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Git g1t-GUD

How do I see what I changed?

You changed some files. You want to see exactly what changed.

There are two ways. Both use the terminal in your project folder.

1. See what changed in your files (not saved yet)

You edited files but you didn’t run git add yet. To see the diff:

Terminal window
git diff

Git shows the lines you added (in green) and the lines you removed (in red).
If you already ran git add, this command won’t show those files. Use the next one.

2. See what you staged (what will go in the next commit)

You ran git add. You want to see what will be in the next commit:

Terminal window
git diff --staged

That shows the same kind of line-by-line diff, but only for the changes you staged.

3. See the list of commits (history)

You want to see past saves (commits), not the line-by-line diff:

Terminal window
git log

Each commit shows the message and who made it. Press q to quit.

Shorter list (one line per commit):

Terminal window
git log --oneline

Quick reminder

  • git status — which files changed (names only).
  • git diff — exact changes in files you didn’t stage yet.
  • git diff --staged — exact changes you staged.
  • git log — list of past commits.