --jq '{
  status: .status,
  ahead_by: .ahead_by,
  behind_by: .behind_by,
  commits: [.commits[].sha[0:7]]
}'

View diff between commits:

cd repo-name
git diff abc123..def456

View diff for specific file:

cd repo-name
git diff abc123..def456 -- src/main.js

Compare tags:

gh api repos/owner/repo-name/compare/v1.0.0...v2.0.0 --jq '.commits | length'

Search Commits

Search by commit message:

gh api repos/owner/repo-name/commits --jq '.[] | select(.commit.message | contains("fix bug"))'

Search by author:

gh api repos/owner/repo-name/commits --jq '.[] | select(.commit.author.name == "John Doe")'

Search by date:

gh api repos/owner/repo-name/commits --jq '.[] | select(.commit.author.date > "2025-01-01")'

Using git log search (in cloned repo):

cd repo-name

# Search by message
git log --grep="bug fix"

# Search by author
git log --author="John Doe"

# Search by date
git log --since="2025-01-01" --until="2025-12-31"

# Search by file
git log -- src/main.js

# Search by code content
git log -S"function name"

# Combine filters
git log --author="John" --grep="feature" --since="2025-01-01"

Common Patterns

View Recent History

# Clone and view history
gh repo clone owner/repo-name
cd repo-name

# View last 10 commits
git log --oneline -10

# View with details
git log -5 --pretty=fuller

# View with stats
git log -5 --stat

# View graphical history
git log --graph --oneline --all -20

Analyze Specific Commit

# Get commit SHA from list
gh api repos/owner/repo-name/commits --jq '.[0].sha'

# View full details
gh api repos/owner/repo-name/commits/<sha>

# View what changed
gh api repos/owner/repo-name/commits/<sha> --jq '.files[] | "\(.status): \(.filename) (+\(.additions) -\(.deletions))"'

# View commit locally
cd repo-name
git show <sha>

Track File History

# Via API
gh api repos/owner/repo-name/commits?path=src/main.js --jq '.[] | "\(.sha[0:7]) \(.commit.author.date) \(.commit.message)"'

# Via Git
cd repo-name
git log --follow --oneline -- src/main.js

# View changes to file
git log -p -- src/main.js

Find Specific Changes

# Find when a function was added
cd repo-name
git log -S"function functionName"

# Find when a line was changed
git blame src/main.js

# Find commits that changed specific lines
git log -L 10,20:src/main.js

Release Comparison

# Compare releases
gh api repos/owner/repo-name/compare/v1.0.0...v2.0.0 --jq '{
  commits: .total_commits,
  files: [.files[].filename],
  authors: [.commits[].commit.author.name] | unique
}'

# Generate changelog
gh api repos/owner/repo-name/compare/v1.0.0...v2.0.0 --jq '.commits[] | "- \(.commit.message)"'

# See contributors between releases
gh api repos/owner/repo-name/compare/v1.0.0...v2.0.0 --jq '[.commits[].commit.author.name] | unique | .[]'

Audit Trail

# List all commits by author
gh api repos/owner/repo-name/commits?author=username --jq '.[] | {
  date: .commit.author.date,
  message: .commit.message,
  files: [.files[].filename]
}'

# Find commits in time period
gh api "repos/owner/repo-name/commits?since=2025-01-01T00:00:00Z" --jq '.[] | "\(.commit.author.date): \(.commit.message)"'

# Track specific file changes
gh api repos/owner/repo-name/commits?path=config.yml --jq '.[] | {
  date: .commit.author.date,
  author: .commit.author.name,
  message: .commit.message
}'

Branch Comparison

# See commits in feature branch not in main
gh api repos/owner/repo-name/compare/main...feature-branch --jq '.commits[] | "\(.sha[0:7]) \(.commit.message)"'

# Count commits ahead/behind
gh api repos/owner/repo-name/compare/main...feature-branch --jq '{ahead: .ahead_by, behind: .behind_by}'

# See files that differ
gh api repos/owner/repo-name/compare/main...feature-branch --jq '.files[] | .filename'

Advanced Usage

Commit Statistics

Get commit activity:

gh api repos/owner/repo-name/stats/commit_activity --jq '.[] | {week: .week, commits: .total}'

Get contributor stats:

gh api repos/owner/repo-name/stats/contributors --jq '.[] | {
  author: .author.login,
  total: .total,
  weeks: .weeks | length
}'

Code frequency:

gh api repos/owner/repo-name/stats/code_frequency --jq '.[] | {week: .[0], additions: .[1], deletions: .[2]}'

Commit Verification

Check commit signature:

gh api repos/owner/repo-name/commits/abc123 --jq '.commit.verification | {
  verified: .verified,
  reason: .reason,
  signature: .signature
}'

List verified commits:

gh api repos/owner/repo-name/commits --jq '.[] | select(.commit.verification.verified == true) | "\(.sha[0:7]) \(.commit.message)"'

Working with Git Directly

Clone and explore:

gh repo clone owner/repo-name
cd repo-name

# Beautiful log
git log --graph --pretty=format:'%Cred%h%Creset -%C(yellow)%d%Creset %s %Cgreen(%cr) %C(bold blue)<%an>%Creset' --abbrev-commit

# Find merge commits
git log --merges --oneline

# Find specific author's work
git shortlog -sn --author="John Doe"

# Show commits by date
git log --since="2 weeks ago" --until="yesterday"

Output Formatting

Custom Formats

Concise commit list:

gh api repos/owner/repo-name/commits --jq '.[] | "\(.sha[0:7]) \(.commit.message | split("\n")[0])"'

Detailed with stats:

gh api repos/owner/repo-name/commits --jq '.[] | {
  commit: .sha[0:7],
  author: .commit.author.name,
  date: .commit.author.date,
  message: .commit.message,
  additions: .stats.additions,
  deletions: .stats.deletions
}'

CSV format:

gh api repos/owner/repo-name/commits --jq -r '.[] | [.sha[0:7], .commit.author.name, .commit.author.date, .commit.message] | @csv'

Error Handling

Commit Not Found

# Verify commit exists
gh api repos/owner/repo-name/commits/abc123 2>&1 | grep -q "Not Found" && echo "Commit not found"

Rate Limiting

# Check rate limit
gh api rate_limit --jq '.resources.core'

# Use authenticated requests
gh auth status

Repository Access

# Verify you have access
gh repo view owner/repo-name

# Check permissions
gh api repos/owner/repo-name --jq '.permissions'

Best Practices

1. Use short SHAs: 7 characters is usually sufficient
2. Filter early: Use API parameters to reduce data transfer
3. Cache locally: Clone repos for intensive commit analysis
4. Use jq effectively: Filter and format API responses
5. Respect rate limits: Use authenticated requests
6. Pagination: Handle large commit histories properly
7. Date formats: Use ISO 8601 format for consistency
8. Verify commits: Check signatures for security-critical repos

Integration with Other Skills

• Use

  pull-request-management

  to see commits in PRs
• Use

  issue-management

  to link commits to issues
• Use

  repository-management

  to clone repos for commit analysis
• Use

  code-review

  to review specific commits

Git Commands Reference

# History
git log                    # View commit history
git log --oneline         # Condensed view
git log --graph           # Graphical view
git log -p                # Show patches
git log --stat            # Show statistics

# Specific commits
git show <sha>            # View commit details
git show <sha>:file       # View file at commit

# Search
git log --grep="text"     # Search messages
git log --author="name"   # Filter by author
git log -S"code"          # Search code changes

# Comparison
git diff <sha1>..<sha2>   # Compare commits
git diff branch1..branch2 # Compare branches

# Statistics
git shortlog -sn          # Commits per author
git log --since="date"    # Time-based filter

References

• GitHub API Commits Documentation
• Git Log Documentation
• Git Show Documentation
• GitHub CLI Manual